Road Tips

India Sizzling Indian Restaurant - Fishers, IN

Staying in the northern suburbs of Indianapolis on a recent trip to the "Circle City", I was sort of hungry for something warm and comforting.  Since Indian food is my now "go-to" comfort food, I decided to seek out a place that I hadn't tried before.  I found a place during an online search that had a unique name - India Sizzling Indian Restaurant - and it wasn't far from my hotel.  I decided that would be my eating destination for the evening. 

Owner Basil Vaz has been involved with ownership and management of other Indian restaurants in the Central Indiana area.  He was the involved with the popular Passage to India restaurants in northwest Indianapolis and in Columbus, Indiana, just south of Indianapolis.  He opened India Sizzling in 2010 in a strip mall off of Allisonville Road in Fishers.  In 2013, the Passage to India location on Lafayette Road in Indianapolis became India Sizzling II.  

Main Street in Fishers, IN is 116th Street and just south of the corner of 116th and Allisonville Road is the Village at Main Street shopping complex.  India Sizzling is on Village Square Lane just east of Allisonville Road. (see map)  It's back off the street and tough to see from Allisonville, so don't expect to be driving by and being able to see it if you head that direction.  Parking is available in front of the restaurant.

I was greeted at the stand up front by a young man who introduced himself as Basil.  It turns out it was Basil Vaz, himself.  The dining area was less than half full - their lunch buffet is evidently a huge draw during the day - and I pretty much got to pick out where I wanted to sit.  I took a table back in the corner.  Basil asked me what I wanted to drink and I told him that I'd take a large Kingfisher beer.   

The dining room at India Sizzling features a silk canopy hanging from the ceiling.  Not only does it help with the acoustics in the place, but it gives the impression that you're dining in a somewhat opulent tent.  The tables all have glass tops with table cloths underneath.  It's a welcoming and somewhat cozy atmosphere at India Sizzling.  

The menu at India Sizzling is not unlike your typical Indian restaurant - tandoori entrees, curry dishes, vindaloo, and more.  They also have a number of vegetarian entrees at India Sizzling.  But that evening I decided that I'd get lamb saag - made with a creamy spinach and mustard leave sauce - along with some garlic naan.  

Basil brought out some of the papadum bread - the thin, brittle bread that I used to call Indian chips until I found out what the name of it was.  Two different chutneys - a mint chutney and a tamarind chutney (once again, I recently found out the name of that type of chutney that I'd been eating over the past couple three years, but never knew the name of) - were included along with the papadum.  The mint chutney had a little spicy bite, but a very fresh and flavorful overall taste.  The tamarind chutney was a little more bold in spiciness and in overall taste.  They were both very good.  

 
The lamb saag was delivered in a rectangular ceramic bowl on a matching ceramic plate with a mound of steamed rice included.  Now, 30 years ago, I would have run away screaming if I saw this set down in front of me.  This is a color not of the earth.  It had sort of an olive green tint to the saag and looked rather drab.  But from the first bite, any misconceptions of the look versus the taste went out the window.

The lamb chunks were moist and easy to chew.  The saag was a bit spicy, but very flavorful.  The chopped mustard leaves and spinach sauce was hearty and savory.  The rice was steamed perfectly, easily separating from each morsel.  This was a fine comfort-style meal.  

The garlic naan was similar to other garlic naans I've had.  It had a forward garlic flavor with a hint of cilantro.  Along with dipping it in the saag sauce or adding some of the tamarind or mint chutney, it was a perfect compliment to the meal.  

During many of my experiences at Indian restaurants early on, I found that service was spotty to downright horrible at times.  I heard a couple guys at a table near me complain about their service before they got up to leave and when I was finished with my meal, I was the only one in the dining room (it was around 8:30 p.m.).  Basil was nowhere in sight and I was ready to get my bill and pay it.  There were a couple other guys that were back near the bar area talking, but I couldn't get their attention.  I finally had to go over near them and announce that I was ready for my bill.  It took Basil another three or four minutes before he showed up with my tab.  

So, other than the service hiccup at the end of the meal, I thought my meal and experience at India Sizzling was fine to very good.  I thoroughly enjoyed the lamb saag, the garlic naan and the chutneys.  It was a very elegant setting for an Indian restaurant and I felt comfortable eating by myself.  Basil's service was quick and efficient up to the time he served me the meal, but then he forgot about me after that.  I've eaten at a couple three good Indian restaurants on the north side of Indianapolis and I was pleased enough with my experience at India Sizzling.  

Frida's - Overland Park, KS

Always on the lookout for new places to try while I'm on the road, I ran across a contemporary Mexican food place in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park during a recent visit - Frida's.  It wasn't far from my hotel and it seemed to get glowing reviews on both Urbanspoon and Yelp.  I took off to go find Friday's one windy and cool fall evening.  

In many cases, Tex-Mex food is starting to become boring.  Ivan Marquez believed that to be true and he wanted to have his own restaurant where the Mexican food had a more contemporary twist complete with using the freshest ingredients and a combination of different foods for a more modern flare.  Marquez, his wife, Mary, along with an investment from Victor Esquada, the like-minded owner of Ixtapa in far northern Kansas City and Guadalajara Cafe in Lee's Summit, opened Frida's - named after the famous 20th century Mexican artist Frida Kahlo - in a small strip mall near 148th and Metcalf on the far south side of Overland Park in January of 2010.

Business was immediately off the charts.  Marquez knew that he would have to relocate his business eventually and when El Espolon went out of business in 2012, Marquez quickly moved into that location.   It featured more than double the space of the original Frida's, a larger bar area, an outdoor patio seating area, and it was closer to the center of the Kansas City metro area.  The new and improved Frida's opened in June of 2012.  

Since opening the new location for Frida's, Marquez opened Frida's Taqueria on 119th Street in The Fountains shopping and entertainment complex just east of Metcalf in nearby Leawood.  It featured a stripped down menu and more of a casual fast food atmosphere than the more sleek and contemporary Frida's.  And in the summer of 2013, Marquez teamed with with his General Manager at Frida's, Marco Diaz, to open Diego's Bar and Grill in the north Kansas City, MO suburb of Gladstone.  Diego's is named after Frida Kahlo's artist husband, Diego Rivera, and features a more American menu with a few Mexican items tossed in.

It was around 7:30 when I found Frida's in a shopping complex just south of 119th on Metcalf.  (see map)  It's located on the corner of the complex and there was sufficient parking in front of the place.  I went in and was greeted by a hostess who asked me if I wanted to sit in the dining room to the left, or in the bar area to the right.  I went with the bar area and she led me to a booth along the wall.  She dropped off a menu and it wasn't long when my server for the evening, Rob - a fast talking waiter - came over to ask me what I wanted to drink.  I was going to just get one of Frida's house margaritas to start off with, but he immediately talked me into getting one of their signature jalapeno/cilantro infused margaritas.  Sure, why not?

Frida's menu is a tantilizing mix of modern and authentic Mexican food with entrees featuring skirt steak, seafood, pork and chicken.  While the menu isn't long, it's certainly interesting and diverse.  If you're looking for ground beef tacos, combination plates and fajitas, Frida's ain't the place you're looking for.  Frida's features a half dozen appetizers that are big enough to share including tamales that are stuffed with your choice of either Poblano pepper strips and topped with a chipotle sauce, or stuffed with pork and topped with a chile verde sauce.  That, on its own, sounded great.  

Rob came back with the jalapeno/cilantro margarita and while I did get a hint of jalapeno taste in the mix, I couldn't really taste much - if any - of the cilantro.  It wasn't spicy, but had a nice little aftertaste that was pleasing.  It was worth the try, and, quite actually, it was pretty good.  But one was enough for me.  

He also brought a small basket of fresh chips and salsa.  The salsa was a dark red color and had a strong hint of chili powder and one other spice that I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was.  But it was a very pleasing taste sensation.    

I was looking at a number of things on the menu.  The Puerco Oaxaca featured a grilled pork loin that was topped with Oaxaca cheese and a spicy tomatillo sauce with sauteed onions and garlic.  They had fish tacos, too, but they were "Baja style" - battered and deep fried.  However, I noticed that they did have grilled fish entrees on the menu and I'm sure that chef Deigo Rios (who has worked with celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey) could have made grilled fish tacos for me if I asked.   But I decided upon the "Chile Relleno de Callo al Cilantro" - a roasted Poblano pepper stuffed with lime and cilantro sauce-sauteed scallops and topped with a tomatillo sauce.  I was finished with the margarita and I ordered up a Dos Equis Amber to take me through the rest of the meal.    

 

Rob brought out the chile relleno with scallops and the picture above left is how the meal was presented to me.  It featured two large Poblano peppers flanking a bed of green rice.  A light and spicy tomatillo sauce was ladled on top of the peppers.  The picture above right is what the scallop stuffing looked like.  Chunks of tomato were part of the stuffing.  The scallops weren't big, but they were meaty enough for the stuffed pepper.

The taste was magnificent.  The Poblano's had a smoky flavor to them, the scallops were tender, and the tomatillo sauce had just a hint of a spiciness - not enough to take away from the overall taste of everything that was involved in the stuffed pepper.  The combinations of tastes that went into the dish were unlike anything I've come across with Mexican food.  It was truly a unique culinary experience.

Frida's is the ultimate change-up when it comes to Mexican food.  And because of that, some people who are used to American-ized Mexican food with cheese melted on top of a combination plate of a burrito, enchilada and cheese stuffed pepper may not care for the food at Frida's.  But if you have an adventurous spirit and go into the place knowing that the food at Frida's is truly different, I'm guessing you'll enjoy the experience like I did.  (Photo courtesy Pitch.com)

Black Dog Smoke and Ale House - Urbana, IL

A place that has been on my culinary radar for a couple years has been Black Dog Smoke and Ale House, a barbecue joint located near the University of Illinois campus in downtown Urbana, IL.  I had a morning meeting with one of my dealers in twin city Champaign and decided to head over to Black Dog for an early lunch before I hit the road. 

Mike Cochran had been a bartender at the Esquire Lounge in Champaign since 1993.  One of the co-owners was a guy by the name of Pedro Heller.  Cochran got into smoking meats about three years later when he bought a small backyard water smoker.  He started to work some shifts in the kitchen at the Esquire, and once a week he made ribs to sell at the bar.  The ribs were an immediate hit.  

Cochran began to dream about one day owning his own barbecue place.  But for an area like Champaign/Urbana, there was no dearth of barbecue places.  The people in Chambana really like their barbecue.  Cochran knew that his barbecue joint would have to be different and he partnered with Heller with his plan to have his own style of barbecue in a restaurant that would serve craft beers from all over the Midwest.  In February 2009, Cochran and Heller opened Black Dog Smoke and Ale House in what was the former Tod and John's, a tavern that was popular with the locals.  The barbecue joint was named after Cochran's two black dogs, Lola and Oscar.  

Cochran was influenced by many different styles of barbecue - Memphis-style with the seasoned rubs, Carolina-style with pork and vinegar-based sauces, and the sweet and smoky Kansas City-style barbecue featuring burnt ends.  Cochran wasn't very big on adding sauces to his smoked meats, saying that the meat should stand on its own.  But they offer seven different types of barbecue sauce that can be served with the meats.  

Black Dog Smoke and Ale House is located on the corner of Walker and Broadway in downtown Urbana. (see map)  They share the parking lot on the north side of their building with Bunny's, another popular and long-time eatery in Urbana.  I could smell the wood smoke when I got out of my car.

It was just after 11:30 and they had been open since 11.  When I walked in, the place was already packed and there was a wait at the door.  A guy was manning the stand up front and he asked me how many there was in my party.  When I told him, "Just one," he looked toward the bar and asked me if I wanted to have a seat at the bar.  I had no problem with that whatsoever.

Black Dog is not a large place.  There are some tall tables up front and a row of booths along the wall opposite the bar.  The bar, itself, is an old ornate structure that looked like it had been made back in the 30's or 40's.

After I sat down, a personable bartender came up to greet me.  He said, "Welcome to Black Dogs.  We're out of burnt ends, catfish and ribs today.  I hope you didn't come for those."  

I said, "Already?  You guys are out of the ribs already?"

"We got some smoking right now," he explained. "We had a catering job that came up that left us short."  

But they still had pulled pork, brisket, smoked Polish sausage and smoked chicken available.  They also have smoked salmon available at times, as well as smoked duck on occasion.  Black Dog also features locally-raised grass-fed beef for their burgers, brisket burritos, Cuban sandwiches, vegetarian food items, as well as a slew of appetizers.  For a cold beer, I ordered up a Bell's Two Hearted Ale.  

They had a two meat platter on the menu that I ended up ordering.  I got a couple sides with it and I ordered the pit baked beans, but was sort of torn between a couple of other things.  The bartender said, "You can't go wrong with the spicy potato salad."  OK, I'll sign up for that. 

He asked me, "What kind of barbecue sauce do you want?"  I asked what he had and he started to rattle them off - Georgia Peach, Hot Georgia Peach, Milo's Mustard, Carolina Red...  I stopped him and asked if I could have a little bit of everything.  He said, "For a two buck upcharge, we have a sauce flight that we serve."  Sure!  You bet!

The pulled pork, brisket and sides were served on a deep metal tray with wax paper covering the bottom of the pan.  There was a healthy sized glob of pulled pork and about four or five slices of thick cut brisket.  The sides were good sized and looked interesting.  

 
The sauces were also served in a similar pan inside small plastic tubs.  In addition to the ones I named before, there was a Carolina vinegar sauce, a Texas barbecue sauce, and a chipotle sauce.  More on the sauces in a bit.

The pulled pork was moist and tender, and had a great smoky flavor.  The brisket was not quite as tender as I like, but it was still very good.  The rub on the bark of the brisket had a nice tangy appeal.  Both the pulled pork and the brisket were well above average.  

The pit beans, on their own, were good.  But I mixed some of the Hot Georgia Peach and the Texas BBQ sauces in with the beans and they got zipped up in taste pretty well.  But the highlight was the spicy potato salad.  The bartender didn't steer me wrong - it had a zippy and tangy taste.  There appeared to be hot peppers mixed in with the potato salad and it was some of the finest potato salad I've had.  I really wanted to get the recipe for it.  

The sauces were, well, interesting.  If you're a regular reader of Road Tips, you'll know that I'm big into the different barbecue sauces, going more toward the sweet and spicy sauces (sometimes having to mix both together to get the desired taste), and not too particularly fond of the mustard or vinegar based sauces.  Both the hot Georgia Peach and the regular Georgia Peach sauces were very good.  The hot Georgia Peach had the nice mixture of sweet and hot that I like.  It was just excellent.  

I thought the Texas BBQ sauce was a little bland, but I did like the chipotle sauce.  Mixed together, the combination was very good.  The Carolina red was a vinegar-tomato mix that was all right, but not my favorite.  And although I'm not fond of the mustard or near pure vinegar-style of sauces, I did try the Milo's Mustard (found it tangy, but a little sour to my taste buds), and the Carolina vinegar that was all right, but not my style of sauce.  It's definitely an acquired taste.  

For $12.95 for the two meat platter (a three meat platter is $17.95), plus $2.00 for the sauce flight, it was a lot of food for lunch.  And good food.  In 2013, Maxim magazine named Black Dog one of the top five hottest BBQ places in the United States.  It's not that they needed more accolades - they were doing fine well before getting the national recognition.  But in the fall of 2013, Cochran and Heller announced they would open a second - and larger - Black Dog Smoke and Ale House in an old railroad freight building in Champaign.  

I liked everything about Black Dog, save for the fact that they were out of ribs on my visit.  But the brisket and pulled pork were both very good, the sauces were, as I said, interesting, and they had a wonderful selection of craft beers from all around the Midwest.  Getting in early doesn't always guarantee a seat and they may be out of some meat.  But I'd go back to Black Dog Smoke and Ale House in a moment's notice.

Mad Anthony's Brewing Co. - Fort Wayne, IN

On a recent trip to Fort Wayne to see a couple dealers, I had the chance to stop into the city's first brew pub - Mad Anthony's Brewing Co. - for lunch.  I was told by a couple of the locals that the food was just "all right" and I have to admit that while I'm not fond of many of the Mad Anthony beers, I think they're serviceable beers that are all right to drink.  But I still wanted to give Mad Anthony's a try at some point.  

The concept for Mad Anthony's began in 1995 when friends Todd Grantham - a homebrewer - and Blaine Stuckey - who had restaurant experience working for Chili's and local Fort Wayne music bar/pub Columbia Street West - got together to work on a plan to open their own brewpub.  It took three years before the pair found a place in which to put their brewpub, a funky restaurant called the Munchie Emporium.  Taking over the restaurant and turning it into a brewpub was no small task, so Grantham called an old college buddy, Jeff Neels, to come in and help run the operation.  

Eventually, the brewpub was brewing 2,000 barrels of beer annually. And because it went over so well, they began to expand into other smaller markets near Fort Wayne.  The Mad Anthony's location in Auburn - about 30 miles north of Fort Wayne - opened in 2003.  A location in Warsaw - an hour west of Fort Wayne - opened in 2006.  And a fourth Mad Anthony's opened in Angola in extreme northeast Indiana in 2012. 

Mad Anthony bought a building to house a 15,000 barrel-capacity brewing facility and they began to bottle their beers for distribution throughout Indiana.   During the course of their history, Mad Anthony's has brewed up to 50 varieties of annual and seasonal beers.  As I said, I've bought some of their beer on trips to liquor stores in Indianapolis over the years and I thought they were just all right.   

It was around 1 p.m. when I pulled up the original Mad Anthony's location at the corner of Broadway and Taylor just south and west of downtown Fort Wayne (see map).  Mad Anthony's is named after Fort Wayne's namesake, Revolutionary War General Anthony Wayne, who got his nickname - Mad Anthony - for his fiery personality.  (Some pundits after the war was over thought that Wayne got his nickname for reckless and wild behavior.  History has proved Wayne to be more of a disciplinarian - a somewhat sadistic disciplinarian as you look back.  So maybe he was somewhat "mad" using the parlance of the times.)  The original Fort Wayne, a garrison built during the Northwest Indian Wars that escalated after the Revolutionary War, was named for Wayne who was named by George Washington as the Commander-in-Chief of the American Army to lead troops in the uprising.  That's how Fort Wayne got it's name.  

We're gonna have a test on this later in the week...

There's a parking lot in the rear of the Mad Anthony's, but it's not very big.  I had to wait for someone to pull out before I could get a slot or I would have been driving around looking for parking on the street near the brewpub.  There's two different areas of Mad Anthony's.  The main dining room (pictured below) featured the main bar area, a stage area for music, a number of industrial restaurant-style tables and chairs and a handful off booths along the windows.  The brewing tanks were visible in a window next to the bar.

The back room (below, left and right) was kind of a kitschy collection of signage, stop lights, faux graffiti on the ceiling and similar tables and booths in the much smaller space.  The back room was more cozy and lighthearted.  

 
I took a seat in a booth in the main dining area up front.  The main dining room was about half full and starting to wind down from the lunch rush.  After a short wait, I was greeted by Tiffany, my server for this visit, who dropped off a menu.  She asked me if I wanted anything to drink and I took a quick look at their beer list.  I settled on the the Oktoberfest that they still had available on tap, even though it was deep into November.

The menu at Mad Anthony's is typical of most brewpubs - appetizers, soups and salads, sandwiches (including wraps and pita sandwiches) and they also have "gourmet" pizza served in a pan.  They had a pineapple pizza, a jambalaya pizza, and something called the "Lagasse" named after famed chef Emeril Lagasse that featured ham, bacon, Italian sausage, red onions and tomatoes.  The pizzas weren't cheap - the lowest priced medium specialty pizza was $15.49 with prices going up to near $24 for a large.  

They also had a couple pasta dishes including a jambalaya fettuccine, as well as entrees such as pork tenderloin medallions, traditional bangers and mash, and something called Tacos Montezuma - smoked pulled pork, sauteed onions, roasted whole jalapenos and cilantro.  That sounded pretty interesting to me.

They also have something called Mad Anthony's Un-Wraps - it's a 10" thin piece of crust with assorted toppings on it.  They had one that was topped with pepperoni and sausage, mozzarella and provolone cheese, with a tangy sauce.  Ooo... That was interesting.  The Jambalaya Un-Wrap featured sausage, shrimp, diced tomatoes and what they called "a million spices".  It was topped with a three cheese blend and it came with a side of a housemade jalapeno tartar sauce.  The was even more interesting.   

I began to focus on the sandwiches.  I was getting a little burned out on burgers - and they did have a lot of burgers on the menu - so I thought a change of pace was in order.  They have a Cuban sandwich on the menu, but I've never found a Cuban sandwich outside of Miami that comes close in taste.  I didn't want to chance it with the one at Mad Anthony's because I knew I'd be disappointed.  

They also had a breaded pork tenderloin sandwich - you gotta have one if you're in Indiana.  There was also a reuben sandwich that I thought about, as well as the Club Brew, Mad Anthony's club sandwich that featured ham, turkey, bacon and melted Swiss cheese.  

When Tiffany came back to take my order, I decided upon getting their version of an Italian Grinder - spicy capicola, Genoa salami and pepperoni topped with mozzarella cheese - sort of how I make my Italian sandwiches at home.  They then top it off with lettuce, tomato slices, red onion slices and Italian dressing.  It's served hot on a toasted hoagie roll.  I also got a choice of a side with the sandwich.  I had a choice of red beans and rice, pasta salad, cole slaw or cottage cheese.  For an upcharge, I could get fries or onion rings. I ended up going with the red beans and rice.  

As I was waiting for my sandwich to come out, a couple seated near me had both ordered Un-Wraps.  It was evident from their conversation that the young lady had ordered an Un-Wrap before.  The man with her - it may have been her father - was completely confused as to eat it.  "How am I supposed to eat this," he asked in sort of a angry tone.  "Do I pick it up?  Do I use a knife and fork?"

Her basic answer was, "Yes.  However you want to eat it."  Actually, the Un-Wraps they'd ordered looked pretty good.   

The sandwich came out to me a little later on, about 15 to 20 minutes after I ordered.  It was a basically a six to seven inch hoagie with the Italian meats, cheese and veggies.  It easily cut it in half with a regular knife.  

The outer part of the bread was soft and chewy, but crunchy inside where it was toasted.  The meat had that great Italian spiciness that I look for when I pair capicola and pepperoni slices with salami.  The meat was piled high it was a substantial sandwich.  For a basic Italian sandwich, it was very good.

The red beans and rice, however, were a major disappointment.  They were rather bland and boring. Some Tabasco would have helped liven the red beans and rice up a bit, but Tiffany was busy with other tables and I couldn't get her attention.  That was OK, though.  I was concentrating more on the sandwich and it turned out that the sandwich, alone, was fine enough.  

Their Oktoberfest beer was similar to other Mad Anthony beers I've had in the past.  Competent, but a little bland in taste.  As I said, the beers are serviceable, but they don't knock my socks off.  The Oktoberfest had little carbonation and had a slight malt flavor to it.  Not the best Oktoberfest I've ever had and definitely down the list of Oktoberfest beers I've tried.  

Well, other than the beer, my first experience at Mad Anthony's Brewing Company was a pleasant one.  The surroundings and ambiance were nice, Tiffany's service was fine, as well.  Even though it was I pretty much what I expected from a brewpub of this type, I enjoyed the sandwich and thought that I'd like to try an Un-Wrap at some point.  If you're looking for a brewpub experience in Fort Wayne, Mad Anthony's is worth the stop.  

The Peanut - Kansas City

Sometimes when I travel, I try to find a place that is a local landmark that isn't pretentious or overly high brow.  A good dive bar, if you will.  Every city seems to have one, sometimes more than one.  But for the years that I've been traveling to Kansas City, one bar kept coming up in conversations with the locals as to what would be the quintessential dive bar in the area.  And the consensus has been the original Peanut at 50th and Main. (see map)  It had been years since I'd been in the Peanut and I wanted to stop in and get a burger on a recent trip to Kansas City.  

The Peanut started out in the early 30's as a speakeasy that transformed into a legitimate bar after Prohibition ended garnering one of the cities first (and currently oldest) liquor licenses.  It was called the Peanut for not only its small size, but because of the two story apartment building directly behind the place that was known as "The Peanuts", a take-off on the stately "Walnuts" apartment building three blocks west.  In the 40's and 50's, it was a barbecue joint, but began to get run down in the 60's into the 70's.  The owners quit serving food in the late 70's and it became just another run down gin joint.  

Enter Rich Kenny.  Kenny and a fellow Omaha native, Gregg Johnson, founded the Minsky's Pizza chain in 1974 not far from the original Peanut.  By 1980, they had six locations and it was at that point that Rich Kenny wanted to get out of the Minsky's deal because he thought they were growing too quickly.  Plus, he had just gotten married to his wife, Melinda, and they were looking to start a family.

Pictured right - Rich Kenny.  Photo courtesy Business Journals.com 

Rich Kenny had taken a job as an industrial waste equipment salesman, but had his eye on purchasing The Peanut to fulfill his dream of running his own bar.  In 1981 - with a $20,000 investment - he took over the failing Peanut's assets and lease.  One of the first things he wanted to do was to start serving food and it didn't hurt that Melinda was a caterer.  

The couple struggled at first, Rich held onto his sales job while Melinda ran the kitchen.  But her food started to garner a following and Rich was able to eventually quit his sales job and run the Peanut full time.  

In 1987, Melinda asked Rich, "Do you want to be a bartender when you're 50 years old?"  His answer was a resounding, "Of course I do!"  With that they set their sights on expanding the Peanut empire.  In 1990, the Kenny's found another bar in downtown Kansas City that had fallen on hard times, the Quality Hill Bar and Grill.  He put an offer in on the place, but found out that someone else had beaten him to the punch.  When the other party's financing fell through, Rich Kenny was able to swoop in and pick up the property for a mere $23,000.   The second Peanut location opened soon after that.  

In 1997, a developer of a new strip mall in Overland Park, KS came to Kenny and asked him if he'd like to put a Peanut location in his new building at 127th and Metcalf.  Kenny immediately said, "No," but the developer came back with an offer he couldn't refuse.  The third Peanut location opened later that year.  (A fourth location opened in north suburban Gladstone in 2003, but that has since closed up.)

In 1998, Rich and Melinda Kenny began to license out the Peanut name.  Two additional locations - one in Lee's Summit, MO and another in Olathe, KS Overland Park (thanx, Renee M.!) became licensed Peanut locations.  

In 2005, Rich Kenny and two partners - one the developer who owned the building in which the Overland Park location was housed - opened an upscale "Peanut" venue called "The Cashew" in Kansas City's Crossroads Arts and Entertainment District.  The menu featured appetizers, wraps, panini sandwiches and, interestingly, pizza, harkening back to Kenny's days with Minsky's.  

Sadly, Rich Kenny passed away in 2007 from pancreatic cancer.  Melinda continues to run the Peanut empire today.  However, she sold the Overland Park location to three partners a couple years after Rich passed away. The local licensees pay Melinda Kenny a percentage of their monthly revenue for the use of the Peanut name and concept.  

But everyone tells me that the original Peanut is the best, both in food and atmosphere.  Actually, I tried to get lunch at the Peanut earlier in the summer of 2013, but there was a lot of construction going on in the immediate area and parking along Main and the side streets was at a premium.  On a late fall trip to K.C., I decided to give the Peanut another shot after having a meeting with one of my dealers who is located about three minutes away by car.  Heavy construction behind the Peanut was still going on, but I was able to find a parking spot on a side street a block to the west of Main. 

It had been - shwooo, I don't know - maybe 8 or 9 years since my dear and now deceased friend Jim Mitchell had driven me to the Peanut for a beer one night when I was in Kansas City for business.  I immediately liked the kitschy nature of the place with the mismatched bar stools, the old pictures and beer signs on the wall, and the cozy nature of the bar, itself.  Plus, the fact that I was sitting in the oldest bar in Kansas City.    

Since it was part of the lunch rush and many of the tables were filled with diners, I ended up sitting at the bar, possibly in the same place that I sat my previous visit with Jimmy.  The bartender asked me if I would like to have a menu and something to drink.  I ordered up a Boulevard Pale Ale in tribute to my late pal Jimi.  

Jimi had told me that the Peanut had pretty good burgers on my initial visit and I always sort of kept that in the back of my mind.  The menu at the Peanut was not extensive - at least at the Main and 50th location.  They had the one burger on the menu, a pork tenderloin sandwich, a tuna melt, and their famous reuben sandwich - something that helped put the place on the map when the Kenny's took over in the early 80's.  Interestingly, they also had BLT's on the menu - bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches topped with cheddar cheese, black pepper, red onions and mayo, served on toasted whole wheat bread.  For an extra cost, you could get extra bacon, or a fried egg on top.  Or, you could go for the TRIPLE BLT - same thing as the single (there's no double) - only much bigger.  Quite honestly, I stopped and thought about getting the BLT with extra bacon and an egg.  But I had it in my mind that I was going to get a burger on this trip.

And that's exactly what I ordered.  I ordered it with pepper jack cheese and bacon - medium.  It was a good thing I wasn't in a big hurry because it was over 20 minutes - and ordering a second Boulevard Pale Ale - before my burger was brought out to me.  But good things do take time and the burger from the Peanut looked good upon presentation.  And it was good at the first bite.  

The burger wasn't overly big, but they still stuck a knife in the center of the burger should you want to cut it in half for easier handling.  I got some sliced onions on the burger, as well, and dill pickle slices came on the plate along with some crinkle cut fries.  The burger was juicy and tender - the taste of it showed that it was cooked on a flat grill, my choice of the best way to cook a burger.  The crispy bacon was a nice compliment to the burger and the pepper jack gave it a nice little after buzz in spiciness.  Even the bun was good - it wasn't large and chewy, but it held together well with everything that was going on with the burger.  

While it probably wasn't the best burger I've had in Kansas City, the one I had at the Peanut was still very good.  The burger wasn't cheap - with all the fixings I got on it, it was about $10 bucks in cost with the fries.  But, honestly, I thought it was worth it.  Actually, just having the chance to be in the oldest bar in Kansas City is worth a couple extra bucks in my mind.  I haven't been to the other Peanut locations, but I can't imagine that any of them have the character - and the history - of the original at 50th and Main.  And I am going back for one of their BLT's at some point. 

More on the Winter of 2014

As I write this early morning, it's a -20F (-29C) at the Davenport Municipal Airport and -18F (-28C) at the Quad City International Airport over in Moline, a new record low temperature for this date.  While it's not quite as cold here in Davenport as it was yesterday - the temperature at the National Weather Service office at the Davenport airport got down to -22F (-30C).  As I've said before, if it's -2F or -20F, it's just cold.  

This is the 26th day this winter season that we've had temperatures under 0F (-18C).  On over a dozen of those days, the temperature has reached below -10F (-23C).  Considering we normally have just 10 days where the thermometer dips below the 0F mark on average during winter, this has truly been an extraordinary winter around here.  

And it's been a long winter - we had our first snow on October 22 of last year.  Average temperatures have been well under normal for the last four months.  And we're inches away from hitting our all-time snowfall during a winter season.  While we haven't had many large snowfalls this season - most have been in the 2 to 4 inch range (5 to 10cm) - we've had a lot of those little clipper systems that keep piling up snow depths that I haven't seen in years.  And a lot of that has to do with the fact that we haven't been above freezing for over two weeks.  

The good thing is that we're not seeing high winds with these low temperatures, so we're not getting the brutally cold wind chills that we were getting back in early January.  Still, authorities are cautioning people to bundle up to guard against frost bite.  

With all this snow, the moisture content isn't high.  Usually, most snows have a 10 to 1 ratio (10 inches of snow equal 1 inch of rain).  But because of the cold temperatures and low moisture content, the snow moisture ratio is around 17 to 1.  That's going to help when it begins to melt.

And it looks like it will begin to melt starting this week.  We could see high temperatures on Thursday above freezing for the first time since late January.  And long-term forecasts show that after another small dip in temps at the start of the coming weekend, we could see temperatures moderating into the 40's (F) (5 to 7C) next week.  And I'm ready for it.  As are millions of others around the Midwest.

Oh, and since I started writing this entry, the temperature at the Quad City airport in Moline has dipped to -21F (-29C).  Brrrr.... indeed.

The Bluebird Diner - Iowa City

One of my wife's favorite places to eat in Iowa City is The Bluebird Diner.  We spent the night in Iowa City after the wedding of our friend's daughter and before we headed back to the Quad Cities, we stopped in to have breakfast.  It had been probably close to four and a half years since I was last in the place, but my wife probably eats in there three or four times a year. 

The Bluebird Diner is owned by restaurateurs Jon Wilson and Thomas Connelly.  The two opened the Bluebird Diner in 2008 serving what they like to call "Midwestern Soul Food", taking down-home favorites and adding an urban twist to them.  Their food is all housemade and, when they can, they use locally sourced food products.  They have alcohol at the Bluebird Diner and they feature a number of Iowa craft brews.  The Bluebird Diner is open from 7 a.m. when they serve breakfast to 11 a.m. (1 p.m. on the weekends), then they serve their lunch items from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. (1 p.m. to close on weekends), and their dinner entrees are served from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. daily.  In the summer of 2012, Wilson, Connelly and Iowa City Bluebird manager, Lacie Willis, opened a second Bluebird Diner location in nearby North Liberty.  

The Bluebird Diner sits at an iconic intersection in Iowa City - Gilbert and Market streets. (see map) It is caddy-cornered from the infamous John's Grocery Store (click here to see my entry on John's Grocery) and across the street from the venerable Dave's Fox Head Tavern.  The Bluebird Diner is in what used to be the old Gilpin Paint and Glass.  A friend of mine is a member of the Gilpin family and it's still rather strange walking into the building remembering the times I'd go in there to see him 25 years ago.  The Riverside Theater is housed in the back portion of the building.  

Cindy knows the routine well and she suggested that we get to The Bluebird Diner early, especially on the weekend.  We pulled in around 8 a.m. and the place was already about 3/4's full at that time.  We were seated at a table and given menus.  Our server, Devon, came by to great us and to pour some coffee for Cindy.  The atmosphere at The Bluebird Diner is decidedly retro in its feel and appearance.  Old diner style tables and chairs are used in the restaurant and they have an old style counter with swiveling seats.  Within 30 minutes after we arrived, there was a crowd of people waiting for tables to open.

The breakfast menu features a number of egg-based entrees as well as a number of interesting omelets.  Waffles, pancakes and French toast are also available as well as a breakfast croissant and good ol' biscuits and gravy.  One of the more interesting egg dishes is the Ouefs Louis XIV - three scrambled eggs with truffles, served with what they call a "rustic root hash".  It's not cheap - $18 bucks - but eggs with truffles is an interesting twist to breakfast.  

I was thinking about getting an omelet - the Rajun Cajun was the one that caught my eye.  It features a mixture of housemade andouille sausage, smoked ham, the Cajun holy trinity of onions, celery and bell peppers, and a  lemon-herb cream cheese.  It's finally topped with smoked cheese.  That's a lot of stuff going on with an omelet.

Then this thing reached and grabbed me - the Huevos Epsteinos.  The make their own chili verde with smoked pork at The Bluebird Diner, then they pour it over parmesan polenta and eggs over easy with hash browns.  Oh man!  I love a good green chili and I had to give that a try.  

Cindy has had a lot of things on the menu thanks to her many visits to the diner.  This time she settled on the Eggs Benedict with crab cakes.  Sliced tomatoes and their housemade hollandaise sauce came with the Eggs Benedict.  

Our food showed up and Cindy was sort of taken aback by the towering spectacle on her plate.  It featured fluffy poached eggs sitting on top of thick cakes of crab meat.  The crab meat patties were placed upon a sliced tomato and an English muffin.  Liberal amounts of hollandaise sauce topped the towering concoction. She was like, "How am I gonna eat this without making a mess?"  

 

My Huevos Epsteinos were an interesting presentation, to say the least.  The chili verde was covering the two eggs and the polenta.  The hash browns were off to the side, but it didn't matter.  Nearly every bite I was going to take was going to have some of the chili verde with it.  

The chili verde at The Bluebird Diner was delicious.  It had a bit of a spicy bite and a smoky taste, thanks to the chunks of smoked pork.  Because the chili verde was so present in each bite, it was really tough to taste anything else on the plate.  But if the chili verde would have been ladled over raw brussels sprouts, I would have still eaten them.  It was very good.  I would have been happy just having a bowl of the chili verde for breakfast.  Even though I wasn't hungover, I thought that it would be the ultimate in a hangover cure.  

Cindy thoroughly enjoyed her Eggs Benedict with the crab cakes.  But they were very rich and she was having trouble finishing even one of the two stacks.  She did offer me a bite of the combination of the poached egg, crab cake and hollandaise.  I'll have to say that the combination was very good.  I'm not usually big on seafood at breakfast, but the crab cake was very tasty.  What I didn't eat of the second stack of poached egg and crab cake, she made a dent in it before she declared herself as full.

Although there are some reasonably priced items on the breakfast menu, we went a little toward the high end of the scale.  With our food, drinks and a nice tip for Devon for his stellar service, our breakfast bill was over 30 bucks.  But for the food and the service we got, I couldn't complain about the price.  I thought my breakfast was excellent and we could have easily split Cindy's breakfast and it would have probably filled up both of us.  I've had breakfast and lunch at The Bluebird Diner and one of these days I'll have to come back for dinner.  The housemade meat loaf they have on the menu sounds like it would be killer.  

Karma Can Be a Bitch

Today's story is a lesson for the 20-something's out there who have to learn that taking credit where credit isn't due can come back and bite you in the butt.  

I was at the local Schnuck's supermarket this week, there to pick up some Icelandic cod filets for dinner for that evening.  Now, when I go to grocery stores like Schnuck's or Hy-Vee, I'm usually there to pick up a few things.  I'm not one who goes in with a food agenda for the week, picking up all types of food to eventually throw out when we decide we'd rather have something else or go out to eat and the food expires in the fridge.   Going to the store every day or every two days still maddens my wife, but I don't mind heading in five or six times a week.  Especially since we live an equadistant three minutes from both Schnuck's and Hy-Vee.  

And because I'm there to only pick up a few things, I like to use the little carts with the two baskets above one another.  I call them the "sports car" carts because they're easy to spin around the aisles than the big "barge" carts that are a pain to maneuver, especially in a crowded store.  The only problem is that many people have the same idea I have and the small carts are usually taken.  If I were in grocery store management, I'd have a 2 to 1 ratio of small carts versus the larger carts instead of the inverse 3 to 1 ratio they seem to have now.  But that's just me. 

On this trip to Schnuck's, as I entered the vestibule area I noticed there was only one small cart with the large carts.  The only problem was that it was holding a ladies-style purse.  I sort of stood there for a moment, looking around the area to see if there was a lady.  There was nobody.  I looked around outside to see if anyone was near the store front.  No one.  Hmmm...  All right.  Now what?

I decided to push the cart inside with the purse still in it.  As I got inside the door, I saw a Schnuck's worker - a young 20-something guy who I've noticed in there before, primarily on the early morning shift.  I told him, "Hey, I think some lady left her purse in this cart.  I didn't see anyone around it."  

"Oh, my gosh," he exclaimed.  "I'll take it to customer service."  Which was a five foot walk from where I was standing.  

I went about getting my small list of groceries and as I was going over toward the self-check out area, an older lady came in and I heard her ask someone at customer service if they had her purse.  When the lady behind the counter produced it for her, she said, "Oh, my goodness!  You don't know what I went through just now!"

When the older lady asked who found the purse, the lady behind the customer service counter pointed toward the young man who was now manning the self-check out command center.  By this time, I was starting to scan the items in my cart and the older lady came over to the young man and offered him a reward for finding her purse.  I sort of stopped and looked at the kid.  She was offering him money - I don't know if it was a 10 or a 20 dollar bill - and to his credit, he kept saying that, no, he couldn't accept her money.  

But the older lady wouldn't take "no" for an answer.  She forced the bill into the guy's hand, thanking him again for finding her purse, and turned and walked out of the store.  The kid didn't even offer up a, "Hey, THIS was the guy who actually found your purse and he turned it into me."  

I stood there for a moment, laughed out loud and said to the kid, "Hey, man!  You're welcome!"  

He didn't acknowledge me and I was standing three feet from him.  I just turned around and continued with my self-check out.  

Now, I'm sure that I would have turned down money from an old lady who wanted to reward me for finding her purse. (Well... That is, unless she opened up her purse to show me she had $50,000 in it.)  I used to get upset with an elderly lady who lived next door to us who would buy me gift certificates to local restaurants for blowing snow off her sidewalk in front of her house.  I gave a couple gift certificates away to my wife's son and her father, and I'm looking at two more sitting on my desk.  

A manager came over to the kid as I was finishing my purchase at the self-check out and started to berate him for taking money from the old lady.  "Never, EVER, take money from a customer, no matter what you did to deserve it," the manager sternly said to the young man.  Even after the young guy explained she wouldn't take no for an answer, the manager said, "That doesn't matter.  You NEVER take money from a customer!"  

As I was walking past the kid who was getting dressed down by the manager for "his" good deed, I just had to chuckle.  The kid took responsibility for finding the purse instead of saying, "Well, actually, a customer turned it into me, and I put it in customer service."  It wouldn't have mattered to me if I was standing there and he still wouldn't have acknowledged me as being the one who found the purse - as long as he didn't take full credit for finding the purse like he did.

The lady gave him money and he got in trouble for it.  I learned a lot of lessons in my 20's (and I'm still learning lessons today) and I'm hoping the kid will think twice in the future when he tries to take full responsibility for something he really didn't do.        

The Oven - Lincoln, NE

A friend of mine in the audio industry told me that he likes to drive from his home in Central Wisconsin out to Denver for the annual Rocky Mountain Audio Festival each fall.  His reasoning, he told me, was so he could spend the night in Lincoln, NE going to and from Denver and have dinner at his favorite Indian restaurant - The Oven.  With that kind of dedication and drive to center his travel plans around going to a restaurant, I wondered how good The Oven was.  On a recent overnight stay in Lincoln, I had the chance to give The Oven a try.  

Ngawang Rinchen is a native of Bhutan and he was the former chef for the 4th Bhutanese King, Jigme Singye Wangchuck.  Rinchen cooked meals for the King, his four wives (all sisters), and their children.  In 1978, he made his way to the United States cooking in Bhutanese and Indian restaurants.  He ended up in Omaha in 1984 as the head chef at The Indian Oven restaurant.  In 1988, he was recruited by Steve Gordon to help open and be the head chef at The Oven in Lincoln's Haymarket entertainment district.

Rinchen eventually bought out Gordon and became the sole owner of The Oven.  He opened a second location in east Lincoln in 2007 and in 2012, Rinchen took the empty space beneath his restaurant and turned it into a wine bar/cafe by the name of The Cellar.  The Cellar features self-serve wine dispensers and a wine list that features some of the best wine selections in the Midwest.  Wine Spectator magazine has awarded The Oven/Cellar with their Award of Excellence for their superior wine list for 11 years in a row.

I was staying at the new Hilton Garden Inn in the Haymarket district on a cold late fall night.  The Oven is on the corner of N. 8th St. and P St. in downtown Lincoln.  (see map)  To get there, I walked down two flights of stairs, out a back door to the hotel, across the street and down a block and a half.  It took me about three minutes to get to the front door of The Oven.

There, I was met by a hostess who sat me in a banquette seat in the back corner of the restaurant.  The place was fairly full of people around 7:30 with more coming in.  The decor was tasteful and didn't have the garishness that you find with some Indian restaurants.  

My hostess had left off a menu with me and my server for the evening, Audrey, came over to greet me.  She asked me if I wanted anything to drink and I asked her for a Kingfisher.  They had two sizes of Kingfisher at The Oven - I didn't know that until she brought back the larger of the two bottles.  If she would have asked me if I wanted the 22 oz. or the 12 oz. bottle, I would have gladly told her to bring me the 22 ouncer.  She must have read my mind.

The menu at The Oven is a combination of Northern Indian and Bhutanese dishes with Rinchen's twists added to some of the food.  They had Kheema Matar on the menu, but instead of ground lamb, they made it with ground beef at The Oven.  They had seafood entrees with an Indian flavor, as well as a lot of biryani dishes to choose from.  The Oven also has a large selection of vegetarian dishes on their menu, as well. 

I was just thinking about getting lamb vindaloo that evening - a hearty meal with a bit of a spicy bite to help warm me up on that cold evening.  That's what I ordered when Audrey came back to take my order.  I also ordered some garlic naan to go along with the vindaloo.  Audrey informed me that I also got a bowl of mulligatawny soup with the meal.  I usually don't order the mulligatawny, but I was happy it came with the meal that cold evening.

The mulligatawny had a pleasing flavor to it.  The pureed lentils were mixed with a multitude of spices to give it a good taste.  A dab of rice and some cilantro leaves were part of a garnish on top of the soup.  It was a great opener to the meal.  

 
The lamb vindaloo and the naan came out not long after I finished up with the mulligatawny.  Tender chunks of lamb were in a heavy tomato sauce that had just a hint of a bite of spicy curry.  I tasted hints of ginger, tamarind, and paprika in addition to the curry.  Along with a big bowl of steamed rice, it was a hearty comfort food meal.  After eating about half the vindaloo, I realized that it had more of a spicy kick than I originally thought.  I had to take my napkin and wipe my forehead a couple times as it was causing me to sweat a bit. 

The garlic naan came with a spicy mint chutney that had a nice little bite, as well.  The naan had a very forward garlic and cilantro flavoring to it.  It was light and chewy, and it went well with the vindaloo sauce when I would dip it in the serving bowl.  

The food at The Oven was exceptional.  I was thoroughly impressed with my meal and thoroughly full because I couldn't stop eating - it was that good.   Was it the best vindaloo I've ever had?  Tough to say.  It was some of the best I've had.  Audrey's service was very good, she was accommodating and on top of things.  I liked the atmosphere of the restaurant and I can see why it can get packed with a waiting list on the weekend.  I'll have to tell my buddy that I tried The Oven and can see why he would make the effort to stop there when he drives to and from Denver.

Smitty's Tenderloin Shop - Des Moines, IA

While driving from Kansas City recently, I decided to stop in Des Moines and get a "sting grinder" from The Tavern on Army Post Road on the south side of town. (Click here to see the entry on The Tavern.)  Imagine my surprise when I pulled up and found that the place was no longer The Tavern, but a place called Nick's that touted pork tenderloin sandwiches.  Sort of downhearted that The Tavern was no longer in business at that location (they still have their two locations open in West Des Moines), the notion of having a pork tenderloin sort of jumped out at me.  Just up the road from that place is one of the more famous - if not THE most famous - pork tenderloin sandwich in Des Moines - Smitty's Tenderloin Shop.  I thought if I was going to get a tenderloin, I'd go back to Smitty's because it had been a long, long time since I was last there.

In 1950, the Blue Jay Diner at the corner of Army Post Road and Fleur Drive - directly in the flight path of the Des Moines International Airport - opened for business.  The Blue Jay sat across the street from a gas station that was owned by Bill "Smitty" Smith.  The Blue Jay was sort of famous for their large handmade pork tenderloin sandwiches - the King Tenderloin - that they started to make a couple years after they opened.  The Blue Jay was in business until 1966 before it shut down during the winter.  It was a cold day in December in his service station's garage when Smitty decided to buy the Blue Jay and change occupations.

After a short renovation and cleaning period - and changing the name of the diner - Smitty's Tenderloin Shop opened in early 1967.   The place continued to make the pork tenderloin sandwiches that the Blue Jay made famous and Smitty, himself, came up with a special cracker breading recipe to coat the pounded pork tenderloins.  They still use that cracker breading recipe today, getting the coating mixture from Chicago.  Smitty ran the restaurant until he retired in November of 1983.  

After Smitty retired, his son, Greg, and Greg's wife, Cheri, took over the business.  Because of the close proximity to the airport and the corner of Army Post and Fleur, the FAA wanted to have open space under the flight path of runway 31 and the city was starting to buy properties on the corner.  The Smith's moved to their new - and present day - location six blocks to the east on Army Post Road six months after taking over from Smitty.  

The Smith's continue to run Smitty's Tenderloin Shop and they've included their son, Ben, in the business as the General Manager.  When Greg and Cheri retire, Ben will take over the shop making it three generations of family owning the business.   

Driving back to the west, I came up to Smitty's Tenderloin Shop with it's distinctive sign on the east side of the building. (see map)  It's a caricature of Smitty holding an over-sized tenderloin sandwich with the phrase, "Smitty sez Take Home a Tenderloin To-Nite."  I was able to find a parking spot in front of the building as it was after the lunch rush when I pulled in.

Smitty's has changed little - if any - since the last time I was in the place over 20 years ago.  It has a couple three booths, a handful of tables and about a dozen seats around an "L" shaped counter.  The grill and fryer area is located behind the counter toward the back of the place.  

My server came over to drop off a menu and she immediately asked me if I knew what I wanted.  Since most people come in asking for a tenderloin - you can order a King loin either full or half - she was taking a chance that's what I was going to get, as well.  And even though I wanted to get a tenderloin, I still wanted to check out the menu.  

In addition to their tenderloins, Smitty's features a number of burgers on the menu, as well as grilled or fried chicken sandwiches.  Fries, onion rings, cheese sticks and breaded mushrooms are available, as well.  And one thing that I remember from years ago, you can order an extra bun to cut a tenderloin in half for two people to share.  

When she came back to take my order, I got the King tenderloin with onions and pickles.  Yellow mustard was available on the table.  I am a pork tenderloin purist - no ketchup or barbecue sauce on a breaded/battered tenderloin sandwich.  About 10 minutes later she showed up with my King tenderloin, cut in half.  Like most flattened pork tenderloin sandwiches, it stuck out in all directions from under the bun.  The bun they use at Smitty's is pretty basic.  Ample amounts of onion and pickles were on the bottom of the tenderloin sandwich.  I added yellow mustard before I took my first bite.

 
I'm not big on breaded tenderloins - I like the battered ones much better - and I don't know if I've ever been overly fond of the cracker breading at Smitty's.  But that's not to say that it's a rather unique taste to their tenderloin.  It's sort of cruncy on the outside, but the pork is moist and tender inside.  You're getting much more bun and breading with a King tenderloin, but it still tastes fine.  

About a half hour after downing a good portion of the King tenderloin, a reminder of why I haven't been back in so long came back to haunt me - indigestion.  Oh man!  I was burping and my stomach was rolling and I had heartburn pretty bad.  I usually don't get heartburn, but I suddenly remembered that the tenderloins at Smitty's come back to talk to me after I ate them.  

Smitty's Tenderloin Shop is one of those institutions in Des Moines that is famous beyond the region.  For some people, it's the first place they stop after they get off a plane in Des Moines.  For others, it's the last stop to grab a tenderloin to-go before they board their plane out of town.  Smitty's has been doing their tenderloins for over 45 years - over 60 years if you count the King tenderloin years at the Blue Jay diner - and it's one of those places that you absolutely love or don't care for.  I'm somewhere in the middle.  (Picture courtesy the Des Loines blog that features pork tenderloins from across the state of Iowa.  Check out his great blog site here.)

The Closing of the Belgian Village - Moline, IL

I got a text message from my wife while I was on the road earlier this week telling me that the venerable Belgian Village Inn in Moline would be closing on February 1.  I was aghast at the notion of another favorite food place in the Quad Cities closing down, but after a quick reflection on the last two or three visits to the place I found that I wasn't overly surprised.  (Click here to see my entry on the Belgian Village.)  (Belgian Village sign courtesy Trip Advisor.)

Citing health reasons, Karen Manning and her husband, Shawn, decided earlier in the week to close down the 37-year-old restaurant today.  The couple bought the business in 1997 from Karen's mother and father, Loretta and Denis Ceurvorst who had started the business in 1977.  The Mannings broke the news to employees after a frigid outbreak earlier in the week shut the place down for a couple days.

The draw to the B.V.I. (as the locals called it - short for Belgian Village Inn) was their Vande Reuben sandwich.  I'm not gonna tell you it was the greatest sandwich ever - it was good, but not great.  It wasn't even much of a sandwich with a couple thin slices of ham, a similar amount of shaved corned beef and a small spread of sauerkraut.  The winning taste for the Vande Rueban was the bread that was baked fresh each day.  The over-sized sandwich was made even better by slathering Boetje's Mustard and placing copious quantities of dill pickles on it.  

We'd order one - lightly grilled. (A former cook used to overcook the Vande Reubens years ago - we just got used to ordering it that way, even though that cook was long gone and they never overcooked them after that.)  We'd cut the Vande Reuben into thirds, then the thirds into halves.  My wife and I would both eat two "squares" at the sitting, taking the other two pieces of the sandwich home with us for a light lunch a day or two later.  

Now, I'll tell you that when I was younger I could eat a whole Vande Reuben sandwich on my own at one sitting.  I did it three or four times before I realized that all I did was make myself miserable and overstuffed.  But a third of a sandwich after a cup of clam chowder and half a bowl of the marinated cole slaw was enough for me.   

But, to me, the Belgian Village was just more than just an over-sized sandwich with skimpy toppings.  They had great clam chowder and it was a treat to get their prime rib when they served it on Friday and Saturday nights. Getting a big frosty mug of beer (Budweiser, but it used to be Old Style when I first started going there nearly 23 years ago) was also a pleasure.  And my wife and I particularly loved their sweet marinated cole slaw.  The ambiance of the place was cozy, warm and sort of blue collar.  We always jumped at the chance to go to the Belgian Village.

I was turned on to the B.V.I. by one of my co-workers when I was the General Manager of an audio store in Davenport in the early 90's.  It quickly became one of my favorite places to take friends from out of town who came to visit.  My wife immediately liked the place the first time I took her there almost 20 years ago.  Each time we took someone new to the Belgian Village, they left with a favorable impression.  "What's the name of that place you took us to that had the huge sandwiches," was a question I heard many times from friends who we turned on to the Belgian Village.  

But on recent visits, we noticed that things weren't quite the same at the B.V.I.  The last time we were there, the tap lines for the beer were broke down so I couldn't get a frosty mug of tap beer.  I did get a bottle of beer and they poured it into the frosty mug for me, but, mentally, it wasn't the same.  The wait for a table or booth on a Friday or Saturday night had become non-existent.  Over the past couple of years, we could always count on getting into the Belgian Village with no problems on the weekend.  In years past, we may have had a 30 minute - or more - wait to get a place to sit on a weekend night.  I don't think the food had gone downhill - my wife may disagree - but the place had sort of gotten tired and we could see that parts of the building needed some upgrades.  

Now, hindsight is always 20-20, but announcing four days before you're going to close forever is probably not the way I would have handled the closing of the Belgian Village.  I was told last night that they ran out of food at both the main location and at their drive-thru location in Moline on Thursday.  And I heard that the Moline police were called out last night to handle a disturbance at the drive-thru after they ran out of food - again.  Given how popular the B.V.I. once was, it was no wonder that crowds have gathered early and waited a long time for one last sandwich.  I understand there was as much as a four-hour wait yesterday at the drive-thru location around the corner from the original Belgian Village.  I would have given locals a month - heck, even two weeks - to have a chance for one last visit to enjoy a Vande Reuben sandwich.   

My wife is in the Iowa City area visiting her daughter this weekend and I thought about going over there either last night or sometime today to get one last Vande Reuben.  But after the reports I've heard about big crowds and long waits, I've decided that I'm going to pass on that and rely upon my memories of the many visits to the Belgian Village.  It's sad that another landmark local restaurant is closing and I'm hoping beyond hope that someone will come in, buy the place, spruce it up and resurrect the Belgian Village to its glory days.  For what it was, it wasn't much.  But the B.V.I. will always hold a special place in my heart - and my stomach.

(Update - According to this article in the Quad City Times, the Manning's have had about two dozen inquiries to buy the Belgian Village.  A local commercial real estate agent says he's fielded a number of phone calls from people since last Wednesdy looking to buy both the Belgian Village Inn and their drive-thru location.  Meetings with what were termed as "serious" buyers could begin next week.)