Monday, December 19, 2011

Shapiro's Deli

Shapiro's Deli (Carmel Location)
918 S. Rangeline Rd
Carmel, IN 46032
317-631-4041

This is one of the posts many of you have been waiting for. It is time to finally review my #1 Reuben. I had been waiting to write about this until ABW was back in Indy. We decided to go to the Carmel location on Black Friday. Of the two locations, Downtown and Carmel, Carmel is my favorite. Although it doesn't have the tradition and history of the Downtown location, it just has a cleaner feel to it. The downtown location is much older, and it seemed a little dingy. There is a third location located at Indianapolis International Airport in one of the terminals. Our fraternity chapter advisor once told me he plans his flights around to depart or arrive during meal time so he can stop and have a Reuben I have pictures of the Reuben's from both downtown and Carmel locations. Just like the last post, this is a restaurant you cannot judge service. It is essentially a Cafeteria, so you walk down the line with your tray and order as you move along. The sandwiches are made to order, so they bring you your food as it is finished. The food comes out in a very timely manner. Both locations have ample seating, and I have never had to wait for a seat. I don't have any pictures of the desserts, but they are top notch. The carrot cake is my favorite, where ABW prefers the German Chocolate Cake.I do have to be honest with my next statement and ABW agreed. Our Reuben experience was not up to par with our previous visits. Don't get me wrong, Shapiro's still is the best. But, we have had better sandwiches there. It felt like one of the times one of your friends over-hypes a movie, and when you go see it, you are disappointed. Maybe in our heads, we have this glorious idea of the perfect Reuben, and this time it just did not stack up to past experiences. If you compare the pictures, the Carmel Reuben lacked the meat of the Downtown Reuben. Also, the thickness of the bread was on the thick side in Carmel. Don't get me wrong, it was still delicious, but it has been better. The corned beef is tender and flavorful. The cole slaw is exactly how I prefer it, finely chopped veggies and just the right amount on the sandwich to add flavor, but not overpower the corned beef. The bread was perfectly toasted. The 1000 Island dressing adds a nice sweet and tangy flavor. I opted not to get the Mac N Cheese this time, as Thanksgiving was the day prior, and I had my fill. I usually split it with whomever I dine with. It is creamy and cheesy and for whatever reason, its just habit to order it with the Reuben. I did order a deviled egg. It was nothing out of the ordinary, a very typical deviled egg. 

Let me leave you with my favorite ABW story, which says a lot as I have known him for 20 plus years. It happened during my last year living in Chicago. ABW was going for a bike ride on a weekend morning. The CPD had some streets blocked off, and he was re-routed on his way to the lake. When he finally was able to get going on a street, he realized the streets were full of people. He then realized these people were dressed flamboyantly and were holding rainbow flags. It soon hit him, he was on the parade route for the Pride Parade. Embarrassed by the attention, he pedaled faster to get out of there. The problem was that the faster he pedaled, the louder the crowd cheered. And that is how ABW was essentially the "first float" in the Chicago Pride Parade

"Never EAt more than you can lift." - Miss Piggy

Shapiro's Deli (Carmel) on Urbanspoon

Monday, December 5, 2011

Road Trip Bloomington, IN: Buffa Louie's

114 S. Indiana Avenue 
Bloomington, IN  
(812) 333-3030  

The first time we ever ordered Buffa Louie's was during the infamous 2004 Super Bowl (the one where Janet Jackson showed the world her boobie). We were freshmen at IU, living in McNutt Crone. We ordered 2 buckets of Buffa Louie's and snuck in a couple six packs of Rolling Rock Green Light (We didn't know any better, and my roommate was watching his carb intake). Ever since that night, Buffa Louie's became my favorite wing place in Bloomington. There is only one location now, located at The Gables on Indiana Ave. The location is famous, as Jazz great Hoagy Carmichael penned part of "Star Dust" there. The interior is full of IU memorabilia, from signed posters to flags and banners, it is a great place to see the rich tradition of Indiana University. There are essentially three levels of seating and the restaurant is pretty large. It is usually pretty packed when IU is hosting a basketball or football game. It is a great place to take the kids as well, as it is one of the more family friendly places near Kirkwood. My only knock on the place, is that the service can be on the slow side. By "service", I mean the amount of time it takes to get food to the table from ordering. There isn't a traditional wait staff, as it is a place where you order and then pick up your food at the counter. 
Buffa Louie's offers 15 different kinds of sauces, ranging from Buffalo Sauces (Mild, Medium, Hot, T.N.T, and Volcanic), Mrs. Louie's BBQ (Sweet Q, Mild Q, Medium Q, Hot Q, T.N.T Q, and Volcanic Q), and Exotic (Teriyaki, Honey Garlic, and Hot Garlic). It is nice how boneless and traditional wings are the same price. I ordered the Louie's Dozen (15 wings). I was able to get 2 different sauces; 10 Hot BBQ & 5 Hot Garlic and celery and bleu cheese. I wanted to try new sauces and I wasn't very impressed. I think the HOT should be a little hotter. There was a strong Garlic and BBQ flavor, but the wings lacked heat. I do like that the wings are covered in sauce. It is always disappointed to find that dry spot on a wing. I really like the curly fries at Buffa Louie's and I was remiss to not order them. The random piece of bread in the picture is their cheese bread. It was nothing special, and RFS ordered it, so I tried it. When I go back, I will make sure to order the T.N.T and the Teriyaki, which were my previous go-to sauces.

"I really believe the only way to stay healthy is to EAt properly, get your rest and exercise. If you don't exercise and do the other two, I still don't think it's going to help you that much." -Mike Ditka