Napolese

114 E. 49th St.

Indianapolis, IN

(317) 925-0765

Napolese

I've been waiting to write about Napolese for a while. I wanted to get a few visits under my belt before formulating my opinion. My conclusion is that Napolese is my favorite pizza in the city. The service and the food has always been top notch. I also love the neighborhood. I have always loved the homes in the area, and the whole block at 49th and Penn just really comes out of nowhere. The businesses are really part of the neighborhood. The only issue I have is that it gets pretty busy and you often have to wait for a table, as they do not take reservations. There are two sides to the restaurant and a patio. I have only sat in the main dining room and the patio. When I walked in, the first thing i noticed was the pizza oven. I enjoyed being able to see how the pizza was being made from start to finish. There are a few bar stools in front of the cooking area. It reminded me of Noble Roman's pizza growing up where you could watch the pizza artists through the window. You get a sense of how fresh the ingredients are as you can see the chefs chopping, rolling out the dough, and assembling the pizza. The key to a good wood fired pizza is the movement of the pizzas in the oven. You do not want to keep the pizza in the same place as it will burn. On the contrary if you add a pizza to the oven, you do not want to place it where you removed the last pizza as it will not be as hot. It becomes an art and the chefs at Napolese are pros.

When you are seated, you are brought a mixed sampling of olives. Only within the past few years have I become a fan of olives. These are pitted and can be eaten by themselves or to accompany any part of your meal. Not only does Napolese have the best pizza in the city, I'm convinced their double chopped salad is the best as well. I always add a few olives to the wonderful blend of ingredients. It is a base of romaine lettuce. The salad also has shredded mozzarella, gorgonzola, roasted peppers, crispy pancetta, thick sliced pepperoni, white corn and chickpeas. It is dressed with a balsamic vinaigrette. Each bite has something different and each ingredient works well with each other. It is a symphony of flavors. The ingredients aren't listed on the menu, but believe me, you will not be disappointed.

I feel like the pizzas change season to season. We went in the beginning of summer and they had this pesto based pizza with ham, pineapple, and jalepeno. When I went a few days ago, it was nowhere to be found. Luckily the Hamaker's corner pizza is a regular on the menu. It is pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, and provolone. It is a pretty basic pizza in comparison to the others on the menu. The pepperoni is thick cut and has great flavor. There are pretty decent sized pieces of sausage which give the pizza a mild spicy taste. The button mushrooms bring a wonderful, earthy flavor. The other pizzas I have had are the broken yolk, which is the margherita pizza with an egg cracked in the middle. This might scare off some, but it is so unique that we had to try it. I feel like this pizza would be better around brunch time. Elliot's pie is pancetta, potatoes, and gorgonzola. This wasn't my favorite, but it was still very good. The potatoes dried out in the cooking process. I just enjoy how everything is so fresh, which is probably why certain pizzas are available depending on the season. Since Napolese has the same owner as Cafe Patachou, you know you are getting the best, freshest ingredients. This restaurant is a great example of farm to table dining.

"Want to learn to EAt a lot? Here it is: EAt a little. That way you will be around long enough to EAt a lot." -Anthony Robbins

Lil' Guys Sandwich Shop - Chicago, IL

2010 N. Damen
Chicago, IL
773.394.6900
Lil' Guys Sandwich Shop

Of all the sandwich shops in the city of Chicago, Lil' Guys is my favorite. It is the home to the second best Reuben I have ever eaten. There are two locations, but I have only eaten at the one located in Bucktown. The first time I ate there was when AHG came to visit within the first couple months of living there. I should probably explain that it is also a pizza joint, My Pi. They have pretty good thin crust pizza which is not as common as you would think, as Chicago is known for their Deep Dish style pizza. The first time I went I ordered a slice of pizza, as we were hungover and it was a better option than a sandwich. Luckily I went back for the sandwiches. Since I like this restaurant so much, it was part of my victory lap of restaurants of Bucktown with ABW and WJB. This is one of my favorite stories from living up there. I promise I'll get to the food afterwards. When ABW moved up to Chicago, we decided to go to dinner one night, and we heard there were some decent Mexican restaurants not to far from me. The thing is, there are literally 3 Mexican restaurants within 100 yards of each other: Arturo's Tacos, Lazo's Tacos, and Marisco's Cancun. When we got to the corner of Western and Armitage, we walked by each one about 5 times. We had no idea which one was the good one. Arturo's was too busy, Lazo's looked kind of dirty, and Marisco's was empty, but it looked the nicest. We chose that one. I think it was empty because it was terrible. The only other time I have had worse Mexican was here in Indy at El Sol de Tala. We came to find out that Arturo's was the best of the 3. So on my Tour de Bucktown, we started at Lil Guys. We each ordered the Reuben and we made it a meal with pasta salad and a drink. I was pretty full after, but ABW insisted we keep on with our tour. We then walked to Arturo's. I ordered a Chicken taco, as I was pretty full. WJB got a taco and ABW got a taco and a torta, a Mexican sandwich. Now there is a McDonald's across the street. ABW told us that he recently took down a double cheese in 30 seconds. We thought it would be a good idea to see him try the feat again. He finished in 47 seconds. On the way home, we stopped at the Map Room, and had a Bell's Oberon to top it off. That was the most food, in the most different restaurants I have ever seen someone consume in my life. And it was an amazing way for me to bid farewell to my home for 2 years.

Now for the good stuff. The thing about the Reubens at Lil' Guys is they have two kinds. One is called the Reubenesque, a typical Reuben you can get any day of the week. I have had it and it can hold its own. I usually wait until Fridays or Saturdays, as this is the only day you can order the Ultimate Homemade Reuben. Every time I go there, I want to move the Ultimate Reuben to number 1 on the list. It is made with made from scratch Rye bread. It is a Rye flat bread, and as you can see from the picture, it looks like a taco when it is all said and done. The flat bread is soft, but has a crusty outside. I love how it is made to order. You really don't see that anywhere else. You have to give them 15 minutes to make the sandwich, for that reason only. I recommend calling it in before you go there. The corned beef is cured and cooked on site. The corned beef is the reason I would move it to #1. Of all the Reuben's I have ever eaten, this is the only one where the meat is so tender, it literally melts in your mouth. The beef is sliced very thin, essentially shredded. The seasoning of the beef shines through as well. Every bite has a good mix of salt, pepper, and other spices they use for curing (usually mustard seed, ginger, juniper berries, sugar, cloves, and ginger). The Reuben also has sauerkraut and swiss cheese, 1000 island served on the side. This time my brother and I decided to split the Reuben and the Egg-Salad-A-Rama. It is the best egg salad I have ever had. The texture is what does it for me. It is light and fluffy, so it is a good option if you are craving something on the lighter side. It is served on Hawaiian bread, which is what they call their house bread. It is about a quarter of a loaf of Hawaiian bread, so it is a very generous portion. It is topped with Romaine lettuce, tomato and onion. They have pretty good side dish options. The only one I haven't liked is the Vinaigrette potato salad. I almost always go with the pasta salad. It has Kalamata olives, feta cheese, and red onion. The sauce is olive oil based but the flavor mostly comes from the other ingredients marinating in the oil.

I have eaten there the past two weeks and nothing has changed. The ONLY problem I have with this place is there isn't a whole lot of places to sit. They have a couple tables outside, but they are for two people. There is a bar top with about 5 stools and a table or two inside. We were lucky enough to live close enough to walk there. There are about 7 spots in the parking lot, and they are all a tight squeeze. I have seen numerous cars back into the lamp post. Since Chicago is only about 3 hours away, I know many of you frequent the city. I highly recommend stopping by sometime.

Mother Bear's Pizza: Bloomington, IN

1428 East Third Street
Bloomington, IN 47401
Mother Bear's Pizza


I think I'm going to blog Bloomington for my next two posts. I know its been a while since I blogged Indy, but I frankly don't care. Apologies to any readers that won't ever visit the most beautiful college town in state, but hopefully I can convince you to make a trip an hour South. Football season is around the corner and the mighty Hoosiers host Virginia, South Carolina State, Penn State, Illinois, Northwestern, and we get the chance to defend the rock and keep the Bucket in Bloomington. 

Eleven people were clinging precariously to a wildly swinging rope suspended from a crumbling outcropping on Mount Everest. Ten were Purdue grads, one was an IU grad. As a group they decided that one of the party should let go. If that didn't happen the rope would break and everyone would perish. For an agonizing few moments no one volunteered. Finally the Hoosier gave a truly touching speech saying he would sacrifice himself to save the lives of the others. The Purdue grads applauded.

So Mother Bear's was an easy choice. We wanted pizza, and to be honest I'm sick of Pizza X, or Hot Box here in Indy. I wish there was a better late night pizza joint in Indy, specifically Broad Ripple. I think Za is overpriced and tastes like cardboard. I have seen way too many fights in Hot Box and their pizza is boring. I would have to throw Mother Bear's in as my favorite, if not one of my favorite pizza places in the state. Recently, my family has been getting Jet's Pizza and I am a huge fan. Now Mother Bear's is one of the Bloomington staples, like Nick's and Kilroy's. The decor seems like it hasn't changed in years, although they did expand the dining area when I was a student. It is a classic pizza parlor: dimly lit, ample seating, and a very energetic atmosphere. It is award winning, according to the blue ribbon on the door, they are the 4th in the nation. People Magazine has recognized the store as one of America's Best Pizzas. The student paper has also voted Mother Bear's the best pizza numerous time. 

WJB, RFS, and JMA were in attendance on this gorgeous Spring evening. Not surprisingly, JMA was a borderline hammered as it was the weekend prior to Little 500. It being his last as an undergrad, it was completely acceptable. Apologies to the hipster in the Newsies hat that he called a nerd while he was riding his 1960's bicycle across the street wearing skinny jeans and a scarf (note: it was 78 degrees outside):

JMA: "Nice hat..."

Hipster: "Thanks!"

JMA: "NERD!!!"

Hipster: "What the hell dude?"

With JMA not being able to read a menu, I decided to order for us. We got the Mom's Favorite special which is only available for inside dining. Comes with one 10" one topping pizza, 2 house salads or breadsticks, and 2 soft drinks for $14.50. It's a steal if you ask me. We wanted to get a specialty pizza, so we decided on the Monet: Parmesan-Garlic White sauce, mozzarella, Sun Dried Tomato &  Basil Chicken sausage, red onions, and green peppers.  Also decided to go with salads. MB's has the most unique salad topping. Yes, those are Goldfish crackers.  It also has red onions, tomatoes, and cheese. I went with the Bleu Cheese dressing, I think it is made in house. I usually don't opt for Bleu Cheese, but recently I have been in that type of mood. Other than the Goldfish, it is a typical salad, but compliments the pizza perfectly. I don't know why the pizza is so delicious there compared to other pizza joints. They just know how to do it right. I almost always leave the crust on my plate, but with MB's I eat the entire slice. The toppings are fresh and they just work well together. I'll admit I read the menu wrong as I thought there was going to be Sun Dried Tomato and Chicken Sausage, not Sun Dried Tomato Chicken Sausage. Either way, I'm glad we tried something different. 


Most often when eating pizza, you feel pretty full and want to go into the dreaded food coma. With this pizza, I was rearing to go party afterwards. Every time I went to visit B-town, my night ended up with a some type of crazy story. This weekend, I met JMA left Sports early to meet some friends, thus leaving RFS, WJB, and JD at Sports. I get a call from him to meet him at his fraternity to go back to his house. I asked what he was doing. His response, "Riding a skateboard and listening to 80's music." He came to the house on a bicycle. We proceeded to ride back to his house with him sitting on the handlebars, me not being able to see over him, and not having any sort of balance. Needless to say, we wrecked and he face planted within seconds of us getting on the bike. After figuring it all out, we made it back to the house. Sure enough, there was 80's music blaring from the porch. Another successful weekend in Bloomington...


"You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I'm not hungry enough to EAt six." -Yogi Berra