For someone that LOVES Taco Bell, I was thinking recently how odd it is that I haven’t been there in a while.  So, since I was sort of craving it and saw that they had introduced a new menu item, I thought I’d make a visit over this past Labor Day weekend.

What I Got:  Chicken Flatbread Sandwich, $0.99.

To Taco Bell’s credit, they are pretty creative in finding ways to use existing ingredients that they have on hand to create new menu items.  Along those lines, they now have joined the flatbread craze and created this new “sandwich” that they are currently running on promotion.  According to their website, it consists of:

“Warm, square-cut flatbread, filled with marinated all-white-meat chicken, and a melty three-cheese blend of cheddar, pepper jack, and mozzarella topped off with flavorful chipotle sauce and melted to perfection to seal in the flavor.”

As always with Taco Bell, I can confirm that all of these things were in my sandwich (it still feels funny to me to use sandwich and Taco Bell in the same sentence), so the presentation was nailed.  The taste component was nailed as well as the flatbread was both warm and soft, the cheese was perfectly melted, the chicken was tender and the chipotle sauce taste was definitely noticeable.  Although, I will say that the chipotle sauce tasted more of sour cream to me and that’s not a positive in my book because I am not a fan of sour cream.  Still, even with that drawback, I will say that this was not bad.  It’s not earth-shattering in any shape or form, but it is a decent menu item, especially when you consider it is only 99 cents.

Would I Buy It Again?  No, probably not.  While it tastes fine and it definitely does not cost much, there is nothing inherently memorable about the experience that would get me to order this “sandwich” again.  I’d much rather stick to tacos, burritos, etc. before I went and ordered another one of these.  If you are looking to mix it up with your Taco Bell order from time to time, go ahead and order one of these.  If not and you aren’t curious, don’t waste your time.  Trust me, you’ll have no regrets.

-IndianapolisEater

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

In my recent visit to McDonald’s, I took a look at one of their Real Fruit Smoothies.  In addition to my smoothie, I also added in a meal. I didn’t want a burger and I was already feeling snooty since I ordered a smoothie at McDonald’s (LOL), so I decided to order a sandwich from their Premium Chicken line.

What I Got:  Premium Grilled Chicken Club Sandwich Combo $6.15 (large sized for 80 cents more)

The Premium Grilled Chicken Club Sandwich is made up of a grilled and seasoned chicken breast filet, hickory smoked bacon, lettuce, tomato, melted swiss cheese, and mayonnaise, all served on a honey wheat roll that was shaped somewhat like a mini sub sandwich.

When you order grilled chicken instead of fried chicken at a lot of fast food establishments, they will dry it out.  Thankfully, McDonald’s did not do this.  The breast’s flavor was tender and delicious and also had a mild peppery bite to it as well, so that was wonderful.  The bacon was soft and chewy and since I prefer my bacon that way, I really enjoyed that.  If you prefer crispy bacon over chewy bacon, you may not like this.  When they combined these two meat ingredients with the melted swiss cheese (it was extremely warm, gooey and awesome), it was a truly winning flavor combination.

The rest of the sandwich consisted of the bread, produce and mayonnaise.  The bread was fine and you could taste the honey flavoring, but it was a little hard for my liking.  The lettuce seemed slightly aged, but the tomato was fine, so the produce didn’t really add or subtract from the sandwich in any way.

The sandwich did have one negative though and that was the mayonnaise.  I don’t mind mayonnaise and I usually order my sandwiches without it for dietary reasons, but in this instance I decided to leave it on the sandwich and that was a mistake as there was WAY TOO MUCH on there and I actually had to open up the sandwich and scrape it off.  It seemed like they put an entire tablespoon on there.  Gross.

Would I Buy It Again?  Absolutely. I don’t ordinarily go to McDonald’s for anything other than breakfast, ice cream or coffee, but this sandwich may have converted me back to ordering other things off the menu.  The only problem I had with sandwich was with the mayonnaise, so next time I will make sure to ask them to take it off.

Quick rant here:  McDonald’s fries have the reputation of being some of, if not the best, fries in the fast food business and I just don’t get it.  I think they are vastly overrated and I personally consider them to be mediocre at best.  Whenever I order them, they are never crispy, they are always too greasy and their flavor is exceptionally bland.  I always have to use a ton of salt just to give them some flavor and I almost never do that with fries when I order them at other fast food joints.  Oh well, despite their blandness, at least they are better than Burger King’s (LOL, I had to work a Burger King fries blast into this post somehow).

-IndianapolisEater

KFC’s Double Down sandwich gained the company attention in the media but accounted for no more than 5% of the chains total sales.  When WIBIA gave the Double Down a no rating, he said one of the reasons was that the bun was missed.  Adding to KFC’s sandwich menu is the new Doublicious sandwich, similar to the Double Down, but this time with a bun.

What I Got:  Doublicious Sandwich $3.49

KFC is advertising this sandwich as having a sweet and savory taste.  The sweet comes from a large Hawaiian bread bun and savory, which I believe is code for salt, comes in at over 950 mg.  Covering the sandwich was a narrow fried chicken fillet, two small pieces of bacon, a piece of Monterrey cheese and a sauce that was mayonnaise based with a hint of mustard.

The sandwich had only a small amount of the sauce, the thick Hawaiian bun was dry and tasted no better than a half stale hamburger bun from the grocery store.  The chicken fillet was thin and narrow covering the middle portion of the bun leaving edges of the dry roll with nothing on them but the cheese.

Would I Buy It Again?  Never. There was little taste to a sandwich counting for nearly a whole day of allotted sodium and the sweet Hawaiian roll dominated the taste.  Like the Double Down where WIBIA said, “The Colonel’s Sauce reminded me of the sauce from an Awesome Blossom/Blooming Onion.  Nothing special.”  If the Colonel was alive today, I think he would questions whether to by a sandwich again at KFC.

-EatHSE

Jarrety’s Place
701 Main Street
Rochester, IN 46975
574-223-7101
http://www.jarretysplace.com

My wife is from Rochester, Indiana which is just about two hours north of Indy on US 31.  Since her parents still live there, we spend a fair amount of time in this small farming community.  Rochester sits on the banks of Lake Manitou, so there are a good number of out-of-town folks hitting the area for the summer.  Typically small towns that have this sort of influx seem to have a higher level of shopping and dining options than you would find if the lake were just another bean or corn field.  Rochester fits this bill.  It’s no metropolis, but Jarrety’s supplies the out of the ordinary coffees, sandwiches and desserts for Rochester.  The place has a small-town Gourmet vibe if that makes any sense at all.

What I Got:  Rustic Italian Panini. 

All the usual suspects on here:  Ham, Salami, Mozzarella, Tomato, Red Onion, Black Olives, Lettuce and Pepperoncini piled on Ciabatta that has been grilled in a sandwich press, so this is just a really good sandwich.  There’s no re-inventing the wheel here as it is just a group of good quality ingredients assembled with care and executed flawlessly.  The Ciabatta is fresh and I think is made in-house.  The sauce seems to be an oil and vinegar combo with perhaps some Italian seasoning and maybe a blast of Balsamic.  It brings just the right moisture and brightness to the sandwich and gives you a bit of relief from the relentlessly crunchy Ciabatta crust.

Would I Buy It Again? Yep.  This sandwich comes with a pickle and chips and will set you back just $7.95.  That’s a lot of food for just $8.00 bucks and a good deal I think even in a small town.  Anywhere in the greater Indianapolis Metroplex, this is a $10.95 or more meal.  Also, take note that like my brethren here at Would I Buy It Again, I am a big eater.  The photo is of a HALF sandwich which is what I usually order at Jarrety’s.  The whole sandwich takes me dangerously close to a food coma which I really try to avoid, particularly at lunch.

-Smokin DB

Bearcats Restaurant
1050 N. Senate
Indianapolis, IN
http://www.bearcatsindy.net

At the former site of the Loading Dock, Bearcats Restaurant has a nice captive crowd in the Stutz Building.  I needed a quick lunch on the northside of downtown and decided to give it a try.

The menu was lunch standard.  Salads, wraps, three burgers and all moderately priced.  However, it was a coin flip between the hand-cut tenderloin and the Reuben.

What I Ate: Dublin Reuben $7.99.  In-house roasted corned beef, kraut, rye and Thousand Island dressing

The sandwich arrived promptly with the restaurant 70% full.  At first glance, I was bummed to see the straight out of the bag frozen fries, but unfortunately it is difficult to find hand cut fries at places like this.   The good news is that they were just cooked.

My first glance at the Reuben was a lustful one with the corned beef hanging off the side.  I enjoyed the first bite and the next few came with a good amount of frustration.  The Thousand Island was not evenly spread on the Reuben, while some bites had a ton and others very little.   Same goes for the kraut.  Individually, the ingredients were better than the sum.  The corned beef was enjoyable, but I found it to be cut a little thick for my taste and it could be a little more tender.   However, I did not find one piece of fat.   The corned beef was also just plopped on my sandwich as one half had a ton and the other half left a few bites with just bread and dressing.   The Swiss was a non factor and it could’ve used a little more.

Would I Buy It Again?  No. It wasn’t better or worse than the nearby competition.   I liked the actual corned beef, but the sandwich was carelessly assembled.  My biggest problem was…the service!

Though the service was prompt, they were extremely unprofessional.   I was sitting at the bar and the bartender and servers were talking about scheduling issues, other servers, not having enough money, day care issues, etc.   I don’t mind a casual lunch place, but the reason I go to lunch is to get away from BS at work and I surely don’t want to hear about others.

-wibia

Penn Station
http://www.penn-station.com

Overall, I like Penn Station.  They are known for their Philly Cheesesteaks and honestly, it is the worst sandwich there (well, maybe artichoke).  I prefer the Italian or Pizza sub.   Wanting something a little different, I ordered a medium (nine inch) Reuben for roughly $7.00.

It is kind of a stretch to call this a Reuben.  They use their regular sub roll in place of rye bread.  There was a ton of sauerkraut and Thousand Island on the sandwich and both really masked the corned beef and the swiss cheese.

Would I Buy It Again?  Umm…probably not.  This Reuben was poorly assembled, but if I want a Reuben, it has to be on rye.  New rule:  when at Penn Station, I am going to keep ordering the Italian or the Pizza sub.

Also, the guys from the Reuben Realm agree.

This is a great website and I signed up last year to be part of their crew.  I don’t receive e-mails anymore and considering their last review was in September, I think they are finished.  Guys, if you are reading this, please re-unite the band and get the website going again!

-wibia

Dagwood’s Deli & Sub Shop
6336 Guilford Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46220
http://www.dagwoodsandwiches.com/

An institution at the WIBIA staff’s alma mater, Indiana University, Dagwood’s has been in business since 1985.  The original location was in a basement of building on Indiana Avenue in Bloomington, Indiana and was every college kid’s dream.  They’ve finally moved their main location up to street level but they still have good and HUGE submarine sandwiches.  They deliver at all hours of the night, so any late night of…ahem, studying…could be capped off with having a sandwich delivered.  When I was at IU, I ended far too many of my nights that way, but it was worth it.

Anyway, Dagwood’s stayed in Bloomington only for most of their existence, but they opened a third location in the Broad Ripple area of Indianapolis within the past few years and that’s where I went recently to enjoy one of the treasures of my college career.  I will point out that I usually order the Italian sub, but for the purposes of this blog and introducing the restaurant to the blog, I went with…

What I Got:  Whole Dagwood Supreme (their signature and most popular sandwich) $8.94

Dagwood Supreme

I ordered my sandwich as it would be found on the menu for review purposes (ordinarily I’d play with the vegetables and other toppings), but the menu version is made up of Roast Beef, Ham, Turkey, Provolone and Colby cheeses, along with lettuce, tomato, onions, and Dagwood’s Special Sauce.

Outside of the special sauce, this thing is made up of standard sub sandwich toppings so there is nothing really out of the ordinary there besides the fact that they give you a generous amount of meat.  What really makes this sandwich is the special sauce.  It’s a tangy mayonnaise based sauce that it not as creamy as mayonnaise, but shares a lot of similar properties.  What makes it different than mayo is that it is slightly more runny and not nearly as thick (you can see the sauce in the photo above) and when you contrast this tangy sauce with the coolness of the vegetables, cheese and meat, you have a sandwich that is a sub sandwich lover’s delight.

Would I Buy It Again?  Heck yes. I would buy it again because it is good and also for the nostalgic purposes of taking me back to my college days.  Like I said, I usually order the Italian sub because of personal preference of meat on that sandwich but you can’t go wrong with either sandwich.  Both of them are  just so freaking good and that’s why both of them go into the Hall of Fame.

So, if you are in Bloomington or in Broad Ripple and aren’t afraid of something that is a little bit pricey, give this place a shot and you won’t regret it.

-IndianapolisEater