Phil Smidt's — Hammond IN

Not so long ago, nearly all I knew about eating in NW Indiana was Phil Smidt's. I first ate there in the 1970s and remember it seeming charmingly old fashioned then. Last summer, with Cathy2 and the moms, I returned after many years and was relieved to find not much had changed. It seemed that a couple of their signature dishes weren't as good as I remember but at a place like Phil Smidt's it's not all about the food.

Phil Smidt's opened for business in Roby, Indiana in 1910 and moved to its present location 35 years later, after an explosion destroyed the Roby restaurant. It's been through several ownership changes, most recently in 2000, but surprisingly little has changed over the years.



The interior is divided into several dining rooms and a bar area.



These days, there aren't many places where one can make a call from a phone booth then stop into the powder room.

We ate in the Mirror Room but the Rose Room seems to be the one most people remember.



The meal begins, of course, with bowls of relishes. Beets, beans, and slaw were all gently sweet but genuinely tasty. Even the cottage cheese was good.



Phil Smidt's has long been known for pan-fried perch and frog legs. I have to say both were disappointing. The perch was rather mushy and the frog legs (not pictured) were a scrawny shadow of their former selves. This was the first time I tried the fried chicken and I was pleasantly surprised.



Gooseberry pie has long been a featured dessert and it was good to see it still on the menu.



It came nicely plated and tasted just fine.

All of us drank iced tea but there's a full bar. It seems like the perfect place to order a Rob Roy or a Stinger but there are some only-at-Phil-Smidt's options. How about a Green Frog or a White Perch? Even though it almost made me gag to read the ingredients (I hate sweet cocktails) I love that these things are on the list.

Phil Smidt's is another of those places that are in some ways beyond criticism. Sure you can get better sautéed perch or frog legs elsewhere, but for the whole package (especially if you order chicken) there aren't many others like it.

Phil Smidt's
1205 N Calumet Av
Hammond IN
219-659-0025
800-FROGLEG (376-4534)
http://www.froglegs.com/

I would have to concur with your evaluation of the perch and frog legs. I have been eating both of them there for over 20 years, and they used to be much better. Not to mention much cheaper. I think they base their pricing for both on their legendary reputation. But that dog don't hunt no more.

Rene G wrote:Phil Smidt's opened for business in Roby, Indiana in 1910 and moved to its present location 35 years later, after an explosion destroyed the Roby restaurant. It's been through several ownership changes, most recently in 2000, but surprisingly little has changed over the years.

FYI...what was once called Roby is now part of Hammond. It's the area across Indianapolis Blvd from Unilever and the casino, very close in fact to the current restaurant location.

Hi,

The frog legs were fairly small, though they had the Phil Smidt's signature crossed leg position, the process was once featured on Wild Chicago:



The relish tray was not only great tasting, they were very willing to replenish as often as requested.

For Rene G and I, Phil Smidt's help launch our survey of northwest Indiana. While the bartender offered little advice, we learned a lot by photographing the yellow pages:



All journeys begin with one step!

Regards,

> Phil Smidt's has long been known for pan-fried perch and frog legs. I have to say both were disappointing. The perch was rather mushy and the frog legs (not pictured) were a scrawny shadow of their former selves.

I was similarly disappointed by both the perch and the frog legs when I stopped there once. I sought it out on a drive through the area, based on the write-up in Jane and Michael Stern's book, Road Food. (I presume there are a whole bunch of threads on that I haven't found yet!)

The place obviously has history, and Hammond isn't overflowing with memorable dining options, but I have to say overall I regretted the amount of time I spent detouring off my path to find the place.

As for Road Food, I still check it when I'm planning a trip, but I'm only about 50% in agreement at best with their choices. And they are both WAY too in to breakfast, compared to me.

Hi Katie,

There is more to Hammond than Phil Smidt's. While not in Hammond, a restaurant I am interested in trying is Teibel's, which is very nice dining.

The Northwest Indiana index has been moved over to the Useful Stuff board.

Regards,

After I posted that, I realized there has been quite a bit of useful discussion on places in NW Indiana. I guess I should have said that at the time I stopped by Phil Schmidt's, which was a few years ago, I was not aware of any other notable dining options in Hammond.

Looks like I may be working on a project in that area in the future, so while I dread the prospect of frequent drives from the northern suburbs to the Hammond area and back (especially while I-80/I-94 is under repair), I'm glad that there are some good suggestions available on this site for places to eat when I get there.

I was there a just a few years ago (I think also based on Roadfood reminding me that it existed), and although I had no basis for comparison, the perch was outstanding. The fact that it's no longer local product is undoubtedly the reason for any decline, but they still did it very well.

On the Frog Legs note, I saw some frozen at H-Mart last Sunday that were bigger than some chicken drumsticks I've had. Those were some frogs (yes I know I'm comparing different parts of the limb, but still)!

Hi,

I'm glad you brought up those frog legs at H-Mart. The Phil Smidt frog legs looked like the 99 pound weakling before picture. Those at H-mart looked like too much time spent at the gym by comparison.

Katie - you will also be able to add to our body of information, which is just beginning!

Regards,

Out of curiosity, how were the rolls at Phil Smidt's? (I notice one in the relish plate picture.) For restaurants of this vintage, a basket of fresh rolls is as emblematic as the relish plate itself. And, not to belabor the point, but, was the butter in molded pats and cold or on ice?

We have been going to Phil Schmidt's on and off for many years. Unfortunately, it's more difficult to get there from the southern suburbs than it is from the north side (if you take the Skyway). We have noticed a definite decline in the quality, but Phil Schmidt's keeps drawing us back. We love the relish tray, and my husband usually gets the perch while I get the frog legs. We trade off a few and both of us leave happy.

The owner keeps talking about moving the restaurant. I think that would be the death of it.

Another close friend of ours swears by Teibel's perch (look in the photo of the yellow pages for their information). I love their rolls -- we can purchase them at Walt's, our local grocery chain. I've often wanted to do a perch-off at the two restaurants for a long time. There is a third restaurant in the area whose name escapes me that is also known for their perch fried in butter.

Suzy

Hi,

A perch off sounds like a spectacular idea. I guess we would just visit the restaurants one right after the other.

Regards,

I hate to say this, but I had an all-you-can-eat Lake Perch meal (Friday special) for ten bucks including soup, salad, and dessert (jello or ice cream, of course) at a diner in Hobart, IN called:

Diner's Choice
3821 W 37th Ave
Hobart, IN
(219) 942-4955

last year that was better than my last one at Phil's and one helluva lot more cost effective.

If you like all that, and the relish trays, you should try Dick's Restaurant in St. John, Indiana. It is very good! They give you a lot of food. Huge place and always busy on the weekends. It's in a nice quiet area. If take U.S. 41 south, the name changes from Indianapolis to Wicker. When you pass the St. John Catholic Church on the left, (west side), it's about 3/4 mile further south, pass the Shrine of the Virgin Mary, on the left, (west side of the road). They have ample parking. The Mary shrine is large, and in the front of the open field. They are building something south of it.

I've been to both Phil Schmidt's and Tiebel's many times over the years and, while Phil Schmidt's is good, I found Tiebel's to be much better, at least to my taste buds. Both serve real lake perch, which is Yellow Lake Perch from the Great Lakes, a real delicacy. Many of your cheaper fish frys that advertise "lake perch" meals, like the Diner's Choice in Hobart, do not serve what I consider to be real lake perch. They instead serve "white lake perch," which is a type of fish that invaded the Great Lakes through the St. Lawrence Seaway about 25 to 30 years ago and really is not a "perch" at all, but is related to the bass family. It's fairly good, but nowhere as good and tasty as the original yellow lake perch that use to be so plentiful throughout the Great Lakes. If you go to the fish market, you will see that so-called "white lake perch" sells for about one-third the price (or less) of "yellow lake perch," and that's because it is nowhere as good as Yellow Lake Perch. So if anyone does a "perch-off," they should keep this in mind. If it's not clear from the menu, I always ask the wait person " . . . is it white lake perch or yellow lake perch?" Most have no idea and often just answer "white perch" thinking somehow that the "white" version is better, but it is not.

Since both of my parents are originally from NW Indiana, I have been lucky enough to consume my fare share of Tiebel's perch over the years. It was our family tradition to order 100 pieces to go on Christmas Eve before my grandparents passed away. Tiebel’s also has a pretty good relish tray and they serve frog legs, although I have never sampled them. Also, if you order a "dinner" you get a scoop of ice cream after your meal which is a nice treat after a large plate of buttery fried perch. In the rare recent occasions that my family has dined at Tiebel's, I don't remember anyone getting anything besides the perch.

One item to note is that Tiebel’s has a more formal restaurant on the east side of the building and a more casual cafe on the west side of the building, with separate entrances on each side. I believe the menu's are nearly the same, but the restaurant is a nicer setting with higher prices and I think larger portions. I have never been to Phil Smidts, but based on the descriptions, I think Tiebel's might be a clone, or perhaps the other way around, right down to the "time machine" effect of walking through the door. Anyone, +1 for Tiebel's and their delicious perch!

I ate my fill of all you can eat at Tiebel's last week and it was very good,but I'd like to see if if Tiebel's is serving the white perch also.I heard it was coming from the Canadian side of Lake Erie which might mean white instead of yellow.Either way it was very good.The Friday all you can eat is a pretty good deal also.Count me in for any NWI perch off though like the John's Pizza off these probably are a logistical nightmare.
For what its worth I stopped at Calumet Fisheries for fried shrimp and scallops.I really like that they take the tales off the shrimp before frying.The shrimps were good but the scallops were outstanding.I brought some to a friend who like them but said the ones at Bob's at about Calumet and Hoffman were pretty good also.Anyone ever tried those?While looking for Calumet Fisheries I noticed there are surte a lot of Mexican restaurants and taco stands in the area.Any suggestions on good ones?

Speaking of fish frys, does anybody know where to get some good fried blue gills? We used to catch them ourselves and then gorge after we got home. I've seen them occasionally at resaurants, but not lately.

The Friday all you can eat is a pretty good deal also.Count me in for any NWI perch off though like the John's Pizza off these probably are a logistical nightmare.

There are three (I think) John's pizza places. We order the same type of pizza (someone told me the classic, I will have to check my e-mails) at each place, eat them, then drive over to the next. Once you tried all three on the same day, you can easily separate who does the best or at least closest to the original.

Josephine and I did this with Pequod's and Burt's pizzas, though those places are only blocks apart.

Now doing perch and pizza on the same day might be a challenge to the senses!

Regards,

BTB wrote:I've been to both Phil Schmidt's and Tiebel's many times over the years and, while Phil Schmidt's is good, I found Tiebel's to be much better, at least to my taste buds. Both serve real lake perch, which is Yellow Lake Perch from the Great Lakes, a real delicacy. Many of your cheaper fish frys that advertise "lake perch" meals, like the Diner's Choice in Hobart, do not serve what I consider to be real lake perch. They instead serve "white lake perch," which is a type of fish that invaded the Great Lakes through the St. Lawrence Seaway about 25 to 30 years ago and really is not a "perch" at all, but is related to the bass family. It's fairly good, but nowhere as good and tasty as the original yellow lake perch that use to be so plentiful throughout the Great Lakes. If you go to the fish market, you will see that so-called "white lake perch" sells for about one-third the price (or less) of "yellow lake perch," and that's because it is nowhere as good as Yellow Lake Perch. So if anyone does a "perch-off," they should keep this in mind. If it's not clear from the menu, I always ask the wait person " . . . is it white lake perch or yellow lake perch?" Most have no idea and often just answer "white perch" thinking somehow that the "white" version is better, but it is not.

People who refer to white perch as white lake perch are being dishonest. Their common name is white perch. Lake perch is yellow perch only. Then you have the places that have perch dinners and are using ocean perch, which is a truly vile excuse for a fish if ever there was one. I have come to assume, that if they don't specify lake perch, that it is ocean perch. It is disturbing that now we have to further define the only acceptable perch to be yellow lake perch.

I'm still trying to figure out what fish restaurants are referring to with the nonexistant "Walleye Pike" on the menu. Is it a walleye or is it a northern pike, or are they leaving open the option to use either one?

Pike vs. Walleyes
White Perch vs. Lake Perch vs. Yellow Perch vs. Ocean Perch

It's... FISH WARS!!!!!!! Take sides now!

I have to agree with imsscott that ocean perch is not very good and that Yellow Lake Perch is the only true lake perch, at least as applies to the Great Lakes. Unfortunately the term "perch" has stuck to and become a colloquialism to the small bass-type fish that has come to be known as "white perch." White perch is often panned off as Lake Perch in many fish frys and is noted for it's relatively tasteless and dry qualities, which can be improved with some herbs and spices to be fairly decent, however, but nowhere as good as Yellow Lake Perch.

To further "muddy up the waters," there is a 3rd type of perch that lovers of a good lake perch meal need to be aware of. Alot of European perch called Zander perch is being shipped from far away Europe and sold in the great lakes area ( http://www.macrepro.fi/rapala/prac3.html). Sometimes also called Pike-Perch, it is similar to the yellow lake perch from the Great Lakes, is shipped frozen from Europe, and is often substituted for Yellow Lake Perch at some restaurants serving lake perch. But quality restaurants clearly note that the fish is not from the Great Lakes, but I suspect that often does not happen. One chief chef at a popular restaurant in St. Joseph, MI commented to me recently that he didn't think Zander perch was good enough to use as bait for catching Yellow Lake Perch.

To trudie regarding the perch at Tiebel's, their perch is definitely Yellow Lake Perch. You can call them and ask them. Most of the Yellow Lake Perch is listed on Menu's as Canadian Lake Perch where they have been sourced from for a number of years now. I suspect that will change soon, though, as the Yellow Lake Perch population in Lake Michigan and other Great Lakes has been on a big upsurge and is coming back close to the levels that existed in the past, so we may even see a decrease in the price at the wholesalers.

I suspect that this Perch conspiracy is the work of some real Pikers!

Every group has to have it's "class clown."

Summerlover wrote:If you like all that, and the relish trays, you should try Dick's Restaurant in St. John, Indiana. It is very good! They give you a lot of food. Huge place and always busy on the weekends. It's in a nice quiet area. If take U.S. 41 south, the name changes from Indianapolis to Wicker. When you pass the St. John Catholic Church on the left, (west side), it's about 3/4 mile further south, pass the Shrine of the Virgin Mary, on the left, (west side of the road). They have ample parking. The Mary shrine is large, and in the front of the open field. They are building something south of it.

To get to Dick's, take US41 south to the stoplight at US231. It is on the RIGHT, not the left. You can't miss it.

Dick's Restaurant and Lounge
10808 Wicker Avenue (US41)
St. John, IN 46373
(219) 365-5041

Besides relish trays, what is Dick's Restaurant noted for? I know I've tried their broasted chicken there and that was very good.

I went some place I can't remeber where that served something called Lake Victoria perch.I think it was at Casey's in New Buffalo but am not sure.Does anyone know anything about that species.
Also I am wondering if the "mushy" nature of the Phil Smidt's perch may have to do with having to purchase filets frozen.I am not saying that is the case but since you can't gill net like you used to maybe their supplier has to provide the filets frozen and since they are small may affect the texture.This is all just a guess.I can imagine back in the day the fish you ate that day was swimming in Lake Michigan that morning.Who knows.Any way maybe another reason for the fish being different is we all were used to fish living in the discharge waters of US and Inland steel and the Amoco refinery.Maybe that gave the fish its special taste.

trudie, I've been to Casey's in New Buffalo many times, as well as many of the good restaurants along the coast all the way up to Muskegeon and beyond. I never noticed Lake Victoria perch on their menu there, but have seen it at some other restaurants and in many fish markets (including down here in Florida). I believe it is a fish from Lake Victoria in Africa, have never tried it, and the reviews I've seen have not been very positive. As I've seen the price per pound drop substantially, I wonder if that isn't the reason. I understand it is nothing like Great Lakes Yellow Lake Perch. Casey's lake perch, however, is pretty good.

While it's been a while, Phil Smidt's lake perch had never, never tasted "mushy" to me and my wife and friends as was described in a couple of earlier postings and I hope people don't generalize from that and give them a chance. They deserve the benefit of the doubt and many remember their's as being a great lake perch meal (hopefully that's still the case). I do not think their perch is ever frozen, but have found at home, that frozen fish suffers little from being frozen for a short time.

Well since Mike H is doing the left and right thing. Dick's is on the west side of the road~~U.S.41 Wicker in St. John. It is south of Route 231 Veteran's Memorial Parkway. It DEPENDS REALLY where you are coming from. From my house, it' is ON my LEFT. These are country roads, and noted as routes. Not like streets in the city.

I just ate lunch at Casey's in New Buffalo and specifically asked where the perch were from.They are from Lake Superior so that answers that question.............at least for me.