Nick’s English Hut
423 East Kirkwood Avenue
Bloomington, IN 47408
http://www.nicksenglishhut.com

If you went to Indiana University like a lot of the writers on this blog, including me, you are familiar with Nick’s English Hut.  Opened in 1927, it’s probably the most famous bar in all of Bloomington.  The bar/restaurant is filled with old photos, trinkets, great memories and all sorts of other various nostalgia.  Nick’s is famous for many things, including a drinking game called Sink the Biz, their pizzas and their most famous sandwich (which I ordered)…

What I Got:  Half Traditional Stromboli, $6.95.  Served with sweet pickles.

As you can see in the picture above, Nick’s Stromboli is served on a toasted sub bun and includes sausage (served in very small crumbles), mozzarella cheese, onions and Nick’s pizza sauce.  A half Stromboli, like I got, is about six inches long and is piled high with a TON of toppings, especially sausage.  So much so that all the sausage falls out of the sandwich as you try to eat it and you end up having to finish all the sausage with a fork or if you don’t mind looking like a wild animal, your fingers.

As far as taste is concerned, it’s delicious.  Nick’s advertises this as pizza on a bun, and really, they aren’t lying.  The sausage has a slight kick and the sauce is rich and flavorful.  The sliced onions don’t do a lot for me, but they do add a nice flavor to the sandwich.  The only gripe, albeit a very minimal one, I have with the sandwich is that they don’t put a ton of sauce on it.  As a tomato sauce worshipper, having this thing doused in sauce would make it even better, but that’s more of a personal preference than something that is lacking from the sandwich.

The side of pickles (think bread and butter style pickles) are a nice compliment for those that like pickles, like I very much do.  I think you are supposed to pile them on your sandwich, but I just eat them individually like a wild animal and often times find myself taking the uneaten pickles from my friends sandwiches and devouring myself.  They are that good.

Would I Buy It Again?  Of course I would.  I’ve had this Stromboli so many times in my life that it is not even funny.  I will continue have it as my go-to order at Nick’s and honestly, I don’t know that I would ever consider ordering anything else.  Okay, maybe the pizza, but that’s about it.

So, if you are ever in Bloomington and are looking for some good food and nostalgia, give Nick’s and the Stromboli a try.  You will not regret it.

-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

Tomato Pie
9611 North College Ave
Carmel, IN 46280
http://www.tomatopiebistro.com

Pizza is a magical thing.  It’s a dish that delights the young and the old and it can be prepared in numerous ways with very different outcomes.  And like the saying goes:  even when it’s bad, it’s still pretty good.  With this in mind, I’m always excited to try a new pizza place.  One place I’ve driven by several times on my way to Broad Ripple is Tomato Pie on College Avenue right near the Interstate 465 overpass.  I’d read a few good comments about it and wanted to try it out. 

What I Got:  A friend and I went for lunch and I had a pepperoni pizza ($10.50 for a ten-inch pizza) while my friend had a stromboli ($8.50). 

The pizza was a reasonable size for a single person and had a nice thin crust.  The sauce was slightly sweet and maybe a bit spicy as well.  The cheese appeared to be fairly generic mozzarella and they were generous with the pepperoni.  It was pretty good pizza, but not good enough to draw me in again just for the pizza.  There are other styles of pizza in town I prefer more, so I probably wouldn’t head here just for that.  I also think it’s a bit overpriced for a lunchtime meal.  For example, Some Guys has a pizza/salad lunch combo for $7.95.  Pizzology also has a lunch special for a measly seven dollars that includes a pizza, salad and a soda.  Given a choice, I think I would go to one of those places instead for both the taste and the value.

My friend remarked on how good his stromboli was and that he really enjoyed it.  It came with plain potato chips (like a basic bagged Lay’s chip) and appeared to have a good variety of stuff inside it with large chunks of pepper and sausage (heartburn at no extra charge!).  They also have a meatball sub in a similar style that I’d like to try in a future visit.

Would I Buy It Again?  Maybe.  I would go there with someone else if that’s what they had a hankering for, but I think I would try one of their pasta dishes next time.  They feature lasagna, meatballs with artichoke, seafood ravioli and several other pastas that looked good.  I would like to try one of those because the only thing better than finding a good pizza place is finding a good lasagna place. 

Outside of the food, the service was also quick and courteous.  There was nothing wrong with the restaurant or with our food, but at the same time, it wasn’t a standout.  Given what I had, I’d give them another chance with a pasta dish.

-BigRedEater

Lennie’s
1795 East 10^th St.
Bloomington, IN 47408

http://www.lenniesgourmetpizza.com/

Facebook Page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bloomington-IN/Lennies/156042808737?ref=sgm

If you live in Bloomington, are an IU student or alum, you have probably been to Lennie’s.  Located across from the Ashton Dormitory that is being completely rebuilt, it is a meeting place for family, friends and professors in the heart of the Indiana University campus.  Lennie’s is one of the many countless restaurants in Bloomington that adds to making it one of the greatest college towns in the United States.  Recently, I had a chance to visit Lennie’s to see how little things had changed since I graduated from IU eleven years ago.

What I Got:

Drink:  Vision Weiss (Imperial Pint 22oz. $4.75).  Lennie’s and the Bloomington Brewing Company are owned by the same owner and the beer selection adds to make the Lennie’s experience even more unique.  The Vision Weiss is a summer ale with a banana, clove and vanilla flavor.  You may be thinking it sounds weak, but it provides a lite summer taste with punch and comes highly recommended.  For only $9.75, you can order the half gallon Growler unique to Lennie’s and the Bloomington Brewing Company.  IU was not named the #1 party school for nothing.

Roasted Garlic Focaccia ($6.50):  The focaccia is homemade and is baked with garlic, rosemary, caramelized onions and kosher salt.  It is served with marinara sauce, a roasted garlic bulb that is so soft that you can smear it across the top of the bread and some extra virgin olive oil to top it off.  It’s a great appetizer for four people to split and share at the table.

Stromboli: ($10.25):  There are five different versions you can order, but I went with the Supreme including Italian sausage, pepperoni, green pepper, white onions and mushrooms.  I am not sure why it is called a Stromboli because it is constructed as a calzone.  The “Stromboli” was baked to perfection and I enjoyed the pocket it created to hold all of the filling.  Unfortunately, it was a bit dry and needed some cheese.  Although I still enjoyed it, I was disappointed in the fact that I was looking forward to a true Stromboli and not a calzone.

Mushroom & Chicken Tortellini ($15.00):  This dish is extremely rich with the cheese filled tortellini and alfredo spinach sauce mixed with fresh mushrooms and a herb roasted chicken that was tender and retained its seasoning through the richness of the dish.  It is baked and the cheese on the top creates a crust that tops the dish off.  A great choice for a main course and you will get two meals out of this $15 portion.

Would I Buy It Again?  Yes, 100%. I have only nominated one restaurant, another Bloomington favorite, Dagwood’s Sub Shop for the WIBIA Hall of Fame and Lennie’s comes close to earning a nomination.  Everything I have had there I would buy again, including some of their salads and excellent pizzas that I did not review.  Saving room for their homemade dessert is a must and I just did not have the room this time.

I like my coffee strong and Lennie’s delivers a stout tall cup of Joe that goes well with any of their desserts, making Lennie’s a meeting place for many student groups and professors.  Service is usually excellent provided by some of IU’s best students.  Lennie’s is small and long waits can occur during peak meal times.

If you are visiting Bloomington, want to support local business and are having a difficult time choosing a place to eat, Lennie’s has a little bit of everything for everyone.

-EatHSE