Restaurant at the Canyon Inn, McCormick's Creek State Park-- Remote, and Loving It.

First off, I did not stay in the Canyon Inn.  Oh no, instead of paying a little more and relaxing in quaint, restored comfort, last month I disregarded everything learned from watching Lucy and Desi in The Long, Long Trailer and bought a small recreational travel trailer, after which I proceeded to drive over or back into some of the most beautiful scenery in America.  Granted, though, I saved some dollars here and there on accomodations, and was able to take with me everything I needed from home AND the kitchen sink, and slept in the same bed every night no matter where I went. So that's how I wound up staying in the campground at McCormick's Creek State Park for $21 instead of the Canyon Inn for $138, but I nevertheless resolved to eat in the restaurant there.  The park itself is quite beautiful and kind of rugged, with a fairly deep canyon and a pretty, noisy little waterfall just a short (but steep) walk from the roadway.

I've visited 3 of Indiana's 7 state park inns so far, and each is an exquisitely restored and maintained masterpiece.  The Canyon Inn is a beautiful stone building outside, and inside it is all polished wood and plush carpet.  I went to the restaurant and was seated immediately as you might expect in mid-January, but I was surprised to see a decent-size crowd there.  I ordered the Saturday special which was Barbecue with 3 sides for $18.39, maybe not $$ at first glance, but it was HUGE!  A big slab of ribs and a big, thick slice of brisket, both dabbed with a very subtle BBQ sauce, not too sweet and not too spicy.  My side salad was kind of small but the greens were very fresh and the Bleu Cheese dressing chunky and flavorful.  The house-made chips were tasty and non-greasy, with ridges suitable for dipping in the Bleu Cheese.  My Broccoli Cheese soup was really decent if not outstanding.  In addition to that bargain, they had Oliver Winery's Cherry Moscato for $3.50 a glass, so BOTTOM'S UP! (burp)

El Toro Authentic Mexican -- A little surprise in the quest for individuality.

El Toro Authentic Mexican at 7040 McFarland Boulevard recently opened in the building (NOT a strip mall, yay!) that formerly housed The Stacked Pickle, a small chain that fell victim to The Pandemic.  El Toro is a small chain, too, with locations in Zionsville and Walton, KY near Cincinnati.  I stopped in hoping to find something other than the dreadful cookie-cutter sameness that seems to plague the Mexican food genre. El Toro kept the basic layout of The Stacked Pickle but has added some nice Mexican themed decor.  There was upbeat reggaeton and cumbia music playing on the sound system.

 

I was seated pretty quickly, although not El Meson quickly, and pretty soon the waiter brought some chips and salsa.  The chips were warm, and they were thicker and crunchier than I've seen elsewhere, so I wonder if they weren't made in-house...  The salsa was a rich red color, which is important to me because for me salsa is not only a food but an item of apparel as well.  It was decent but nothing to write home (or blog) about, pretty ordinary.  So far they hadn't shown me anything more interesting than my 22 ounce glass of draft Negro Modelo.  

I was there at 1:30 p.m. on a weekday and there apparently was no lunch menu.  The prices appeared to be at the top of this $$ guy's comfort level, so I ordered the Texas Taco Salad for $13.99, which promised steak, ckicken, and shrimp with lettuce and cheese sauce(?) in a pastry shell.  What I got was more like an open-faced chimichanga than a salad.

The pastry shell was very thin and very crispy, and it barely contained the mounds of goodness piled upon it.  The shrimp was large, plentiful, grilled right and lightly seasoned, as were the chunks of chicken and steak, all covered with a creamy queso.  I had to dig a bit but did find a bunch of lettuce underneath the mountain of meat, It wasn't very salad like, but it was HUGE for the price, and quite tasty. That and the beer along with the attentive waiter made this a pleasant $25+tip experience. Bastante bien. ;-)