Goshen, Indiana — Heirloom Sandwiches & Snapping Turtle Soup

Making the scenic 90 mile trip on US-33 from Fort Wayne to South Bend, you'll pass through Churubusco—Turtle Town USA.



Every summer this town of 2,000 souls hosts Turtle Days festival, celebrating the memory of a giant snapping turtle that supposedly inhabited a local pond*.

In Goshen, 40 miles northwest of Churubusco, snapping turtle makes another appearance, this time in one of South Side Soda Shop's featured soups.





Be sure to ask for hot sauce and a cruet of sherry for full enjoyment. South Side Soda Shop is known for their pies but the sandwiches interested me more, especially the liverwurst, bacon and grilled onion on house-made limpa.





The limpa didn't have a lot of character but was a good vehicle for the flavorful fillings, enlivened with a little Dijon mustard. This is a great sandwich, one that ought to appear more often.

Goshen seems to have more than its share of old food businesses. Olympia Candy has been on the same downtown corner for over a century.





Their menu has some interesting oddities, with olives figuring prominently in the sandwich fillings (reflecting its Greek ownership I was told). My first nut and olive sandwich proved to be far better than I expected.



Chopped cashews and green olives bound by house-made mayonnaise isn't a combination I would have thought of but somehow it works. Another sandwich that ought to be more popular.

South Side Soda Shop
1122 S Main St
Goshen IN
574-534-3790
http://www.southsidesodashopdiner.com/

Olympia Candy Kitchen
136 N Main St
Goshen IN
574-533-5040
http://olympiacandykitchen.com/

* That isn't all Churubusco is known for. According to the "Culture" section of the Wikipedia entry: "Churubusco has a famous restaurant, The Magic Wand. It is a family friendly diner that also has an outside ice-cream shop. Inside and outside the building is decorated with hundreds of clowns. One of the trash cans outside is a clown where you throw trash in his mouth."

Popped into Goshen, on Saturday, lots of john law cruising around but found some interesting spots - at least the ones that were open or we had time to hit on a late Saturday afternoon, others like Olympia & S. Side Soda shop mentioned by Peter are going to be visited on a future visit.

Always interested in getting a shot of an old theater

Originally the Jefferson Theater - opened 1905....

Name changed to Goshen Theatre in 1948 after a remodel.




Goshen Theater
216 S. Main Street
Goshen, IN.

My husband is from Goshen! We get there about 2-3 times a year to visit the in laws. We very rarely go out to eat when we visit, so I've only been to the Soda Shop once in the 8.5 years we've been together. There are two places I do like to visit, though. One is Rachel's Bread, which has some of the best croissants I've ever had. They share a space with the farmer's market, so on Saturdays it's a nice one-two punch, Mennonite style.
The other place is a good after-hours place after the in laws have gone to bed. Constant Spring has a decent selection of Midwest craft brews and a popcorn machine. Before it opened about 6 years ago, the nightlife in this mostly teetotalling town was pretty dismal. They also have food, but we usually visit after their kitchen has closed.

Rachel's Bread
212 W Washington St
Goshen, IN 46526
(574) 534-0769

Constant Spring
219 S Main St
Goshen, IN
(574) 533-3302

Had one of the better pizzas I have ever had in Goshen, IN(couldnt wait for one of my dining companions to post ).

DOC certified Venturi:







Margherita DOC... really blew me away:



We got here a little after their 5 p.m. opening, and the place was full except for a few seats at the bar. By the time we left there was about an hour wait. Looks to be a popular spot in Goshen and I can see why.

Venturi
123 E. Lincoln Ave.
Goshen, IN.

http://www.eatventuri.com

FOOD OASIS FOUND IN INDIANA~ I so dreaded visits to in-laws near Elkhart/Bristol/Goshen region until I found LTH post.
Went to VENTURI in Goshen and had some beautiful pizza. Simply delicious. A little more pricey than the area is accustomed to
but worth seeking out. This place is for people who know good pizza- not for those who think Papa John's or Olive Garden are adequate
sources for food.
Wood-fired oven, thin, tasty dough, unique and tasty toppings.
Please support this establishment if you are in the area. I wish I had this in my downtown neighborhood.
enjoy

FiddlerHag

“Animals feed; man eats; only a man of wit knows how to eat.”
Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826)[quote][/quote]

Rene G wrote:* That isn't all Churubusco is known for. According to the "Culture" section of the Wikipedia entry: "Churubusco has a famous restaurant, The Magic Wand. It is a family friendly diner that also has an outside ice-cream shop. Inside and outside the building is decorated with hundreds of clowns. One of the trash cans outside is a clown where you throw trash in his mouth."

Churubusco should be known for more than turtles and clowns. The Magic Wand prepares a true burger oddity—a breaded cheeseburger.



I figured this would be a juicy-lucy-like stuffed burger but somehow they're able to coat and deep-fry a single patty topped with a slice of cheese. I don't know how they get it to stick together like that. Those wanting to avoid the spurting cheese hazard could choose an above average housemade tenderloin instead.



The Magic Wand
602 S Main St
Churubusco IN
260-693-3518

Rene G wrote:Goshen seems to have more than its share of old food businesses. Olympia Candy has been on the same downtown corner for over a century.





Their menu has some interesting oddities, with olives figuring prominently in the sandwich fillings (reflecting its Greek ownership I was told). My first nut and olive sandwich proved to be far better than I expected.



Chopped cashews and green olives bound by house-made mayonnaise isn't a combination I would have thought of but somehow it works. Another sandwich that ought to be more popular.

Olympia Candy should be on every mayonnaise lover's list. Here's their potato salad and a deviled ham sandwich (lightly toasted in an old press), both with plenty of fresh mayo, made in house daily.





A great old place, still going strong.



Olympia Candy Kitchen
136 N Main St
Goshen IN
574-533-5040
http://olympiacandykitchen.com/

I'll add to this thread that Olympia sells some really high-quality hand-made chocolates at very reasonable prices. Today (day before Easter), they had a huge array of solid-chocolate bunnies and other critters, although we settled on a half-pound box of their standard-run chocolates. Great stuff at about $13.

We also enjoyed pie at South Side Soda Shop. Excellent crust, large variety (we tried pecan and rhubarb, but there were at least ten other choices, including a couple of dramatically high and delightfully toasted-looking meringues). That plus the picture-perfect interior and location across the street from an Art Deco high school making it feel like a page torn from Archie Comics made this a very worthwhile dessert visit.

Goshen is a beautiful little town with well-preserved architecture, fun shopping, and good food. We even saw a (very busy) hot dog cart on the square ... When's the last time you saw THAT in Chicago?

After another visit to Olympia, this time for lunch, I can give them highest marks for their breaded pork tenderloin. Hand-made, not pounded to comically large size, a very flavorful pork sandwich indeed. The waitress pointed out that they used to buy food service tenderloin patties, but when the supplier stopped offering them, Olympia decided to start preparing tenderloins by hand rather than drop them from the menu. How often does that happen? What a remarkable place with a long history and hopefully a long future, too.