Wanted: Decent Food Between Chicago & Ft. Wayne, IN

I've got to drive to Ft. Wayne, IN on Monday for a business meeting. I'm looking for a couple of places to stop for decent food between here and there (One place going and another coming back). In particular, I'd like to find some diner type places that might serve Indiana style pork tenderloin sandwiches or good breakfasts. Of course, if there's some special place that I shouldn't miss that serves some other type of food, I'd be up for that, too.

P.S. I'm not against taking a slight detour to get to a decent place.

You may want to consider the Strongbow Inn in Valparaiso. It does represent a bit of a detour, but both I and Vital Information are long-time fans of this turkey-centric restaurant. If the reference to diners was an issue of speed, you could sit at the bar in the Wild Blue Yonder Lounge (which I would recommend popping into regardless, as a truly unique experience).

Thanks Jim. The only problems with this suggestion are that it's both too close to Chicago and the fact that I'll want a nice nap after eating my Strongbow turkey dinner. Those obstacles may not stop me, though.

P.S. I mentioned diners because I feel somewhat confident that I could get a decent meal. I'm not interested in trying out any high concept dining in the middle of the cornfields. Note: Before getting defensive, this does not refer to Indianapolis; only to the God forsaken stretch of US30 I will be traveling on.

I agree with Jim, especially about the Blue Yonder Room. Is Valpo on the way to Ft. Wayne?

My family and I had a great time spending a few days in Amish Indiana this summer, the pics are here. A place like Village Inn may not be blow you away food, but it's still interesting and very authentic. I'd really like to try it for breakfast. Moreover, there's a lot of great shopping in that area. I'm especially keen on the stone ground flours at the Bonneyville Mill, a true regional treat.

Another suggestion would be to sample the ur-tenderloin sandwich at Nick's Kitchen in Huntington, which is about 25 miles from Ft. Wayne (and would constitute a fairly significant detour). Nick's claims to have invented the breaded pork tenderloin sandwich; more important, davydd and his wife think it's the best, as recently confirmed here.

JimInLoganSquare wrote:Another suggestion would be to sample the ur-tenderloin sandwich at Nick's Kitchen in Huntington, which is about 25 miles from Ft. Wayne (and would constitute a fairly significant detour). Nick's claims to have invented the breaded pork tenderloin sandwich; more important, davydd and his wife think it's the best, as recently confirmed here.

Now that's what I'm talking about. I'll be having a Pork Tenderloin breakfast on Tuesday morning for sure. According to their website, they open up a 6:00 A.M.

In another thread, BTB wrote:The best fried chicken in the Chicagoland area IMHO is Tiebel's in northwest Indiana (Schererville, at intersection of Rts. 30 and 41).

I haven't been yet, but I realize now that it might be a good meet-in-the-middle spot for me and my Brother, who live in Fort Wayne.

germuska wrote:

In another thread, BTB wrote:The best fried chicken in the Chicagoland area IMHO is Tiebel's in northwest Indiana (Schererville, at intersection of Rts. 30 and 41).

I haven't been yet, but I realize now that it might be a good meet-in-the-middle spot for me and my Brother, who live in Fort Wayne.

Schereville is really pretty close to chicago. It looks like it's just south of Gary.

stevez wrote:

germuska wrote:I haven't been yet, but I realize now that it might be a good meet-in-the-middle spot for me and my Brother, who live in Fort Wayne.

Schereville is really pretty close to chicago. It looks like it's just south of Gary.

Well, I guess if you're going to be fussy about what "middle" means...

Hopefully this thread will turn up some better candidates.

stevez wrote:I've got to drive to Ft. Wayne, IN on Monday for a business meeting.

Are you taking I-80/90 east, then I-69 south? Or US-30 through Valparaiso and Warsaw? [Edit: I just noticed you said you were taking US-30.] I pulled out my copy of Guide to Indiana's Favorite Restaurants to see what Reid Duffy had to say.

stevez wrote:Of course, if there's some special place that I shouldn't miss that serves some other type of food, I'd be up for that, too.

I don't know how special it is but you like duck, right? If you're passing through Warsaw you might want to check out Maple Leaf Grille.

Reid Duffy wrote:Maple Leaf Grille, on State Road 15 in Warsaw, is owned by Maple Leaf Farms—the Milford-based, family-owned company that is the nation's leading producer of duck in the nation. Thus, its restaurant, formerly known as Bistro a Lago, has duck prominently featured on the menu, and shows off its culinary scope and diversity.

I can't give a firsthand account of the food (and the spelling of Grille sets off alarm bells) but it sounds like, at the very least, the deck overlooking Center Lake would be pleasant on a nice day.

You'll undoubtedly want a snack or two while in Fort Wayne. I see from this old thread you're familiar with Powers Hamburgers, a 1940 burger palace I'd love to visit. You're likely familiar with the other two places I'm about to mention but I'd be curious to hear any comments about them.

Another intriguing old spot is Coney Island Wiener Stand, dating from 1913.

Cindy's Diner, housed in a classic prefab metal and glass Valentine diner since 1952, sounds promising.

Reid Duffy wrote:It offers the full range of breakfast and lunch diner cuisine, including bountiful egg dishes, hotcakes, and biscuits and gravy; bacon cheeseburgers, turkey and chicken burgers, breaded and grilled pork tenderloins, BLTs, fried bologna and cheese, home baked pies, and specialty donuts cranked out by the donut machine that once toiled for the downtown Murphy's Dime Store.

Maple Leaf Grille
937 N Detroit St
Warsaw IN
574-269-9100

Powers Hamburgers
1402 S Harrison St
Fort Wayne IN
260-422-6620

Coney Island Wiener Stand
131 W Main St
Fort Wayne IN
260-424-2997

Cindy's Diner
830 S Harrison St
Fort Wayne IN
260-422-1957

stevez wrote:I've got to drive to Ft. Wayne, IN on Monday for a business meeting. I'm looking for a couple of places to stop for decent food between here and there (One place going and another coming back). In particular, I'd like to find some diner type places that might serve Indiana style pork tenderloin sandwiches or good breakfasts. Of course, if there's some special place that I shouldn't miss that serves some other type of food, I'd be up for that, too.

P.S. I'm not against taking a slight detour to get to a decent place.

I went to college in Angola, Indiana which is about 40 minutes north of Ft. Wayne. One of my fraternity brothers was from the area. On many occasions, his family would take me to a little place in Stroh, Indiana called Gropp's Famous Fish of Stroh. I have no idea how it is now, especially after searching the web and finding out they closed and re-opened in...you guessed it, Ft. Wayne. My guess is that it is still as good. They do have a breaded pork tenderloin sandwich but I'd opt for the all you can eat "famous" fish. If you do make it there, I'd love to know how it was.

http://www.famousfishofstroh.com/

After a business meeting last night, I visited Powers Hamburgers for the first time in nearly 40 years thanks to the reminder in the post from Rene G. upthread.

Powers Hamburgers - Ft. Wayne


Not much has changed in all this time. Powers still serves the same limited menu they have had since the 40s.

Powers Hamburgers Menu


Powers is Ft. Wayne's answer to White Castle, which also has stores here. The difference is that Powers' sliders are made with fresh beef, rather than frozen pre-formed patties and are what White Castle wishes it was. Powers burgers start as meatballs which are placed on the grill; then a generous layer of onions are placed over the balls of meat and they are flattened with a spatula. The burgers are then covered with buns and allowed to steam/grill. They might have cleaned the grill once or twice since my last visit, but I'm not sure.

Powers Burgers Cooking


These are some seriously good sliders, as sliders go. I had forgotten how good they were. The addition of a bit of sirracha, which you might have noticed in a picture above, really puts them over the top. One of the things that sets these sliders above White Castle (besides the fresh ingredients) is the bun. Although they are clearly not made in house, they nevertheless have a nice bakery dinner roll quality to them. As small as they are, they are substantial and have a nice tight crumb and a good taste compared to the airy, processed, white bread style of the WC buns.

Powers Cheeseburgers


Thanks again for the reminder of Powers, Rene G. Today, it's off to sample a couple of other area recommendations, then the long drive home.

Powers Hamburgers
1904 Maumee Ave
Fort Wayne, IN 46803
260-422-3227‎

1402 S. Harrison St.
Ft. Wayne, IN
260-422-2997

Warsaw is three-quarters of the way to Fort Wayne. Avila's Grocery, a supermercado with a taqueria inside, wouldn't be a bad place to stretch your legs and get a snack (and maybe a shaved ice out in the parking lot, in season). It's only a couple miles south of US-30. Certainly not a destination but they offer a smoked pork chop taco (a first for me) that's not bad at all. A trompo spins on weekends.



Avila's Grocery
841 N Lake St
Warsaw IN
574-267-0062

Rene G wrote:Warsaw is three-quarters of the way to Fort Wayne. Avila's Grocery, a supermercado with a taqueria inside, wouldn't be a bad place to stretch your legs and get a snack (and maybe a shaved ice out in the parking lot, in season). It's only a couple miles south of US-30. Certainly not a destination but they offer a smoked pork chop taco (a first for me) that's not bad at all. A trompo spins on weekends.

It looks like Avila's suffered a fire, so no more smoked pork chop tacos, for the time being at least.



Warsaw is still worth a stop, though, for an apple fritter at Wabash Donut Shoppe, less than 3 miles from Route 30.





The Wabash, Indiana frycake specialist recently opened a Warsaw outpost (I haven't visited the original location). Frankly, most of the donuts don't look terribly appealing, with the exception of the fritters. WDS's apple fritter is up there with the best I've had, full of apple chunks with textures ranging from soft and caramelized to slightly crisp. The sensibly-sized (not small) fritter is a steal at 79 cents.

Wabash Donut Shoppe
658 S Buffalo St
Warsaw IN
578-267-4311

Original location:
445 S Wabash St (near Route 24)
Wabash IN
260-563-3667