Rue Dumaine
1061 Miamisburg-Centerville Road
Dayton, OH 45459
http://www.ruedumainerestaurant.com

I have to admit, I was really looking forward to getting out of the office for a few days.  However, I was going to Ohio to meet with a client and the only thing that I know about food in Ohio is that I really like Graeter’s Ice Cream.  I mean, I REALLY like it.  I would weigh twenty pounds more if I lived in Ohio.  Preparing for my trip, I asked Indianpolis Restaurant Scene if she had a pulse on Dayton and she asked one of her readers from Ohio and he said that Rue Dumaine is must have.

Rue Dumaine is where French technique meets New Orleans fare.  The chef is from New Orleans so there are a few NOLA appointments inside the building.  On a Wednesday night at 6:00, the place was pretty busy.  You would be fine wearing jeans, but better off if you stepped it up to business casual.

What I Ate: Duck and Pheasant Gumbo, $6 and Grilled Pork Tender, $24.

The gumbo was served with basmati rice and some chives to garnish.  I had my doubts when it was placed in front of me as I prefer a gumbo with a darker rue, but I really enjoyed this.  The duck and pheasant was shredded in the gumbo and was really tender.  For $6, it was an honest portion as well.

The Grilled Pork Tender is served with a sweet potato/Yukon Gold gratin, wilted spinach, relish of pancetta/shallots and a Dijon reduction.  The pork was cooked to a perfect medium temperature and was really easy to cut and not chewy at all.  What I really liked was the gratin.  The sweet potato had a pureed consistency and the Yukon Golds were sliced thin and were crispy. So you had some crunchy salty potato combined with a sweet soft potato.  I will steal this method as I enjoyed it a lot.  The sauce was really rich but blended perfectly with the pork.  The spinach and the relish were also nice touches.

Would I Buy It Again?  YES. I thought to myself, this is the Bouchon of the Midwest.  Probably the best pork dish that I have ever had and easily the bust gumbo that I have had, meaning this was the best meal I have had in long time.  Rue Dumaine would easily hold its own in any city and would be one of the finest restaurants in Indianapolis if it was here.  Service was well paced and the bartender was actually form Fishers, IN.  Representing!

-wibia

Qdoba
http://www.qdoba.com

I love gumbo and any other soul food that has some kick to it.  When I saw Qdoba had its own Mexican Gumbo, I decided to pass on my regular burrito and give it a shot.  Most fast food places take anything that traditionally has spice to it and makes it bland and boring for the masses.  I came into my Qdoba with low expectations of their gumbo but was curious to see how different Mexican Gumbo is from my southern favorite.

What I Ate:  Mexican Gumbo, 31 ounce bowl; $6.29

Looking at the menu after placing my order, I realized the “gumbo” was nothing more than their own tortilla soup with sour cream, cheese, and salsa topped with tortilla strips.  Soggy tortilla strips are a turnoff of mine and I generally find that sour cream overpowers the taste so I passed on both adding a half scoop of salsa verde and corn salsa to my gumbo.  Chicken, steak and pork are all available and I went with the pork option.  Overall, the aroma had me ready to go and the bowl was visually appealing when I got home and was ready to eat.

I was proud to have passed on my normal 1200 calorie burrito only to find out later that the bowl of gumbo was 1100 calories.  So much for the low carb healthy approach.  As I ate, I found there to be a variety of flavors in the gumbo and what looked like some kinds of peppers that were so soft like the pork that it almost melted in your mouth.  As I ate, the heat began to build and I found the gumbo to have just the right amount of kick to keep things interesting and meet my need for heat.  As I ate, I never had a spoonful that had a chunk of one ingredient that overpowered the rest of the ingredients finding even distribution throughout the serving.

Would I Buy It Again?  Yes. I look forward to getting a burrito at Qdoba and have been reluctant to try anything besides a burrito when I visit.  Being someone who enjoys good southern fare and it being Qdoba, I had low expectations of whether their Mexican Gumbo but thought it would be a lower calorie option.  Although the bowl of gumbo has nearly as many calories as a burrito, I enjoyed the variety of flavors, how tender the pulled pork was and that it actually had some spice to it, which you rarely find at fast food restaurants.  On a cold Midwest day, I would be plenty satisfied with another bowl of Qdoba’s Mexican Gumbo and find it to be a good substitute for Yats Gumbo or the best gumbo in Indianapolis at Black Diamond.

-EatHSE

Cheeseburger in Paradise
http://www.cheeseburgerinparadise.com/

It was Happy Hour yet again (albeit a miserable, rainy night) and some friends and I popped in to Cheeseburger in Paradise for our weekly meet-up.  Cheeseburger in Paradise is a chain partially owned by Jimmy Buffet and focused primarily on the island feel of his music.  It’s a little goofy when you walk in and see tiki huts and Hawaiian shirts, but whatever.  Seeing that I could get a half sandwich and a bowl of soup for a relatively reasonable price, I decided to mix in a little food with my beer.

What I Got:  Which Way Do I Steer? (1/2 sandwich and either a cup of soup or a house salad) $7.99

After seeing an episode of Throwdown recently where Bobby Flay had a Cuban sandwich challenge, I’ve had a craving for one so I ordered the El Cubano sandwich (Cuban sandwich) and also got a cup of the soup of the day (Chicken Gumbo).

The sandwich was not bad.  There was nothing specacular about it, but it was meaty and for a half sandwich, I was pleasantly surprised.  The bread was crusty and smashed to perfection (at least according to Cuban sandwich specifications).  Again, nothing great about the taste, but it did the trick.

The real winner of the meal though was the Chicken Gumbo soup.  This gumbo had rice, chicken, black beans, sausage and some other assorted vegetables.  It was hearty and had a nice little spice to it.  It wasn’t enough spice to knock you over, but there was enough in there so that you knew you were getting something with a little kick and being the spicy food lover that I am, I really appreciated that. 

Would I Buy It Again?  Yeah, I would.  I’m not going to go out of my way to get this, but if I did end up at Cheeseburger in Paradise again, I would certainly consider this menu option again, especially if the gumbo is the soup of the day.

Cheeseburger in Paradise is family friendly and when the weather is nice, this is a good place to be and always has a wait for a table.  They open the windows (more like garage doors) and let the open air in so that you feel that you really are drinking some beers in the Florida Keys.  The food is not going to knock your socks off (they actually do have some tasty menu items like Mini Cheeseburgers) but you are really going for the environment/experience.  They’ve got a lot of drink specials too, so for a chain restaurant, this place is not too shabby.

-IndianapolisEater

Gumbo a Go-Go!
1420 West 86th St.
Indianapolis, IN 46260
Open: M-Sa 11-8
317-337-9422

I can only write Gumbo a Go-Go so many times, so from here on out, I am calling it GAGG.

Every reader has a restaurant like this in their city. I never hear any rants/raves and the parking lot is never full. They are under the radar.  Ask most people form Indy about cajun food and they will say Yats! and then…ahh…ummm…

After my Yats! post, a reader sent me an e-mail and said give GAGG a try. It is close to work, so I said why not.  Chalkboard menu with about twelve options consisting of Vodoo Chicken, Bourbon Chicken, three Etouffee’s, Red Beans and Rice, Jumbalaya, Creole Chicken, and four veggie options.   Odd pricing system as it is $6.00 for a regular, $7 for a combo (same size as regular) and $9 for full entree (two choices).

What I Ate: Full Entree, 1/2 Chicken and Sausage Gumbo, 1/2 Crawfish Etouffee. $9.00

First bite was the crawfish etouffee. Good, but I wasn’t wowed.  It had very subtle flavors, so I added hot sauce, a little salt and pepper and we were back on track.  I didn’t dislike it, but I didn’t love it either.   I noticed a Chili Cheese Etouffee on the menu and I might try that next time.   However, it is somewhat frustrating to see that on the menu since true cajun cooking uses very little cheese.  Definitely a Midwestern adaptation.

I was unimpressed with my first few bites, so I moved on to the Gumbo.  Awesome.  Really nice flavors and the chicken was plentiful and it just tasted right.  Perfect cold weather dish.  I quickly understood why they called the restaurant Gumbo a Go-Go instead of Etouffee A Go-Go.

Would I Buy It Again?  Yes, easily.  The $9.00 portion was a lot of food and I could be happy with $6.00 gumbo all day long. They had a very steady lunch crowd and I got to sneak a few looks at the Voodoo Chicken and other entrees and all of it looked good.  The owner was really friendly and pretty funny.  With quick service and honest prices, this is a great combination.  Also, they were playing early Clapton blues until the next CD came on and it was Ottis Redding.  +10 on the music selections.

-wibia