Bonge's Tavern

 Bonge's Tavern is located in Perkinsville, IN (near Anderson).  It took us a good 45 minutes to get there from the East side of Indy, but the experience is worth the drive.

Why is Bonge's so special?  Well, they don't take reservations, and it's very small, so you have to arrive early and then wait to get in.  Normally this would be a major negative, but in Bonge's case, it's fun, because they let you tailgate in the parking lot!  Yes!  Tailgate!  The restaurant opens and begins taking names around 4:30, so we arrived around 3pm.  On this occasion (early September), we were the first ones there, but during the bulk of the summer I don't imagine that would have been the case. We set up camp and played some Euchre with our friends until we were able to line up and put our name in.

When you do put your name in, there are 3 approximate seating times to choose from (if you're far enough up in the line to choose--it's not a large restaurant, so it fills up quickly).  You can go in right away, at 4:30, or you can select 6:30 or 8:30.  We selected 6:30, and when a table opened up for us not long after 6pm, the hostess came out to get us.

The menu at Bonge's changes several times a season, and that day's offerings are up on a chalk board over the bar.  Included in every meal is soup or salad and two sides--a veggie and, both times we've been there, cheesy potatoes.

Tim opted to start with the tomato soup.  I had a tiny sip and really enjoyed it.  It's a bit chunky and full of flavor, and comes with croutons on top.  I chose the wedge salad, which is (as would be expected) a wedge of iceberg lettuce with a delicious creamy blue cheese dressing on top.  It's pretty much as simple as that--nothing fancy or extraneous about it!  They do crush some croutons and sprinkle them over the top, which gives it some crunchy texture without needing to get a whole crouton on your fork.  Again, extremely simple, but pretty darn good.

For our mains, I got the Prime Cap with Shrimp ($32).  The prime cap is the top part of a ribeye roast, and it was incredibly tender and flavorful.  It was cooked nicely to medium rare, and served sliced with the shrimp over the top (probably should have moved them a bit so you could have seen the beef in the picture!).  The shrimp themselves were perfectly cooked and slathered with garlic butter--so, so good.  Our veggie that night was asparagus--three stalks of it, which I dutifully ate so I could feel like I was having at least one healthy thing.  The cheesy potatoes were everything you would expect cheesy potatoes to be.  All in all, a great plate of food.

Tim got the 16 oz. Applewood Smoked Prime Rib (available on the weekends only--$26).  It was a huge slab of meat, also medium rare and extremely good.  I probably would have wanted more au jus if I was eating it, but Tim was very happy with the horseradish dipping sauce it was served with.

Our friends got the Perkinsville Pork ($23) and Harger Duck ($25), both year-round staples on a menu that otherwise changes.  The pork is pounded fairly thin and coated with parmesan cheese, and it was incredible.  I'll be very tempted by that one the next time we go to Bonge's.  The duck is pounded out and wrapped around cream cheese and jalapenos, and served in a plum barbecue sauce.  Sounds very strange, but somehow it all works.

We got a basket of cornbread on our table, in addition to everything else, and let me just say that it's possibly the best cornbread I have *ever* had.  It's sweet and moist, with flecks of jalapenos to give it some chewy texture and heat.  It's perfection.  I am wanting some just looking at the picture.

To top off our gluttonous evening (and, let's face it, afternoon), we decided we'd get dessert.  Tim and I split the sugar cream/chocolate cake thingie (no idea what it's actually called), and it is as it sounds--a layer of dense brownie-like chocolate cake on the bottom, and a layer of very sweet sugar cream pie style filling above that.  It's topped with fruit (in this case, blueberries that had been cooked down into a sauce) and real whipped cream.  It's pretty sweet, but I very much enjoyed it.  Our friends got the chocolate cake and straight up sugar cream cake (also covered in the blueberry topping), and they enjoyed theirs, also.  Not sure how much these cost, though--our waiter gave them to us for free!  I guess bantering with the waiter can pay off (thanks to our friends for doing so)!  He was a nice guy, and seemed to really enjoy his job.  He gets a thumbs up from us, for multiple reasons.  We definitely left that place very, very happy.

If you have a Saturday afternoon and evening to kill this fall or even next summer, give the full Bonge's experience a try.  I'd possibly even be willing to go one winter's night if there isn't a wait, but I doubt it would be half as fun without the tailgating!


Website:  Bonge's Tavern

Tortas Guicho Dominguez y El Cubanito

A few weeks ago, on a Friday night, Tim and I were in Fountain Square visiting New Day Meadery and decided to grab dinner in the area, also.  We settled upon Tortas Guicho Dominguez y El Cubanito, which we've always enjoyed but don't get to super often because we just aren't in the area much.

It has changed a lot since our last visit, which was probably over a year ago.  It has expanded and now offers outdoor seating, and was quite busy when we were there.  They actually had a man with a synthesizer playing music during dinner!  I think it was their anniversary (I suspect that because it was written on the white board by the cashier--quite a detective, eh?) and that was why they had the music, but it's possible it's a regular thing.  It was sort of fun--much to Tim's chagrin, I was bopping in my seat (the kids sitting at the next table were laughing at me)--but it was also WAY too loud.  We couldn't hear each other much at all.

The food more than made up for the lack of conversation, though.  We got horchata (I think it was around $1.99) to drink, which had an incredible deep cinnamon/spice flavor.  I may have liked the flavor even more than one at La Chinita Poblana, but this one was a touch grainy (Chinita Poblana's was not at all).

For our meal, we both got tortas, of course!  Tim got the "Megan Fox" ($6.75), which contained chicken breast (chopped up), chorizo, mozzarella, and queso blanco.  It was crazy good.  I got a similar sandwich--I believe it was the "Luis Miguel" ($5.50) which was "smoked pork" (i.e. ham), chorizo, and mozzarella.  It was also crazy good.  We ended up just trading half sandwiches so we'd get some of each.  In the picture, Tim's Megan Fox is below and to the left, while mine is up and to the right.  We decided that the chicken toned down the richness of his sandwich (which he liked), whereas I really loved the saltiness of all that ham and chorizo on mine.

The bread is incredible--soft and pillowy and incredibly fresh.  They're served with two types of salsa.  One is green and is moderately hot, and the other is red and fire-y.  Both are full of flavor and we enjoyed adding them to our sandwiches.

I can't wait to return--we just need to find another excuse to visit Fletcher Place!

Website:  Tortas Guicho Dominguez y El Cubanito

Napolese Pizzeria: Two Trips

 I have to be honest--I thought I hated Napolese.  Some friends and I went there several years ago, when it first opened, and we were collectively unimpressed.  I found it to be overpriced and the pizzas were charred (not just a little charred, which we expected, but a LOT charred).  It just wasn't a good experience.  So I was somewhat hesitant when Tim and I made the decision to give it another try for Devour Downtown.

What made us even consider going there was the great deal they were offering.  It's no secret that I find a lot of Devour deals to be pretty terrible these days, and in some cases it's getting to be even less of a deal now that restaurants are allowed to charge more than $30.  But Napolese was offering two salads, two pizzas, and two desserts for $35 (normally each pizza would cost $13-14, the salads run $10, and the desserts on offer are $4-6, for a grand total of over $40).  For another $15, you could add a bottle of wine (this bottle is normally $29 on their menu). We had a choice of white or red, and went with the red; the Farnese Montepulciano was delicious.  It was mild and 'jammy,' as our waiter described it, without being sweet.  Very light and drinkable with our meal.

We sat down and were offered a lovely little bowl of olives to snack on while we made our choices and sipped our wine.  We both ended up getting the Double Chopped House salad, which contains a little of everything.  Greens, of course, plus some roasted peppers, blue cheese, salami, crispy pancetta, and just a ton of other random stuff...each bite contained something new.  It was a massive salad, and I think it was even just a half-size (the usual $10 salad is meant to be shared, I believe).  I enjoyed the salad, but didn't find it anywhere near as delicious or as well-balanced as Pizzology's chopped (which, admittedly, I have a bit of an addiction for).  The dressing wasn't aggressive enough for that amount of STUFF--I wanted more 'zing.'  But, it was different and certainly a filling way to start the meal.

 We had to choose between three pizzas for our mains; I opted for the Buffalo Margherita, which on top of a light coating of fresh pizza sauce included buffalo mozzarella, oven roasted tomatoes, and lots and lots of fresh basil.  You can see just how much basil in the picture.  Tim didn't like that it was so light on cheese, but I have to say I enjoyed it.  The sauce and basil were so good that I didn't miss a heavy coating of cheese.
Tim opted for the Hamaker's Corner:  Pepperoni, Italian sausage, provolone, and mushrooms.  I really enjoyed the slice I had, and I know he also liked it.  Cheese was more prevalent there, but so were the toppings--lots of thickly sliced pepperoni, really good Italian sausage (which I don't normally like, but very much enjoyed here), and plentiful, whole mushrooms.  

For dessert we were surprised to learn that we each got a choice (I had thought the deal only included one dessert); we followed the server's advice and got the cobbler for one person's desert and gelato for the other's, and combined them.  Mmm.  That night's cobbler was blackberry, and it was very good.  Light on the cobbler part and heavier on the fruit, with just enough sweetness.  The cold gelato was the perfect addition on top of the hot fruit.  Very good.  Apparently the cobbler flavor changes even through the course of the night, depending on the fruit available that day and how much of it they get.

This post is subtitled "Two Trips," so I guess I have to admit that we ended up going back to Napolese later that same week.  Yup.  We certainly didn't intend to, but we found ourselves at the Keystone Fashion Mall looking for a quick bite before a movie, and ended up at the Napolese there.  We did make decidedly less gluttonous choices, though.

We decided to start with the Nightly Bruchetta ($9).  On this occasion, it was a creamy but fresh tasting combo of tomatoes, peppers, and basil.  The picture doesn't look too appetizing, and we were indeed worried--it looks a bit like cream of chicken soup. But it was cold, and tasted of tomatoes.  It was a really odd dichotomy, but ended up being completely addictive.  My one complaint here was that the server told us he could bring us more foccacia for dipping if we needed it; he neglected to mention we would be charged for that.  Was I shocked to see a charge?  Not at all, but I would have appreciated being told that when he offered it.

We shared a pizza for our main.  Our choice this time around was the BLT--Smoking Goose jowl bacon, caramelized leeks, and tallegio cheese ($13).  This was really good.  The bacon was outstanding, and cut into very little pieces so it came out nice and crispy.  You didn't have to fight with any floppy strips or fatty pieces.  The leeks were good and, well, leeky, offering a sweetness when they were in a bite.  The tallegio was expectedly stinky.  As much as I love it, I thought this pizza could have done without it, as it dominated the other flavors whenever it was in a bite.  Tim liked it, though.                                      

Since we drank water, we came out of this meal at a pretty reasonable $22 plus tax and tip, and we were both plenty full.   Pizzology may still be our top choice for this style of pizza, but Napolese, because of its more convenient locations, has become a real contender for us.

Website:  Napolese

Truly Lovely Cupcakes

 A few of my co-workers and I were very excited when a cupcake shop opened up very near where we work in Greenwood.  Truly Lovely Cupcakes seemed to spring up overnight, and we all wanted to get in to try them.

I'm sad to say that I was a bit disappointed.  They are utilizing Flying Cupcake prices--$2.75 for small non-filled and $3 for small filled cupcakes (FC also offers 'jumbo' cupcakes for $3.50)--but these cupcakes are TINY.  They are certainly no larger than a cupcake you would make at home.  Don't get me wrong, Flying Cupcake is overpriced, also, but even FC's smaller cupcakes are bigger than the ones at Truly Lovely.

The second part of my disappointment came when I tried it.  I selected a snickerdoodle cupcake, which was cinnamon flavored with cream cheese icing.  The icing was great, with a strong cream cheese flavor.  But the cake was pretty dry.  The spices were pleasant, but it wasn't all that exciting to eat. 

Because they're VERY local and I'd like to see them succeed, I may give them another go if I get a strong cupcake craving.  Hopefully my on-the-dry-side cake isn't the norm for them.  But the price is pretty outrageous for a shop just starting up, and for cupcakes this size.  They need to be pretty outstanding to merit $3 after tax.

Website:  Truly Lovely Cupcakes

Mama Carolla's

 A few weeks ago, Tim and I went to dinner at Mama Carolla's with some friends.  Mama's is an interesting experience--I've been there a few times before, and each time I'm astonished anew at how much they've held on to the old school 'fancy' Italian restaurant thing.  It's located in a lovely old house, but it needs some updating inside.  I mean, it looks like what I imagine Sunday supper at an Italian grandma's house would look like.  In the 1980's.  You can see in the pictures that we had enormous pink-rimmed charger plates on which our bread/appetizer/soup plates were placed.  They took them away when the main course came, but in the mean time they took up a ton of space on our relatively small table.  They should be the first to go.

But the food.  That's more important, right?  Well, it's pretty good!  It is definitely full-on Americanized Italian food--nothing terribly authentic here--but it's a touch more homey and authentic than Olive Garden, at least.  Tim and I started with the fried ravioli, and they were really tasty.  They could have been out of a bag, for all we know, but they tasted good, were crunchy on the outside and cheesy on the inside, and came with a lovely chunky marinara for dipping.

Our entrees came with soup or salad, and we both opted for the Italian Wedding Soup.  It was also good.  If you're not familiar, it's a chicken broth based soup with little meatballs in it--in this case, I'm fairly certain they were pork--plus spinach, pasta, and parmesan cheese.  It had great flavor, and the meatballs were very tender.  The one drawback was the pasta--it was mushy.  Ergh.  Come on, Italian restaurant--get the pasta right!!!  It had clearly been put in when the soup was made and gotten more and more mushy.  They ought to just leave it (cooked, but) out until they're ready to serve it.  Because, gross.

For my entree, I got the Chicken Involtine ($15.99).  It's chicken breasts wrapped around prosciutto, spinach, and fontina cheese, then sauteed in an "herbed champagne tomato cream sauce with mushrooms."  It is so good.  Or, really, that tomato sauce is so good.  I don't know if it's the champagne or the cream that makes it amazing, but something is working magic in there.  The chicken itself is pretty tasty--with cheese and prosciutto, how could it not be?--and well-cooked.  But the sauce adds a creamy acidity that is just outstanding.  It's served with angel hair pasta that is well-coated in parmesan, and was great when mixed with the sauce.  (And yes, it was cooked properly.)  My meal came with the aforementioned soup, and we also received bread (although it took them awhile to bring it out to us--our server was somewhat scarce).  The bread was crusty on the outside, soft on the inside, and warm.  I, of course, used it to sop up my leftover sauce.  The portion was huge, so I ended up taking one chicken breast and half of the pasta home.  It reheated nicely for lunch the next day.

Tim got the Rosemary Chicken Lasagna ($16.99).  I don't know about you, but when I think of chicken lasagna, I think of a creamy alfredo sauce.  This one was served in a tomato butter sauce that was, thankfully, not a let down.  The portion was enormous, and it was certainly stuffed with spinach, mushrooms, chicken, and cheese.  I liked the bite I tried, and I know Tim enjoyed it. 

Overall, Mama's is a good experience.  A glass of wine and a big plate of something covered in sauce, and I'm a happy girl.  It's not inexpensive, as you can see from the prices I mentioned--they're definitely making a killing here, especially since they pack people in (I was practically sitting at the table next to me, the tables were so close).  But, it's nostalgic, and the food is solid.  I've been there before, and I'll certainly go there again!

Website:  Mama Carolla's 

Some Guys Pizza

After running a few errands in the area, Tim and I decided to stop at Some Guys Pizza for dinner one weeknight.  It tops his "favorite pizza places in Indy" list; for me, it's pretty good but not my favorite.  For this type of crackery crust/focus on toppings pizza, I'd pick Jockamo's first, followed by Puccini's.  But it is pretty good.

I was having a very unhealthy craving for something with alfredo sauce, and almost selected one of Some Guys's pasta options before my eye landed on a "parmesean cream" pizza sauce option.  I decided to make my own pizza with that sauce, chicken, and mushrooms ($4.90 for a small, plus $1.10 for the mushrooms and $1.30 for the chicken).  It was delicious!  The sauce was pretty flavorful--garlicky and creamy and cheesy--and the mushrooms went really well with it.  The chicken was also good--it seemed to be at least half of a hearty chicken breast which had been grilled.  The chunks were quite large (I thought a touch too large--would have liked to have seen them diced or cut more thinly and distributed into every bite), but it was tasty.  Tim also really liked this combo.  I will definitely be getting this combination again!

Tim got one of the Wood Oven pizza selections--the "House Pepperoni."  Those pizzas only come in a 10" size ($11.75).  It had pepperoni, of course, plus ricotta and basil.  I always love a pizza with ricotta on it, and this was no exception.  The pepperoni was spicy and fairly thickly cut, and the ricotta provided some richness.  I didn't personally think that the Wood Oven crust tasted any different at all from the regular crust.  But, what do I know?

All in all, it was a solid pizza experience. 

Website:  Some Guys Pizza

Gandolfo's Deli

 The other day, my co-workers and I decided to venture to a new restaurant for lunch.  It is a chain, although not one I had ever seen before.  Gandolfo's Deli is located in Greenwood; from the website, it  looks to be the only one in Indiana.

When we entered, there was a long line.  This is the type of place where you order at the counter and then they yell your name when it's ready.  Apparently we hit the lunch rush when we arrived at 12:15; by 1pm there was no line at all.  The long line, combined with the ENORMOUS menu (I mean, seriously. ENORRRRMOUS) left all of us a little worried.  They had every cold cut you could imagine in every combination you could imagine.  Salami, pastrami, roast beef, turkey, ham, and everything in between.  The menu board was incredibly overwhelming.

I finally narrowed my choices down to an Italian sub or a French Dip, and the dip ($5.99 plus $2.69 for a drink and side) won out.  It was really delicious.  The "half" sub was huge, and it was stuffed with really flavorful roast beef, plus mayo and provolone.  It came with a little (well, actually, pretty large) cup of au jus to dip it in, and the jus was herby and lovely.  The bread was soft and tasted freshly baked (and I believe it was--they had bread ovens going in the back, you can see them from the counter).  I just got potato chips with mine, but they had several "deli salads" (think potato salad, macaroni salad), etc. to pick from, plus soup or a cookie as other options.

My friends got more traditional deli sandwiches.  The one on the left, there, was the I Love New York--pastrami and corned beef on marble rye with swiss and mustard.  She said it was great, and it certainly had tons of meat on it!  It came with a pickle, and she got the sour cream potato salad with hers.  She didn't love the potato salad, so I tried some of hers.  It wasn't my favorite, either--I like a more mustardy/vinegary potato salad, and it was lacking salt--but it wasn't bad.  My other co-worker did like it, and she also enjoyed her corned beef on marble rye.

I would definitely return to Gandolfo's, but might opt for just the sandwich next time to save money.  $2.69 for a side and drink is pretty steep, too steep to be considered a "deal" in my opinion.  In the end, I paid almost $10 for my meal.  It was a really delicious sandwich for a semi-reasonable price, but the add-ons are what will get you--and they really aren't necessary, considering how big the sandwiches are.

Website:  Gandolfo's Deli