Sushi Bar-Broad Ripple
The post I made earlier was actually about our little adventure 2 weeks ago. I’m still a little behind from the Holidays. That post was short because; well… Let’s just say the lunch was not very good. This post will be short as well ,only because I neglected to take any pictures of our food. So Pat and I decided we need to revisit soon; with his better half Fran. They have lunch specials ;a whole board full of different rolls. Pat is not a big fan of sushi or sashimi but he is a fan of fried fish. So he ordered shrimp tempura. Five nice shrimp and veggies with miso soup or salad and a cup of sticky rice( the best rice of all ). All for $7.99. For me sushi,sashimi, nigiri etc are all my favorite. So I got a 2 roll deal. That’s 2 rolls;your choice; miso or salad for $6.99. I decided on the ubiquitous spicy tuna and cucumber& eel. I probably could have made a better selection for texture but I serious thought of a 3 roll combo. Thankfully I stayed with 2; and chose two of my favorite proteins. And what is sushi without sake ? Pat; believe it or not has never had hot sake. He merely had a taste. However he did discover the “allure” of hot wine. I don’t need pictures to describe our total delight at the quality of our lunch. However, since we ARE going back I will wait ’til then to be verbose.
Chin Brother’s Restaurant and Grocery
In general, Oriental food is a mystery to me. That’s why I was looking forward to having lunch at Chin’s, a Burmese restaurant. The menu isn’t as large as a Chinese menu, which has hundreds of dishes utilizing a handful of ingredients in skillful and imaginative combinations.I cannot remember the name of the dish I ordered , I couldn’t pronounce it anyway. It was a large portion of fried rice noodles mixed with chicken, veggies, fried egg and ground peanuts. The preparation was similar to a lot of far Eastern dishes I have eaten. You could taste all of the individual ingredients and yet at the same time the harmonious blending created an additional flavor profile. Definitely a case of the sum being greater than all of its parts; or whatever that adage is. They served a wonderful sauce on the side for both our dishes. It was a small bowl of fish sauce with chopped pieces of tiny green chiles. It was fantastic how something so simple could taste so complex. The fish sauce was slightly sour with a slight smokiness and the chiles brought a wonderful heat to the entire sauce. You could pour as little or as much as you want and you’re good to go. I don’t recommend eating the little green peppers, unless you have a high tolerance for hot food; something I no longer have.
Pat ordered something simpler; a bowl of braised steak and thin sliced fresh ginger.He found the meat tender and tasty. The ginger permeated the stock enough to add a slight heat, distinctly different from the heat of the chile sauce. The cooking of the ginger, subdued some of the heat but little of the fragrance. If you haven’t eaten fresh ginger before it has kind of a “bite” similar to a hot pepper. Pat also got a huge mound of fluffy white rice to go with his meat. Right after we started eating our server brought out a complementary bowl of soup. It was pretty simple, chicken stock and fresh cilantro.Since we were rice rich, we added some to the soup. The soup by itself, with the added rice, and some bread would make a nice lunch; all by itself. Speaking of bread. I believe they have two types of bread they serve. I had wanted to order one, just to check out Burmese baking; but I forgot. If any of you go there, try some bread, and let me know how it is.If you check out their website the menu you will find is a smaller version of the “real” menu. And when you go you can get all of your international shopping done. Right next door they have a grocery featuring all sorts of Asian products. Around the corner is an international market with fresh produce, meat and fish. In the corner of the strip mall there is a Mexican market and bakery. Remember what they say; think globally, but eat locally.And the whole lunch cost less than $13.
After such a great lunch, we needed some time to digest; so we drove to the Three Pints brewery in Plainfield. They offer six house brews plus one guest brew at all times. They don’t offer flights, but they do offer 4 ounce glasses for one buck each. And on Thursday their house pints are only $3.50. That day they offered one oatmeal Stout the rest of their menu leaned more towards the ale variety. I especially liked the Plainfield pale ale and their Retired Red Ale;both have a nice citrus note and a good hoppy finish.Remember what they say; distance is no object when in search of a finely brewed beer.
Dawson’s on Main
We went way out of our comfort zone to go to Speedway, Indiana, in May. We have talked about going here several times but usually road construction interfered. But it was really worth it. I have not been to Speedway in years and it is really a lovely community. Dawson’s sits on the corner of Main Street and some tree-lined picturesque street that to me has no name. I don’t recall. The joint was rocking at noon, but we were still able to get seats out of doors. The menu for lunch is rather large. Several appetizers, big salads, a dozen or more sandwiches and wraps and a few lunch entrées.
One of the entrées was a breaded and fried Capensis. To non-fish groupies Capensis, also known as Cape Capensis; or poor man’s Orange Roughy is as delicious as it is hard to find. I have never seen it fried, but there is no reason why it can’t be, obviously. The fish came with french fries and coleslaw for $8.99. Since as we already know, Pat is a fried fresh freak that is what he ordered.I had to try the pot roast. It was a large portion of tender, moist braised beef smothered with sautéed mushrooms, caramelized onions and a mushroom ragout,all sitting on top of two twice baked potato cakes. It also came with steamed broccoli, but since I’m not a big broccoli fan. I traded that for Pat’s coleslaw; and everybody was happy.And that lovely lunch was only $9.99.
At first thought the pot roast dish might seem redundant with sautéed mushrooms and onions and Ragout; which is basically mushrooms and onions in a red wine cream sauce. Redundancy aside. It was a delicious lunch. As an old chef I used to work with told me a long time ago, I would be proud to serve that dish.Pat tried a piece of the pot roast and naturally loved it. I tried a piece of his fish and I can honestly say it was the best fried fish I have had in many years.According to Pat the broccoli was perfect. And according to me the potato cakes were wonderful. They were delightful cakes approximately 3 1/2 inches in diameter consisting of riced potatoes mixed with peppers, one of which had a little heat to it, and then baked, and since they were called twice baked I can assume they were baked originally.Left overs from dinner ? No matter ;left over bakers are the perfect source for baked cakes or home fries and a perfect platform for this meat.
Well I think I have said enough, it would well be worth your effort to go there for lunch or dinner. The food is that good. Just don’t wait too long, the farther May progresses the bigger the crowds will get.Oh as you probably noticed we did it again.we started eating before we took the pictures.Honestly we try not to.
Leftovers
Well there won’t be a post for last week as my cohort left town for a bit;and lunch alone is not that much fun.So I intend to mention some of the places we’ve been to in the past.Don’t expect too much detail because my memory is rotten.However I do remember if I liked it or not.And after all that’s what this blog’s all about.Two guy’s opinion,we have no intention of trashing any joint;much less a mom&pop venture.We view a meal as a pass fail sort of thing you like it or you don’t.If we eat at a place we truly dislike we won’t even mention it.Kind of like your weird uncle,you accept the fact he’s around and some people like him you just don’t want to bring it up.Well enough B.S.If you dig home-made soup go to the Great Divide,on New York.I think their signature is the Loaded Potato Soup;full of all those artery clogging goodies that people crave.It’s delicious and a little fat is good.If you want a dive that allows you to walk without sticking to the floor then check out the Lockerbie Pub on Michigan.In addition to the usual bar food they offer plate lunches.If you get a chance get a turkey Manhattan,get one at lunch and you’re good until breakfast.And they have Sun King on draft.If you get over to Shadeland Ave. check out Tie-Dyed Cafe;they have a great rep and an almost cult like following.Pat and I thought the food was pretty good, nothing out standing;but you should decide for yourself.I mean can a cult like following be wrong? On the west side Mann’s Grill is a must visit.It’s on Washington and Tibbs and it is the epitome of diner food.Homemade food,huge portions and cheap.If you’re an early riser Mann’s serves breakfast and they are legendary.While you’re on the west side schlep up to 30th and Lafayette road to the Saigon Cafe. They have a 6$ lunch special that includes your choice entre (one of maybe 50 )steamed rice ;egg roll or spring roll and soup.When you go try the asparagus crab soup,it is great.While on the south side namely South Meridian stop at Berrengers a really old place with a tremendous back bar.They offer real deal old school ,scratch made tavern food.I’m sure folks that are hip to the real deal know about Berrengers if you’re not hip then I suggest you get hip.If you’re still on the south side try LaMargaritas,I think it’s on south 31,but I’m not sure.OH I just remembered it used to be called Jose Frogs.No matter they offer a very good burrito and I think the best refritoes I’ve had since I left New Mex.And ,surprise, they build a very tasty margarita.So that’s all I can remember for now.We’ll have a more current posting next time,I’m pretty sure.
