#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/

Sandwich #3 - Munchie Supreme @ Northside Kitchenette

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

I need to clarify that the list of 46 Super Sandwiches as put out by The Indiana Department of Tourism Development is not in any order other than the distance from the center of Indianapolis. It is up to the general public to decide where they rank in taste and that is what Kathie and I are doing. Currently we are just picking based on what we are doing and where we will be. There is no real method to our picks.

Kathie and I needed to be in Broad Ripple again this past weekend so we picked another sandwich in the village. We decided that sandwich #3 should be the Northside Kitchenette Munchie Supreme. The list describes the sandwich as: “You can get any of a tasty variety of sandwiches at this darling accessory to Broad Ripple’s Northside Social. You can also get textbook, hand-cut fries, deep golden with just a sliver of peel still showing. Get both by ordering the Munchie Supreme: a sizzling pile of grilled pastrami, melted Swiss cheese and a tangy Dijon mayo on thick-cut New York rye.”

Recently I had watched a Food Network show that featured a sandwich with fries on top. The show mentioned that it was an old tradition started to save time for trade workers on lunch. The sandwich on the show didn’t really intrigue me. Fries on top of my burger just to save time doesn't make any sense to me. If you are going to throw something on top of my sandwich, it better bring something to the party.
Northside Kitchenette is a little lunch counter, and I stress little, attached to the Northside Social Club. Neither of these have much presence as a place that I would normally stop for food. The social club seems to be a fine dining / upscale bar and the kitchenette is a little sign in the corner of an older strip center that I never would have noticed. In fact we drove past the place before realizing where it was. Walking into the joint I immediately had a completely different view on the place.

 It was like a corner diner but one that you need to dress up for. It is a casual place, but with the décor it just has an air of being a step up. Kathie and I were greeted by a couple of waitresses that were attentive and pleasant. We ordered our food and enjoyed the surroundings. Kathie ordered the Cuban with fries, because she knows I love Cuban sandwiches and she is always trying to find a good Cuban that she would like. She is not quite the fan that I am. I just need to take her back to Key West to experience the Cuban sandwich that I fell in love with.

The food arrived shortly and I can tell you that the Munchie is a good looking sandwich. The thick cut rye bread along with the fries peaking out really makes this sandwich look like something special. Once I took a bite, I can tell you it is as good as it looks, if not better. This is one good sandwich. The fries, the Dijon mayo, the cheese, everything just worked on this sandwich. I traded halves with Kathie, as that is the deal, but I wish I wouldn’t of. The Cuban was good, but no contest when compared to the Munchie Supreme. I probably could have eaten two without blinking an eye! The fries were wonderful as well, nicely seasoned and hand cut. Just wonderful.

If you have been reading my Super 46 blog from the start, you probably know that I am about the package! For me to fall in love with a place I want great food, great location, and a great story. Quite frankly, the Northside Kitchenette did not bring any story to the table. The website did not have any real information about how they came to be, and a quick Google check did not bring up anything about the who and why. The vibe of the place is like someone with a lot of money decided to do a restaurant they way they wanted. They hired the best of everything and got it done. It didn’t feel like a place where the owner had put in blood sweat and tears to make their dream happen. While it doesn’t have the entrepreneurial story behind it, the Northside Kitchenette does have a really good sandwich. In fact, probably the best so far, but there are many left to try.

For more information, check out: http://www.northsidekitchenette.com/

Number 2! Sandwich two of the SUPER 46!

On to sandwich #2! Only 44 left to go on B.C. and Kathie’s Excellent Adventure to conquer The “SUPER 46”. See how all of this started here:  http://bkatranch.blogspot.com/2012/01/bc-and-kathies-excellent-adventure-to.html

We picked Boogie Burger in Broad Ripple. The burger on the list was the Boogie Monster which is two 1/3 pound patties, grilled pastrami, fried egg, bacon, cheese and a couple of onion rings for good measure! Holy Cow! It is a huge burger like you would see on a “eat all of this in 5 minutes and your food is free” type promotion.

To be honest, I had heard Boogie Burger mentioned a few times by a friend of mine who is a sandwich foodie like me. The back story seems to be pretty standard. A husband and wife working corporate jobs and decide to hang it up for the food world. They then spend some time running a successful catering business and then decide to open their passion, a burger joint. As a small business owner I love the story and it shows the passion because in the entrepreneurial world, it is said the quickest way to lose all your money is to start a restaurant, specifically a burger restaurant. Boogie Burger is described as a boutique quick service restaurant specializing in gourmet burger and more. I also noticed on their website (which is www.boogieburger.com) that they are looking to franchise. We just might be trying what could be the next huge national burger franchise like Five Guys. That is cool to think about.

Boogie Burger is just past the main strip in Broad Ripple. I had thought they were more in the main heart of the village around where Bazbeaux Pizza is located and I now understand they used to be on Westfield. The current location, 1904 E. Broad Ripple Ave, is nice because you can actually park there! Can you believe that, a restaurant in Ripple with its own parking? Not many of those in the village.

The menu is really neat and again I was glad that my choice was predetermined. There are about 3 burgers that I would love to try; Inferno, Chili, and Wild Wild West would have been the normal choices that I would be trying to decide between. I would have not given a second look at the Boogie Monster because it is HUGE and because it is 12 bucks! I ordered the Monster and Kathie ordered the Boogie Burger. She went for the plain fries and I ordered the bacon and ranch fries. They are known for their garlic fries but I could not pass up the bacon and ranch. They also have onion rings, which I am a huge lover of the ring, so it was hard to stick with my choice but I did.



Kathie's Burger on the left and the Boogie Monster on the right



When it arrived it was not as huge as I thought it would be, but don’t take that wrong, it was still a big burger. In fact, I didn’t even finish my half completely and if you know me, you know I don’t leave food lying around often! Kathie took one bite and said “too much meat for me” and gave up. I enjoyed the flavor mash up, especially around the edges where the burger is not as thick as in the middle and the pastrami was not pilled as high. Those bites were heaven between a bun. The burger, the pastrami, egg and cheese all blended together for a nice unique flavorful bite. In the middle the pastrami and the burger were fighting for center stage and you would end up with just a pastrami bite or burger bite. With this burger, balance is everything. The bacon and ranch fries were awesome. I loved them and would go back just for the fries. You think “come on, it’s just bacon and ranch fries” but there is an artistry to a good bacon and ranch fry. You need big chunks of bacon. Not bacon bits, real bacon chopped up very coarsely and then tons of ranch. Buckets of ranch. You should have to eat the fries with a fork or they are not right. Boogie Burger knows what it is doing on fries.

Bacon and Ranch Done Right!

The First Super 46!

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

The first Super Sandwich! Picking the first sandwich to start our challenge of trying all of the Super 46 sandwiches listed on http://www.super46.com/ was a very difficult decision. I wanted to set the tone right for my lovely wife, because if the first sandwich adventure went poorly – she would have a bad attitude for the whole contest. I also wanted to start with something different, something with some spark, if you will. As I scanned the list for a potential sandwich, Papa Roux immediately jumped off the page.

I had read something about Papa Roux several years ago. A customer was upset that Papa Roux was out of shrimp and was heard saying “What type of Cajun restaurant runs out of shrimp?” Understand that I run a very successful grooming salon with my wife in which I answer the telephone and often have to inform people that we do not have a grooming appointment available. That usually causes a response like “what type of grooming salon doesn’t have appointments available?” Then I usually try to explain that the type would be one that doesn’t want to have a large production shop where every single pet couldn’t receive the absolute best! I guessed the type of Cajun restaurant that would run out of shrimp, was a restaurant who would not settle for just any shrimp, and I was right. I read his thoughts on the subject and more on his blog http://paparouxindy.com/papablogs/ and realized that he was my type of entrepreneur, the type that would not settle, the type that would work and work and work, and the type that was doing his own thing out of passion for his restaurant and not because he thought that it would make him a fortune. There are a lot of small business owners in the world but there is only a small percentage that really has a passion for what they do. Papa Roux was the choice!

I picked their location at City Market because Kathie just loves the City Market. I guess that way back when, Kathie and her mom would visit the City Market and even before that, her grandfather would sell his produce at market – there – at city market! A lot of history in her family. Okay, Papa Roux at the City Market, I can’t wait!

Papa Roux @ City Market is open Mon – Saturday for Lunch 10:30 – 3:00 and dinner 5:00 – 9:00. If you don’t know where the City Market is – just head to the center of Indianapolis and head a block or two east and there it is!

The sandwich on the Super 46 list is the Roast Pork Po’ Boy which I have to admit, would not have been my first choice. I’m not much of a pork guy. I like pork, especially on some ribs with a spicy bbq sauce slathered over them, but pulled pork on a sandwich would not be my top choice – grilled sausage would have been, or maybe catfish, or even BACON. Holy cow with those choices, I am glad that my decision was predetermined. I stepped up to the counter that is covered in signatures which is a nod to their flagship location on East 10th Street. From what I understand, Papa had read on-line that his plain walls were a little boring. The next day he started encouraging people to sign the walls and now the place is covered with fun graffiti. I ordered the Pork Po’ Boy and then my wife ordered a sausage Po’ Boy, without me even asking her to. I guess great food minds think alike! The sandwich includes a side and a bottle of Abita Root Beer which is made by Abita Brewing Company just 30 miles north of New Orleans. Kathie and I both chose red beans and rice for our side. I would think that this will be the best value on the list! You get a HUGE sandwich (over a pound), a side, and a drink for $7.50.

What the heck is a Po’ Boy, anyway? Wiki to the rescue! A po’ boy is a traditional submarine sandwich from Louisiana. It is served on New Orleans French bread, known for its crisp crust and fluffy center. The bread is really what makes it different than other sandwiches, according to the great Wikipedia.

Kathie and I received our food and she insisted that we sit in a certain spot in the market. It was a location that she and her mother would sit. I do not know the words to accurately describe the meal. The sandwich was good. The combination of creamy coleslaw heaped onto pulled pork and then there was a tang of spice which I assumed was from the “vouxdoux” mayo. I will warn you – this is not a sandwich for someone who tries to always be prim and proper when eating (like my mother!). The juices from the pulled pork combines with the creamy sauce of the slaw and soaks into the bread making it a task just to pick up the monster to take a bite! I enjoyed this sandwich and the half from Kathie’s sausage Po’ Boy. It definitely lives up to the Po’ Boy wiki definition because the bread was incredible! Kathie LOVED both sandwiches as she thought the slaw was awesome. The side of red beans and rice was probably the best red beans and rice that I had ever had.

When I first had the thought of the Super 46 review I was hoping to come across as a food reviewer/writer like Scott Hutcheson and get to use terms like “the complexity of the flavors layered together” or “the blend of spices was very balanced against the acidity” but as you can probably tell by now, that is not me. I am not a food reviewer which is good because it is more than just about the food for me. It is about the package, and Papa Roux has the package. A great location with some history. A great story about a family that has such passion for their creation. A damn good sandwich. Papa Roux is on my list and I will visit again, soon.

B.C. and Kathie’s Excellent Adventure to conquer The “SUPER 46”

Indiana is hosting its first Super Bowl in just a few short weeks! The state is buzzing with excitement and anticipation for the projected quarter of a million people that will visit our fine state! This has all of our various tourism bureaus working overtime to make sure that our guests will feel welcome and have fun. The Indiana Department of Tourism Development is no exception. They have teamed up with Indianapolis Monthly Magazine and picked “46 Super Sandwiches” from all over the state for visitors to try and vote for their favorite to win the title of “Indiana’s Super Sandwich” which will be announced on February 2nd. You can see the 46 and find more information from http://www.super46.com/



Okay, this is pie - so I am a sandwich and pie guy!



I am a sandwich guy, but not a ham and cheese on rye guy, a true sandwich guy. Give me some salami, pepperoni, and capicola on fresh white bread with spicy mayo then top that sucker with a hot pepper mix and some fresh local provolone cheese and I am in heaven, so to say the least, the list intrigued me.

From the moment that I saw the list, I knew I wanted to try MOST of the sandwiches on the list and give my thoughts. I say most because I am very set in my ways and I don’t like trying new things. My lovely wife, Kathie, is even more set in her ways than I am so we tend to go to the tried and true places that we have visited before and know that we will love. This list will give us a great excuse to expand our horizons and maybe find another tried and true restaurant to add to our approved list.



"I'm not trying ANYTHING new.  Try, just try, to make me"




With all my ammunition loaded about seeing new places, trying new foods and helping small businesses out across the state, I make my presentation to Kathie. She loves the idea and with our current diet plan we allow ourselves to “splurge” one time a week and decide that each week we will knock out one from the list. We give ourselves till Super Bowl 47 (2013), one year, to complete the list. I remind her that the list might be challenging at times, I mean what is a “Falafel Sandwich”, and she quickly tells me “Oh no, the list is for you. Call it “B.C. Does The Super 46 and Kathie Tags Along” because I’m ordering what I want at each place.” Remember me mentioning about Kathie being set in her ways? After some debate, Kathie decided – I mean we decided that she would order what she wants, I would order the Super 46 sandwich and we would trade halves. Done. We had the “challenge” and the time frame. It isn’t going to be easy with some of the locations so far away, but we are up to it.



Kathie is ready to DIVE in on this challange!
(okay, in all truth, I wanted to use this photo for something!)



So why blog about it?

I have always wanted to do some type of food writing. It really comes back to a blog that I discovered around 2006 – http://www.hungryhoosier.com/ 

The author, Scott Hutcheson, was writing about places that I would actually go and trying food that I would actually try. He wasn’t writing about falafels for goodness sake! (What’s funny is I went back and googled his blog for “falafel” just now and sure enough, he did write about falafels in 2005 but it wasn’t a detailed report, so I will let him slide.) What he was writing about and reviewing were places like Famous Jacks Burgers or Big Hoffa’s BBQ – places I would go. Couple that with his style of writing and his love of food and Indiana, I was drawn in. I have had a blog that I started in 2008 which has a total of three posts, so I am hoping that “B.C. and Kathie’s Excellent Adventure to Concur the Super 46” will help motivate me to write more for the blog and give me practice to be a better writer.

Stay tuned for my first review, because Kathie and I have already knocked one off the list!



She's ready!