The Brockway Public House

12525 Old Meridian St.

Carmel, IN 46032

317.669.8080

The Brockway Public House

This past weekend we decided to switch up our regular Broad Ripple bar scene and drive up to Carmel to watch the Notre Dame game at Brockway. This was out of the norm for me in particular as I would prefer to watch my teams from the comfort of my own couch. This can be attributed to outbursts of not so family friendly language, especially with Tommy Rees under center for the Irish. Case in point, there was a family sitting behind us and I may or may not have dropped an F bomb during a surefire Miami touchdown (I didn't think kids were allowed in the place, but I guess they have to sit away from the bar area). Within a few minutes I wasn't overly impressed with TV setup. The larger TV's were kind of high on the wall and it was not a very comfortable eye level. Luckily, the bar was not crowded and we were able to get a couple high top tables next to a lower TV. When we asked if the channel could be changed to NBC before game time, it was a 10 minute fiasco that took 2 different waiters to figure out how to operate the remote. If I ran a sports bar, channel changing would be one of my first areas of training. After that our service was pretty fair. Our waiter checked on us regularly and we rarely had to wait for drinks or food. In a throwback to my Chicago days, I ordered an Old Style. Our waiter said that is something that is reserved for the regulars and nobody else really orders it. He was shocked that this was my first visit. The bar has a nice patio, but it was too cool to be out there. Another throwback to my Chicao days was the tableside beer taps that charge per ounce poured. I would definitely go back, the issue is transportation back and forth to Broad Ripple. Drink Responsibly my friends.

We got an appetizer sampler to start that had fried cheese, fried mushrooms, and homemade potato chips with marinara and ranch for dipping. The mushrooms had a beer batter and were too big to eat in one bite, but impossible to cut into bite size pieces without losing the breading on the mushroom. I did not really care for these. The chips were average. They had more substance than a regular potato chip and lacked seasoning. The fried mozzarella were my favorite of the three. These were hand breaded in a bread crumb mixture and had a great crunchy texture to accompany the gooey, melted cheese. I apologize for not having a picture of me Reuben. I thought I took a picture of it, but didn't. Luckily this Reuben did not crack the Top Ten Reuben list, so I don't feel as bad. The Reuben was pretty average. The only flavor that shone through was the sauerkraut. I really wanted it to have more 1000 island dressing. The meat was juicy and there was a good amount of corned beef, but it left something to be desired. I feel like all Irish food is pretty heavy. I guess you need a heavy meal to give you a nice base for the Guinness and Jameson. FYI, Irish Car Bombs are on sale there on Saturdays. Again, drink responsibly. I would like to go back when it is nicer and sit on the patio and try something different for dinner. I was told that the fish and chips are delicious.

"May the enemies of Ireland never EAt bread nor drink whiskey, but be afflicted with itching without the benefit of scratching."