Greek Tony’s Pizza and Sub Shop
1732 East 116^th Street
Carmel, IN 46032

For a year, I rented a place near Tony’s and I frequently visited for my ritual Friday night pizza.  Although it does not make my list of top 2-3 pizza places, it is a solid local choice offering a good variety of pizzas that are heavily covered with toppings and a good thin crust.  Although I always carry out, the inside is very casual with a dated décor including checkered table coverings and environment that just does not feel all that clean.  You serve yourself your own drinks and the only service is someone dropping your food off at your table making Tony’s a carry-out destination for me.  On this trip to Tony’s, I decided to try a couple of subs from their large range of choices.

What I Ate:

Tony’s subs can be ordered as a half ranging in price from $4.30-$4.90 or a whole usually around $9.

Stromboli Sub (half):  I am always on the lookout for a good Stromboli and recently had a good one that I reviewed at Lennie’s in Bloomington, Indiana.  The Stromboli at Tony’s was a more traditional Stromboli on a soft white bread that tasted so fresh that it reminded me of bread made in house even though Tony’s does not seem like the kind of place that would make their own.  The Stromboli had a heavy layer of Italian Sausage that had good seasoning and was ground to the texture that I like on a Stromboli.  Although the ingredients listed green peppers and onion, there was so little on the sub that the meat overpowered any taste the vegetables may have given.  The sub had a thin layer of cheese that was sufficient but the sub was very dry with only a small amount of red sauce.  All of this combined with the sub being served lukewarm on a day when they were not busy left me disappointed.

Italian Sub (half):  Although I favor a good cold Italian sub, on this day I decided to try Tony’s toasted version.  Like the Stromboli, this sub was served lukewarm at best.  I tasted the meats individually on this sub in an effort to try and determine what they actually were and what kind of quality they had individually.  I believe the meat on the top in the picture is a Capicola which comes from the shoulder or neck and usually packs nice flavor as a fattier meat.  The quality was low missing most of the flavor that one would enjoy from a good Capicola.  Below that was just a basic pepperoni and my least favorite meat, bologna.  A good quality bologna has potential but this was just some average process bologna you could buy anywhere.

Under the meat was a heavy layer of head lettuce, which for me is always a big turn off.  If that wasn’t bad enough, some of it was turning brown as it was clearly on its last day.  Under all the ingredients was a layer of what must have been 5-6 tablespoons of mayo that shot out from all sides when I took my first bite completely overpowering any other ingredient on the sub making it almost tasteless.  I have had some bad subs over the years but this one ranked among the worst I have ever had and I ended up throwing almost all of it out even after scraping off a good amount of the mayo.  Where were the onions or some vinegar and oil like you find on a good Italian like you might get at Jersey Mike’s?  Dreadful!

Would I Buy It Again?  Yes for pizza, but no for Tony’s subs. When the best part of your meal is the bread, much like the breadsticks at Olive Garden, it is not saying much for the product.  The subs were lukewarm at best when served and either had too much in condiments or too little sauce in the case of the Stromboli, and lack proportional distribution of ingredients as any good sub should have.  If you visit Tony’s, stick with the pizza.

-EatHSE

I usually go on an annual trip to San Francisco.  If you ask anyone in this country that knows anything about food, they would say that New York and San Francisco are tied for the country’s best restaurants.  I would almost tie in Las Vegas, but they are basically satellites of NY and SF restos.

So what I try to figure out, is it a must have when I go to San Francisco next year?  My first meal straight off the plane:

Ike’s Place
http://ilikeikesplace.com/

What I Got: Al Bundy $9.99.  Salami, Ham, French Dressing, Avocado and Smoked Gouda.

Btw, anyone that names a sandwich after the biggest G ever is awesome.

Man v. Food darling Ike’s Place was a must have for me when I was in SF.  Grub Grade had a few nice segments on it as well.  What makes Ike’s special is two things: 1. The garlic heavy “Dirty Sauce” and 2. The bread is baked to order.   It takes a few more minutes, but who cares?

It took us about 25 minutes to order, but the line can be an hour or so on the weekend.  Call ahead is available.  It took around 10-15 minutes to get the sandwich after ordering.

The sandwich was excellent.  Quality meats and the bread was crispy on the outside and soft and warm on the inside.  The sandwich was a good size and my uncle said that I wasn’t going to be hungry for dinner, but he was wrong.  This sandwich was about as good as it gets.

Would I Buy It Again? Yes, easily.  It’s a must have, although probably for lunch.

Barbacco
http://www.barbaccosf.com/

My beloved Aunt said that it is like tapas, but Italian.  Interior was trendy casual and packed at 5:30 on a Wednesday.  We ordered about twelve items between three people and were stuffed.  The total was around $110 with just food.  There were some flat out misfires like the pork, olive and almond dish that was oil drenched.

However, I did enjoy the roasted pork pasta:

Otherwise, 80% of the food was a let down. A cool menu and a lot of good looking items, they just need to learn how to make them.

Would I Buy It Again?  No.  A bad meal and really bad for San Francisco.

This is a continuing series, so I will cover day two in a future post.

-wibia

Goldmine Tenderloin Sandwich

The Goldmine Restaurant
7628 Southeastern Ave
Indianapolis, IN 46239
317-862-0352

The Goldmine is located on the Southeast side near Wanamaker in Franklin Township.  I’ve driven by this location many times and had never stopped in until recently.  A new ownership group took over during the summer and after some renovation, including a new outdoor patio, re-opened with aggressive daily specials, cheap beer and an emphasis on food.  A brief chat with one of the owners during a lunch visit let me know that most of the food is scratch-made in-house with many of the Italian dishes made using family recipes.

What I Had: The owner suggested an order of the Sausage Pie, made using a recipe from his grandmother and touted the hand-cut pork tenderloin as the “Best in the State.”   That sounded like a challenge to me, so in went my order.

The Sausage Pie arrived quickly and it was a surprise, finely ground sweet Italian sausage with a good hit of fennel bound with three different cheeses (I’m guessing mozzarella, parmesan and maybe Asiago) and a little bit of salami.  The revelation was the crust.  I’ve had this before at other places and the crust was heavy and bread-like.  At the Goldmine the crust was more pastry-like, flaky and buttery.  Delicious.   Accompanied by a house made marinara for dipping, we were off to a very good start.

The tenderloin sandwich can be ordered breaded or grilled in the tradition preparation or “Italian.”  I was curious what an “Italian” tenderloin sandwich would be, so that’s what I ordered.  The sandwich arrived with probably two- thirds of it hanging off the plate.  This thing was big.  The breading was comprised of panko breadcrumbs with specks of basil, oregano and parsley clearly visible.  Hot as volcanic lava, I actually cut the slab into thirds and piled it on the bun in order to make it manageable.  Deep fried nicely, the meat was cooked through while still tender and juicy and the “Italian” season actually added a pleasant change of pace to the ubiquitous Hoosier Tenderloin sandwich.

Would I Buy It Again?  YES!  At just $7.95 for the sandwich, including my $1.00 up-grade to seasoned fries instead of chips, and $4.99 for the half-order of Sausage Pie, not only was this a delicious lunch, but also one that I would consider a good deal.  A warning:  on a subsequent visit my sister-in-law ordered the same sandwich and it arrived covered with marinara and mozzarella.  There is no mention of the marinara and mozzarella on the menu but our server said that was the standard.  Weird.  So just ask the server when you order to be sure what you are getting.

-Smokin’ DB

Heine’s World Famous Roast Beef
7040 Madison Ave.
Indianapolis, IN 46227
317-782-1808

I guess that I am the “Southside” dude, so another stop at a south Indy location that might more accurately be called Southport.  When your sign declares that you serve “World Famous” anything, you are simply begging to be judged.  I did just that on a recent visit to Heine’s World Famous Roast Beef.  To be fair, let me say that in general, I am always pulling for the local mom and pop operation.  I’m not one of those anti-chain snobs, chains have their place and they do many things well.  The locally owned joints typically need to have a niche, a special item or preparation that is unique and makes you want to drive past all of the other options for your dining dollars.  At least that’s what they have to do to get mine.

What I had:  Italian Style Beef Sandwich with Fries and a drink, a combo deal for $7.99

The Italian differs from the “Standard” roast beef sandwich in that it has Italian Seasoning, whatever that is, grilled onions and mozzarella cheese.  The sandwich arrived hot on a toasted spongy roll that I really liked.  It pretty much was down hill after that.  The beef appeared to be warmed on the flat top and was seriously over-cooked.  It was grainy and tasteless, even with my Italian Seasoning.  The cheese provided a bit of binding and the onions, well, when I found one in my last bite I was reminded that the sandwich had them.  Along with 300 million other Americans, I love French fries and I will eat just about any basket set in front of me.  These were average at best.  A frozen, skin-on version that did have the crunchy exterior with tender interior that shows the person running the fry-o-lator knows his business.  Without the big basket of fries, I would have been still hungry when I left. That’s bad.

Would I Buy It Again? No!  It really does hurt me to say this but there just wasn’t anything about this meal that makes me put this place on list of regular stops.  The service was friendly and prompt and that makes it doubly hard to nix a return.  Oh what the hell, maybe next time I’ll try the tenderloin.

-Smokin’ DB

Capri Ristorante
2602 Ruth Drive
Indianapolis, IN 46240
http://www.capriindy.com/

If you ask a person in Indianapolis where the best Italian is in Indy (outside of a chain) Capri will usually be in the top 5.  Tucked away in a Wal-Mart parking lot, a lot of people go by it every day and have no clue that it is there.  Let me set the scene, two sides of the restaurant, dining room and bar.  We prefer the bar.  Servers wear a tie & vest.  Dress code is business casual, but you can get away with wearing jeans and a nice shirt.

I am amending the formal review scoring, so we will see how this goes.

What I Ate:
Appetizers:
Calamari Fritti $9.00 6/10
Tender Calamari fried in Capri`s special batter.
A little bit better than average, but there was nothing special here.

Grana Padano con Prosciutto e Olive Casareccie $9.00 8/10
Grana Padano cheese with Proscuitto Ham & Calamata Olives
Generous portion and the marinated veggies were a special treat.  Mozzarella was really good and fresh. Quality Olive Oil and a good combination of textures (crunchy and soft)(Pic Below)

Gamberoni Fra Diavolo $12.50 4/10
Spicy Shrimp in White Wine, garlic, Olive Oil, Marinara Sauce.  Hot.
I had high hopes, and this was a let down.  This dish lacked flavor, just spicy red sauce and shrimp.  The quality and size of the shrimp were average, for $12.50 for an app, it wasn’t worth it.

Salsiccia Secca Alla Calabrese $9.50 8/10
Homemade Dry Salami with Aged Provolone Cheese.
I really liked this.  Small pieces of dry salami  (a good amount of them), cheese and some of the grilled vegetables from before.  They were a touch spicy and went well with my red wine.  It was a good paring, if I was drinking water, I might try something else. (Pic Below)

Main:
Braised Lamb Shank Special $31 9.5/10
This was the star of the show.  Lamb shank was cooked to perfection with a tomato ragout.  It was a huge portion, I had a difficult time finishing it.  It came with sauteed green beans/carrots and au gratin potatoes.  This is not my first visit to Capri and anytime they have anything braised…get it! (Pic Below)

Spaghetti Bolognese $16.00 7/10
Homemade Spaghetti with ground veal in tomato sauce.
The pasta was homemade and excellent and the small veal meatballs concentrated on the meat. Some people might say this is bland, but I liked how spices took a back seat to fresh pasta, veal and a very basica tomato sauce.

Dessert:
Cannoli: 7/10.
I am getting tired of writing!  Cannoli was good, a thicker shell used here.  A lot of Cannoli shells now remind me of a flaky spring roll, this was the old school type.

Totals:
Food:  49.5/70
Service/Management: 10/10
Originality/Execution:  8/10
Overall:  67.5/90  = 75/100

Excellent service and old school Italian Classics.  A strong emphasis on quality and care, keeping things simple but executing well.  If they have something braised, get it! Homemade pasta is really good, but they need to focus on pairing it with great sauces.   This would’ve fetched an 80+, but there were a few misses of the 7 items I tasted.  However, I recommend Capri.

-wibia