Zydecos - Mooresville, IN

Somebody at Zydeco's really knows New Orleans and this restaurant is a little condensed shot in the arm of NO right in the middle of Indiana about 30 minutes outside of Indianapolis.

The decorations were really cool and you really did feel like you were in a Bourbon street bar.  The style of the inside was right, there were beads everywhere, party lights, cool cajun bar stuff, you name it and it was here.  There was a mannequin of a joker with a cajun hat on that was part of a Bud Lite advertisement.

The service was really quite good.  The servers were genuinely glad that you were there and were kind of partying along with everyone else.  I was just here by myself.  This would have been a great place to bring a group of people.

The turbo dog beer from Abita was really nice. I don't know if it was an Indiana beer or a New Orleans beer.  It tasted like a thick stout to me.   It had a thick chocolate but not a yeasty

I ordered the crawfish étouffée.  It certainly tasted authentic to me.  My head was sweating from the cajun spices.  I was a little wary because in the north they will sometimes advertise cajun dishes but then tone the spice level down too much.  This was just the way it should be.

The music was likewise authentic and added a lot to the feel of this place.

Overall, this was a really great place.  I would rate it a 9.6.

Zydeco's
11 E Main St
Mooresville, IN 46158
(317) 834-3900
http://www.zydecos.net

Steer In - Indianapolis, IN

The Steer In is kind of a typical triple-D restaurant in that it is a quirky, divey restaurant with some good food.  The tables, chairs and everything else looks like it was straight out of the 1970's back when this was probably a nice neighborhood.  Luckily, there were a couple of police cars in the lot to help chase away the bad guys.

They had a map with a bunch of push pins and notes.  The notes were from from visitors from all over the world.  I saw Dublin, Ireland, Germany, Guam, Lagos and several others.  I chatted with the owner who said that a lot of people come in during the Indianapolis 500 races.  Being featured on the Food Network has brought in a lot of business.  She also got me a push pin of my own to add to the board.

She also had some nice things to say about Guy Fiere.  She said that he was as nice in person as he is on tv. What you see is what you get.  Evidently, the Food Network had two film crews in town the day they filmed here and Guy would bounce between the two crews.

They are not shy about publicizing their affiliation with triple-D.  Everyone who works there wears a t-shirt with Guy's head and signature on it.  They even put a little tow-head symbol next to the menu items that were featured on tv.  I tried the meatball parmisian sub sandwich with coleslaw and onion rings.  It was the meatball sandwich that had the little guy symbol next to it but, it was the onion rings that were the best in my opinion.  They were beefy and really flavorful.  The onion was cut thick and the batter was also thick and had a great flavor.

The meatball sandwich was still pretty good.  The sauce kind of like pizza sauce.   I kind of liked the cole slaw, too.  It was very creamy and just a little vinegary.  My lunch partner ordered a chicken sandwich which he said was okay but probably not up to triple-D standards.

I would rate Steer-In a 8.6 because the food was a hit with me but a miss with my lunch partner.  I thought that the owner and the people that worked there were very nice and charming.  The 70's decor was not something a designer dreamed up, it was probably just bought in the 1970's and never updated.

Steer-In

5130 E 10th St
Indianapolis, IN 46219
(317) 356-0996
http://www.steerin.net

The Tamale Place - Indianapolis

I wasn't expecting much from a Tamale restaurant in Indiana which probably made the experience all the better.  The tamales were probably the best I've ever had.

When you walk in they have their menu on a dry-board.  It looks like the prices next to the menu items but they are not.  Those are the number of each item that they have left.  I ordered the chicken tamales in green sauce.  I thought that it was going to be $11 but right after I ordered she erased the 11 and wrote down 10.  I tried ordering  two things before she decoded the board for me and told me to pick something with a number next to it.

The tamales were fairly large, in the corn husks as you would expect tied off nicely with corn husks.  The flavor and texture were really nice and surprisingly authentic compared to what I get in Texas, if that is any kind of accurate measure.  You get your choice of beans or rice and hot or mild sauce with the combo.  I went with the black beans and mild (wimp) sauce.  The beans and sauce came in little take-out tubs.  The tamale comes with nachos in a styrofoam container.  You won't leave hungry.

The service was okay.  You don't spend a lot of time dealing with the people who work there.  You order then get the heck out of the way so that they can serve the next person.

The atmosphere was also okay.  It was not a diner, not a dive and not a drive-in.  It was an unremarkable restaurant in a nondescript strip mall with white walls and tables.

I would rate The Tamale Place 8.8 just for the quality of the food.

The Tamale Place
5226 Rockville Rd
Indianapolis, IN 46224
(317) 248-9771
http://www.thetamaleplace.com/