Asia Bistro
7426 Fishers Station Drive
Fishers, Indiana 46038
http://www.asiabistrofishers.com

In what is becoming almost a monthly Sunday night tradition, it was time for me to venture out again for some Chinese takeout and since I was spending some time with my mom and her husband at their house, we decided to try out one of the relatively new takeout places in her area, Asia Bistro.  Since it was my first time trying the place, I decided to go with one of my “testing” Chinese dishes and got…

What I Got:  Quart of General Tso’s Chicken (comes with white rice); $8.95.

As you can see from my very “arty” photo, the dish comes with a quart of General Tso’s chicken mixed with broccoli and then a smaller pint sized container of white rice.  Visually, there’s not a whole lot there.  The chicken bits were covered in a sticky sauce and there were noticeable red pepper flakes in the sauce on the chicken (you can also see them on the broccoli in the picture above).  One thing I did notice that the chicken was particularly soft and the breading of the chicken was also soft as well.  I’m all for tender chicken, but not for mushy breading, so I was little worried as I got ready to eat this one.

My worry subsided a bit, but I can honestly say I was not particularly impressed with this version of General Tso’s chicken.  It’s not that it was overwhelmingly bad, but it wasn’t overwhelmingly good either…it was just edible.  The thick sauce was neither overly spicy, nor overly sweet, but instead somewhere in the middle.  When you order something like General’s chicken, you’d like the sauce to be one of those things (I prefer the spicier version), but this one was neither and that was a big disappointment.  As suspected, the chicken was tender and that was nice, but the breading was soft and doughy and since I like a bit of crunch in my General’s chicken, I really missed that.  All in all, this was just boring.

Would I Buy It Again?  No to the General’s Chicken and probably not to Asia Bistro.  Just too boring and not really worth a purchase.  If I want Chinese food, I don’t want to be bored by it and Asia Bistro gave me that sensation.  The name of this place is deceiving, because this is not what you think of when you think of “bistro quality” food.

As an aside on some of the other menu items, my mom and her husband got different dishes and my mom’s response to her Shrimp with Lobster Sauce was “I’ve been eating this for forty years and this is the worst I’ve ever had” and her husband’s response to his Roast Pork Lo Mein was virtually the same as my review of my food as he said his was “bland.”  Not exactly a ringing endorsement of a place, eh?

-IndianapolisEater

Mexico City Grill
11653 Fishers Station Drive
Fishers, IN 46038
http://www.mexicocitygrill.com

Saturday night brought me to a restaurant location that EatHSE has reviewed on this blog before, Mexico City Grill.  I have been to this restaurant several times before and always ordered the same thing, so I figured I would mix it up a bit this time and order something different and do a review.  I reiterate the chips and salsa part of his review, so I’ll just stick to what I got as my entree and here we go…

What I Got:  Pollo Loco; ~$9.50 (can’t remember the exact price and the menu is not posted online for me to verify).

My outstanding three years of Spanish in high school tells me that Pollo Loco loosely translates in English to “crazy chicken” so I was handed a seasoned and grilled chicken breast served with Mexican rice, lettuce, two avocado slices and pico de gallo.  Served on the side were three warm flour tortillas (not in the photo).  If you can’t tell in the picture, this chicken breast was pounded thin and when I say thin, I mean extremely thin.  Frankly, it was so thin that it was borderline comical and I’ve got to say that I was disappointed in how absurd it was.  I guess the thinness of this chicken breast was the loco part because no one in their right mind should pound a chicken breast that thin unless they are telling a joke.

I was disappointed in the flavor as well because while the seasoning was nice, the chicken breast was pounded so thin that it probably took about 7.3 seconds to grill and that was about 2.5 seconds too long because they dried this one out quickly.  When I was able to mix the chicken with the rest of the plate in a flour tortilla it was palatable, but once I ran out of tortillas and had to start eating just the chicken breast, I was pretty disappointed because not only was it dry, but it was also tough.  What a major, hardcore disappointment.

The remainder of the dish was pretty much standard stuff.  The avocado slices were nice and I always appreciate that and the rice, while fluffy did taste as if it was made in a big batch and then kept in a warmer tray for a long period of time.  Thankfully, it hadn’t dried out yet and was still flavorful with a bit of spice too it, but it was nothing to write home about.  The pico de gallo had a slight tang, but again, nothing to write home about.  All of this stuff wasn’t good, but it wasn’t bad either.  It just existed.

Would I Buy It Again?  Yes to Mexico City Grill, but no specifically to the Pollo Loco dish.  I have had good meals at Mexico City Grill (the dish with seasoned pork chunks is my go-to dish, but I can’t remember the name and the lack of menu stops me from looking it up), so I’ll just stick to the stuff that I know well and like and not venture out again next time.  I know that there is a large seafood tortilla that my mom and her husband swear by too, so they do have good dishes here.  Unfortunately, I chose one of the dishes that is not one of those good ones.  Oh well, you live and learn.

-IndianapolisEater

El Fenix
1620 E. Copeland Road
Arlington, Texas 76011
http://www.elfenix.com

This place bills itself as “the original Tex-Mex,” claiming to have started the so-called Tex-Mex movement back in 1918 and that their style has “been copied, but never duplicated.” Considering this high (self) billing, I was a bit surprised to see that lunch hour on a Sunday — with a home Cowboys game at 3:15 and a home Rangers World Series game that night, mind you — was pretty light. Both of those teams I mentioned play in venues that are within walking distance of the restaurant. I sat right down at the bar but noticed there was no wait for regular seating either. A bad omen, perhaps? Or just a haphazard coincidence? Either was possible. The atmosphere was basically exactly as you’d expect from a Tex-Mex place, and props to them for having three flat screen TVs hanging inside the bar (it was a U-shape, so each side of the bar was provided its own view of an HD NFL game).

What I Got: El Fenix Dinner; $13.99. It has: Guacamole, one cheese enchilada, one meat taco (I went ground beef; a decidedly boring choice, I know, but I like it), one soft cheese taco and two tamales topped with chili con carne. Rice and refried beans come as sides.

The problem most certainly wasn’t the quantity, as that was a pretty big portion of food for that price. It was the quality that was lacking.

Look, it wasn’t horrible. As WIBIA might say, I wasn’t offended by anything. I just…man, for saying it’s never been “duplicated” I felt an awful lot like I’ve had this meal dozens of times in the Indianapolis area. The cheese (queso, basically) that was melted over the enchilada was actually pretty good, but the chili con carne was bland and had no spice. The beef taco was a run-of-the-mill taco and the shell didn’t even have a decent crunch. I could have made it myself, except I’d at the very least actually fill the shell with a decent helping of meat instead of a minuscule spoonful. I feel like the tamales might have been done pretty well, but the chili con carne had already ruined them. Same thing for the soft cheese taco, which was also buried below the lackluster con carne (that taco is at the top of the plate, going horizontally, under the sauce). But, really, what’s the point of having a cheese soft taco unless what covers it makes it worthwhile?

Would I Buy It Again? No, I wouldn’t. As I said above, nothing was offensive or worthy of being sent back, but it was average at best. Considering I’m an Indiana resident saying that about a Tex-Mex place in freaking Texas, that’s pretty bad. I also didn’t care for the non-flexibility of the combinations. A lot of the stuff I wanted was listed on different dishes, and I couldn’t go a la carte. For example, I’m not a huge fan of guacamole, but chose this one because the offerings with sour cream (which I prefer) didn’t have enough items I really wanted. I don’t understand what the point is of having like twenty different combinations if you can’t be sure that all of them will cater to every customer. If I’m a boring Midwesterner who only wants some combination of burritos, enchiladas and tacos with sour cream and not guac, why can’t I do that? I wouldn’t even be picky on the meats in that case. Why not just assign prices to an a la carte menu with all these items? It saves menu space and each customer can happily choose an item. But it’s cool, I won’t have the issue again, because I’m not going back. I should have found it a bit curious that it was the closest Tex-Mex place to my hotel but my concierge — who knew I was going on foot — didn’t say a word about it when I asked for Tex-Mex restaurants (I ended up going anyway because I was pressed for time that day).

-Show

Pappasito’s
321 W. Road to Six Flags
Arlington, TX 76011
Menu: http://pappaspizza.net/images/dyn/menus/menu_208.pdf

Pappasito’s came very highly recommended by my boy Sammy (aka the concierge, who I bothered all four days I was in Arlington).

It’s interesting here to note that Pappasito’s is under the same umbrella of Pappadeaux, which I’ve already reviewed. In fact, Pappas Restaurants appears to be a power down in Texas that I’d never heard of (imagine that, coming from someone who has never lived outside Indiana, huh?). Pappadeaux is their “seafood kitchen” and this one is their “cantina.” So it was Tex-Mex. Just like Pappadeaux, the atmosphere was great. TVs all around; good, friendly service and patrons just having a good time. It might be cliche, but people were most certainly a lot nicer in Texas than in the northeast, for example.

What I Got: Ribeye and Diablo Shrimp, $25.95: “Ribeye topped with grilled peppers & onions with Diablo shrimp & choice of enchilada.”

I went with a ground beef enchilada, and thankfully it was worlds better than the El Fenix variety. Really good flavor and cheesiness, the ground beef was juicy, the enchilada sauce was fresh, etc. I was a big fan of this.

Everything — including, most importantly, the steak — was cooked properly. I went medium rare on the steak and they did it to perfection.

The ribeye was really good, but I’ve had a really good ribeye many times. The onions and peppers didn’t really add much “Mex” to it for me. Don’t get me wrong, I certainly enjoyed it. I’m just saying that my steak wasn’t really enhanced at all by the toppings. It was a ribeye and I’m admittedly a sucker for those, but this one wasn’t special.

On the shrimp, I’m not sure if the presentation was lazy or if it was really meant to be like this for a specific reason. I actually googled “diablo shrimp” to find out and didn’t find anything like this. They simply took each shrimp with the shell and legs still intact and split it down the middle. You actually should be able to see a few of the legs in the picture (look lower left, over the enchilada … the legs are burnt black). Also, since they cooked the shrimp on the grill in a split shell, the meat stuck to the shell and I couldn’t really get all of it out without eating leg/shell, too, which I really didn’t want to do. What meat I did get out was seasoned well and tasted really good. I just wish it was easier to eat.

Refried beans and Mexican rice were the sides and they were good. They tasted freshly made and were a nice complement.

Would I Buy It Again? Yes to the restaurant, no to what I got. I’m a big accountability guy and so I’m going to prove it by blaming myself here. This was a good meal. A damn good one, in fact. I didn’t really have any huge complaints, as the ribeye was good and the shrimp were fine (again, logistical issues, but that didn’t ruin the meal). But I was at a cantina. My mea culpa is that I hadn’t had a steak on the trip yet and if you straight up asked me what my favorite food is, I’d say a medium rare ribeye. It was like day six of the trip and I caved. I shouldn’t have, but I did. Not only that, but the other option for shrimp with the ribeye was brochette and I’d already had that just two days earlier. Considering it’s also under the “Pappas” umbrella, I assumed it was the same one I’d already had and passed for the sake of variety. But knowing what I know now, man, the brochette was so much better than what I got this time around.

I scroll through the menu now and wonder why I didn’t have enough foresight (or fortitude?) to try something like the gordita trio or filet fajitas with crabcake-stuffed shrimp. Or, really, any of the fajitas or combinations. Those all sound so enticing now and I’m beating myself up over the fact that I passed on them. This one was on me, so do not punish Pappasito’s for my transgression. I’m very confident the food is awesome here and I just didn’t serve myself well. Hell, as I said, I messed up and still had a good meal. That’s pretty tough to do in lots of places.

- Show

Cancun Mexican Restaurant
6714 East 82nd Street
Indianapolis, Indiana  46250
http://cancun-indy.com/

It seems like I’m always on a quest to find a decent Mexican restaurant right near my house.  There are some up in Fishers and there are some farther south toward Broad Ripple, but I seemingly live in the dead zone of “authentic” Mexican restaurants.  Sure, there are plenty of the strip mall variety places that all have the same menu, but none of them are particularly understanding.  Continuing my quest recently, I decided to stop in at Cancun on a Sunday afternoon to check it out.  There was a Colts game that day, so I understand the lack of customers, but I was the ONLY person in the restaurant for my entire meal and I was there after 12:00 p.m.  Odd.

As with any Mexican restaurant, your meal starts with chips and salsa and it’s sometimes a good gauge of how your meal is going to turn out.  After eating these, I was not encouraged.  Sure the salsa had a little zing to it, but it didn’t taste fresh at all.  Honestly, this tasted straight out of a jar or at least like something that was made well in advance.  The chips tasted straight out of the bag too.  So, after the disappointing start, it was time for my meal.

What I Got:  Sonora Shredded Beef Burrito; $8.65.  Burrito consisting of shredded beef, cheese, refried beans and rice topped with cheese and salsa rachera.  Served with a side of refried beans (I had them substitute Spanish rice).

The menu said this was a giant burrito and it certainly was that.  Outside of its size, that’s about all it had going for it.  The shredded beef was slightly overcooked and chewy, the salsa ranchera was flavorless, the rice was obviously made well in advance and everything else was pretty much standard stuff that would would expect to see in a burrito.  To top it all off, it was served to me only lukewarm as well, so I had to eat fast before it turned ice cold.  Granted, I should have had them re-heat it for me, but I know that would have just consisted of them throwing it in a microwave and I wasn’t interested in that.

Would I Buy It Again?  Absolutely not.  Despite Cancun being a free-standing building on its own, this place is nothing more than standard strip mall Mexican food and as I said, I am not looking for that.  I want authenticity and more importantly, flavor. I guess I should just learn my lesson and drive up to Fishers and go to Riviera Maya or Mexico City Grill to fulfill my cravings.

-IndianapolisEater

China Wok
9546 Allisonville Road, Suite 135
Indianapolis, IN 46250

I love Chinese food and especially love it when I find a good Chinese takeout place.  I’ve reviewed Hong Kong Cuisine before, but since it is a slight hike from my house, I don’t go there often.  Recently, I realized that it had been quite a while since I had eaten Chinese food and was craving it, so I decided to get some for dinner.  Sadly, my go-to place near my house had closed since the last time I had ordered takeout (this has been several months), so I was on the lookout for a new place nearby and that led me to China Wok.

We’ve discussed on this blog previously how there are certain Chinese menu items that allow you to guage how good a takeout place is going to be based on how they prepare certain “staples” of any Chinese menu.  Since I was trying out a new place, I stuck to one of those staples and ordered…

What I Got:  General Tso’s Chicken dinner combination; $6.50.  Served with pork fried rice and an egg roll.

One of the perils of writing for a food blog is that sometimes you are so hungry that you forget to take a picture before you tear into your food.  As you can see, this was the case with me this time as I ravenously devoured half of my meal before I realized I had not yet taken a picture.  Fortunately, I was able to salvage one before I ate the entire meal.

In terms of taste, don’t let my speed of eating fool you into thinking this was the best Chinese takeout I’ve ever had, because it wasn’t.  Still, it was tasty.  The General’s Chicken, while not perfectly tender (it was slightly overcooked actually) had that correct mix of spice in the sauce, crunch in the breading and overall flavor that you enjoy in Chinese food and especially General Tso’s chicken.  It wasn’t overwhelmingly spicy, but it had enough of a kick to make you feel it, which is just the way I like it.

As for the rice and egg roll, well, they were just run-of-the-mill types of stuff.  Nothing too outstanding and nothing too awful. 

Would I Buy It Again?  For Chinese takeout and specifically General Tso’s chicken, yes I would.  Like I said, the food was not outstanding or even particularly, but it was very edible and quite economical considering the healthy amount of food that I received.  Heaven knows that I’ve certainly had worse food and paid worse prices.  Next time, I think I’ll order another one of those “staples” (Lo Mein, Szechuan Beef, etc.) and see how they fare in that respect.

-IndianapolisEater

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

Pancho’s Taqueria
7023 Michigan Rd
Indianapolis, IN 46268
http://www.panchosmexicantaqueria.com

If I had a list of my favorite foods that I like to eat, burritos would be firmly planted towards the top.  Even a bad burrito can be palatable.  When I talk about Mexican food in Indy, I always get recommendation to go to Pancho’s Taqueria.  Indianapolis Eater already gave the Allisonville location a try and gave it a WIBIA-Yes rating.  I tried it about three years ago and it didn’t leave any lasting memories, so I thought that I would take another swing at it.

What I Ate: Lunch Special #12 – Burrito with sour cream and lettuce.  Drink was included; $7.90 with tax.

Now, this was a little misleading.  A sign on the front said they had specials from $4.99, but I didn’t see any lunch specials for that amount.  Also, the sign said that all lunch specials were served with refried beans and rice.

As you can see, no beans and rice.  When I opened my burrito, there were beans and rice inside, so I would assume that is what the sign meant?  Kind of confusing.  Pancho’s has a salsa bar with seemingly freshly made pico and four different types of salsa.  I tried the pico and the “salsa for chips.”  Looking at my plate, I thought…what am I going to do with iceberg lettuce topped with sour cream and a nasty looking tomato?  I opened the burrito and dumped it all in and with a full scoops of the above mentioned salsa.  The burrito shell was slightly grilled and made it difficult to reassemble with the increased amount of ingredients.

Pancho’s gives you the ability to choose from about seven different meats.  Normal fare includes chicken, steak, ground beef, chorizo, carnitas, tripe, etc.  The carne asada (steak) was cooked well and cut into very small pieces.  I picked a few pieces out to taste them outside of the burrito and I found it to be a little bland.  However, the meat was gristle free and had very little fat.  The beans and rice were filler.  If you have had ‘em once, I guess.  The pico brightened it up a little and the salsa made the burrito a little too runny.

Would I Buy It Again?  No. This was a boring burrito.  $7.90 for a burrito and a drink is about as much as Chipotle and I am not sure if I would pick Pancho’s over Chipotle.  For burritos or tacos, I prefer neighboring El Pastorcito or even El Taco Torro.  It wasn’t a bad burrito and you should give it a try to see if you are with the masses.  I found Pancho’s to be a step above the El Rodeo’s of the world, but a step below the burrito elite in Indy.

-Wibia