#6 Fair Oaks Farms - Grilled Cheese!

See how this all started here: http://bkatranch.blogspot.com/2012/01/bc-and-kathies-excellent-adventure-to.html

Number 6? Yeah, I think this was sandwich number 6. I must admit they are starting to run together even at number 6. Whenever we try to list what ones we have done, we tend to forget one. I have no idea what it will be like when we are into double digits.

We were taking our nieces to Chicago for the weekend so Fair Oaks Farms grilled cheese was a great choice because it was on the way and everyone would love the choice.

Cows being milked!

The list states “Enjoy a world-famous grilled cheese sandwich with your choice of Swiss, Havarti pepper, mild cheddar, or a different cheese offered each month in the café of this family friendly farm.” I really did not need the list to tell me about this place or this sandwich. Fair Oaks is a working dairy farm just outside of Rensselaer, Indiana. It is a nice “tourist” destination. They make and sell all types of dairy products right onsite. They have a huge outdoor playground, a center to watch calves being born, an activity center, you can tour the dairy barns and watch them milk the cows. It is one of the neatest places in Indiana and it is only about 2 hours from Indy, straight north on I-65.

We arrived right when they opened and off season, so no lines or crowds to deal with. I ordered the Havarti pepper grilled cheese and a cup of chili. The ladies ordered grilled cheese, chili, or a combination of both. We all, except for Kathie, had milk! The grilled cheese arrived nice and hot, just oozing cheese goodness. This is another one that you think “grilled cheese? I do that at home.” Trust me, you do not do grilled cheese like they do grilled cheese. It is FRESH cheese from cows that are right there on the farm, and then sandwiched between some nice Ciabatta bread. The whole thing is put in the sandwich press for a great Panini style sandwich of greatness. What makes this sandwich perfect beside the fresh cheese is the amount of cheese. It is a balance to have a good amount of cheese that all melts without over browning the bread. They know the amount to use, and no, they won’t tell me. I knew the grilled cheese was great going into this, but the hidden gem was the chili. The chili was a nice beef and bean chili. It is a little mild, so I added some hot packet sauces to spice it up. Really good flavor and topped with some nice shredded cheese.

I highly recommend this place for both the food and the experience. Take the tour, spend some time on the playground, and grab a grilled cheese. Makes for a perfect Indiana day.  Don't forget to bring home some Fair Oaks cheese and dairy products. 

Kathie can't contain her excitment!

If you want further information - check out http://www.fofarms.com/

Nickel Plate Bar & Grill - Fishers

Holy Cow another one down! Sandwich #5 of the Super 46. The Super Bowl is long gone, but the list continues. See how all of this started:  http://bkatranch.blogspot.com/2012/01/bc-and-kathies-excellent-adventure-to.html


This pick was hard because it was Super Bowl weekend so we had to avoid all the madness downtown where most of the list is based. We also didn’t have time to venture out of town this week, so how about the Nickel Plate Tenderloin in Fishers? The list describes this sandwich as “extra crunchy tenderloin is pounded lightly to keep some semblance of plumpness and covered in the chef’s own mix.” The Nickel Plate Bar and Grill is located in a former saloon that was near a train station in the early 1900’s. Sounds cool! Off to Fishers we went.

The restaurant is tucked right next to the train tracks near the station in Fishers. Pretty cool location. Once inside, the vibe is much more bar-like than restaurant like.

Kathie ordered the Nickel Plate which is a burger with Cajun spices, grilled onions, and hot pepper cheese served on Texas toast.


The Nickel Plate Burger



Tenderloin (no "wheres the beef" comment here!)

We split the sandwiches. I can tell you that I loved the burger. The Nickel Plate burger was spiced well and with the hot pepper cheese, it was really good for a spicy guy like me. The tenderloin was, oh, a tenderloin. It was good but nothing really caught me as “super” about it. I have probably had 20 tenderloins that taste just like it. It was thicker than most and breaded really well, overall a nice sandwich, just not a SUPER sandwich. I was actually very surprised that this sandwich made it into the top 8 of the 46.

http://nickelplatebarandgrill.com/

Sandwich #4 / 46 - A visit to Mass Ave!

See how this all started here: http://bkatranch.blogspot.com/2012/01/bc-and-kathies-excellent-adventure-to.html

Sandwich #4, week #4. We are staying on track to complete all 46 sandwiches in under a year!  Sorry I am a little tardy with this post.  It has been a crazy - but SUPER - week!

Kathie and I were downtown taking in all of the Super Bowl activities so we needed something close to the action. A quick peek at the Super 46 website showed Hoaglin To Go on Massachusetts Avenue. Perfect! We wanted to run by Mass Ave anyway to visit a friend that owns a pet food business and the “Take you back PB & J” was top on my list because of the picture in the Visit Indiana travel guide. Doesn’t that look amazing?

I have always thought that you started a restaurant with incredible food, people love the food, and then because of the huge success of your restaurant, you start a catering company. I have learned, thanks to my adventure with the list, that is not the case. It appears that you start a catering business, people love the food, and then because of the huge success of your catering business, you start a restaurant. This is certainly the case for Hoaglin To Go. Rob Hoaglin, a Cathedral High graduate, is a great example of a true entrepreneur. Rob started his business working from the trunk of his car. He knew he needed to expand but couldn’t afford to take the leap so he contacted his old school and offered to handle all of the food service needs for Cathedral in exchange to use the kitchen for his business. An agreement was formed and he was off. That was in 1994. Now Rob is one of Indiana’s top caterers and his business does millions in revenue. When I hear people say “you have to have a lot of money to start a successful business”, Rob is an example of the opposite.

I never would buy a peanut butter and jelly sandwich at a restaurant. Never. Even with that awesome looking picture, I still would not have. Something about a PB & J at a restaurant just feels like I am wasting my restaurant choice. I have had probably a 1000 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in my lifetime. I have had it with different jellies, different butters, and different bread. I even have PB & J on crackers. PB & J is wonderful, but for a restaurant choice? I ordered the PB & J sandwich expecting a good sandwich but nothing really special. I was wrong. This sandwich is really good. They take a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and turn it up a few notches. So simple that anyone could do it, but hey, they did it first. It is a great PB & J sandwich made with a nice creamy peanut butter and fresh strawberry jam on toasted whole wheat bread but they add sliced strawberries and toasted peanuts! The combination is great and really makes the main ingredients pop! I will be re-creating this sandwich in my kitchen in the future.

Kathie had the chicken salad and enjoyed it. She is really easy to please when it comes to food, so don’t expect her to ever say a bad word.

The star of the visit was the Blondie. My goodness that was the best Blondie that I have ever had. Period. We had been seated near the desert case and they had these wonderful looking iced cookie sandwiches in the case and Kathie decided to get one. I thought the cookie looked great but wanted to get something different so that we could split it and share. I settled on the Blondie. I am so glad that I did. It was just an incredible Blondie and if we had it to do again, we would both order the Blondie. I’m not saying the cookie wasn’t good, but the Blondie was just over the top. Baked to perfection, loaded with chocolate chunks, it was incredible. Go now and get one and bring one back for me. I’ll pay you!

Visit Hoaglin To Go at 448 Massachusetts Avenue or on the web at http://www.hoaglintogo.com/