Bub's Burgers & Ice Cream (Carmel, IN)

210 W. Main Street, Carmel, IN 46032, T: 317-706-BUBS (2827)

While Bub’s Burgers & IceCream was founded only in 2003, it is already an Indianapolis institution. It is situated in the wealthy northern suburb of Carmel, where it also has Bub’s Café (mostly breakfast), and they recently opened up another Bub’s Burgers & Ice Cream in the college town of Bloomington, IN. Bub’s was made into a national celebrity by Man vs. Food. It has a basic menu built around burgers (quarter, half, and full pound), elk burgers, fries, chicken tenders and sandwiches, and ice cream.

I have eaten at Bub’s several times, and each time I would postpone The "Big Ugly" ® challenge. This time, inspired by my buddy JC, I was up for it. The Big Ugly is a one pound patty on a half pound bun ($15.95), which is perfectly grilled and seasoned and stays juicy throughout the challenge. The main challenge, really, is the bun, which is fresh but thick. The tomato, lettuce and onion are on the side, but have to be finished! To my surprise, I finish it all within 5 minutes (JC too). Then again, some people have already eaten four Big Uglies in one serving!

As said, I have eaten here before, and can attest to the top quality of the elk burgers (leaner), the fries, the waffle fries, and (for the healthier eater) the Grilled Mahi Mahi Sandwich ($10.65). On top of that, Bub’s has great ice cream, particularly the Spumoni and the Blueberry Cookie (creamy and tasty), as well as malts and shakes.

VERDICT: 93/100

Bub’s has great food all around, but expect a (long) wait and fairly steep prices.

Peppy Grill (Indianapolis, IN)

1004 Virginia Ave, Indianapolis, IN 46203, T: 317-637-1158

Peppy Grill is like being in a small town America in the early 1950s; in fact, I doubt the place has changed a thing since it opened many decades ago. It seems to be mostly known for cheap all-day breakfast (huge pancakes!) and burgers (or “hamburgs,” as the sign says), but Peppy has a full diner-style menu. Similar to the neighborhood it is in, Fountain Square, Peppy's clientele is a combination of local old white working class and young white hipsters.

I order the Hamburger ($3.35), which comes with chips, and make it a "Deluxe (+$0.35), which means lettuce, tomato, onion, and mayo. I think this already says it all. The quarter pound burger is grilled on the griddle, while the wrinkled chips come straight from a huge bag. The burger is thin and dry, the condiments fresh; as close to your average family barbecue burger as it gets.

 

Somewhat disappointed I sit pondering whether to eat more, and if so where, when I notice that the woman  cuts whole potatoes in chunks above the fryer. The potatoes seem soft - I later hear they first fry them whole and then in chunks. So, I decide to add a portion of home fries (ca. $2.75). They are absolutely perfect: crispy on the outside, well done in the inside, and with a real potato taste!

VERDICT: 82/100

Peppy Grill mostly offers regular fare at good prices. However, their home fries are amazing!

Oaken Barrel (Greenwood, IN)

50 Airport Pkwy #L, Greenwood, IN 46143, T: 317-887-2287

Oaken Barrel is a brew company that also has a large brewpub annex sport bar in a small strip mall just off the I-65. It is very busy on this summer day; perhaps because no one uses their outdoor seating today (it’s 102F!). They have a regular bar menu, but with a culinary (and spicy) twist. 

We start with the Cajun Beef Tips ($7.75): blackened bits of beef tenderloin sautéed in Cajun spices served with horseradish sauce. They warn that it is very spicy, but that is an exaggeration. The beef chunks are grilled medium, very juicy, and have a great kick to them. Delicious! As an in-betweener we get a basket of Homemade Chips ($3), which turns out to be a rather generous portion of large and thick chips, fried fresh and crispy. Delicious again! Finally, I get the Tex Mex Burger ($7.75), which is exactly how I like my spicy burgers: soft bun, well grilled burger, and the spicy comes from the jalapeños, rather than the sauce, and is complemented by the fresh tastes of homemade pico de gallo. Yum! Finally, the side of onion rings (+ $1.50) is a huge portion of thick sliced onion, freshly battered: good. Oh, and M. tells me that the beer is great too!

VERDICT: 93/100

Outstanding bar food! They only shouldn't use the term "spicy" so lightly. ;-) Service could be better (and nicer) too.

Three Pints Brewpub (Plainfield, IN)

5020 Cambridge Way, Plainfield, IN 46168, T: 317-839-1000

The Three Pints Brewpub opened up a couple of years ago and I have visited it many times. It has a great selection of beers, several brewed on the premise (changing regularly). Inside it is fairly noisy, particularly when college basketball or NFL football is on, but in the summer you can sit on their large terrace (one of the few in town). It has a fairly common menu of appies and sandwiches, although also some more original items (such as the Rattlesnake Shrimp Pasta).

As an appetizer, I order a half basket of Onion Rings ($2.95), which are freshly battered, crispy, not too thick, and come with a nice tangy dip sauce. My favorite on the menu is the Pot Roast Sandwich ($8.95) to which I add their fabulous beer battered jalapeno. The meat is tender and has a strong delicious taste and is soaked into the soft bun, while the jalapenos add a kick. The fries are fairly soft, have a slight dusting of spices, and are soft yet slightly crispy. I have also had the Fish & Chips ($12.95) and THE BIG ONE ($8.95), an 8oz Angus beef burger (ALWAYS add the beer battered jalapenos!): both were good!

VERDICT: 89/100

Three Pints Brewpub serves by far the best pub food in Plainfield, IN, which is in itself not very impressive. But even on a larger stage it would be very competitive, and its original dishes (in particular the Pot Roast Sandwich with beer battered jalapenos) are great!

Talkin Turkey (Indianapolis, IN)

Moving location in Indianapolis, T: 317-809-3427

Indianapolis is slowly but steadily developing a food cart culture, although they are not always easy to find. I find the Talkin Turkey food cart outside of the City Market (you can follow their location through their website). It serves “real Cajun cooking,” which means po-boys and a lot of rice and beans.

I get a Catfish Po-Boy ($6), which includes chucks of lightly battered and crispy fried catfish on a piece of brown baguette with mayo, lettuce, mustard, and slides of carrot. It is very original in both design and taste.

VERDICT: 85/100

Talkin Turky does real Cajun cooking in a bit original way. Their po-boys are decently priced and tasty!

Bru Burger Bar (Indianapolis, IN)

410 Massachusetts Avenue, Indianapolis, IN 46202, T: 317-635-4278 (4BRU)

I am seldom excited about trends in the restaurant industry, but the recent trend in upscale burger restaurants is an exception. While the burgers are not always better than in a dive, it allows you to eat burgers at a place that your wife can east a salad. Bru Burger Bar is a great new place in the hip Mass Ave area of downtown Indy with excellent beers and one of the best terraces of Indy. Their menu is build around a good selection of original gourmet burgers.

For appies we are getting the BRU Fries ($6), which comes with House Ketchup, Black Pepper Mayo & Chipotle BBQ. The fries are absolutely amazing, and the black pepper mayo in particular is very tasty. 

I get The End ($11), a thick juicy burger with cartelized onion, lettuce, tomato, truffle aioli, and a fried egg (I opt out of the horseradish havarti). It has a very fresh and full flavor; almost doesn't taste like a burger (in a good way). For $2 I get a side of onion rings, which have a very thick tempura batter that is addictive, but very fat. M. has the Ground Turkey Burger ($9), which has a thick turkey patty (which is a little bit dry this time), carrot ginger salad, peach compote, and curried mayo on a multigrain bun. It is by far the best turkey burger I have ever had.

VERDICT: 93/100

High-end burger restaurants are not always the best places to pig out. But Bru Burger Bar satisfies both the high-brow and the pig out eater. The fries are incredible, the onion rings addictive (and very fat), and the burgers fresh and high quality. True gourmet burgers!

KT's Pub (Plainfield, IN)

120 N Perry Rd, Plainfield, IN 46168, T: 317-268-4931

KT's Pub is a huge empty rock/sports pub in a strip mall, which is normally too cold, too dark, and too loud (rock/metal music). It has a huge screen for games, but this seems only for football. This evening there are two guys trying to impress the very busty waitress, who tries to impress them for tips (she seems to win). The menu is classic bar food: appies, burgers, pizzas, sandwiches. Although a couple more people walk in, I am the only one eating, and still have to wait more than 20 minutes to get my order.

 I order the Trash Can Burger ($9.95): two patties, jalapeno, mushroom, lettuce, tomato, onion, and bacon. Normally it comes with chips, but I prefer fries. The fries are thick and wrinkled, which are seasoned and a bit salty. The burger is huge: two thick but very dry patties, while the weak bun makes it impossible to eat. It also comes with American and Swiss cheese, even though I asked without cheese. Did I already say I was the only one eating?

VERDICT: 44/100
KT's Pub offers poor food in a terrible setting and with incompetent service.

The Cornerstone Pub (Stilesville, IN)

6067 West US Highway 40 #A1, Stilesville, IN 46180, T: 317-539-7331

There is almost nothing between Plainfield and Greencastle, the roughly 26 miles I drive virtually every day... almost nothing. In the tiny spot of Stilesville is The Cornerstone Pub, which offers surprisingly good food! As an appetizer, I order a bowl of chili ($3.99), which is a mix of big chunks of grounded beef, tomato, and peppers; it is a bit watery, but very tasty. My entree is the Famous "Big Stone" ($7.99), their version of the Big Mac... even if this mere analogy is heresy. The two patties are charbroiled, crunchy and tasty, the special sauce could have been a bit dominant. It comes with chips, which are not homemade.

VERDICT: 87/100
The Cornerstone Pub offers amazingly good food for a random pub in a tiny village.

Mug 'n Bun (Speedway, IN)

5211 West 10th Street, Speedway, IN 46224, T: 317-244-5669

In the 1950s probably every American town had a drive-in, but today these places have become a rarity. Normally they only survive in small towns without competition... or, if they are really good, in more competitive places. Mug 'n Bun is billed as "Indy's Oldest & Finest Drive-In" and has a huge menu: all the classics, floats, fish and seafood. It's most famous for its root beer.

I have been wanting to go here for a long time, and now that I am finally here, I want to sample as many things as possible. Unfortunately, I am alone... First, I get a Coney ($4.50): chili and onion, fairly soft bun, little sausage, not much taste of the chili. The Breaded Tenderloin ($3.80) is thinly breaded and very tender tenderloin on a soft bun with mayo and lettuce/tomato/onion: huge and delicious. The French Fries (regular at $2.00) are wrinkle fries, nothing special. An original dish are the Onion Nibbles (regular at $2.00), small onion rings, lightly battered and tasty. I dip them in a side of Horseradish Sauce ($0.70), which is very fresh though not very spicy. Finally, the large soda ($1.60) is watery, but comes in their mug.

VERDICT: 84/100

Mug 'n Bun is a very decent drive-in and if you choose wisely, i.e. breaded tenderloin and onion rings, it is both tasty and affordable.

Papa Roux (Indianapolis, IN)

8950 E 10th Street, Indianapolis, IN 46219, T: 317-603-9861 (@ City Market)

As most American cities, Indy has various restaurants that bring a taste of New Orleans to the city. Papa Roux stands out from the rest in at least two ways: location and quality. Papa Roux is a stand in the City Market and excels in po-boys. They are huge, fresh, but also pricey. 

I order the Catfish Po-Boy ($11.99): a large, freshly skillet-fried blackened catfish on French bread with spicy mayo and slaw. It is extremely fresh and tasty! The sandwich comes with unlimited sides (that day?). As a side, I take the intriguing Tomato Creole, a sweet and (very) spicy tomato-rice stew with onion and rice. Delicious! The included drink was a Henry Weinhard's Orange Cream, which was simply gross.

VERDICT: 92/100
Papa Roux has awesome sandwiches with real Cajun sides... but they come at a (hefty) price.

City Barbeque (Avon, IN)

9116 Rockville Road, Avon, IN 46234, T: 317-454-8233

City Barbeque is a chain of BBQ restaurants, based in Ohio, which mainly has branches in Cincinnati, Columbus, and Dayton. Recently they also opened two place in Indianapolis; one in Greenwood in the south, and one in Avon in the West. The first time I went, the line stretched all the way outside, and I was too hungry to wait. I was curious enough to return a couple of day later, however. So many Hoosiers couldn't be wrong, right?

They have a fairly extensive menu, which includes a couple of samplers. As I was both curious and hungry, I ordered the City Sampler ($15.99), which includes brisket, pulled pork, sausage, turkey, Texas toast, and two sides. The brisket was chunky and fairly dry, the pulled pork incredibly tender, the sausage snappy and flavorful, the turkey tender (but without much taste), and the toast a bit too chunky. As sides I chose fries, which were very tasty but a bit saggy that day, and slaw, which is light and vinegar-based (no mayo). Overall, it was pretty good, particularly for a BBQ place in the Midwest, but I felt that i hadn't made the best choice, so I returned a couple of weeks later and ordered the North Carolina Pulled Pork Sandwich with two sides. The sandwich was great - I will probably opt for the regular PP sandwich next time though, as the meat is too good to mix up with slaw - and this time the fries were crunchy. I also had the summer special, Cukes 'n Onions, which was delicious.

VERDICT: 88/100

City Barbeque is easily one of the best bbq places around Indy, but you have to choose wisely to have a great experience. The pulled pork sandwich with fries and slaw or cukes 'n onions are a win!

Diggity Gourmet Dawgs (Danville, IN)

68 S. Jefferson Street, Danville, IN 46122, T: 317-604-6008

Diggity Gourmet Dawgs is a tiny hole-in-the-wall with just two tables on the main square of Danville. It serves only hot dogs and nachos and is open just 3 hours a day (5 hours on Friday and Saturday). In addition to various styles of hot dogs, you can also build your own.

I got a Chicago Style ($4.50) and a Classic Carolina ($3.50). In both cases the buns weren't steamed and the sausage was very thin and salty. The Chicago had a lot of fresh toppings with totally overpowered the dog. The Carolina comes with (tasty but salty) chili and too creamy slaw.

VERDICT: 74/100
Diggity offers tiny hot dogs with fresh toppings but at too high prices.

Mr. Gyros (Indianapolis, IN)

5358 West 38th Street, Indianapolis, IN 46254, T: 317-388-9788

According to various online reviews, Mr. Gyros serves the best gyros in Indianapolis. To be fair, most reviewers note that Indy is not a city of gyros or shawarma, but they nevertheless praise the gyros at this unappealing place at a busy street. It serves a broad range of fast food, from greasy American to greasy Greek.

I order the Gyros Value Meal ($6.98), which includes a gyros sandwich, a generous portion of fries, and a soda. The fries are crispy, but fairly tasteless. The gyros is standard American fare: relatively thin slices of salty fat meat (provided by Kronos) on a fat thick Greek pita with tomato, (too much) onion, and well-spiced tzatziki.


VERDICT: 72/100
Many people say this is the best gyros in town, and sadly they might even be right. While they provide much food for little money, it is standard and fat fare.

Handel's Homemade Ice Cream & Yogurt (Fishers, IN)

8760 East 116th St, Fishers, IN, T: 317-525-8065

Handel's is a (North) Indianapolis institution with locations in the wealthy northern suburbs of Carmel and Fishers. It has an incredible selection of flavors of ice cream, including both classics (like chocolate and vanilla) and unexplained originals (like Buckeye, Graham Central Station, Elvis and Spouse Like A House). In addition, they have fat-free ice cream, seasonal specials, lowfat yogurts, pops, sherbets, smoothies, and sorbets. I was a bit intimidated by the choice, and confused by the pricing.

I tried to order three tastes, but was told that they could only fit two on a cone, so I decided to skip the dolce de leche and instead go for my favorite, banana, and one unique taste, that an old rocker like me couldn't refuse: Tin Lizzy. The banana was kind of bland, but the Tin Lizzy was simply decadent: vanilla ice cream with huge chunks of butterscotch and gooey caramel sauce. The cone with two flavors came to a whopping $5.35! And while it featured more like two scoops per flavor, I would have preferred just one scoop at half the price.

VERDICT: 82/100

Don't get me wrong, Handel's features some excellent and original homemade ice cream, and has enough different flavors to have you coming back for years, but some basic flavors are bland and both the portions and the prices are too much.

The Ram Restaurant & Brewery (Fishers, IN)

12750 Parkside Drive, Fishers, IN 46038, T: 317-596-0079

The Ram is a restaurant and brewery chain with locations in Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Oregon, Washington. I had previously eaten at the restaurant in downtown Indianapolis, but didn't realize that it was a chain. I probably wouldn't have returned, as the first time the food was underwhelming (despite many recommendations by colleagues).

This time I came at exactly the right time; not only was it gorgeous weather, so I could sit outside on the terrace, but it was also the 4th annual Burger-Rama, which features eight original new burgers for a limited time. I had a really hard time choosing between the Sante Fe Rodeo, Burger Dog, and Hog Heaven, but decided on the last one. The Hog Heaven ($9.99) is a burger with a thick grilled pork patty, which was tasty but a bit dry, fresh watercress and strips of carrot and slaw, some spicy powder ad sauce. The side of fries was very crispy and fresh.

VERDICT: 83/100

Given my two experiences, The Ram has not yet convinced me. To be fair, the Hog Heaven was probably not the best choice, and I do hope to return to sample the Burger Dog to provide a more accurate assessment.

Emmy's Original Pancake House & Grill (Avon, IN)

7508 Beechwood, Center Suite 300, Avon, IN 46123, T: 317-272-7200

Situated in what must be a former Chinese restaurant in one of the many strip malls along the US-36 in Avon, Emmy's doesn't look like a classic diner, but it is. It has a huge menu, including the obligatory Greek food (i.e. gyros). It specializes in breakfast, however. I had come across some good reviews of the place, but was skeptical after trying some other highly recommended places in the area.

I ordered the Big Boy's Plater ($7.49): the three eggs were perfectly prepared (medium over), the bacon was crispy, and the sausages had a nice taste. I had substituted the hash browns for wheat toast, which was basic but thick, and had chosen the banana pecan nut pancakes, which were thick and fluffy and not too dry. M ordered the Vegetable Omelette ($6.99) and added regular pancakes for a small additional fee. Both were much appreciated.


VERDICT: 85/100

Emmy's is a great old-school diner in a Chinese restaurant/game hall setting. It offers big portions of good quality breakfasts at very acceptable prices.