Beer & Wine Tasting-- Cheap Weekend Entertainment!

Last Saturday we engaged in what is becoming a little (adult) family tradition:  A serial beer and wine tasting! There are a number of microbreweries and wineries around town, but the easiest circuit for us as Southsiders is just short of downtown-- We start at Sun King Brewery, 145 N. College Street, then proceed to Easley Winery, just across the street.  After that we go around the corner to Flat12 Bierwerks at 202 N. Dorman Street, about 6 or 7 blocks away.  Sun King and Flat12's tastings are free and Easley's tasting is just  $2 or so. 

We first heard about Sun King before they opened, from two different guys who were plumbing contractors for the new brewing equipment.  They both took a liking to the owner,  perhaps partially because he offered them free samples, which they both said were GREAT, and they weren't lyin'!  The tasting room ain't much, being a roped-off portion of the brewery floor with a humongous wall of beer taps at one end of the room.  The friendliness of the servers and the yummy goodness of the beer, however, make up for any shortcomings in ambiance.  They have four house brews:  Sunlight Cream Ale, similar to many mainstream American beers; Osiris, a strong pale ale; Wee Mac, a Scottish-style brown ale; and Bitter Druid, an ESB .  I love all of them:  Sunlight is smooth and mild, while the others are full of bold flavor. When you go in for the tasting they give you 4 raffle-style tickets and two bottle caps.  The tickets may be used for 2-ounce samples of any of the house beers, and the bottle caps must be used for samples of either of two wildly variable temporary offerings: last week they had Java Mac, a coffee-infused version of Wee Mac that I didn't really care for, and Colts 444 Malt Liquor, which I found to be absolutely delicious-- rich and smooth, nothing like the malt liquors you get in cans.  A 64-ounce growler of beer to go can be had for between $6 and $13 depending on the variety of beer.

You've probably heard of Easley Winery, since a couple of their wines are available in most local grocery stores, usually either the sweet red or sweet white.  The Little Woman and I prefer the drier reds, though, and Easley makes several tasty ones: a couple of Merlots and a really tasty Chambourcin, to name but a few.  The place has an informal but classy ambiance, with a rustic exposed-brick tasting room and a nicely furnished party room that would be great for a small wedding reception or similar event.  A music trio plays in the party room sometimes on the weekends, and you may purchases glasses or bottles of wine for consumption there.

Flat12 Bierwerks is a quirky gem of a place:  there is usually a food trailer (Byrne's Grilled Pizza, oh my!) and sometimes one or more food trucks parked outside the outdoor patio/deck area, and the tasting and vending rooms are kind of delightfully wood barn-like.  You can sample any of six or more rotating beer varieties and/or purchase pints and drink them while sitting in some funky chaise lounges made from old shopping carts.  Where Sun King's beers are bold and straightforward, Flat12's are subtle and more complex, even the stronger ones.  Flat12's servers are friendly and eclectic, and the only thing that keeps you from wanting to stay there all day is that it gets kind of crowded sometimes.  I can hardly wait for Spring and the chance to eat and drink outside on the patio.  One of these days we're gonna do the circuit on a Friday so we can also do Ralph's Great Divide restaurant/tavern either before or afterwards.  More on that whenever it happens.....  Prosit!

UPDATE: 06/05/2012--  Recently we added the Fountain Square Brewery to our rounds, since they just opened a few months ago.  The bar area is nice, on one side of a cavernous room that had only a few tables.  A bicycling pub crawl group(?) we had just met at Flat12 came into FSB and brought their bikes with them, as there was room enough for all of them and enough space left over to throw a frisbee in there. One wall has some very beautiful art-deco style murals of FSB's various brand logos.  The tasting wasn't free but was pretty reasonable, like $5 for a six-glass sampler.  I found all their beers tasty but rather lacking in carbonation, probably by design, but which was a bit disconcerting to an old bubbly-beer drinker like meself. I think that was made up for, however, by the fact that all but one or two of their varieties have pretty high alcohol content, which is good, but if you're driving, BEWARE THE UNINTENTIONAL BUZZ!  Nasdrovye!

Mexican Buffet & Grill-- Mongolian No More, or is it?

I used to be a big fan of this place's predecessor, Oriental Buffet & Grill/Mongolian Barbecue, in the Wal-Mart Center in the 7200 block of S. US 31-- The old place had all kinds of food, not just Asian, and my wife especially liked the crab legs, which were as good and cheaper than most seafood restaurants'.  Imagine my horror, then, when I drove by the other day and saw that "Oriental" had been replaced by "Mexican" in the name on the sign.  A few guys in my office coincidentally went there the other day and were likewise shocked by the recent conversion, but they ate there anyway and were quite pleasantly surprised, especially this one pragmatic (see "cheapskate") individual who was ecstatic about the value for the money spent, something like $6.99 for the lunch buffet. 

With that glowing review, we just had to go and see for ourselves, the Little Woman being a big fan of Mexican food.  As we entered we were greeted by the same Asian hostess that had seated us when it was Oriental, and many of the servers were the same folks from the old place as well, including several Hispanic employees.  Some of the food on the buffets (the food bars are still huge) were suspiciously similar to the previous establishment's, too:   Their "Chile Lime Chicken"  looked and tasted very similar to General Tso's, and the "Burrito and Asada Barbecue" appeared to have the same meats as the old Mongolian Barbecue, minus the bean sprouts and water chestnuts.  Hmmm, I had a professor once that said that native Mexican peoples were descended from ancient Asians who crossed into North America eons ago when there was still a land connection between the two continents....   Could this be the source of the mysterious similarities between the old and the new, here?  Is that perhaps why you often see large numbers of Latinos gathered at the local Chinese buffets?  Or is it just because both cuisines are cheap and plentiful?.... You decide!  Anyway, the food was decent but not outstanding in my opinion, but I'm not the connoisseur of Mexican food my wife is--  Heck, I was IN Mexico for 26 days once, and when I got back I swore I would never again eat any RED or GREEN food ever again, but of course that wore off, eventually.  The Divine Mrs. Barfly reeeeally liked the taco bar they had there as well as the Burrito & Asada Barbecue, so who am I to disagree?  You certainly won't mistake this place with a nouvelle cuisine restaurant--  The decor is showing its age even with the added Mexican touches, but there's plenty of food for your dollar, for sure.

There're only a few alcohol oases in Franklin Township....

We started out at Brandon's in the relatively new strip mall at Southport Road and Shelbyville Road, but it was closed, as in forever-- there were the ominous signs on the door that spell out an ignominious end for a business, such as one that said "DO NOT ENTER THIS PROPERTY OR REMOVE ANY ITEMS WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE LANDLORD", and others from companies laying claim to the bar equipment inside. 

Suffering from drinkus interruptus, we continued on to the only other area in Franklin Township to drink (except for one new Mexican restaurant on Franklin Road), the little town of Wanamaker. First stop was the locally famous New Bethel Ordinary, on the main drag in downtown.  Wanamaker used to be named New Bethel, and sometime during the early 20th century, I think it was, the name was changed for reasons I was not immediately concerned with because I was THIRSTY, damnit!  NBO is a great little place to eat and drink, with a small bar section separated from a larger family dining room.  It really seems like an old-time saloon, but I couldn't find anyone in there who knew the history of the joint.  I couldn't complain, though, because the beer was reasonably priced, with quite a selection of microbrews from around the region.  NBO is best known, however, for its pizzas-  they're kind of a tavern-style pie, but with an incredibly abundant layer of cheese and toppings that seems at least a couple inches thick.  Their other dishes are good, too, if I can remember correctly the few times I didn't have pizza.  You can't beat the NBO for a comfortable, small-town atmosphere that's less than 20 minutes from downtown Indy.

We didn't make it to Brewski's or the Gold Mine this trip because we stayed for more than one at NBO.  Instead, we finished up at the One More Lounge on Southeastern Avenue just northwest of downtown New Bethel, er, Wanamaker, just up the road in one of those old small U-shaped shopping centers from the 50's or 60's, at the back of the U.  The sign is so small you might miss it if you're not looking for it.  It's a small, comfortable, vaguely scary little place with lots of biker memorabilia on the walls and ceiling.  I get the impression that they don't see many new customers, because both times we've gone in there everyone turned to look at us as if we'd just landed a flying saucer out in the parking lot, and the second time we came in, about 6 months after the first time, several folks after some scrutiny remembered us!  On the wall there was a White Pride Ride advertised on a poster which featured a motorcycle flanked by a US flag and a Confederate flag. By way of introduction one of the regulars gave us a tour of the place which included a party room that has a stripper pole they use on "amateur nights", whenever that is.....  And yet, the folks there are genuinely friendly, as if they're gonna give ya the benefit of the doubt until you show 'em different, so after a bit we were gettin' along with everyone. Add to that the fact that the beer was good and cold and cheap, and I didn't wanna leave!  At least not till all my songs had played on the jukebox, anyway.....

That Place in Greenwood-- Dr. Jekyll by Day, Hyde at Night!

I think the official name is now just That Place, since technically it's not in Greenwood now that they moved into the big strip mall on Emerson north of County Line Road.  That's a good thing if you're worried about being stopped by the cops-- The Indy Metro PD is much busier and more thinly spread than the Greenwood constabulary just across the county line, so if you're headin' north you might not even see one copper on your way home.  That Place is a Big Place which looks like it could seat maybe 400 people (wait a minute, the Fire Marshal's sign may read 252, if I remember right.  Anyway, it's big.) It's a true sports bar, with something like 13 satellite TV screens including a movie-sized projection screen on the wall behind the big ol' bandstand, tuned to every kind of sport imaginable. They have NTN game consoles, too, so you can play trivia quizzes if that particular screen isn't being monopolized by card game players.  Damn that Texas Hold'em!  There is something for everyone, like pool tables, arcade games, and a side room that has a two-lane miniature bowling alley! (Remember duckpin bowling?  Yeah, it's kinda like that.)  There is a humidor if''n you like your seegars, and a wall of maybe 15 draft beer taps with brews ranging from the usual Americans to exotic imports and local microbrews (the Sun King Oktoberfest is yummy!).   During the day the spaciousness of the place is rather intimate, like being one of the special insiders who get to roam Disneyworld when the park is closed.  At night, though, That Place is a happenin' place, as in if you aren't careful how you speak to people or whom you bump into, somethin' might be happenin' to YOU!  It gets pretty crowded, and although the high ceilings may mitigate the cigar smoke, the lack of acoustic padding combined with the hard non-carpeted concrete floors make my conversations go something like "HUH?  WHAT?" and that's when the band's not playing. (But then, that's how most of conversations go anyway.)  I understand, though, that you young people kinda like that sort of atmosphere, right?  Ha! Hey, the bar food's good all the time, at least.....

LJ's-- an old traditional watering hole.

LJ's, on Meridian Street south of Sumner (I think) is what you see in your mind when you think of "old fashioned dive bar."  It's kind of dark inside, has a big mirror behind the bar, and has a small dance floor and bandstand for use on the weekends.  Larry Johnson, the namesake owner, sadly passed away recently, but last I heard his wife and a couple regulars who became investors are now running the place. Larry renovated what used to be Lucky's, or Fonza's, or Doc Gainey's, or one of those names, some years ago when he bought it-- put in a number of new fixtures, new restrooms, and a deck/beer garden out back.  The restroom renovation was a little too ambitious:  they put two urinals and a stall in a space smaller than my bathroom at home-- being a 6-footer, when I sit down and close the stall door my knees touch it, and once a drunk at the urinal rocked backward and stepped on my foot!  Otherwise the place is pretty comfortable, with decent beer and drink prices, cheap if not memorable pub grub, and fairly friendly service.  The crowd varies from blue-collar types to some upper middle-class golfer types.  All in all I like the place, but it just doesn't inspire me like some others.... 

Dimitri's-- The Toyota Camry of Restaurants

Dimitri's just opened at US 31 S (East Street) and Thompson Road.  There is another Dimitri's in Columbus, IN just off I-65 that we used to visit for a little road trip occasionally on weekend days when the little woman didn't wanna cook breakfast, so I guess they've become a chain with this new location.  It is one of those Mediterranean restaurants, like the ubiquitous 4 Seasons or Lincoln Square Pancake House, that are known primarily for their breakfast menus. They're the restaurant equivalent of the Toyota Camry-- reliable performers at a good price, but not as exciting as some others.  This Dimitri's opened in what used to be a Denny's, but the new owners have renovated away any greasy trace of that chain in this location:  They competely gutted the place, walled the interior in rich wood boardroom-type paneling, laid down thick carpet, and put in octagonal tray ceilings that must be some sort of Greek tradition.  I had a Greek omelet that was HUGE, with really fresh and tasty gyro meat and feta cheese.  The prices were very good considering the humongous portions, and the waitress was a gracious Southern lady (Southern USA, not Greece) who provided great service.  O-PAH, y'all!

Update:  Ate lunch there on May 4, 2012 and it was reeeeally good.  Portions are huge.  I had the Grilled Chicken Pesto Pannini Sandwich, which was dressed with mayonnaise and red peppers.  It seemed fairly healthy, except for the mayo, of course.  Still a fan, Dimitri!

UPDATE, 09/27/2013:  Sadly, the Dimitri's at East Street & Thompson Road has closed, story from the employees being that the place was really making money so the landlord raised the rent to some outrageous level.  They always seemed to have a big crowd in there.  As I said, there was another Dimitri's in Columbus, IN, but I haven't been by there to see if it's still open. Sigh....

All American Hot Dog Co-- A David to the King David Goliath

The All American Hot Dog Co.  is located at 5558 Madison Avenue.  I give the exact address because you might miss this little place if you don't know exactly where it is, in an ancient little string of shops (too old to be called a strip mall, even) next to the Big Lots store. There is a kind of sandwich-board guy who stands out front trying to get your attention during the day, but he simultaneously waves signs for three different shops on the same stick, so as you drive by you might see only the sign for Chad's Barber Shop or Cash for Gold and completely miss the one for AAHDCo.  It doesn't have the big-city ambiance of King David Dogs downtown, but it has the same high-quality of meats and variety of topping combinations that KD does, and at a lower price. There's no dining room, but there are two umbrella tables out front where you can sit when the weather's not too bad.  The Cajun Sausage dog was new to me;  it had a nice (not hot)spiciness, that the proprietor said was close to a Cincinnati metwurst, but the metwursts I've had were never this good.  My wife had the Chicago dog, which was as good as any we've had in the Windy City, and  finally, the proprietor  (I think he said his name is Dave) is as nice a business owner as you'll ever meet.  I came in right at opening time t'other day, and he'd been late getting in, so he was still cookin' up his first batch of dogs for the day.   He apologized for the wait and gave me a card for a free meal!  Oh, and don't get me started on the TATER TOTS!  I dunno how he fixes 'em but I've never had restaurant tater tots (or any other tots) that were so danged gooooooood, just like everything else I've had there. I know hot dogs ain't exactly health food, but maybe that's why I like 'em so much-- guilty pleasures are the best ones!

UPDATE 12/18/2011:  THIS PLACE HAS CLOSED, DANGIT!   MAYBE HE'LL OPEN UP SOMEWHERE ELSE-- WHERE ELSE CAN I GET MY BOUDIN DOG???