Monday, October 29, 2012

Punch Burger

127 E. Ohio Street
Indianapolis, IN
317.426.5280
Punch Burger
I usually wait a few weeks or months for a new restaurant to find its identity and work out the kinks. After reading the feature in the Indy Star, I decided to break my rule and try Punch Burger. What sold me was the idea of fresh and local ingredients from here in Indiana. The first thing I noticed was the was the bright menu board. It was very easy to navigate. First they list the specialty burgers for those people that like decisions to be made for them. Next are the options to build your own burger. There are three bun options, three meat options, toppings, cheeses, sauce, and extras. You also have your choice to get a grilled cheese, if a burger isn't up your alley. I really enjoyed how this restaurant knows its identity. They want to do burgers and do burgers well. They aren't gimmicky. The menu is very reasonably priced. For around $18, we got 2 burgers, 2 sodas, sweet potato tater tots, and waffle fries. We went on a Monday night and the staff was very inviting. They were patient as we went through the menu, deciding what to order. It wasn't very busy, but you will have that a new restaurant especially downtown. I picture Punch Burger gaining steam through the winter with the Pacers season starting soon. Punch Burger is located at Delaware and Ohio, so 3 or so blocks North of Bankers Life. The restaurant is very bright and clean. It has the feel of a classic diner, with modern accents. There seems to be a fair amount of seating. It wasn't crowded and our food came out quickly, so they can turn tables pretty fast. They also have wine and beer on tap, mostly local breweries, and PBR for you hipsters.
I decided to build my own burger. I started with the pretzel roll (extra $.40), Angus beef patty, lettuce, tomato, grilled red onion (you can opt for raw), house made pickles, pepper jack cheese, and spicy aioli. I like the pretzel roll as it has the strength to hold up to a loaded burger. As juicy as this burger was, it did not make the roll soggy. They butter both sides and grill the bun to a golden brown to give that extra defense against any sauce or juice that can break up the bun. Grilling the bun also gives a nice crispy texture. The burger is 1/3 lb of Angus beef from Fischer Farms in Jasper, IN. At first, I thought that I might want to double the burger, but it was actually just the right size. We both left dinner feeling comfortably full. You do have the option to adding a patty for $2. This was one of the juiciest burgers I have had in a while. It had the perfect amount of fat. It was juicy not greasy. I did not feel disgustingly full after eating this burger. You can tell the patty is formed by hand as it is pretty rough looking. The toppings worked well together. I ate a few of the house pickles by themselves. They were crunchy and had a kind of sweet, kind of sour flavor. The spicy aioli was great. It had a creamy flavor, but added just enough heat. It was a perfect mild heat. They do have Sriracha if you are looking for hotter. The sweet potato tater tots ($2) were awesome. They were cooked just the way I like them, a crunchy outside and soft inside. You could see the tiny diced sweet potatoes. Next time, I would ask for a few sauces for dipping. The waffle fries ($1.50) were average, but I feel like we didn't get that many in a serving. You get more bang for your buck with the tots.



I will definitely go back to Punch Burger. I overheard a patron say, "This place is much better than Boogie Burger." I would rank Punch Burger up with Twenty Tap, and ahead of BRU, Bub's, and Boogie Burger.

"I'm in 'an open relationship' with EAting healthy" -Unknown

Punch Burger on Urbanspoon

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

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."

Brockway Public House on Urbanspoon