Three Sisters in Broad Ripple
I have wanted to try this joint for a while. I am not sure why we waited so long? Maybe we needed to wait for a Dark and Stormy Halloween afternoon. You know; to balance out the hip granola vibe of The Ripple.
The place is in an old house; so it’s not too big. The menu is interesting and it has been on Diners, Drive Ins and Dives. And that appearance has yet to go to its head. Unlike some joints in Indy.
As you can see on the menu it offers quite a bit of Vegan Fare. That is why Pat tried their breakfast service. He and Fran went here when their two vegan daughters were in town. Their pricing can be a trifle high on some items. That may be why he was a wee bit snarky at first. It was his turn to buy. Although he did suggest the spot. Ahem.
These must be the Three Sisters. The name sake of the Cafe.
Our service was a little perfunctory. Everyone was pleasant but our server just seem rather new to the work.
As for the food; I thought my sandwich was outstanding. It was slow cooked Fresh Ham with braised Kale and pepper jack cheese. In other words slow roasted pig and Country Greens. Everything worked so well together. The more you ate the more you enjoyed it. Well you can keep your Manhattans; be they beef or turkey. When the snow stars flying give me one of these. Every time.
Now every great sandwich deserves a great side. And here that would be calico potatoes. A combo of grated sweet and yellow potatoes. A huge portion fried perfectly, toasted handsomely and tasting wonderfully.
kosherhamandcheese.com/?p=2202&preview=true
JT’s Grille 2210 E. 54th Street
One thing Indy does as well as any city is re cycle its restaurant property. This building on 54th street started out as a Long John Silver’s. Then it became Just Judy’s, a long time tavern that relocated about one year ago. Now it’s become JT’s, not just a Tavern but a Grill, with an E. The place has gone through quite a make over. New paint, new furnishings, the whole bit. The lunch menu is pretty much what you would expect for a tavern.
I ordered something I rarely order. A grilled chicken sandwich. It was okay, nothing spectacular. Which is one reason I don’t make a habit of ordering grilled breasts that often. This particular piece of chicken was a half breast, about 4 ounces in weight and easily dwarfed by the all too generic bun. They offer a wide selection of sides to pick from. One is a cup of soup for an extra $1.49. Their SOD was split pea with ham, one of my favorites. And it was excellent. Thick and loaded with ham cubes. I could have eaten a big ol’ bowl.
Pat was torn between their French Dip and a battered fish sandwich. The man sure does like his fried fish.
After lunch I discovered that they have a really nice smoker out back, and a nice stack of logs. Covered by a metal roof. So maybe we mis ordered. They did offer a pork bbq sandwich, but at the time of ordering I didn’t know about their smoker. Also after lunch when we were at the bar having our obligatory Pale Ale the Manager/ Server/ Bartender was pouring out a measure of bourbon for their BBQ sauce. Which could be a good sign for future eaters. I really can’t say anything bad about the joint I just didn’t see anything really special. But that doesn’t mean that it’s not there.
http://www.jtsgrille.com/
Greiner’s Sub Shop
As you can tell from the header this is an old place. I believe this is where I ate the 2nd submarine sandwich in my life. And until yesterday I haven’t been back. Also as you will readily see there are no pictures of our food due to a slight camera malfunction. Had the lunch been better I’d probably go back and take some shots. However I don’t think the trip is worth the bus fare to relive.
I think Pat enjoyed his sandwich more than I did mine. I had an 8 inch mushroom steak sub. For $5.25, you can’t complain about the price. Oh and they bake the bread in-house, so that was pretty good. But that is about the end of the compliments. The “steak” had the taste of a “formed” beef product. That is to say no taste. The only flavor was from the canned mushroom gravy. And that was far from great. Oh and on top of the bad sandwich I also got a cup of “chili” with beans. Straight from a can. I heard that this is a new owner. If that is the case he might want to rethink his position. I am not sure but I just can’t imagine any joint staying open for over 40 years with no more on the ball than this. The help is far superior to the food and that is a shame. He ought to wake up and smell the “5 dollar foot long” before it’s too late.
http://www.greinerssubs.com/cpsiteframepage.lasso?-token.lpuserref=119771.113129
Fireside Brewhouse
We had planned on hitting a place in the “inner city” but we had to make a run to Gander Mountain in Greenwood first.And what do you think was right across the street?Well the Fireside Brewhouse that’s what.And I cannot imagine two men passing up any place that calls itself a brew house;even if it really doesn’t make its own beer.The place is huge and really GOOD looking;you might even call it beautiful.I took a few more structure shots than normal;since I forgot, again,to take any pictures of our food until the plates were in such disarray it would be a waste of time to try to salvage a shot.
But you should be aware that they practice Down Town Pricing;some one has to pay for the pretty.They offer over 100 beers;a dozen or so are on draft.I had a couple of Flat 12 Half Cycles at $6 each and Pat had a Hacker-Pschorr Weisse for 6 bucks;and it wasn’t even a big bottle.Like I said downtown prices.Their menu is standard Tavern fare,with sandwiches in the 9-10 dollar range.They offer a variety of Angus Burgers combos.They have one called The Dude.It’s a fully cooked burger topped with Velveeta cheese;placed on a bun and the whole damn thing is beer battered and deep fried.Naturally it comes with fries;as do all their sandwiches.Normally I like my burgers naked;no garden,no mayo, maybe cheese.However on this occasion I ordered their Tijuana something or other.A southwest seasoned patty topped with fried green chiles,onions,white cheese,guacamole and “chipotle mayo”.I added lettuce and tomato( a man needs some veggies )so the end result was quite a mouthful.The overall taste was quite good.The slight spiciness of the seasoning and the mild heat of the lightly breaded poblanos brought a welcome crunch to blend with the creaminess of the guacamole.The only negative is they don’t toast the buns,so near the end the mayo and the guac.made the sandwich a little mushy.
Pat ordered an Italian Beef sandwich.A decent portion of roast beef on a hoagie roll with red sauce,pickled veggies and provolone cheese.Per the bartender’s suggestion he got the sauce and veggies on the side along with a side of au jus.It came out open face so he ate it with a knife and fork.When I asked him how it was, he said the quantity was “street level”.Meaning he didn’t get enough meat.However when he attacked the other half he commented that the meat wasn’t “evenly divided”;so he was happy again.I thought he was enjoying the food because I thought I caught a glimpse of sparks coming from his knife and fork;but maybe it was just a trick of the lighting.One thing we both agreed on was the fries had a great house seasoning.
So; in summation if you live or work around here it’s a nice place to go for a bite;they even offer a kid’s menu.If you desire a beer after work before you head home to the Mr. or Mrs.they offer daily specials.Thursdays special was $2.75 domestic drafts,but since all I am allowed to drink at home is domestic light beers on Thursday I require a real beer.
Lockerbie Pub
I can’t believe I haven’t written about this place before.Pat and I have been there a few times for drinks.And I know we ate there;I had a turkey Manhattan;as big as your head;I can’t remember what Pat ate,I think it was a burger.What got me thinking about it was last week;after eating we popped in for a beer and were greeted by the same two smiling faces as before.Amanda,the bartender and the owner(whose name I cannot remember,sorry)who also waits tables.It is so refreshing to see an owner actually working,not just “owning”.However when I went back through my “archives” I couldn’t find any posts for it.So since I knew the food was tasty;we decided on a revisit,a do-over,a Mulligan so to speak.So here we are.
Their menu is your typical bar menu,burgers,tenderloin and the like;but they also offer lunch specials;like Manhattans and meat loaf sandwiches.Naturally I ordered the meat loaf sandwich.( see my Kountry Kitchen posting ).I wasn’t disappointed at all.I got a huge slab of tasty home-made meat loaf on a big toasted bun,with a mound of crinkle cut fries;all for only$6.50.Pat got a triple-decker grilled cheese with tomato and some of the best looking bacon I’ve seen in a while;all on marble rye.He opted for tater tots;what is it about tater tots that seems to bring out the little boy in grown men?Our entire lunch bill came to less than $16 after tax.
As far as beverage goes they have a nice selection of Sun King beers on draft for $5; we had some scary good Sky Cake, deep and hoppy.They also offer beer specials for $3.75;like Summer Shandy.I out did my self this week I didn’t remember to photograph our food until Pat was half way through his grilled cheese.And I was doing so good for a while.I’ve heard people refer to The Lockerbie as a dive.Well maybe since I’ve worked a few border towns I have a different criteria;so I don’t consider it a dive.I prefer to think of it like your favorite sweater;easy to slip into and right makes you feel right at home.
The song I am inserting I dedicate to Amanda and the owner (whose name I forgot;sorry ) I decided to go back and add another song;just because I really like it.The Joplin is for Lockerbie;Sally Ford and the Sound Outside is just for the hell of it.03 – Cage(1)
Just Judy….Judy….Judy
Who said SoBro had to be expensive? On 54th street ( a street I shall hence forth refer to as SoBro restaurant row ) sits Just Judy’s.And like Alice’s you can get anything you want there.Pizza,burgers,burritos and breakfast any time.And the prices are more than reasonable.For 4 bucks you can get a grilled cheese and all you care to eat house made soup.I opted for their $4.75 sloppy joe and fries special.I may have had better but never one so reasonably priced.Pat tried the breaded tenderloin and ate the whole thing;I think we’re in a race to become the largest ambulatory resident of Indy.You know the biggest gainer.I didn’t try any of it but I must say that was one of the best looking BTs I’ve seen in a while.These folks even make their own chips and cobblers.I went into lunch without my usual hearty appetite.I would have liked to try some cobbler;you don’t find that too often.But as they say tomorrow’s another day.All and all ( what’s that supposed to mean anyway? )We strongly recommend this place.For variety,freshness, taste and price you can’t go wrong.
