Goin' to West Lafayette, Indiana. What should I Eat?

I've got a shoot in West Lafayette, Indiana (home of Purdue University) on Tuesday and Wednesday. I'm looking for recommendations for places to stop and eat along the way and while I am there. I don't mind taking a reasonable (or even a not so reasonable) detour if it means making it to something good and/or unique.

ReneG and I recently drove down to Indy and on the way stopped for lunch at Indiana's very first drive-in, Triple XXX in West Lafayette.

For what the place lacks in overall food quality is more than made up in personality. Certainly had a great vibe to it and appeared to be a local favorite for college students as well as seniors alike.

The one thing I tried there that I would recommend is the Boilermaker Pete, a 1/3 Lb ground sirloin hamburger which is freshly ground and without any fillers.
Nondescript fries.

It did the job until I had a real lunch an hour or so later in Indianapolis at John's Famous Stew (followed up by a coupla tenderloin sandwiches!).

Warning! Avoid the "Famous Triple XXX Chili" at all costs. It's like opening up a whole can of pinto beans, dumping it into a bowl, sprinkling a couple teaspoons of under grilled meat on top along with traces of overly watery Hunt's style chopped tomatoes, and forgetting to add any spicing.

Not the best diner I'm sure you'll ever hit but an overall fulfilling and novel experience.



http://www.triplexxxfamilyrestaurant.com/index.html
Hours: "Open 24 hours Monday through Saturday
Open Sundays until 8:00pm; Open Monday 6:00am"



Triple XXX
S.R 26 West and Salisbury
West Lafayette, IN
(765) 743-5373

Dad and I stopped in at this place last summer on our way to a Barbecue Business trip in Cincinnati:

http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Overvie ... RefID=2250

http://www.southstreetsmokehouse.com/

I won't call it brilliant barbecue, but it was serviceable or better. We split a pair of sandwiches; one brisket and one pulled pork. I don't have any notes, but I remember them both being pretty good. Fries and beans were also good, and, if I recall correctly, they had have some excellent sweet potato fries, if that's your thing.

Sorry I can't be any more specific or enthusiastic, but I figure if upon reading your need for good eats in Lafayette, this was the first place to spring to my mind, it must have been a good experience.

Have a great trip,

Buddy

South Street Smokehouse
3305 South Street
Lafayette, IN 47904
765-446-0559

http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=12744

The best of the bunch are Boundary Waters, Marti's Place, and McVey's. At all three, think lake perch or catfish. All are about a 10-minute detour off I-65.

There's also a KFC with a Buffet
along that stretch of I-65.
You could do worse.

There's a new(ish) Korean place called Gaza Korean Grill. It won't make you forget Chicago's best Korean food and the panchan were skimpy, but everything we had there was very tasty. I'd gladly return there over Triple XXX. (Not that that was horrible, I think my expectations were just way too high going in.)

Gaza
3457 Bethel Dr, West Lafayette, IN
(765) 497-2346

PIGMON wrote:ReneG and I recently drove down to Indy and on the way stopped for lunch at Indiana's very first drive-in, Triple XXX in West Lafayette.

For what the place lacks in overall food quality is more than made up in personality.
....
The one thing I tried there that I would recommend is the Boilermaker Pete, a 1/3 Lb ground sirloin hamburger which is freshly ground and without any fillers.
Nondescript fries.
....
Not the best diner I'm sure you'll ever hit but an overall fulfilling and novel experience.
Open 24 hours

Wondered at your first comment above, since Ive been to XXX a few times and
always been very happy with it. But it was all clarified a couple lines later...
Ive never managed to go beyond the burgers there

Have, in fact, almost always stuck to the Boilermaker Pete, and I like it a fair
bit. Its a fine burger IMHO, better than most. The fries arent special, as you
say, though Ive also liked the malted shakes Ive tried most times. Id definitely
recommend XXX (and have to a few people before).. maybe next time I'll
amend the rec to include only the burgers and shakes They also have a
special that Ive wanted to try, but havent yet (the Kyle Orton special? Or
maybe it was the Drew Brees special? One of those INT-throwing Purdue
QBs, anyway

Also, in re the timings.. I dont think its 24 hours all the time, in fact Ive even found
it closed once. I think they may be 24 hours Friday and Saturday? However,
even on Sunday I think theyre closed late evening or so.

Also, for stevez, one of the other Lafayette threads lists a farm on the way
to Purdue on the 65, which makes their own icecream etc and is pretty
good. I saw that the last time, and really wanted to go, but couldnt make
it - its right off the I-65, you cant miss it.

c8w

c8w wrote:Also, in re the timings.. I dont think its 24 hours all the time, in fact Ive even found
it closed once. I think they may be 24 hours Friday and Saturday? However,
even on Sunday I think theyre closed late evening or so.

c8w,

You are absolutely correct. According to their website:

"Open 24 hours Monday through Saturday
Open Sundays until 8:00pm; Open Monday 6:00am"

Thanks for the correction.

On the west side:

XXX is good for breakfast/late night

On the Lafayette side, my favorites:

Dinner/lunch - Little Mexico II, 6 N Earl (a must for me and Mrs. JdV)

(Maybe a little too pricey and a lo-o-o-o-ong wait, but sushi, good sushi, in Indiana!) - Kokoro - 536 Main

Thanks to all for the recommendations. As it turns out, we stopped at Fair Oaks Farms on the way down before I saw c8w's post. I assume that's the place he was talking about. Despite being a somewhat touristy operation, Fair Oaks Farms is a working dairy farm that produces several varieties of cheese (their Gouda won an international cheese competition, though I couldn't fathom why based on my free sample), milk and ice cream. This would be a great place to stop with the kids on a trip in that direction. Fair Oaks offers tours and interactive exhibits in their "Adventure Center". We didn't have the time to explore that part of the operation, but we did go to the snack bar/restaurant which, despite looking like a cross between Starbucks and a Panera, has some pretty good food.

The snack bar is located inside a building which is also a cheese making facility. There are large windows looking in to the cheese making rooms with continuous videos playing on overhead monitors and audio descriptions available at the push of a button.

Fair Oaks Cheese Tanks



They make 10 - 15 varieties of cheese and all of them are available to sample and, of course, to purchase.

Fair Oaks Cheese Counter


At the snack bar, we ordered tomato soup, which was homemade with nice chunks of tomato and their own cream and a grilled cheese sandwich with a generous helping of the house made swiss and some slices of turkey on a cibata roll cooked in a sandwich press.

Fair Oaks Tomato Soup


Fair Oaks Grilled Cheese With Turkey


The food was surprisingly good. Much better than it had to be by a long shot. I wish I had a better picture of the inside of the grilled cheese sandwich. It's my new gold standard.

Fair Oaks Farm
856 N 600 E
(I-65 at Exit 220)
Fair Oaks, IN
877-536-1194

I finished my business in West Lafayette by 11:00 this morning and headed over the Triple XXX Drive-in, which turned out to be within a few blocks of my hotel. As has been mentioned upthread, Triple XXX Drive-in is the first drive in to ever open in Indiana, and since it is still in operation, by definition it is the oldest drive in in the state.

Triple XXX Drive-in


I'm glad this place was so close, because if I had traveled very far off my route to get there, I would have been a bit disappointed. It's a restaurant packed with character and friendly people, but the food, despite having a great story behind it, is nothing much more than ordinary.

Triple XXX Drive-in's Friendly Staff


The Chow Poodle ordered the breakfast special, consisting of two eggs, bacon, toast and has browns. She passed on the Drew Brees Favorite of 2 eggs, 1/3 lb. burger, potatoes covered with sausage gravy & 2 grilled buttermilk biscuits W/ jelly.

Triple XXX Drive-in Breakfast Special


I opted for the recommended Boilermaker Pete, which seemed to be a cousin of the Big Baby, with the cheese placed between the patties.

Triple XXX Drive-in Boilermaker Pete


The patties are some of the thinnest I have ever seen, but they are good quality meat that is ground and formed in house using the world famous Hollymatic.

Triple XXX Drive-in Hollymatic T-Shirt


I also had a mug of Triple XXX Root Beer, which was surprisingly flat and frankly, not very good. It did not make thirst a joy as promised.



Triple XXX Drive-in is an interesting and historic place. If you happen to be going to West Lafayette it would be worth a visit, but I'm not sure I would recommend a special trip just to eat there. BTW, they've been featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives and the show will be rerun again on 11/23 @ 3:30 P.M. on the Food Network.

Triple XXX Drive-in
State & Salsbury
West Lafayette, IN
765-743-5373

Open 24 hours Monday - Saturday
Closed Sunday 8:00 P.M. - Monday 6:00 A.M.

stevez wrote:Thanks to all for the recommendations. As it turns out, we stopped at Fair Oaks Farms on the way down before I saw c8w's post. I assume that's the place he was talking about. Despite being a somewhat touristy operation, Fair Oaks Farms is a working dairy farm that produces several varieties of cheese (their Gouda won an international cheese competition, though I couldn't fathom why based on my free sample), milk and ice cream. This would be a great place to stop with the kids on a trip in that direction. Fair Oaks offers tours and interactive exhibits in their "Adventure Center". We didn't have the time to explore that part of the operation, but we did go to the snack bar/restaurant which, despite looking like a cross between Starbucks and a Panera, has some pretty good food.

The snack bar is located inside a building which is also a cheese making facility. There are large windows looking in to the cheese making rooms with continuous videos playing on overhead monitors and audio descriptions available at the push of a button.

I ABSOLUTELY love going to Fair Oaks Farms. Thanks for reminding me of how much I love that place, stevez.

BTW, I think I've vaguely heard of Triple XXX somewhere(maybe yelp, since I often browse yelp reviews outside of Chicagoland, for ideas of where to stop and eat at, whenever I go on trips). Thanks for posting info and pics of that place here.

It would be easy for me. Chic-Fil-A.

YourPalWill wrote:It would be easy for me. Chic-Fil-A.

Which is located mere steps from Triple XXX Drive-in.

while Triple X is in West Lafayette. close, relatively speaking, but definitely not walking distance. almost on opposite sides of the greater Lafayette metroplex, if that term applies to Lafayette.

I was glad to see them get some press on Foodnetwork. They're not the greatest place ever but they're decent and interesting. for a couple of summers in college, I used to get breakfast there regularly. good memories

stevez wrote:

YourPalWill wrote:It would be easy for me. Chic-Fil-A.

Which is located mere steps from Triple XXX Drive-in.

And there's one on the way from I-65 to South Street Smokehouse.

Buddy

PIGMON wrote:Avoid the "Famous Triple XXX Chili" at all costs.

Just for the record, here's a shot of Triple XXX's chili.



Unless you're a huge fan of kidney bean and tomato soup, I'd give it a pass. I really enjoyed the Boilermaker Pete burger though. Overall I liked Triple XXX and am glad I visited but wouldn't recommend a major detour for it.

stevez wrote:. . . formed in house using the world famous Hollymatic.

I can't believe I missed the Hollymatic, not just any Hollymatic, but the Super 54, the most popular patty machine ever built!

Has anyone dared try the Duane Purvis burger with peanut butter?! I must know all!!!

I have not tried the Purvis peanut butter burger myself, but another daring diner tried it while we were there. He said it was fabulous!

I'm not sure that there's anything that doesn't go with peanut butter -- or bacon!

Mrs. Davooda and I recently spent a night in Lafayette, IN (in advance of picking up the eldest Davood-ite from summer camp) and had a very good cocktail hour and meal in downtown Lafayette. I would go back to either of these places in a heartbeat.

The Black Sparrow Pub is off the courthouse square (2nd Street and Main) and offers a vibe that I last experienced in 1997 in post-grunge Seattle. Probably a dozen tappers featuring craft brews - including Bell's Oarsman - below a chalkboard sign proclaiming "No Crap on Tap." I had the Osiris IPA, which was not as hoppy as I had hoped, but pretty tasty on a hot day. Mrs. Davooda defaulted to her usual Cosmo. Service was in a small cocktail glass with a small beaker on the side containing the rest of the mixture from the shaker. Very good Cosmo, says the Mrs. Lots of Three Floyds on the bottled beer list. We shared an appetizer of baked goat cheese with a piquant pepper sauce that one spreads on the crusty, toasted baguette slices served alongside. For $5 - an excellent prelude to our dinner just two blocks away.

http://www.blacksparrowpub.com/index2.htm
Black Sparrow Puc
223 Main Street
Lafayette, IN
765.429.0405

At Main and 5th Streets, Bistro 501 occupies a nice corner location. Large windows allow diners to watch passersby or - on the night we were there - the trees sway in near tornado like winds! The space was hopping at 7pm when we arrived. In addition to dining space, there is a large bar that opens out onto the sidewalk for al fresco drinks and dining. I enjoyed the library ladder behind the bar that was used to fetch bottles of wine. The menu is solid bistro fare with some decidedly non-bistro items as well. The food was top-notch and the pricing easy on the wallet.

Our server was Cheyenne, who happens to also be the patissiere and charcutiere of the establishment. Cheyenne made the country pate with which we opened our meal. Bursting with liver and brandy flavor, even Mrs. Davooda - not one for liver - raved about it. I ordered the chicken breast en croute and Mrs. D ordered the rack of lamb, rare. The chicken dish is stuffed with goat cheese, spinach and herbs and was executed perfectly. However, I found the kalamata olives made the cream sauce too salty. Mrs. D proclaimed her lamb the best she's ever had - quite a claim since she has dined on rack of lamb everywhere we have traveled. Mrs. D enjoyed a spoon of Cheyenne's cheesecake for dessert while I enjoyed a Pernod.

http://www.bistro501.com/
Bistro 501
501 N Main St
Lafayette, IN
765-423-4501

Many years ago, I was sentenced to work a few weeks a year in Logansport, IN, a town pretty much devoid of any good dining options. A couple of times a week, we would head over to West Lafayette for dinner. More often or not, we would end up at the Parthenon, a Greek steamtable operation near the Purdue campus. The food was everything that a college student would like - large portions, reliably prepared, and good tasting food. It was probably the best ethnic option between Chicago and Indianapolis.

Recently, they moved outside of the city to a non-descript strip center. The place is well decorated abd the food is alright. The high point of the meal was the gyro which was homemade and much more lamby than most. My only issue was that we were there early in the day and the meat was dried out.

The Greek Village salad was quite good BUT for the $5 price, the portions were pretty small.

The white bean casserole would have been a lot better with an additional hour or two to cook. The beans lacked any real spice.

It wasn't worth the detour.

One place to try out in the area is the Baja Peninsula California Cuisine which was packed at 11 am Sunday morning.


Parthenon Greek American Grill
2060 US 52 West, Suite M
West Lafayette, IN 47906
765-743-6778

Made a quick stop here on the way back from a trip to all points south down to Chatanooga and Knoxville. The sleeper on this menu is the hand-cut, house-breaded tenderloin. It's a very dainty loin by Indiana/Iowa standards, but quite good and, it appears, actually pork tenderloin. As far as atmospherics go, XXX is tops, and I have a thing for old drive ins in college towns and ancient vacation stops (e.g., FrostTop in WV to Dumar's in VA).

Has anyone dared try the Duane Purvis burger with peanut butter?! I must know all!!!

So I am about 3 years too late in answering this post, but noticing JeffB's recent post about XXX in Lafayette, I saw this comment upthread and have to say that I have had the Duane Pervis burger several times. I used to be in a rock band, and whenever we played Purdue/Lafayette, that was our late night destination at 3 am after a long gig. Perhaps my faculties were slightly altered, but at the time I thought this burger was quite good, with the peanut butter adding a deeper dimension to the burger and not at all cloying. Every time we went there that was my go to meal. I recently was at another hamburger joint that offered the same idea of peanut butter on a hambuger, but I didn't go for it as I didn't want to taint my XXX memories.

JeffB wrote:Made a quick stop here on the way back from a trip to all points south down to Chatanooga and Knoxville. The sleeper on this menu is the hand-cut, house-breaded tenderloin. It's a very dainty loin by Indiana/Iowa standards, but quite good and, it appears, actually pork tenderloin. As far as atmospherics go, XXX is tops, and I have a thing for old drive ins in college towns and ancient vacation stops (e.g., FrostTop in WV to Dumar's in VA).

Here's an old photo of a Leroy Loin (hold the Miracle Whip!) but I don't imagine things change much at Triple XXX.



An enjoyable loin but not in the same league as the one at John's Famous Stew, eaten a couple hours later in Indianapolis. Maybe an unfair comparison as John's loin is one of the best I've had.

Rene G wrote:An enjoyable loin but not in the same league as the one at John's Famous Stew, eaten a couple hours later in Indianapolis. Maybe an unfair comparison as John's loin is one of the best I've had.

Thanks for the loin tip. I was under the impression that John's served only stew. Now I've got something to look forward to in the summer months in Indy.

Rene G wrote:

JeffB wrote:Made a quick stop here on the way back from a trip to all points south down to Chatanooga and Knoxville. The sleeper on this menu is the hand-cut, house-breaded tenderloin. It's a very dainty loin by Indiana/Iowa standards, but quite good and, it appears, actually pork tenderloin. As far as atmospherics go, XXX is tops, and I have a thing for old drive ins in college towns and ancient vacation stops (e.g., FrostTop in WV to Dumar's in VA).

Here's an old photo of a Leroy Loin (hold the Miracle Whip!) but I don't imagine things change much at Triple XXX.



An enjoyable loin but not in the same league as the one at John's Famous Stew, eaten a couple hours later in Indianapolis. Maybe an unfair comparison as John's loin is one of the best I've had.

We'll have to see about that when I'm in Indy next week! Would it be intemperate to have a loin and hot stew in one sitting? So far my high-water mark for loins is mutual favorite B&B in Des Moines.

They do serve a stew-topped loin as an option.

Tnx Rene G! I inevitably end up in Indy on my Montréal ——> KC trek, but at an hour too late to hit the deli. So I'll keep this happily in mind—I *love* a good pork tender sammich. My last excellent one was at the truckstop over in Far Eastern Iowa. Now I'm all excited about my next trip! (Another high point is a beef on weck as I roar through Buffalo. : )

Geo

edited once

stevez wrote:Thanks for the loin tip. I was under the impression that John's served only stew. Now I've got something to look forward to in the summer months in Indy.

JeffB wrote:We'll have to see about that when I'm in Indy next week! Would it be intemperate to have a loin and hot stew in one sitting? So far my high-water mark for loins is mutual favorite B&B in Des Moines.

SCUBAchef wrote:They do serve a stew-topped loin as an option.

There's a photo of the stew-topped tenderloin over in the John's thread. Not an awful combination but I don't think either really enhances the other. Of course, ordering stew and a loin would be intemperate but I say go for it. I wouldn't be surprised if you can get a cup of stew rather than a bowl. It occurred to me I never posted a picture of their unorthodox breaded pork tenderloin sandwich presentation, so I added a photo of one over there.

Geo wrote:Tnx Rene G! I inevitably end up in Indy on my Montréal ——> KC trek, but at an hour too late to hit the deli.

Unfortunately, I think John's closes at 8pm (4pm on Saturday), the same time as Shapiro's.

borborigmy wrote:

Has anyone dared try the Duane Purvis burger with peanut butter?! I must know all!!!

So I am about 3 years too late in answering this post, but noticing JeffB's recent post about XXX in Lafayette, I saw this comment upthread and have to say that I have had the Duane Pervis burger several times. I used to be in a rock band, and whenever we played Purdue/Lafayette, that was our late night destination at 3 am after a long gig. Perhaps my faculties were slightly altered, but at the time I thought this burger was quite good, with the peanut butter adding a deeper dimension to the burger and not at all cloying. Every time we went there that was my go to meal. I recently was at another hamburger joint that offered the same idea of peanut butter on a hambuger, but I didn't go for it as I didn't want to taint my XXX memories.

Interesting thoughts on the experience of the peanut butter burger, boborigmy. Based on another peanut butter burger, Sedalia, Missouri's Guber Burger, I'd have to agree with your take on the "deeper dimension" the peanut flavor gives to the beef patty. It kind of blends with the beefiness, without overwhelming. That the peanut butter is applied to the bottom bun seems critical to this assessment. (I begin to gag thinking of eating some of the peanut butter-crowned burgers posted on YouTube, imagining the peanut butter hitting my palate first, and sticking there, interfering with my attempt to eat the rest of the burger.) At the same time, it looks like the Duane Purvis Burger, unlike the simpler Guber Burger, includes cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles and onion. For those who have had the Duane Purvis, do the toppings dominate?

Another note: the Duane Purvis Burger was a nominee in the Super Bowl 46-related Super 46 Sandwich Contest this year. Of the 16 nominated sandwiches of Indiana, The Duane Purvis Burger made the Final Four, along with Paparoux's Roast Pork Po'boy, the Mile High Club Sandwich from the Rock Cola 50's Cafe, and the Bratwurst from Schnitzelbank Restaurant in Jasper. The Brats won top honors. (In the picture, it looks as though it is served on a pretzel with sauerkraut and a drizzle of mustard, but in the copy, rye bread is mentioned.)

Anyway, if I'm ever near Lafayette, I'll have to try the Duane Purvis, and other good stuff at Triple XXX.