We have arrived in double digits! Yep, number 10 is done!

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

 

Number 10! Can you believe we are on sandwich number 10? For a little recap:

 

1. Papa Roux
2. Boogie Burger
3. Northside Kitchenette
4. Hoaglin To Go
5. Nickel Plate
6. Fair Oaks
7. Harry & Izzys
8. The Original Gyro Joint
9. Boathouse Grill

 

And number 10 is………drum roll please…. Shapiro’s Deli!

 

Shapiro’s should need no introduction in Indiana. I think it is one of the most recognizable names in restaurants. They have won countless awards, been mentioned in pretty much every publication that talks about food and has been featured on many national television shows, including one of my favorites, The Best Thing I Ever Ate. Heck even USA Today called Shapiro’s one of the top ten places in the country to get authentic Jewish deli food. Perfection takes time and Shapiro’s has had time to perfect, they have been around since 1905 and they are still and always have been family owned. Incredible! In looking at the history I stumbled across some of the personalities of the family which were just great. For instance Louis and Rebecca Shapiro (the original Shapiro’s that started in 1905) would wake their children at 3 each morning with the rallying cry, "The day is half over already!" Max Shapiro (son of Louis and Rebecca) who ended up taking over the business, kept vacations to a minimum, figuring each day was a vacation when you get to see good friends over good eats every day. Max continued to work into his 80’s. Max did not have any children but he wanted a Shapiro to run the business so he enticed his nephew Mort Shapiro and Mort's son Brian to join the firm in 1984. Mort and Brian always pushed for another location and Max would say “"Why should I open a second restaurant when I still haven't got the first one off the ground?" As I talk, read, and listen to successful entrepreneurs across the state, there is always a common thread – HARD WORK. You want the key to success? It is easy. Work harder than anyone else. That is it. That is what Louis and Rebecca knew, that is what Max knew, and that is what 99 percent of the successful small business owners know.

 

I have been to Shapiro’s probably a dozen or more times in my life but I have never had the Reuben. I have always been scared of the kraut. When I hear sauerkraut I think of hot soggy sauerkraut like what is stewed with brats. Yuck. My agreement with the list is that I try “as served” for one bite and then scrape off whatever I don’t like so I figured it would be just a little bite of nasty kraut. When the sandwich arrived, I immediately noticed a few things. I noticed that the sandwich looked like the picture on Super46.com. It is amazing how many things Kathie and I have eaten from the list that look NOTHING like the picture on Super46.com. I also noticed that the kraut was piled up and looked fresh and un-cooked. I jumped into the sandwich, kraut and all, and I will admit that it was the best Rueben I have ever ate (did you catch that). The crisp kraut sandwiched between piles of corned beef topped off with Thousand Island and Swiss cheese. Oh, I forgot to mention the grilled rye bread that is made fresh that day. I loved every bite of that sandwich and would order it again maybe with extra kraut. I also love the ambience of the original Shapiro’s on Meridian. It looks like a cafeteria from the 70’s but it doesn’t feel “old”. It is kind of hard to describe, but it looks exactly like it should look. Kathie and I were there on a Saturday evening, past the “normal” dinner hour and the place was busy but not crowded. There was every walk of life in there. Families, working people, cops on break, people dressed up and people dressed down. Rich, poor, black and white the only common thread with this eclectic group of people was everyone knew they were eating something special.

 

Come on double digits! Number 9 is the Boathouse Grill

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

Number 9! We are closing in on double digits. Hard to think that half way would be after 23 sandwiches! We are still loving the challenge of completing the list and it is opening our eyes to new places to eat, new parts of town and new foods. I am grateful to the list for that. This week we headed to Boathouse Grill on west 56th Street. This is my old stomping grounds. I grew up on the edge of Eagle Creek and went to Pike High School, so I traveled 56th Street every day. The center that holds the Boathouse Grill was just farmland when I roamed that area. The Boathouse sits in a little strip center at 56th and High School Road.

"Come on with the picture taking B.C."

The list states: “Down the street from the Colts Complex, you can enjoy a fish sandwich to satisfy the biggest NFL appetite. The establishment, favored by Colts staffers, prides itself on its seafood offerings. The battered and fried whitefish fillet sandwich measures nearly a foot long and comes dressed in lettuce, tomato, onion and house made tartar sauce. The house made potato chips are a crispy complement.”

It is a good looking lunch meal! 

I must admit that I am not a fish guy. I’m not disgusted by fish (like my wife), but I would very rarely order fish and the only way that I eat it is covered in batter and deep fried. That is not to say that I have not had a lot of fish. It is one of my father’s favorite things and he is an avid fisherman so growing up we had fish from time to time. I have had it at McDonalds’ and at five star restaurants. I have had it frozen and had it fresh. I have had it in a boat, I have had it near a goat, I have had with a rope… hold on, I seem to be channeling Theodor Seuss Geisel. Let’s just say I have had fish. Entering the Boathouse the first thing you notice is the boat hanging from the ceiling. It is very cool. The whole nautical theme is cool. The next thing you notice is the smoke. It is a bar and is still a smoking allowed bar. I am not an anti-smoking zealot, in fact I am an ex-smoker, but the smoke in the Boathouse would have even been too much when I did smoke! Kathie and I trudged on and grabbed a booth. I ordered from the Fish Submarine and Kathie ordered Nachos. The staff was nice and our meal arrived quickly. The first thing you notice is the size of the thing. It is almost a foot long. I must admit that it looked really good. I quickly dunked a fry in the home made tartar sauce because if the tartar sauce wasn’t great we were going to be in for a long lunch. It was good, very good, in fact better than the sandwich. Once you get beyond the size of the sandwich it tasted like a frozen filet that you would get at any chain sit down restaurant. It wasn’t bad – it just wasn’t anything. The bread didn’t jump out at me nor did the breading on the fish, which I guarantee wasn’t hand breaded or anything like that. It was ho-hum for me. Kathie’s nachos were also nothing to write about. Canned cheese pumped onto bagged up nacho chips. They actually were below average for bar food. Overall I don’t think that I will be sending anyone to the Boathouse except for my father who will like the décor. I will be sure to tell him to sit near the front door so he can get some fresh air from time to time.

Too bad their food doesn't taste as good as it looks.

The Original Gyro Joint (or is it)?

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

The pick for number 8 is ….drum roll please… The Original Gyro Joint in Broad Ripple! Kathie and I were both in the mood for a gyro and since we were in Carmel, it was just a short jump over to Broad Ripple. There is a gyro that holds a special place in my heart. I had a good friend who was a taxi driver in Indianapolis and he raved on and on about Mr. J’s on South East Street. I was working downtown Indianapolis at the time, so it wasn’t a far drive. Mr. J’s was not a place that I would ever choose on my own. It was in an old Burger Chef and even from the outside looked horrible. I reluctantly agreed to go in with my friend and met the two brothers that owned the place. I tried the bbq gyro which was the gyro meat, bbq sauce and a pepper mix. The only way that I could describe that gyro is amazing. I started going to Mr. J’s at least once a week for that gyro and would even drive from the far Westside on the weekends to have the meal. Mr. J’s has since changed owners (a few times) and I have stopped there a few times hoping and praying that the bbq gyro would be back, but I was let down. Their version of “bbq” gyro was nothing like the original. I stopped trying to find a replacement for that gyro and just settle on whatever. Needless to say, I was excited to try someplace that ranked high for a gyro!

Walking into the joint, I asked Kathie if we had ever been to a clean gyro joint. She said such a thing doesn’t exist! The Original Gyro Joint in Broad Ripple is trashed. It is probably from the years of drunks stumbling in at the wee hours of the morning coupled with really long hours for the owner/operator. Who wants to stay around at 4:00 in the morning when you have to be back in just a few short hours to open for the lunch crowd? I get it. It doesn’t mean that I will go back to the place, but I do understand how a place ends up looking dirty when you work 18 hours a day 7 days a week. The bathroom had so much stuff piled up in front of it that the door doesn’t even open all the way and when I finally did fight my way inside the bathroom, no paper towels. Washing hands must not be high on the list with the late night crowd. In all seriousness, I am a little disappointed with this restaurant being put on the list. I don’t think it represents a good example of a nice Hoosier owned restaurant. I guess when 90% of your business comes from the late night bar crowd, you can slack on the housekeeping!

It is a nice pile of gyro meat for the money!

We both ordered the “sandwich” from the list – The Original Gyro. The list describes it as “handmade sauce, chopped tomatoes and onions and a healthy portion of thinly sliced lamb’s meat combined with cool tzatziki sauce in a warm pita.” The place only had one person working and I assume that he was the owner. He took our order and then disappeared to the back. After about 15 minutes, our food arrived. We were there late in the afternoon so I assume that is why it took so long.

It has Kathies smile of approval!

All “housekeeping” issues aside, the gyro was good. It is a huge portion of meat and the sauce was nice. Was it as good as Mr. J’s? Nope. Not even close, but I am starting to think that there is no gyro that will ever be as good as my memory of Mr. J’s.

Harry & Izzy's - Number 7!

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

The list continues! Number 7 and we are behind the schedule to complete this task in a year, but I think we will get caught up soon! I am actually behind on my writing so you may see a double post this week! A few weeks ago we decided to head to Castleton for lunch. While I HATE going to Castleton, the area has a lot to offer both in shopping and food choices. I jumped onto the Super46 mobile site and requested what was “close to us”, (Love that option by the way, Indiana Department of Tourism!), and it returned Harry & Izzys. Cool! Harry & Izzy’s is a spinoff of the world famous St. Elmo’s Steak house. I read a little on Harry & Izzy. Harry Roth and Izzy Rosen were longtime friends that attended Old Manual High in Indianapolis. In 1946, Harry's brothers Sam and Ike purchased St. Elmo Steak House, and shortly after, invited Harry to become a partner in the restaurant. In 1956, Sam and Ike left the business, and Harry asked his longtime friend Izzy to join him as a 50/50 partner in St. Elmo. After a lifetime of friendship and building St. Elmo Steak House into a huge success, St. Elmo’s now celebrates the personalities of both Harry and Izzy in a more casual and updated environment.

I had never been to Harry & Izzy's in Castleton. I think every Hoosier is familiar with the downtown location but I believe that Castleton is fairly new. They are located in a strip center right next door to the famous Container Store! Walking in the front door you quickly forget you are in a strip mall. The décor is really nice and I even picked up some ideas for Platinum Paws on down the road.

The list sandwich is St. Elmo Prime Rib Sandwich. From the list description: “Peyton Manning’s choice to be part-owner at Harry & Izzy’s is further proof of his strategic prowess. This restaurant entices fans to stop in for a bite and perhaps some celebrity sightings. This sandwich’s meltingly tender prime rib is sliced thin and piled high on top of rich white cheddar on a ciabatta roll, with horseradish sauce on the side and a cup of au jus for dipping.”

We were at Harry & Izzy's on the first really nice weekend of our early spring here in Indiana so Kathie decided to wear her big Miami Beach wedge sandals. Well since she had not worn them for the entire winter – her feet weren’t used to it. The walk from the parking lot pretty much ruined her feet for the day, so I was hoping that the food would take her mind off of the pain!



Kathie before walking to Harry & Izzys's,  notice the smile!


Kathie ordered a little different. She chose the Spicy Meatballs for her meal (normally an appetizer) and started with a wedge salad. A really good choice! Have you ever had a meal that you just loved every bite of? One that you think about from time to time and just wish you could find it closer to home or duplicate it? For me, that meal is the Meatball Bucharest from Janko's Little Zagreb in Bloomington. Incredible! That dish is really spicy meatballs in a zesty sauce, but I digress.

Kathie received her wedge and said it was really good. It is amazing how many places offer a wedge salad yet to find a really good one is very hard. When you have something as simple as a wedge of lettuce your dressing and toppings better shine and Kathie said this was one of the best she has had. We are off to a good start, which was important given the sandal crisis that had developed.

The main courses arrived. The sandwich looked amazing on the warm ciabatta roll with the cheddar peaking out. Kathie’s spicy meatballs also caught my attention right away in the cast iron dish. I must admit that in a place like this, you expect good plate presentation and it was.

I am not a prime rib guy. I would typically never order it but I dove into this sandwich and was pleased. The bread was really over the top and then you couple it with the horseradish and au jus, it made a great sandwich. The star was without a doubt the spicy meatballs. Wow, were they ever spicy. I had one and it about floored me. Kathie ate about half the plate and loved, loved them. Overall the whole Harry & Izzy's experience was wonderful, and I guarantee we will be back someday for the meatballs for sure! For those who are wondering, no they are not as good as Little Zagreb but a close second.

And the walk back to the car!

#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/