Old Meridian Pub redux: Come for the Booze, Stay for the Food!

(Please see earlier post about Old Meridian Pub for more details about the place.)  I had only a smidgen of experience with the food at OMP the last time we were there, so we went for dinner on a Thursday, which is Steak Night:  You get a small filet or medium-sized sirloin and two sides for 8 bucks.  Any misgivings I might've had about eating there were immediately put to rest when I saw Steve, formerly the cook at the Gaslight Inn, come out of the kitchen.  I really don't know much about Steve--  I don't know his politics, whether he likes puppies or long walks on the beach, or any of that stuff, but I do know he REALLY can cook.  I had heard that Steve was working for the Mucky Duck, but alas, I can only assume that the ole' MD is still nearly poisoning its diners as before....  Oh well, MD's loss was our gain, as the OMP's dinner was da BOMB!  My filet was lightly seasoned and cooked to perfection, tender enough to melt in your mouth.  As I've said about some other dishes, I dunno what makes a great baked potato, but this one was equal to the best steak house potatoes I've ever had, and the macaroni & cheese (a potato AND macaroni?  Hey, it was Carb Day as far as I was concerned!), while maybe not the absolute best I've had, was darned good.  The drink specials included a bucket of 5 domestic beers for $10 and my favorite-- their house wine, a Chilean variety, for $2.50 a glass!  (Again, Schneider's take note!)  This was our best trip to OMP yet, and not our last, for sure.

An Update:  An acquaintance of ours went to OMP on a Friday and got the Prime Rib, said it was tasteless, lacked any kind of seasoning.   Although I find that hard to believe, I thought I'd note it for fairness' sake.  Apparently Steve wasn't working that night, but it seems like they would still have his recipes. Hmmmm.....

YET ANOTHER UPDATE: Another buddy just told me he went on a Friday and ordered Prime Rib, and it was the best he'd eaten in a long time!  Go figure, but knowing Chef Steve I'd say the one bad comment was a fluke, an anomaly, an aberration, a, a, a, er,  HONEY GET ME MY THESAURUS!

UPDATE, 07/30/2012:  Came to OMP after a disappointing visit to Meridian Fall Bar & Grille (see review) and again was pleasantly surprised.  Well drinks were two, two, two dollars each!  We had the Double Dog Dare, two 1/4 pound chili dogs with chips for $7.99.  The dogs and the chili were delicious (beef wieners and real chili, not coney sauce), although they were on Kaiser rolls which stood up to the massive wieners and chili better than a hot dog bun would, but which were a little more dense and bread-y than I would've liked. I looked around and noticed that the clientele was mostly 35+ in age, although I'm not sure why that is.  OMP doesn't have live music or a dance floor, but it does have great food and drink for a great price.  Cheers!

What Makes a Good Bar? Schneider's and The Shanty

Like the Darden Corporation (Olive Garden, Carraba's, etc.) and other commercial chains as well as numerous individual entrepreneurs, I've been pondering what magic formula produces a great bar or eatery, and two places I really like to frequent unfortunately do not immediately reveal their secrets of success.  Schneider's at Meridian School and S. Meridian Street (State Road 135) has been there for years without significant changes. It's in an old strip mall and has your standard old wood decor with IU and Notre Dame memorabilia on the walls. In a way, though, the aged (but not outdated) atmosphere is part of the place's charm.  I'm told that the place is a big hangout for Catholic parishioners of St. Barnabas Church, but other than the occasional haggard "I have 6 kids, Kill Me NOW!" look that I see on some of the customers, I can't pick 'em out.  There are few other places, however, that have a such a big crowd where everyone seems to know everyone else.  That kind of clubby chumminess makes you feel at home even if you don't really know anyone there. The food is decent and drink prices are reasonable if not a bargain, except for wine, about which I'll whine:  $5.95 for a glass of Barefoot in a neighborhood bar means they really don't want to sell wine, doesn't it?  But other than that, I love the place!

The Shanty, a little farther down the road in another strip mall at County Line Road and Meridian, is another little place whose charm is difficult to discern and yet we always have a good time there.  We used to drink with Heath, the proprietor, at Shigg's some years ago, but beyond his possessing a more than passing familiarity with a typical bar's contents, I did not believe Heath would know anything about running a tavern when he opened The Shanty, but he has happily proved me wrong.  The place is light and airy, with light wood & green trim (reminding one of the19th hole at a golf course), and big windows.  The staff is friendly, the pub grub is good,  and the drinks are very reasonable, with lots of good specials.  The clientele, also, reminds me of a bunch of middle-class folks who've just come in off the links at the end of nine holes, and they're congenial if not the glad-ta-see-ya backslappers you meet at Schneider's. I would drink at The Shanty every day I drink (which is NOT every day, I swear!), if it wasn't so darned far from my house. :-'(  Waah!

UPDATE, 12/18/2011:  Heath, the Shanty's proprietor, fell victim to the occupational hazard of bar owners everywhere-- easy access to free booze.  There was apparently a nasty scene between Heath and the Indiana Excise Police, which resulted in the bar being closed down and Heath being arrested for Public Intoxication (in a bar?) at 11:00 AM on a weekday (As Rex always said, if you don't start early you cain't drink all day!)  The bar is now called Good Times, not to be confused with 4 the Good Times, a gun-and-knife club near Fountain Square.  Good Times apparently retains all the goodness of the old Shanty, so I have great hopes for the new management.