The Acropolis-- Unpretentious Old World Greek

The Acropolis, on Southport Road just west of Madison Avenue, is an unassuming mom & pop place, both inside and out.  The Greek-style columns on the front of the building (sorry, they taught me the difference between Doric and Ionic columns in junior high school but danged if I can remember which is which) are understated but nevertheless a nice touch.  The inside decor is simple cafe style but with nice tablecloths (my old buddy Jim the Scumbag Attorney said you have to tip at least 20% if the restaurant has tablecloths. It was his one gesture toward decency and good manners.) There is nothing understated about the food, though.  Everything I've ever had there is deeelicious, and an excellent value for the price, which is $$ on a $$$$ scale.  Every trip to a Greek restaurant should include Saganaki as an appetizer, a plate of 1/4 inch thick slices of white cheese (Casera, Gus said) into which rum (not ouzo) is poured and then lighted.  Mmmm... flaming cheese with toasted pita bread for dipping! Mmm.... Mmm.... Oh! Anyway, all the food is great there.  If you don't know anything about Greek food you can always just order a gyro: a mixture of roasted lamb meat and beef on pita bread with onions, feta cheese, and tzadziki, a kind of creamy cucumber sauce (I'm sure you can get some sort of American food for that one person in your party with OCD who REFUSES to eat anything they've never eaten before).  There is a full bar also, and The Little Woman and I both have a shot of ouzo, although I'm not a big fan of that licorice-flavored Greek liquor.  I've never compared the price-per-ounce, but I'm pretty sure you could buy the green Nyquil cheaper and enjoy the same taste. The Acropolis is open every day of the week, but if you go during August check to make sure, because Gus the owner and his family go back to Greece to research new recipes (or so they tell the IRS) for a couple of weeks.  O-pa!

A Guest Review-- Vito Provolone's: Old Fashioned Italian

My brother-in-law sent me his impressions of Vito Provolone's in the strip mall on Meridian Street just north of Meridian School Road (it's a Strip Mall World here in the Midwest, folks).  Being as lazy as the next guy, I've included his musings here so I don't have to write a review myself, although I will say that I concur with his conclusions.  I love Vito's, and though it's a nice traditional sort of Italian restaurant with many fine dishes, the pizza there is the best I've found in Indy on any side of town.  Anyway, here is my bro-in-law's review, with some editing for content and so it will run in the time allotted.  He writes:

As a father of four I know about feeding teenagers. My youngest son is turning 16 years old and as good parents we wanted to take him out for dinner. The obvious thought was Taco Bell (ask any teenager and, for his/her money, Taco Bell rules!), but we wanted something more mature and less generic. Qdoba came to mind since we are not part of the 1%, but much to our surprise my son said he would like an Italian spot. The Little Woman and I were pleased since we both enjoy grub from the"boot"country, too. The Son said, however, that he didn't want to go to any "mall" type Italian places (He made air quotes with his fingers, like Doctor Evil talking about a "LASER").  I asked people from work and all the votes were for Vito Provolone's (except for one for The Old Spaghetti Factory, which would have been okay but we really didn't want to go downtown during Super Bowl week).


Off we went to a place of which I have heard for years but never visited. It was a Godfather's Pizza back when I used to pass it on the way to school on horseback or in the buckboard. .I don't think Mr.Caine still owns the place (or is even still breathing) but you never know!  We didn't need reservations and were greeted and seated quickly. A polite serving staff made sure our every need was met. There was even a complimentary treat for my Birthday Boy (I use the Boy term loosely, as he is a foot taller than me).
   
My wife can be a discerning (see "picky" in the dictionary) eater, but Sonny has Dad's sense of adventure. Son was torn between ordering lasagna or something he was worried he might not be able to pronounce (I love that boy, but as a teenager, not being embarrassed is everything to him!).  I knew Mom would opt for the pizza, because who could go wrong with that, right?(Note from SSBF: I did go wrong with pizza, once: With my blessing you may order any of the delicious dishes at Napoli Villa in Beech Grove except the pizza, trust me. -ed.) She was very pleased, although she thought they might've skimped on the cheese a little, but maybe that's the way it's done in Italy.  Sonny opted for the ravioli and soup (What, no salad?? I can't believe he hates lettuce.... Maybe he ain't my kid!), and given a choice between minestrone and cream of mushroom, he turned up his nose at the mention of mushrooms (WHAT??? Honey, what does our mailman look like?)


The boy had never had minestrone, but Captain's Wafer crackers made everything taste better. (He'd never had them, either-- maybe we should eat out more often, ya think?) A small loaf of Italian bread was nice and buttery but lacked that good gnarly garlic breath-causing flavor.  The Little Man (as I USED to call him. Our baby is all grown up, sniff sniff) really enjoyed the ravioli, saying the sauce was slightly sweet but very tasty and the lack of "chunky" tomato feel but with all the tomato taste was a real plus. He was treated to a free serving of spumoni ice cream (also new to him) and he loved it. He really liked that it came without all the birthday song and fanfare (again,  TEENAGER + EMBARRASSMENT = DEATH, Dad!  Duh!) My work buds had recommended the Pasta Diablo, but after much deliberation I chose.... wait for it.... drum roll.... building drum roll.... TA-DA! Spaghetti and Meatballs. The sauce was a little sweet and there were only two meatballs, but it was the tastiest spaghetti dish I've ever had. All in all, Vito's food was deeelicious, the price was very reasonable for the portions we received, and the servers made sure our colas and our spirits were never low!!!

Tokyo Buffet: Asian Fusion or Asian Confusion?....

Tokyo Buffet, in the big strip mall on Emerson Avenue just north of County Line Road, was an impulse lunch-- we were going to eat at another place there but that wasn't open yet, so we hungrily seized upon the only open restaurant nearby, so I wasn't expecting much-- like most Mexican Restaurants, most Asian buffet places who serve primarily Americans offer pretty much the same dishes prepared the same way.  I once stumbled onto a place 'way on the Far North Side awhile back that was alone on a wooded section of road, a mystical apparition like Brigadoon.  I know I couldn't find it again today.  I went in on a whim and discovered almost all the customers were Asian, and the buffet contained many dishes I didn't recognize, with a number of them composed of only slightly-cooked sea creatures, some of which resembled large insects.  I could only bring myself eat a few of the offerings, but I was enchanted with their flavor and the apparent authenticity of the place and the food.  Tokyo Buffet leans much more toward the familiar than does that fabled mirage, but TB was nevertheless a welcome surprise.  Its dishes are generally the well-known Asian stuff, with some appearing to be Japanese in origin, others Chinese, and still others from Thailand. But get this-- they were all very, very good!

The waitress was very polite and quite sociable despite her lack of fluency in English, which led to some awkward moments a couple times when neither the Little Woman nor I understood her, but she was so darned nice we didn't want to offend her by asking to repeat what she'd just said....  She did correctly fill our drink orders, though.  I love any place where you can get a pot of hot Oolong tea, and it was even better than usual because they gave me a tiny little cup with which to drink it (that's Japanese, right? Or is it--I dunno.)  I found that although you have to keep refilling the little cup, you get a good whiff of the tea aroma each time AND each sip is hot because you've just poured it from the pot.  Brilliant!

There is a sushi bar, too, and the wife cajoled me into trying some kind of combination seafood roll, which has Japanese dressing and rice on the outside surrounding a mix of crab and "other seafood" inside- a term that gavemesomeconcernbutsinceIcouldn'tseewhatitwasIcouldpushthatoutofmindlongenoughtobiteintoit, so it was actually quite good!  There were other rolls, some containing eel, but that was more than enough raw goodness for me....   There were some other somewhat different dishes, too, one of which I can only describe as a Japanese Taquito-- something like filo dough wrapped around tempura beef and fried-- it melted in my mouth and instantly blended several different savory flavors. All the other dishes, as I said, were pretty standard fare, but some were maybe the best examples of those dishes I've had in a long while, including the Spicy Thai Chicken, Broccoli Chicken, and the Hot & Sour Soup.  It's no Kabuto, of course, but for a fraction of Kabuto's price, TB's buffet at $5.99 for lunch was well worth it. Banzai! 

Places for Super Bowl Visitors to Eat & Drink.

I'm gonna pretend someone just hittin' town might actually read this....   Obviously there are hundreds of restaurants & bars in Indy, but I thought I'd mention a few of my favorites that are unique to the city, or at least the local region:   St. Elmo's Steakhouse downtown is a great place in the old steakhouse tradition-- elegant heavy old-boardroom decor, waiters in coats,  fine wine selection, etc.  It's great, but it ain't cheap.  I've never been to Harry & Izzy's next door, which is owned by the same folks and offers the same food but with a supposedly more relaxed ambiance.  Try the Shrimp Cocktail if you like your seafood cocktail sauce chocked full of horseradish-- it'll cure any sinus congestion you might have.  Eddie Merlot's, on 96th Street east of Keystone, is part of an upscale casual chain based in Ft. Wayne that serves exquisite steaks and other elegant dishes, and has a great bar that often has a piano player or jazz trio for entertainment.  On the other end of the price/ambiance spectrum is John's Famous Stews, 1146 Kentucky Avenue, a tavern-style eatery a short cab ride from downtown that has the best spicy goulash you'll ever eat!  Other dishes are more mundane (like Broasted Chicken) but everything is tasty and well-prepared. It is said that David Letterman goes there whenever he's in town, although I've never seen him there.  The Workingman's Friend, Belmont Avenue at Turner Street, is another dumpy-looking place that serves great burgers and sandwiches; no frills, just good food and cheap beer.  Weekday lunch hour draws a heavy business crowd, so you might expect to wait a bit to be seated during those times.  Finally, my just about favorite fast food restaurant of all time is Steak 'n' Shake, a chain with which you folks outside the Midwest might not be familiar. Oh, go ahead and laugh, you local prairie dwellers!  The Steakburger in all its incarnations is still (READ MY LIPS) the Best Burger Around, as far as I'm concerned, and SnS has enough other delicious menu items to keep you interested the whole year 'round.  There, oh foreign tourist, are a couple places to start.  Ya need more, just axe me!

Jack in the Box: Meh.

I don't generally like to review chain establishments since everyone's been to one of 'em, but I heard tell the line to get in Jack in the Box, 8950 S. US31, was outrageously long the day it opened, with new restaurant-starved Southsiders dying for a taste of the famous West-Coast based chain's wares. We went a week later, but the place is still buzzing with customers and they still need an off-duty Sheriff Deputy to direct traffic at the drive-thru....   We got there at about 10:00 AM on a Sunday, so we ordered a Sausage & Egg Biscuit combo, which included Hash Brown Sticks and coffee, as well as a smorgasbord of other stuff,  including a Sirloin Burger, some Jalepeno Poppers, and two tacos.

The sausage on the biscuit was totally foreign to my Southern sensibilities:  it was thin, pale, and not very well seasoned.  It was, in a compound word, flesh-colored: I was put in mind of a veggie patty or maybe something from Motel Hell or Soylent Green.  It did, however, taste a little like sausage, although Allen Purnell would laugh if he tried it-- he and the Tennessee Pride and Jimmy Dean folks have nothing to worry about from Jack. The Hash Brown Sticks were singularly uninteresting and the Kona coffee was just okay (weak in comparison to White Castle, the standard by which I judge all restaurant coffees), but the Jalapeno Poppers were very good, better than most other fast-food places', including Arby's. The tacos weren't bad but they were as un-Mexican as can be, with a weird if not unpalatable sort of corn/burger taste.

The best part of the meal by far was the Sirloin Burger, although at $4.59 I'm not sure it's worth the expense.  It had a big, square patty that had a definite charbroiled taste, kind of like Dairy Queen's Brazier Burger or Mickey D's Angus Burger (both of which are, I think, less expensive).  It really kind of put me in mind of Burger Chef's old Super Chef, which, for you youngsters, was the big-meat sandwich of a now-extinct burger chain that existed just after the Paleozoic Era, popular at the same time as the Brontosaurus Burgers available at the drive-in on The Flintstones.  All in all, though, I could eat there and at Jack in the Box again, although I'm not sure why.....

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!

Mexico City Grill - Like the Others, Only Better

You may have seen in the entry on the now-defunct Tequila's the lament that most Mexican restaurants seem to be the same, however well the food is done.  Well, Mexico City Grill isn't really that much different than the others, but we reeeeally liked it, nevertheless.  The decor is faux aged yellow stucco on the interior, with places where the stucco has faux-aged so much that  faux bricks are showing through.  It's kind of hokey, but I found the muted colors more relaxing than the neon-bright hues of places like El Meson. We got off on the right foot with some of the best chips and salsa I've ever had, and that's sayin' something!  As I've said, I dunno what makes great salsa, but MCG sure does-- there was a lot of cilantro in there, but there were other flavors as well.  The chips may not have been home-made but they were fresh and warm.  My Texas Fajitas were da bomb, with perfectly sauteed onions & peppers, relatively tender skirt steak strips, and bigger-than-average shrimp and pieces of chicken, and the little woman's Nachos Supreme had especially well-seasoned ground beef and cheeses. All in all the food was GREAT!  ... and not too expensive, either!  Oh yeah, the draft Dos Equis beers were good and cold, and only $3.99 for a 32-ounce mug.  !Vamanos alli!