Stacked Pickle
12545 Old Meridian Suite 150
Carmel, Indiana  46032
http://www.stackedpickle.com/ 

Stacked Pickle has been around for a few years and is close to my new hangout.   Simple menu of burger, a few entrees, sandwiches, wings, etc…you get the point.  They have good specials, like a $5 burger on Monday night, so check out their website.  They are expanding to Fishers, so watch out.

What I ate:   The Cuban; $6.99.  Pulled pork, ham, pickle, mustard and onions on a hoagie roll.

When I think of a Cuban, I think of pressed bread.   This was the wrong type of bread here.  However, it stated it in the description and I decided to forge ahead anyway.  My bad.  To be honest with you, it was pretty bad.   There was a lot of meat, but all of it lacked flavor.  The mustard punched through everything else.  There was a lot of pulled pork, but very little ham.   Their fries are pretty tasty, nothing fancy, but they always hit the spot.

Would I Buy It Again?   NO to the Cuban, but yes to the Stacked Pickle.   The Cuban is a total miss on a decent menu.  I have been here at least five times and the food has always been average to pleasant and the service is always solid.  It is not going to expand your culinary pallet, but for a neighborhood bar, it is not offensive.  Also, if you are single, this place opens up after nine and on the weekends.

-wibia

Arby’s
http://www.arbys.com

Arby’s sent me a gift card to give their new sandwich a try and let you guys know what I think.  Let’s skip the normal rambling that occupies this space and go straight to the grub.

What I Ate:  Arby’s Cool Deli Sandwich; $6.99 for a combo.

The sandwich has USDA Choice roast beef, Swiss cheese, banana peppers, pickles, lettuce, tomato, red onion, a sub viniagrette and mayo on an Italian roll.

I was starving and the sandwich felt heavier than a foot long from Subway.  At first bite, I noticed that the beef was really cold and I was surprised by the quality.  There was a lot going on here and I liked the banana peppers and that the produce was surprisingly fresh for fast food (especially considering this is not a core product).

Here is my problem with the sandwich:  too much fat.  Cheese, mayo and viniagrette.  Pick one and you would be fine.  Honestly, I would be happy if they took the above mentioned items off and put a swipe of horsey sauce on it.  Also, the pickle and beef combination was odd to me.

Would I Buy It Again?  If I customized it, yes.  I liked the roll and the beef, however, there was too much mayo and cheese on it.  If I am looking for a sub sandwich and can only choose from fast food, this is not a bad choice.

First to comment gets $20 from Arby’s for you to give it a try.  Send me an e-mail with your physical address.

-wibia

Slippery Noodle Inn
372 South Meridan Street
Indianapolis, Indiana  46225
http://www.slipperynoodle.com/index2.cfm

I love this segment because it gives me the excuse to eat at least one tenderloin each month.   Great success!   I am a big music fan and a bad ass musician in my spare time.  Recently, I went to go see the extremely awesome Blues/Soul guitarist/vocalist Tab Benoit.   The show was outstanding and I would highly recommended it to yall! Back to the food.

What I Ate:  Breaded Tenderloin; $7.00.  Served with chips and a pickle.

My first thought was, “wow, this is kind of small for an Indiana tenderloin.”  It looks big in the picture, but the plate was pretty small.  The produce was really good.  Lettuce, onions, ripe tomatoes and thick-cut crunchy pickles, so it was a nice effort.   The bun was nicely toasted as well.  So far so good.

The tenderloin was pretty tasty too.  It was pounded a little, but left pretty thick.  I would say that it was the thickness of a normal chicken sandwich.  It was juicy and the seasoning had a little bit of salt in it as well.    I didn’t find any gristle and found it to be of decent quality considering this is bar food.

Would I Buy It Again?  I am torn here.  It wasn’t a bad tenderloin, but there was nothing going on here that I can’t get anywhere else.  Plus, it was pretty small when comparing it to other tenderloins in town.  It reminded me of a tenderloin that they would serve to an uptown girl that wanted to stick her toe in pool of the common people’s food without jumping off the deep end.

If I am eating a tenderloin, I barely want to see the plate.  I want it about as big as a small pizza.  I want it to stare me in the face and say, “bring it champ, you can’t finish me.”

In sports terms, I was Nolan Ryan and this tenderloin was Robin Ventura.  No match.

-wibia

Bellacino’s Pizza & Grinders
12590 North Meridian Street
Carmel, IN 46032
http://www.orderbellacinos.com/

Bellacino’s is a small pizza and grinder franchise with several locations throughout the city and also throughout the country.  Along with pizzas and grinders (obviously), they also offer salads, pastas, wings and a few other smaller items.

Spurred on by a recent Eversave (one of the many growing number of clones/competitors for Groupon) offer for the Carmel location, I decided to give it a shot for my first visit ever.

What I Got:  Reuben Grinder Combo (served with 22 ounce drink and cole slaw); $8.34 + tax.

The Bellacino’s Reuben consists of “Tender corned beef piled high, lots of sauerkraut, Thousand Island dressing and cheese.”  Being the amateur Sherlock Holmes that I am, I can confirm that all those toppings were on the grinder, although  the descriptions of the amount of corned beef and sauerkraut may have been a bit of an exaggeration.  It was definitely on there in a fair amount, but nothing about those amounts could be considered “piled high” or “lots.”  Oh well, I’m splitting hairs.  The sandwich also came with a pickle in addition to the cole slaw that came as my side (not pictured).

As far as taste was concerned, they nailed this one pretty well.  The corned beef was tender and flavorful, the sauerkraut had that wonderful bite to it that good sauerkraut seems to have.  The Thousand Island dressing was just regular dressing out of a bottle, not that I was expecting anything different.  What added an interesting and positive twinge to the sandwich was the fact that Bellacino’s oven bakes their grinders.  The oven baking melted the cheese, added a crispiness to the sauerkraut and made the bread delightfully crunchy.  When you mixed all these things together, you come up with a pretty solid grinder.  The only negative, if you can call it that, was that this sandwich was very messy, so grab some extra napkins.  As more of a personal preference too, the addition of spicy deli mustard would go along way to making this grinder even more of a winner.  Overall, it wasn’t the best Reuben that I’ve had in my life, but it was a very satisfying Reuben and that’s all I was really asking for when I went there. 

The cole slaw was homemade as well and was fresh (they had to make it for me since I was one of the first customers of the day).  It was crunchy and added a nice cool refreshing taste to the tangy taste that was brought on by the sauerkraut and Thousand Island dressing of the Reuben.

Would I Buy It Again?  Yes, I would.  Bellacino’s isn’t exactly near my neighborhood, so I don’t think I’ll go there often, but if there is one in  your neighborhood, I would encourage you to visit.  They have an extensive grinder menu and it looks like their variety covers pretty much all bases.  Give it a shot if you are ever looking for a pizza, grinder or both!

-IndianapolisEater

Wendy’s
http://www.wendys.com/

I’ve never publicly expressed this opinion before, but I really do feel that Wendy’s has the best breaded chicken sandwich in the fast food market.  I think the quality of the meat is first-rate and they manage to keep it surprisingly juicy.  So when I saw window stickers go up for “Flavor-Dipped Chicken” at Wendy’s, my interest was piqued.  I recall seeing the “Flavor-Dipped” schtick a few years back but couldn’t recall ever trying it.

What I Got: BBQ Flavor-Dipped Chicken Sandwich; $4.50-$4.89 (somewhere thereabouts).

For no reason in particular, I chose the BBQ bath for my breaded chicken fillet.  The pickle and onion adornments seemed appropriate, albeit sparse.  As you can see, my sandwich was put together hastily and proved quite hard to eat during a lunch break at work.  I found myself rushing through the sandwich so I could start cleaning myself up.  Sauce on my hands, sauce on my face and sauce on my shirt.  The sauce also did a number on the breading, turning it soft and mushy.  Without more than two slivers of onion, I really couldn’t taste much BUT the sauce after a while.

Would I Buy It Again?  Nope. This sloppy mess costs dangerously close to $5 and I can’t figure out why.  I love BBQ anything so I guess it tasted all right, but it ranks very low on the value scale.

A couple of years ago, the WIBIA team would offer an “Instead” suggestion and I’d like to bring that back up for this review.

Instead:  Try the Asiago Ranch Chicken Club (with the spicy fillet).  Just like the flavor dipped sandwiches, it is in the $5 range but it is worth every penny.  The bacon, cheese and sauce are a great addition to the already stellar spicy chicken fillet sandwich.  I highly recommend it.

-Indy Food Geek

Lenny’s Sub Shop
http://www.lennys.com/

We’ve been to Lenny’s several times throughout the blog’s history.  First, wibia was there for the Italian Sub and the second time was wibia again with the Philly Cheesesteak.  I recently got a coupon for a free sub from Lenny’s, so I made my first visit for a review (I have been to Lenny’s before) and got something a little different from the previous reviews.

What I Got:  Half Club Sub; free with my coupon on this visit, but it usually runs in the $5-$6 range.

I had been a few years since I had been to a Lenny’s, but I always had basically considered it the same thing as Jersey Mike’s with one noticeable exception:  Hot Pepper Relish.  Lenny’s has it and Jersey Mike’s doesn’t and that is what makes the biggest difference between the two.  The pepper relish at Lenny’s is a gamechanger in my book and puts it way over top in comparison to Jersey Mike’s or any other comparable sub shops.

In this visit, I had them slather my sandwich in it in addition to having it prepared the traditional way (onions, lettuce, tomato, pickles, relish, orgeano, oil) and I have to say it was delicious.  It was the middle of March and the produce wasn’t in season, but it was fresh enough to provide an excellent compliment to the provolone, ham, turkey and bacon.  Back to the important stuff though…the relish…this makes the sandwich.  It’s hot enough that it is going to let you know that it is there and give your sandwich a little kick, but it is also mild enough that if you have any sort of stomach for hot/spicy foods, you aren’t going to be too bothered by it.  Basically, it’s the greatest thing ever.  Ha!  If you don’t have the stomach for hot or spicy foods, I would recommend that you stay away.

Would I Buy It Again?  Heck yes!  This is honestly my favorite cold sub right now and it upsets me that the nearest Lenny’s to my house is at least twenty minutes away on a light traffic day.  That seems a little far to drive for a sub, but it’s a drive that I’m willing to make periodically from now on.  It’s just that good.

If you have a Lenny’s in your area and the competition is between Lenny’s and Jersey Mike’s, chooose Lenny’s every time.  Both are very good, but Lenny’s is just a little better.  If you have other shops in your area and want to compare, well, I’ll leave that up to you.  Just know that the hot pepper relish is pretty tough to beat.

-IndianapolisEater

Jersey’s Cafe
13710 N. Meridan Street
Carmel, IN 46032
http://www.jerseyscafe.com/

After finding out that Jersey’s Café was on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, I decided to stop by and give it a try.  First, they have been open for 13 years?  Really?  Best kept secret in the Indy, I guess.  I looked at plenty of reviews on Urbanspoon and people seem to like it, but said the food can take a while. 

Right when you walk in, there is a sign that mentioned that food could take 20 minutes to an hour because of the increased volume from Triple D.  The restaurant probably has 20 or so tables, of which, 4 were empty.  The interior reminded me of McAllister’s with a bunch of Jersey things hanging up.  The odd part is that there is a corner of the restaurant that has a few shelves floor to ceiling of teddy bears.  It appears that they were for sale, but I was thinking…why would they sell bears here instead of using this area for more tables?  Odd.

Before I start talking about the food, they have two different menus.  One menu appears to be regular deli sandwiches and breakfast.  The other menu is cheesesteak and hoagies.  There were over 40 variation of cheseteaks and over 80 variations of hoagies and sandwiches.  It took me at least 10 minutes to get through the entire menu.

What I Ate:  Philly Cheesesteak (chips and a pickle); $8.99.

American cheese, steak, onions, mushrooms and peppers. Pretty simple, but all things that I like, on a bun!  The sandwich arrived in 20 minutes, which I was thankful of considering I might have waited for an hour based on the sign.

The sandwich itself was really good.  The steak was cut a little thick for my liking, but it had a ton of cheese on it and I liked the bread it was on.  I could’ve used a little more seasoning as I put just a touch of salt on it and some pepper.  Sometimes I put a smear of mayo my cheesesteak because it can get a little dry, but not here.  Everything here –  just worked and I really liked my sandwich.

Would I Buy It Again?  Yes, but with a few reservations.

What I liked:
*This is the best cheesesteak in Indy.
*The Hot Hoagies looked awesome, I am going to get one of those next time.
*Good value.
*Friendly service.
*The only great sandwich place in Carmel.

What I didn’t like:
*Long wait times to make a sandwich.
*Hard chairs didn’t make the wait time comfortable.
*Long menu.
*Creepy stuffed Teddy Bear corner with those beady little eyes watching me down my sandwich.

I am really not sure what to say about this place.  If Penn Station can make a cheeseteak in 5 minutes, then am I crazy to think that 10 – 20 minutes max is acceptable?  Good Food and Quick Food does not have to be mutually exclusive.  I can get a torta in 5 minutes in at any of my good taquerias…and they taste awesome. 

But, who am I to say?  They have been open for 13 years, so they must be doing something right.  If they could consistently push out food within 20 minutes maximum, I would be a frequent customer.  Good food is worth waiting for and I would sacrifice speed for quality, but one hour for a sandwich is not going to happen.  My two year old would never make it and that doesn’t leave me enough time to go there for lunch.  It seems like if they took their menu under 100+ sandwiches, then they just might be able to streamline the process a little bit.

Still, Jersey’s is surely worth a try – whenever you have the time.

-wibia

Einstein Bros. Bagels
http://www.einsteinbros.com

Einstein’s is my favorite morning place to stop and get a bagel.  No other bagel maker pulls off the Everything bagel with the right combination of garlic, onion and salt like Einstein’s.  The coffee is solid and the service is always fast for me on my way to work.  I recently got some coupons in the mail for some of their lunch items that I have never tried, so I decided to stop in and see if lunch was as good as breakfast.

What I Ate:  Club Mex Signature Sandwich combo; the combo includes their red potato salad but no drink for $6.75.  At $8 bucks with a drink for lunch, this combo was going to have to have to be top notch in taste and quality to earn a Yes rating.

Einstein’s gives you a choice to order your sandwich with a French bread, a regular bagel or bagel thin.  Looking at the ingredients of the Club Mex which included roasted turkey, bacon, pepper jack cheese, ancho mayo and veggies, I decided to go with the Everything Bagel as my bread choice.  The sandwich was dry and lacking enough ancho mayo to overcome how dry the bagel was.  I did not choose to get my bagel toasted and as you can see from the picture, it was overbaked when originally made leaving a burnt taste.  The turkey was no better than average grocery story turkey lunch meat but there was enough to make the sandwich filling.  The vegetables tasted fresh and ripe tomatoes in Indiana in March that are any good was a surprise.

The highlight of the meal ended up being the potato salad.  The red potatoes were not overcooked were firm and chunky as they should be in a good potato salad.  The potatoes were not drowning in the mayo and it had a good pepper and salt seasoning that required nothing additional to make this a good side to what was a disappointing sandwich.

Would I Buy It Again?  No. At $8 for a combo that included a drink, the product was disappointing regardless of whether the bagel itself had not been burnt.  I got my combo with a $3 off coupon making it $5 and even at that price, I’d rather have Subway, which I am not a fan of, for the price.  Stick to breakfast at Einstein’s.

-EatHSE