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C.R. Heroes

They are Heroes.

Lars speaking. Although I epically failed in my choice last week because it was no longer in operation, I knew I would make up for it by choosing our next restaurant, C.R. Heroes. I was not let down. C.R. Heroes is a great family friendly restaurant in business since 2002. The walls are lined with many pictures of superheroes with a small arcade for the kids. With a connecting bar, there is also entertainment for all ages. C.R. Heroes even has free dinner for children on Tuesday nights along with balloon art and face paint for their entertainment. Our waiter was on the ball and his smile went well with the staff’s brightly colored shirts.

The menu consists of a wide variety of sandwiches, burgers, and wraps. This restaurant is known for their appetizers. We began out dinner with complimentary pretzels with cheese and fried pickles that C.R. Heroes offers. TNT has not yet visited a restaurant with pretzels as an appetizer, and I really like this idea. To add, I’ve never had such a soft gooey pretzel. Let’s just say I could have eaten the whole basket, but I was forced to share.

When it came to mealtime, the crew diversified our selections this week. Aaron and I had a fabulous wrap, the Texas Chicken BBQ Wrap. I am not normally the type to order a wrap, but I decided it was time to expand my horizons. I was not disappointed. I also ordered a salad as my side and to my pleasant surprise I received a whole loaf of bread along with it. I was too hungry to share this with the table. Luke (about to be an official member of the family on October 23rd) ordered the Buffalo Chicken Wrap, Sars (middle sister) chose the Wild West BBQ Chicken Sandwich, while Heath and Ashley went for the Chicken Pesto Melt. Finally, Beth (oldest sister) and Wyatt ordered the most notable item on the menu, Hoosier Daddy. Perfect name for this hand breaded pork tenderloin delicacy.

Everyone loved their meals and enjoyed their time. Just a forewarning to followers that @L will not be in attendance at the TNT dinners between May 12 and June 8 because I will be traveling to Australia. Don’t worry, I will return in full force and hungry. Also, we look forward to next week when we will have another cousin winding down from finals at IU joining dinner. Stay tuned…

Banura 1

This week we experienced another Lars-instigated complication in our dining plans. She picked a restaurant that was not even in operation anymore. Nevertheless, Sarah and I rose to the occasion and selected a nice "Greek and American" place at 79th and Michigan Road called Banura 1. For those of you familiar with the name, this restaurant is owned by the same people who previously ran Banura's at 56th and Illinois. This blogger, in particular, is very familiar with the restaurant and the owners, as I have been eating at both places regularly since I was a wee child. Although Nihad was not there Tuesday night, his wife was more than ably filling in as lead server and conversationalist. We began by ordering a few appetizers, with Lars getting Fried Kibbee which, despite it's appearance, was quite tasty. I ordered the hummous and pita, which is a necessity when dining at Banura 1. It was delicious and quickly destroyed by the entire table, particularly myself, A-bob and Nick. Not to be outdone, Beth and Wyatt ordered 2 spinakopitas and with the help of Laura quickly ate them up. Heath and Ashely went with the fiery feta cheese dip, which was absolutely delectable.

For our entrees, we tended to go with the "American" side of the equation, with a couple exceptions. The exceptions were the bold trio of A-bob, Evan "Freshy" and Nasty Nick, who all got gyros, with Evan's consisting of chicken. All three demolished the food without stopping to breathe or speak. After finishing the massive amount of food they all agreed it was delicious. The Liggett (and Liggett-Buzzard) girls all went with a good old Indiana breaded tenderloin sandwich and fries and loved it. As for Flying Death, he chose a pepperoni and mushroom pizza reported a high quality flavor. As a former pizza eater I agree, Banura 1 makes a terrific pizza, especially for a place that is by no means a "pizza joint." Heath and Smashley each order a sub and reported that although they were good, they wished that they had gone more "authentic" and ventured out. I settled, as always, on a spaghetti and greek salad. The Greek salad was wonderful and I almost never venture from the spaghetti when I go to Banura 1. Weird I know.

All these food items were merely foreplay for the grand finale, however. For dessert we ordered a large "honeyballs." These little balls of happiness are essentially doughnut holes sitting in a honey-cinnamon sauce and covered with love. A large order fed all 10 of us quite well. Despite the multitude of swimsuit body diets, we could not put our forks down when they brought the honey balls to our table. These are an essential to any visitor to Banura 1.

After all this, the food is very low-priced in comparison to its flavor content. I highly recommend anyone in the mood to pop in and enjoy a meal and a conversation with Nihad, who makes the eating experience very pleasant with his genuine friendliness.

Dinner at the Lakehouse

This post is going to be the opposite of me when I wake up in the morning, short and sweet. A little over a week ago, April 6, TNT tookover Scotty's Lakehouse. A new establishment off Geist Reservoir, Scotty's Lakehouse is a "burger joint" with a large selection of local microbrews and boasts a menu that almost entirely consists of food produced locally here in Indiana.

Myself, and some other members of TNT, have been to Scotty's Brewhouse. Beth and I visited the Ball State Brewhouse, as well as the Brewhouse in Indy off 96th Street. The slight name change for this location proved to be appropriate. Although some subtle hints reminded us of our previous Brewhouse experiences, the Lakehouse proved to be a much different animal. Similarities included the famous mofo sauce, the cloth towels at the tables, the mostly female staff branding the hokey t-shirts. The big difference proved to be in the menu selection. It's dominated by burgers, with a few other choices for those un-American people that can't seem to enjoy a hamburger. I won't get into too many specifics, but I had a burger that was topped with a fried egg and bacon, and it was like a party in my mouth. TNT, as a unit, was impressed with the food's simplicity and high quality. If you see any food on the menu that you'd normally enjoy, the Lakehouse version of that meal will definitely not disappoint. The variety comes in the brews, where there is surely a tasty beverage on tap that will match your taste.

The Lakehouse scored big in my book for it's location, expertise of the menu they offer, and overall environment for the dining experience. The copious flat screen televisions were impressive, making it not too shabby a place to catch a sporting event. I happen to live less than 5 minutes from the Lakehouse, but the one downside was that the Lakehouse is on the outer limits of TNT territory, and can be a beast to get to if trying to fight through after work traffic coming out of Indy. I can't wait to go again, and the next time we're wondering where to watch the game, or which bar to go catch a quick beer, Scotty's Lakehouse will surely be my first choice.

Butler Bulldog Brunch

Good morrow loyal followers and happenstance readers. At my request, TNT met at a special time this weekend in honor of the Butler Bulldog’s trip to the NCAA Men’s Final Four. It is worth noting that before brunch began, @L delivered to @jdshanahan and @killa off-the-rack Butler jerseys from the Bulldog Bookstore because they would be sitting Row A center court at Lucas Oil for the Saturday semi-final games. It is also worth noting that @L had to watch the game that night at RAM with the other Butler Faithful (i.e. those who did not have tickets).

The celebratory special brunch was held at Petite Chou by Patachou , a pleasant bistro tucked away at 823 Westfield Boulevard in Broad Ripple. Upon arrival we faced a 35 minute wait, so call ahead my friends. Petite Chou’s brunch features daily specials and a regular menu with a variety of delicious options from crepes to fried egg sandwiches to made to order omelettes. Naturally, I went with the Steak and Eggs Petite Chou. This was afterall a brunch in honor of the Bulldogs, and winners eat steak. The chef prepared my medium-rare Indiana-raised rib eye masterfully. @ars chose the same dish, although his steak was cooked more thoroughly. The entire group drank mimosas with their meals because the coffee at Petite Chou is self-serve. It turns out that @Killa loved the strawberry garnish.

To compliment the cuisine, the entire TNT experience at Petite Chou was pleasant. From the first clink of our champagne glasses, our sociable server orchestrated our brunch with efficient grace. She even tolerated our obligatory barking in honor of the Bulldogs, and our booing of unsuspecting Spartan Fans.

A meal at Petite Chou is an elegant experience that is recommended for anyone who is looking to mark a special occasion, make an impression or simply take pleasure in life. The menu is slightly more expensive than our typical dining establishment, but hey, this was a celebration. The TNT crew agree that they would come back to Petite Chou: @hodge would return because he loves toasted brioche with fresh jam and @ars would return because he has a crush on one of the servers. Ultimately Butler ended their season short, a mere last-second-shot away from a national championship. However, everyone at TNT agrees that Petite Chou, like the Bulldogs this weekend, never failed to impress.

Elbow Room

This blog comes a week late, but hey, better late than never...

My choice for TNT Final Four week edition was The Elbow Room. The Elbow Room has a pub-like laid back atmosphere. At the Elbow Room they want all of their customers to be like friends. TNT can definitely get down with this kind of attitude. We at TNT live by one simple rule....ELE....Everybody Loves Everybody.

Usually we start off our meals by digging into some appetizers, but at the Elbow Room they throw down with Elbow-tizers! Some of the elbow-tizers we ordered were pub sticks (fried bread sticks, filled with mozzarella), beer battered onion rings and jumbo pretzels.

Every Tuesday night is special because we get to enjoy each others company. This Tuesday was exceptionally special because we had another cuz join the festivities. Evan (froshy) Shanahan is his name and throwing frisbee is his game. No clue how he got the nickname froshy, I just saw it on Facebook. We really enjoyed having Evan at dinner and hope he can join us more often.

The buffalo chicken wrap was the hottest item on the menu for the TNT crew. I am pretty sure four people settled for it, Heath, Luke, Sarah and Ashley (maybe). Luke settled for a buffalo chicken wrap, but was disappointed because he wanted a beef boat. The Larsinator & Evan, Beth & Aaron teamed up with each other to share two separate dinners. Teams LE shared a breaded tenderloin and some steak and shrimp. Team BA joined forces for a good ole fashioned pub burger and Reuben. As for muah, I took on the bison burger and onion rings and came home with a W.


Instead of gaining two more pounds and ordering desert we decided to shed two pounds and get some cardiovascular. We rolled across the street to the beautiful park and tossed some frisbee (if anybody knows the name of the park feel free to comment). This was probably the most disappointing event of the evening for me because I threw the frisbee like Manute Bol plays hockey....terrible.