Tag: Indy
2022 Week 12 – Where There’s Smoke…
There was a HUGE warehouse fire at the Wal Marl Distribution center in Avon last Wednesday afternoon. All 1000 employees made it out safely, but the debris field stretched for miles as hazardous particulate in the smoke dropped from the sky miles to the north.
Amazingly enough, there was ANOTHER warehouse fire in the area the next day, but this fire started from welding sparks falling into foam insulation during construction.
Hot on the heels of the latest Daylight Saving Time (DST) change, the Senate passed legislation to end it. It still needs to be passed by the House, so we’ll see if it will happen. It’s not the first time the U.S. has tried ending it. At the end of 1973, Nixon signed a law that would end DST.
The experiment was supposed to last for two years, but it only lasted eight months, and Congress reverted to standard time in the fall of 1974.
https://time.com/6157915/daylight-saving-time-history/
I was running errands the other day & saw that the Saraga International Grocery store in Castleton (and old abandoned Target) had had a facelift. A nearby billboard is saying they are opening this Spring. It’s no Jungle Jim’s (in Cincy), but it’s better than anything else in the city. I hope the nearby ethnic stores aren’t impacted too much when this place opens.
And finally… The Wall Street Journal has an interesting video on Youtube called “What America’s Supply-Chain Backlog Looks Like Up Close.” The Video was posted in October of last year, but it’s pretty interesting and shows what’s been going on at the shipping ports in the U.S.
2021 Week 9 – Indy Tacos
Finally stopped in to check out Indy Tacos (2196 E 54th St, Indianapolis) this last week. I’ve driven by several times & keep seeing it brought up on the Indianapolis Reddit page & decided now was the time. They have a nice selection of items and the prices are very reasonable for the quality. I opted for 1 Chorizo and 2 El Pastor tacos. I thought I might as well try out their chips and salsa while I waited.
No sooner did I grab a seat and take my coat off the food came out. I was not expecting that! You’ll need to be the judge yourself but I thought the tacos were perfect and the chips/salsa was some of the best I’ve had in a long time. The salsa was nice and cold and the chips were super fresh. They also provided some green and red squeeze bottle salsas. I’ll warn you, the red is HOT! If you’re in the area and want a quick bite it’s worth a little detour off Keystone to try this place out! Their Instagram page is here.
If you’re looking for a new local podcast you should check out the series from the Indy Chamber CEO Michael Huber. The Michael Loves Indy podcast has interviews from area influencers, such as Aaron Renn, former Mayor Greg Ballard and Michael Kaufmann. 10 episodes are currently available.
And finally, I’ve been a Mac user for quite a while now & thought I’d seen it all. The following video has some tips and tricks I never knew existed. Enjoy!
Indy – Nick’s Chili Parlor
After visiting Saraga the other day we worked up an appetite and needed to fill our bellies. I fired up Google Maps on my iPhone and looked for any places in the area that I might have starred as something to check out. It just so happened that Nick’s was on my list and right down the street!
Nick’s is different in a lot of ways. You order cafeteria style, which makes a lot of sense since you can slap together a chili dog and a bowl pretty quickly. Fried items and burgers appear to be brought out to the table once prepared. The dining area is open and bright from all the windows. The menu has items other than chili related fare. Some notable mentions are fried tenderloins, burgers, and tamales.
Nick’s tagline is “home to the ‘Not Yet World Famous’ 5-Way chili”. Since that’s the way I like to get mine at the Cincy chains I thought I would give it a try for comparison.
We ended up ordering a couple of 5-way Chili bowls and 2 chili dogs with everything. The 5-way is served in a deep bowl and is mostly chili with a little pasta in the bottom. It’s also a lot easier to eat than the competition because of this configuration.
The Chili Dog was a full sized hot dog served in a steamed and quite substantial. A couple of these would be a meal.
The Chili itself has a nice depth of flavor. I thought it needed a little salt and a few dashes of hot sauce and after adding that it was quite delicious.
The service was fast and friendly and the restaurant was very clean. I don’t spend a lot of time in this area of the city but I wouldn’t hesitate to come over here from downtown for a chili dog.
Nick’s Chili Parlor
2621 Lafayette Rd, Indianapolis, IN 46222
http://www.nickschiliparlor.com
Indy – Saraga International Grocery
I decided to take the boy on a little trip to the NW Side of Indy to check out a place that’s been on my to-do list for a while. We’re HUGE fan’s of the Jungle Jim’s stores in Cincinnati and visit often when in the area. Until now I haven’t really found anything remotely close in comparison in Indianapolis.
Nothing can really beat JJ’s but we were pleasantly surprised with the Saraga experience. The store is mostly grouped by country of origin and it has a nice selection of cooking equipment too. While waiting in line we saw a couple of people carrying out a multi-tier wedding cake, I didn’t expect that at all.
The produce, meat, and seafood departments were VERY impressive and they were the most crowded areas of the store. The produce department was awesome and everything looked fresh and clean. The seafood area had HUNDREDS of seafood selections both fresh and frozen. Finally, the meat department had hard to find items like whole pork shoulder, pork belly, and sliced short ribs. Next time I fire up the BBQ I’m going to visit Saraga for the meat.
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- Mixed Mushrooms
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- Rambutan Fruit
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- Dragon Fruit
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- King Mushroom
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- EXTRA Fancy Fruit Cake Mix
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- Sriracha Beans!
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- Banana Sauce
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- Palm Flowers in Brine
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- Round Scad Fish Sauce
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- $70 box of tea?
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- Passion Fruit Drink with Basil Seeds
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- What we brought home
Along the back part of the store are rows and rows of refrigerator and freezer cases stocked with items from all around the world, especially asian foods. If you’re looking for a speciality ingredient for a recipe there’s a good chance you’re going to find it here.
We got caught up in all the snacks from different countries and ended up with a handful of favorites and new things to try.
Saraga International Grocery has a lot of online reviews and was a very popular place on Saturday afternoon. If you’re into checking out foods form around the word it’s worth checking out Sagara. If you’ve been there or end up going there let me know your thoughts in the comments!
Saraga International Grocery
3605 Commercial Dr, Indianapolis, IN 46222
http://saragafood.com/main/store-locations/
Indy – Henry’s Coffee Bistro
I’ve driven past Henry’s Coffee Bistro many times when working downtown. I had some work to get done before visiting one of my clients and needed somewhere to work for a while. Since I was driving down East St it seemed like a good time to check out Henry’s. The free parking on the north side of the building was a big plus since there was NO street parking to be found in the area.
I was a little surprised that the place was empty at 9:30 am and so was Mike the lone employee behind the counter. We had a pleasant conversation and he proceeded to tell me about the place and some of their offerings. I settled on a sausage and egg croissant and an Americano coffee.
The Bistro has a nice variety of food and drinks and the walls are covered with interesting artwork that can be purchased. The location on East Street just south of Mass Ave, and adjacent to the Nestle Inn, makes it a little hard to find the first time (if you’re not familiar with the area).
The sandwich was much bigger than I was expecting and it hit the spot. The coffee was served in a large ceramic mug and was perfectly prepared. Before I left another small group came in for what looked like a meeting/interview but other than that the place was pretty quiet and not busy at all. I hope it’s just because of the inclement weather we were having at the time because I’d hate to see this place go out of business.
I’m always looking for nice little places to tuck into and get some work done between meetings, or just to get out of the office and have a nice change of pace. I’ve had my share of meetings at the Coffee Chain’s and will always choose something local if I have the option. The vibe and atmosphere are always better.
Henry’s is open for breakfast and lunch daily and I’ve been told the place is pretty busy for Brunch on the weekends. If you’re in the area check it out and let me know what you think!
Henry’s Coffee Bistro
627 East St, Indianapolis, IN 46202