Super Eats in Indianapolis

A few more stops to add this now rich thread. First and foremost is Hank's Smoked Briskets. I will never go to or thru Indy again without stopping in at this place. Every other food stop in town takes a backseat in my pocket guide.


It doesn't matter where in America you are, if you're on an MLK Jr. Drive there's BBQ nearby

In the case of East Indy, there's some top of the line brisket as well as smoked corned beef. Hank's is attached to a popular neighborhood barber shop and basically does takeout. I believe we (jimswside was w/ me) got a 1/2 pound of each, it was taken out to the lot to dine al trunko. Hot Damn! I hate playing the best game but this was the best brisket I've had outside the state of Texas. No question about it. Hell, it was as good as I remember some of the top spots I had on my semi recent trip down there. The corned beef further cements the claim of the Midwest being the King of salt cured beef. They smoke theirs here and that nice hint of it added in makes me wonder if I'll ever fully appreciate it being baked or steamed again.


Smoked Brisket


Smoked Corned Beef

We stopped in for a snack at this Jamaican spot pictured below. It's run by the son of a Chinese-Jamaican, I think swside was kind of surprised to see the guy with a deep rastafari voice on the phone was actually a small Chinese guy. Nothing new to me. Many places in the states serving Jamaican food are owned by Chinese people with family roots in Jamaica. The patties were a $1 and change and a little different as far as the dough goes to others I've ate but they still tasted great. It appeared they sell lots of frozen bags full of them. I'd have a few in my freezer if I was a resident there.


Hidden in a strip mall somewhere

A couple notes form me on the spots Jim mentions up above. B's Po' Boy's was really good. The sandwich anyway. They get their bread shipped in from Leidenheimer Baking Company in New Orleans and the standard crunch that's needed is definitely there as you can see in the picture. The Gulf Shrimp were lightly breaded and the overall balance was spot on. I was just in NOLA, this was as as good as many you'll find down there.


B's Fried Shrimp Po Boy

Iaria's is a classic old school Italian-American joint. It was packed on that Saturday night but we manged to squeeze a couple seats at the beautiful bar where the tender had obviously been working for what seemed like forever. I couldn't resist trying their famous spaghetti and meatballs and they were good for what they were. I can make better but they itched the sudden fix I got for them upon entering. The old school ovens in back were more to the eye than the pizzas coming out of them.


Classic 1950's Italian-American Owned Restaurant

jimswside wrote:Ill confess, I am not the biggest breaded tenderloin sandwich fan, a pork cutlet that size seems better utilized on a plate next to a pile of mashed potatoes and gravy, but I digress.

Nothing out of this world but I'm not sure they ever are, still I thought the couple we tried were respectable and I enjoy eating them when riding thru both Indiana and Iowa. They're comforting, no doubt about that. The Fried Chicken at the Iron Skillet was much better than a more well known place I tried at a later date (read on) and those fried scrimps were buzzworthy.


Ralph's Great Divide

This little neighborhood favorite has been a part of the area since pre-civil war. The east end of the building anyway. Thru the years it's been a part of a carriage, an auto repair shop and a pub post prohibition. It became Ralph's Great Divide in 1983 and has served their signature bourbon ham sandwich ever since then. While it is a bar, and a very cool one, it's more of a restaurant as far as hours and reason patrons are there. I remember there being a guy on the piano on our visit as well as plenty of regulars enjoying their Saturday night. The aforementioned bourbon ham is described as "Slow Baked Pit Ham with Bourbon & Spices" and comes served on bread from a local bakery with the works if you want. I guess it's loved by many around here. I didn't love it, but I liked it.


Famous Bourbon Ham Sandwich - "The One and Only"

I also tried an order of their signature German potato Salad (served warm) and got the "Tips and Aug" to go with it. The tips are 6 ounces of skewered tenderloin beef and the aug is their "Hot Pot Aug" which is a cream of potato au gratin soup. The German potato salad was stellar. I would enjoy that often if this place was my neighborhood haunt. The skewer and soup were solid too. Meat was tender and had deep beef taste to it while the soup hit the spot. I think it was like $11 for the combo so not a bad deal by any means.


German Potato Salad


Beef Tenderloin Tip Skewer with a cup of Hot Pot Aug

One more stop, not from this trip but another one I had to take down this way last Fall. The Cafeteria is a staple in Indiana cuisine. If you do alot of travel thru the state I suggest taking a look at Joanne Raetz Stuttgen's book titled 'Cafe Indiana: A Guide to Indiana's Down-Home Cafes'. She documents all of the states hometown mom-and-pop restaurants in celebration of small-town Midwest culture. One of the more well known Cafeteria's in the state is the roadfood approved Gray Brother's Cafeteria which rests about 20 minutes southwest of Indianapolis.


Moorseville, IN

This would be my first visit to one of these fill your tray up Indiana cafeterias and thus I learned a few things as I went. The line starts with dessert and there's lots of it. So much I was overwhelmed. Even though I'm not the biggest dessert guy you cant go thru one of these in the middle of Midwest and not get a piece of pie.


Start of the Buffet Line


Moving thru...Beef and Noodles, Fried Chicken and Meatloaf

Along with my slice of apple pie I went ahead and had them put three pieces of dark meat fried chicken and a few hush puppies on my tray. For my sides I went overload and got green beans cooked in ham juice, mac and cheese, sliced potatoes and of course the standard Hoosier classic of beef (or chicken) and noodles, second only to the pork tenderloin for most beloved eat in-state. Read more in this excerpt HERE.


So photogenic

My friend went slightly lighter than I and got the Friday special of baked cod? and some sides and pie to go with it. My next learning lesson would be in the price of all this. It wasn't cheap, maybe the fact it was being served cafeteria style led me to believe this but my tray and drink were easily over $20.


Friends Plate

First up the fried chicken which is taken very seriously around this way. It was ok. I'm not totally opposed to it when it's pre-fried and served cafeteria style and there wasn't a problem with it as far as temperature or crunch on the exterior, it was just plain. I didn't hate it but I don't feel the need to return for more. The sides were all pretty good and in case anyone was wondering, the meat in the beef and noodles was indeed real and not from a can. I know this because I got a little piece of butcher string that was still stuck to some in my order. I'd imagine this place gets packed on the weekends.


My Plate

Hank's Smoked Briskets
3736 W Dr Martin Luther King Jr St
Indianapolis, IN 46208
(317) 925-1689

Patties of Jamaica
5172 Allisonville Rd
Indianapolis, IN 46205
(317) 253-4006

B's Po Boy
1261 Shelby St
Indianapolis, IN 46203
(317) 916-5555

Iaria's Italian Restaurant
317 S College Ave
Indianapolis, IN 46202
(317) 638-7706

Ralph's Great Divide
743 N New York St
Indianapolis, IN 46202
(317) 637-2192

Gray Brothers Cafeteria
555 S Indiana St
Mooresville, IN 46158
(317) 831-7234