Monday, August 27, 2012

The Friendly Tavern

290 S. Main Street
Zionsville, IN 46077
(317) 873-5772
The Friendly Tavern
 

My coworkers were kind enough to go out with me to lunch on my birthday. I was craving wings and I had not been to The Friendly Tavern in a few years, probably since college. This post is another semi-dedication to @ArtWalter to who makes The Friendly, a "must eat restaurant" when he is home. Since our palettes are pretty much the same, I had to ask for a recommendation. I knew one was going to be the wings, the other suggestion was the shaved prime rib sandwich. I'll get to the food later, but. There are essentially two dining areas, one with the bar, and an elevated area with larger tables. Our service was okay, but a little on the slow side. I guess that would be our fault for having 8 people come to lunch during peak hours. It was better the first time, the second time it took a while to get our checks. The food was so good, it overshadowed the lackluster service.

As I mentioned we got the wings. We went with two orders for the table the first time we went. We got "The Friendly's Famous Wings" and the Honey Apple BBQ Chicken wings. Both wings were superb. @ArtWalter was not wrong when he said that these were the best wings he has ever eaten. The Famous Wings are breaded and un-sauced. You get to choose 2 sauces. We went with the hot sauce and bleu cheese. Even without sauce, these wings amazing. I do like how you get to control the sauce. Often times the sauce will take away from the crispy wing, but not these. Each wing had plenty of meat, was seasoned well, and there were a copious amount of them. Both orders were enough for the table to have a fair share. The Honey Apple wings were pre-sauced, but they were still very crispy. This was a good contrast to the spicy wings. The sauce was unlike any other type of BBQ sauce. It was sweet, tart, and very mild. This is perfect for those who do not like heat, as these have no heat. The wings are what prompted Round 2 the following week. My coworker, Matt, and I were so spellbound by these wings, we ONLY order the wings. Maybe I just can't eat like I used to, but a whole order of wings is pushing it for one person. I think we both agreed that it would be best to split an order the next time through.

I will forever trust Artie when it comes to food. The prime rib sandwich was a piece of beauty. Although I find Adam Richman annoying, I had been watching his "Best Sandwich in America" show. I am going to steal his rating scale for this sandwich, his "B.I.T.E. Scale" if you will. The "B" stands for the bread. It was crusty, yet soft, the two things I look for in bread. The "I" stands for interior. There was a good amount of shaved prime rib. It was so thin that each bite was tender. The grilled onions and mushrooms added good earthy flavor. You can't have a good steak sandwich without melted cheese. The cheddar bound everything together, encapsulating the ingredients so each bite contained all the aforementioned goodness. There was a side of horseradish sauce, I only used it sparingly. I would have preferred an au jus of some sort, because near the end of the sandwich, it was a little dry. The "T" stands for taste. This was a very tasty sandwich. I prefer it over any other steak sandwich I have ever eaten, your move Penn Station... The "E" stands for eating experience, and I have already spoken to how the service was slow, but I will not let that keep me going back.

I promised Artie that he would be able to guest post on The Friendly, so be on the lookout for the first entry not written by your's truly. He was also the most recent winner of "Lunch on EAting Indy"

"Everything I EAt has been proved by some doctor or other to be a deadly poison, and everything I don't EAt has been proved to be indispensable for life. But I go marching on" - George Bernard Shaw



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Saturday, August 4, 2012

Boathouse Grill

6225 W. 56th St
Indianapolis, IN 46254
317.328.8812

After golfing on a Sunday afternoon at Eagle Creek, our foursome decided to go to dinner at The Boathouse Grill (not to be confused with Rick's Cafe Boatyard). My coworkers and I used to go there more frequently before our office moved. It is located near 56th and Lafayette Rd. It is a bar and grill with a more nautical theme. There is a big paddle boat hanging from the ceiling, and other types of water themed memorabilia. The decor that stuck out to me was the beautiful fish tank above the bar.

Our service was good but a little on the slow side, but nothing that was unbearable. The food came out quickly, but we had to wait a little while for our drinks. They do have a nice side patio. Now that all the bars are smoke free in the city, you also don't have to worry about dining in a cloud of smoke, which was my biggest issue with this restaurant. On the plus side, they do offer freshly popped popcorn.

If you remember my post from around Super Bowl time, Boathouse had a sandwich listed in the Super 46 sandwiches in the state. It is their fish sandwich. I had eaten it before and it is one of the better fish sandwiches I have ever had. I know its hard to say that a fish sandwich in the middle of the country can be that good, but Boathouse pulls it off. I apologize for the dark picture, but my phone was running out of juice (it also doubles as a GPS on the golf course). Boathouse uses some sort of whitefish filet breaded in a beer batter. First off, the filet is huge. I think I have mentioned my pet peeve of when the meat portion is smaller than the bun. The fish is edge to edge on a crusty French bread. The fish was very crispy yet flaky. There was not an excess of batter, it was pretty even throughout. A good way to tell a fish is fresh, is that it doesn't have a fishy smell or taste. The sandwich is loaded with tomato, lettuce, onion, pickle and a side of tartar sauce. I don't really use a lot of tartar sauce as I try to limit extra fat on a deep fried fish sandwich. I do add a little malt vinegar instead. I decided to go with onion petals as my side. The petals were nicely sized and there was a heaping portion to accompany the sandwich. The batter was different than the beer battered fish. It was flour and bread crumb based I think I was channelling John Daly instead of Tiger Woods for my post round meal. It was nice that I didn't have to do anything the rest of the day, because I had a belly full of deep fried goodness.


"If you can EAt with mates or friends or family, I mean it's such a brilliant thing isn't it? If you feel reallly rubbish and you have a nice bit of food it make you feel good, you know?" - Jamie Oliver


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