El Compadre Taqueria: Some LIke It Hot!

The last couple times we've stopped in at the Green Door Lounge (see post), which doesn't serve much in the way of food, someone has come into the bar with a bag of tacos from El Compa Carniceria & Taqueria, in the same strip mall as The Door at 711 E. Thompson Road.   Taquerias are generally little lunch counters either attached to or inside of a Latino Market, kind of like the snack bars you old people used to see inside those ancient corner drug stores when you were kids, or so I'm told, anyway. Some have tables and chairs where you can eat, and others like El Compa are strictly to-go.  The tacos these good ole' boys were bringing in were FANTASTIC traditional Mexican soft tacos-- corn tortilla, chunks of tasty marinated and seasoned beef with cilantro and lime juice.  When I later saw that they have $1 tacos on Tuesdays, I had to stop in and pick up lunch for The Little Woman and myself.  I got her 3 tacos and the Camarones ala Diabla platter for me.  The guy warned me that the platter is very spicy: "Bring it on!" I said.  He smiled and said since we like spicy food, he would give me some hot salsa for the tacos as well as the green sauce he'd already put in the bag. I think heard evil laughter echoing behind me as I left the store....

The Camarones ala Diabla was a simple collection of shrimp in the devil sauce, with (I think) rice and beans on the side.  I say "I think" because the sauce wiped out most of the rest of my memory of the meal-- it was oh, SO tasty, but it was also oh, SO SPICY HOT!  Now, TLW shares my love of spicy food, but she took one bite and immediately ran to the kitchen to fetch us some milk and maybe a fire extinguisher.  Thankfully she had more milk standing by when she tried a little of the red salsa on her taco, because it set her lips on fire.  I think it was even hotter than the Diabla sauce....  I finished my meal because it was sooooo delicious, but I drenched my tongue in milk and it was still burning for several minutes afterward.  TLW very graciously gave me one of her tacos, and we ate them with the verde sauce, which was tasty but also had a little kick.  I think the whole meal cost like $11, so it was well worth it.  We'll definitely go back, but we'll go green, in regard to the sauce, anyway.  !SALUD!

The Corner Pub: Only the Name Has Changed, and That's Great!

The Corner Pub, at the corner (duh) of Old Meridian Street and Epler Avenue, used to be the Old Meridian Pub(see post), which was one of my favorites until squabbles between the multiple owners caused it to be sold. I'm happy to say, though, that the new owner has pretty much kept everything the same.  Steve is back in the kitchen where I like everything he cooks but the chili (which tastes good, it's just not my idea of chili, being more like Brunswick Stew).  Most of the other former employees have returned as well as a new one, Esther, who has probably tended bar at more establishments than I could name.  There was a good crowd in there on the Friday afternoon we visited, including a group of firefighters celebrating a retirement.  I dunno if they were 2 or 3 drinks in and just having a good time, or if 20 years of sirens screaming in their ears has left them all hard-of-hearing, but we listened with amusement to 6 or 7 boisterous, bellowed conversations all at the same time.  It made for quite a festive atmosphere, and hopefully this will be the norm for this nicely reborn watering hole.  Cheers! 

Becky's Village Restaurant- A Great Experience for Earth Explorers.

Becky's Village Restaurant is in downtown Willshire, Ohio, a tiny little burg on the way back to Indy from Van Wert.  It was Sunday morning... before the churches let out, I hoped, but when we got in there it was already quite busy-- must've been a lot of folks who attended the early service!  I was dressed in my traveling clothes, shorts and a t-shirt, so maybe that gave me away as an outsider?  Every head turned to look at us quizzically, like they'd just seen us park a space ship outside.  Seeing that we appeared harmless, however, they soon turned back to their own conversations, although I did see one lady immediately don a tinfoil hat to ward off our energy beams (jk).

It was a pretty simple, straightforward diner menu.  I had a breaded chicken breast sandwich, and The Little
Woman ordered her staple grilled tenderloin sandwich.  I thought the wait would be lengthy given their booming business, but both orders arrived promptly and were excellent!  The fries were julienne cut, my favorite, and they were cooked just right, too.  Real brewed iced tea topped off a great little meal that was beyond reasonably-priced, something like eleven bucks for both of us.

The best part of the quaint, simple decor was a big clock on the wall that appeared to have been made out of a carnival Big 6 wheel.  I reeeeeally WANTED that wheel!  I was thinking about offering to buy it when I saw a group of townsfolk outside with torches and pitchforks, testing the hull of our saucer, so we just teleported the hell back aboard and got outa there....  We may yet return to study these Willshireans, though!

The Library Indy: "Casual Fine Dining" is NOT an Oxymoron

The Library Pub & Restaurant, 2610 S. Lynhurst Drive, has been there for years but, just like Ralph's Great Divide (see post), I had always been curious about the place but it was never open whenever I drove by, so I wondered if it was still a going concern.  Turns out it is-- I received an Amazon Local deal in my email where you could purchase a $60 food voucher for $30, so I leapt, er, lept, er, jumped at the chance.  Their website, www.library-indy.net  lists prime rib as their specialty as well as a "come as you are" atmosphere.  Having read that, I was really surprised at the elegant decor inside and out.  There is a circular drive with a portico at the entrance and a little fountain in the middle of the circle.  The building is set up rather like a grand old house, with a high-ceilinged entrance hall that has stairs to the second floor and a large chandelier lighting the way.  The first-floor dining room has blonde-wood floors, french windows, and antique-looking wood tables without tablecloths.  It seemed a little odd seeing folks in shorts and t-shirts in this grand setting, but it made me feel really comfortable, after a bit.

The atmosphere was impressive, but it only hinted at how good the food was:  The Little Woman and I shared the Chef's Cut Prime Rib (16oz), which the waiter thoughtfully divided for us, along with the sides, onto two plates.  I'm not a big prime rib guy, but I've had a number of them over the years, and this one was perhaps the best I've ever had-- seasoned and cooked perfectly.  The sauteed green beans were the best non-Southern style ones you could ever find, shaking one of my core beliefs that bacon grease is an indispensable ingredient in green beans. The only less-than stellar part of the meal was the baked potato-- I thought it tasted great, but TLW pointed out that it had a mealy texture that indicated it might have been left over from lunch, which I suppose is a little cut-cornery for a $$$ establishment. All in, though, this $$ guy didn't feel bad about having to fork over that extra $ for the quality food presented, and that's saying something!

We adjourned to the bar after dinner, and the bartender was quite friendly and attentive in spite of being really busy.  She said that a lot of locals don't seem to know about the place because it's in a commercial area that primarily serves airport travelers, with 20 hotels within a 2-mile radius.  Indeed, while we were there a number of hotel shuttles came and went with groups of businessmen in various states of attire and sobriety.  They have an outdoor patio where you can eat and drink, but it was kind of a warm day, so as TLW's niece once said, when it's hot I DON'T do "OUTSIDE"! We like this place so much we signed up for one of their customer club cards, because just like AHNOLD, we'll be baaaaaach!  Have I already used that one?  BAAAH!  It's hard being original, even with yourself, sometimes....

The Grove: Much Like Beech Grove Itself

The Grove Sports Bar & Eatery, 3206 S. Emerson Avenue in Beech Grove, is much like the city of Beech Grove itself: medium small, tidy, and comfortable.  The city grew up (if I have the history right) around the repair shops of the Big Four Railroad (officially called, uh, the Chicago, Cleveland, Cincinnati and St. Louis Railroad, I think), which became one of Amtrak's main repair facilities, so most of the houses in the older part of the town are modest Cape Cod-types or similar, although there are some upscale areas on its fringes.  The Grove is kind of like that-- three decent sized rooms, one with two pool tables, another with a bunch of tables and three or four electronic dart boards, and the bar itself which is fairly big.  It has some nicely paneled walls in addition the painted concrete block, but there are no windows, so the regulars had the door propped open for most of the nice Spring day.  They had some pretty decent beer and drink specials, including some REALLY decent prices on a new liquor product, which tasted terrible to me, but HEY, that's the "adventure" part of adventure drinking, right?  The bartender that day was one of the best bartenders I've ever seen.  Angel (not the same Angel who worked at the Colonial, who is also a good one) has a knack for making everyone feel like she wants to hear what they have to say, and that's a special talent in the bar business, where every nattering drunk acts like Goober the time he grew a beard-- They think they're George Clooney, Jerry Seinfeld, and Josh Groban rolled into one.  In short, we had a great couple of rounds there, after which we adjusted our Terminator shades and said "We'll be baaaaach...." 

Kenny D's in Miramar Beach, FL: Old-Fashioned Fried Goodness

Two friends of ours planned to invite a bunch of us to attend when they were going to get married in Gulf Shores, Alabama, but then found it too hard to find accommodations there during Spring Break season and switched to Desitin, Florida....  Whoa!  NOT Desitin; that was kind of rash, sorry-- it was Destin, Florida. So we all made plans to go there for the wedding, but then they decided to get married here in Indy so that certain important family members could attend, and thus the trip to Destin became a sort of communal week-long party honeymoon, with the wedding couple and some friends and family in a big rental house while The Little Woman and I shared a condo next door with another couple.  

I'm a cheap bastard, but on vacation I rather like to eat out every meal and let someone else do the cleaning up.  One guy in the Big House, however, fancies himself a gourmet chef (and we discovered he's not far wrong) while the female of our roommates and TLW love to set up housekeeping wherever we go and do some cookin', which they're perty danged good at, so we ate most meals at "home" or next door. We did manage to eat out at least once every other day, however, so I relished those occasions all the more 'cuz I LOVES me some adventure eatin'.

We first hit Pompano Joe's which is (like everything else in Miramar Beach) on Scenic Gulf Boulevard, a family friendly bar/restaurant which is right on the beach and epitomizes every touristy beach bar & grill you've ever seen or envisioned, with the de rigeur driftwood and surf board decor. The food was decent and not cheap but not outrageous, although the price of drinks was stiffer than the drinks themselves.  We did get a small pitcher of Yuengling for $9.50, though, so that wasn't too bad.   A dozen raw oysters on the half shell was $12.49, and for $11.49 we had the Oysters Rastafella, six baked oysters topped with spinach, cheddar-jack cheese and Parmesan bread crust that, alas, sounded better than they tasted (Uncle Bubba's in Savannah can still breathe easy knowing that their baked oysters are still DA BEARS as far as we're concerned). The ambiance of the place was nice and comfortable, though!

We walked about a mile up the road to The Whale's Tail, a small simple place that's also on the beach.  It was like 73 degrees and sunny out, although there was a breeze.  TLW and I were in shorts and t-shirts and were still burning up from our walk, I guess, but the restaurant staff were all dressed in long pants and sweat shirts, while one female patron in long jeans and a tank top was rubbing her arms for warmth and made her boyfriend go to the car and get her jacket.  Sheesh!  That's what Winter in the Mid-West will do to us, I suppose....  We both had Shrimp Po-boys, which were very good, the shrimp fried just right.  The price was decent, too, although I was shocked, SHOCKED to find that they don't serve oysters.

We took a drive toward Desitin proper (d'oh! Destin, sorry-- my typing a little rusty... and rough, and itchy), and stopped at a fancy-lookin' place called Captain Dave's or something like that, but it didn't open until 4:00, so we back-tracked a block to Kenny D's for lunch.  It's an old-fashioned diner-looking joint, all silver and neon on the outside but shaded by big palm trees.  There is an old phone booth outside by the walk (they still exist!) which had no phone but was maintained there apparently so patrons can autograph it (or maybe, as one of my buds opined, it was there so cell phone users could have a quiet place to talk on the phone and not disturb the crap out of the people around them.)  The indoor decor was very simple, with corrugated metal ceilings and just a few nautical items here and there-- I think I saw an oar on the wall somewhere, along with several Certificates of Appreciation from the Destin Snowbirds Association, which was I hoped was a good omen, an endorsement by the locals. 

The sign out front said "Best Burger on the Beach" but the menu lists a BUNCH of Cajun dishes of all kinds. Andre our waiter, a short, wiry man of about 30 in jeans and a t-shirt who looked he might have just retired  from the Thoroughbred Jockey circuit, was either Cajun or French by his heavy accent and outward air of indifference, although he turned out to be quite attentive in an unobtrusive way.  We had a dozen oysters on the half shell for $10.99 which were FANTASTIC.  I dunno how one restaurant's raw oysters can be any better than another's but these seemed fresher and juicier than others'.  She had a shrimp po-boy and I had an oyster po-boy, and they were both excellent-- possibly the best fried oysters I've ever had, lightly breaded and delicately fried.  A happy hour pitcher of domestic beer (Yuengling counts!) was, get this, $6.99!  Oh yeah, the fries with the sammiches were very good, too....  The flavor and portion size for the price were enough to warm an old $$ guy's heart!  Bon Appetit, y'all!

McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant: Good Food; Value, Not So Much.

We were going out for our 9th wedding anniversary, and a friend had very thoughtfully given us a sizable gift card to Oceanaire Restaurant, but we had eaten there several years ago and been sorta underwhelmed by the seafood and overwhelmed by the price tag, over $150 for the two of us. So when we saw on the back of the gift card that it was good for any Landry's-owned establishment, I checked out McCormick & Schmick's, 110 N. Illinois Street.  It's part of a chain, but there's only one in Indy, so I feel comfortable reviewing it.  The menu appeared a somewhat less expensive $$$ than Oceanaire's, and had much the same kind of food.  

I'm a $$ kind of guy, remember, so if you want me to fork over that additional $ ya better WOW me, and sadly, M&S did not.  It was good, mind you, it just wasn't $$$ good, especially since we had to come downtown and pay to park (although I think they do have valet parking available, so never mind the paying part).  I had the Ultimate Mixed Grill- grilled shrimp, stuffed shrimp, seared scallops, and a chunk of grilled salmon, with roasted red pepper mashed potatoes and green beans for $32.99.  Little Mama had the Shrimp Trilogy: fried shrimp, stuffed shrimp, and shrimp scampi with butternut squash orzo serving as the pasta for $26.99, and we split a $7.99 chopped side salad with blue cheese. 

The huge cup of blue cheese dressing that came with the salad and the orzo were the real highlights of the meal, not the seafood.  The orzo was freaking awesome, very plump and tasty, and the little cubes of squash made me thankfully forget I was eating squash.   The light buttermilk breading of the fried shrimp made it very tasty, too.  The grilled shrimp was overcooked, dry and tough, while the scallops and stuffed shrimp seemed underdone but tasted okay.  I know it's better to under cook than overcook scallops, but the very concept of "seared" implies that the top and bottom of the scallop ought to be browned just a bit, and these things were not browned at all-- they looked like they'd been broiled or baked.  Finally, the salmon, mashed potatoes, and green beans were decent but uninspiring.  With two glasses of wine our bill came in just under $100, and to me the bottom line is that Red Lobster is almost as good and a heck of a better value.  Oh yeah-- Mama always said to try to say something nice about everyone, so I will say the service was impeccable, not $$$ impeccable but DANGIT THERE I GO AGAIN, SORRY!