9830 W 280 North
Perkinsville, IN 46011
(765)34-1625
Bonge's Tavern
I think I will quantify any place outside the 317 area code as a Road Trip. It took an hour door to door from my parents' house. Let me preface this review with a little backstory. We did not have the traditional Bonge's experience. Typically one would plan to wait outside and tailgate before eating. You see Bonge's only has a limited amount of seating. You can only reserve a table if you have a party of 10 or more. They only can accommodate a certain number of people a night and it can fill up pretty quickly on the weekends. The website recommends you call ahead to see if they can seat you that evening. They are closed on Sundays and Mondays, and open at 4:30. You must be 21 to enter, so find a babysitter. My family went on Black Friday as it was one of the few times we were all home together. We got there right at 4:30 and were seated right away. This was strictly a dining experience. My mother isn't exactly the tailgating type, so getting in early was the only way to get her eat at Bonge's. As you can see by the pictures, the restaurant isn't very big. What you see is pretty much all the seating. There is a small room in the back. I don't think the decor has changed much over the years. There are mounted animals and typical bar hangings that cover the walls for decoration. The service was flawless. Our waitress had a very good knowledge of the menu and explained each entree with vivid detail. I know in my last post I mentioned that I would not have any pictures, but luckily my brother was able to capture some for me. Unfortunately, the only picture of the food was my least favorite dish.
Each entree comes with soup or salad, potatoes, veggies, and jalepeno cornbread. Our waitress said the most popular items are the Perkinsville Pork and the Harger Duck. Since it was the day after Thanksgiving, I went with the Beef Brisket as I wanted to stay away from poultry. I should have ordered the Pork. It was easily the best thing on the table. Between the 6 of us, the ladies in my family ordered the Pork; my brothers had the Duck and NY Strip; my father ordered the Applewood Smoked Prime Rib. Now the Brisket wasn't bad by any means. It was very tender and fell apart easily. I think it was braised in a red wine sauce. There was a generous amount of brisket as well. I definitely did not leave the restaurant hungry. I think the cheapest menu item was $19, but they make sure you get your money's worth. The potatoes were julienne cut in a creamy cheesy sauce. The veggie was sautéed broccolini. I actually brought some broccolini to Thanksgiving this past year. My family thought mine was better, but you aren't going to Bonge's for the sides. They know what they are doing with the menu. They do a handful of items with excellence, instead of having a phonebook full of average entrees (I'm looking at you Cheesecake Factory). Each dish was cooked to perfection and I was able to take a sample bit of them all. I'll admit I am not the biggest fan of duck. I had a bad experience once and it has ruined it for me. The pork was pounded thin with a breading of parmesan cheese and bread crumbs. It was fried to a beautiful golden brown while maintaining the juiciness of the meat. I think our waitress said it was cooked in lemon butter, which gave it a fresh citrus flavor. It complimented the saltiness of the parmesan cheese. It was just heavenly. My father had a complaint about his Prime Rib being too tough. I tried to tell him not to order it well done, so I rest that on him. My brother's NY strip was very good as well. I think I am always going to go with the pork every time. I know that variety is the spice of life, but when something is that good, it's hard to stray away from it.
"EAting crappy food isn't a reward, it's a punishment." - Drew Carey
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