On the way back from Michigan this weekend, we stopped at Miner-Dunn Hamburgers in Highland, Indiana. Places like this, and Johnsen's Blue Top just up the road, are gems if only for their nostalgia factor. But, in the case of Miner-Dunn (I haven't been to Johnsen's yet), the burgers are good, too. Not the beefy, dripping rare steakhouse burgers we get in Chicago, but precious in their own right. The only quibble I have is that the buns are of the weak, grocery-store variety:


Miner's Hamburger with all standard toppings + mayo


Fries are quite good; remind me of In n' Out's fries in SoCal.


Cheeseburger with free jalapeños standing in for the standard relish

Miner-Dunn Hamburgers
8940 Indianapolis Blvd
Highland, IN 46322
(219) 923-3311

DKriv wrote:A new place on the landscape is Carnival Times Sweets & Treats in Griffith. This is the place to go to get an elephant ear of a funnel cake when the carnival isn't in town (the elephant ears are outstanding). Last time I was there, I had a polish sausage. It had cucumbers, tomatoes, mustard, and relish on it, and was excellent. They also have other stuff like fried Twinkies, fried pickles, and fried Oreos. As I mentioned before they just opened a few months ago, so they're still tweaking the menu a bit. They recently added chicken wings, and they're very good. They also sell large cupcakes and even homemade dog treats.

While I haven't ever eaten anything from there, I did stop in the other day after stopping for a bite at Rick's Grill. It looked like a great little shop. There was something called the "angioplasty" which was something like 3 deep fried hot dogs on a plate with a heap of other stuff on top of it (I don't remember the exact details, but I think I remember chili and batter fried pickle spears in the mix). I'm looking forward to stopping in the next time I get a hankering for a funnel cake.

Also, welcome to LTH. Glad to see more Indiana folk around.

We have been ordering the stuffed pizza from Arrenello's from the Glenwood location for years. My kids are not overly fond of pizza, but they will always agree to have it if I order from Arrenello's. I like the sweet sauce and their sausage is also very good. I believe the Glenwood location is the original, and it is carry-out only.

Suzy

sdritz wrote:I like the sweet sauce and their sausage is also very good. I believe the Glenwood location is the original, and it is carry-out only.

Yes, their sausage is very good, even though it seems to make the pizza a tad greasy at times. I think Glenwood is the original. The one in Highland opened around 1991 or 92.

Thanks for the kind words everybody.

On a sad note, a former owner (and son of the founder) of Miner-Dunn passed away in California this past week.

http://nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/art ... f07a3.html

I had a great walleye dinner at Johnson's in Lake Station on Tuesday. For 8 bucks I got 5 pieces of walleye (about 1/2 lb), fries, and some good slaw. I was tempted by the lake perch, but will get that next time.

I have been meaning to get to Romano's Pizza drive-In in Highland since I drove by it last summer. I went home that night and did a quick search only to find it mentioned briefly in a few threads mainly the Johnsen's Blue top Drive In discussion. Since it opens at 4:30 I never had the chance to try it. My time came yesterday when I remembered about it while in the area.


Highland, IN




a little history lesson for ya

I talked to the 20 something kid working and asked about the pizza and he said its a 30-40 minute wait and I didn't feel like waiting. I asked him whats popular and he told me they sell more of the ham hoagies then anything on the menu incl pizza. I also saw the sign about it being the Home of the Hoagie and you can tell from the menu that they are the signature items b/c they re on top of the rest of the offerings.



Luckily I was with my friends and we decided to go with a Ham and a Romano burger. I was excited and was thinking that the Romano burger would be similar to the Lincoln Burger (which can be seen upthread) in that it would be two patties served on French bread and maybe they would take it up a level and use garlic or cheese bread. I was also wondering if maybe the hoagie and this burger are a West Virginia connection b/c I know that they have alot of old school Italian places like Romano's. The menu also had pizza bread and sauceless spicy pizza which may or may not be a WV connection as well. It was off to a good start when he put two fresh beef patties on the griddle.


Romano Burger

To my disappointment it wasn't similar to a Lincoln burger instead they just doubled up the patties and placed it on a bun. I still thought it was a pretty good burger and tasted like an Italian sausage with beef instead of pig and lettuce and tomato added on.


Romano's #1 seller-the Ham hoagie

I thought this was a damn fine sandwich and can see why its the best seller. I don't know what type of cheese they use but they basically take a brick of it and wrap a piece of ham around it and cook it up on the flattop til the ham is crisp and cheese melts a little and add lettuce, tomato and mayo and press the bun down to toast it.

While it would of been nice if they used a little more ham it was a great hoagie. If it was near me Id get here at least once a month for one.


the cheese inside


so much cheese that this sandwich would be a #1 seller in WI too

I think Cool Guy Fieri needs to do a DDD episode dedicated to just Highland, IN...he would love it. Blue Top, Miner-Dunn, Romano's and Lincolns. Ill let him know next time hes in town.

Romano's Pizza
3808 Ridge Rd
Highland, IN
219 838 1731
opens @ 430p

I took advantage of a Border's Rewards offer with Restaraunts.com and am the proud owner of 18 $25.00 coupons for $72.00. (I got carried away) I picked coupons for Chela's Cocina(2), Theo's steakhouse(4), Pepe's in Griffith(4), Miller Bakery Cafe(4) and Cafe Elise(4). I plan on using 1/2 for myself and half as gifts.
The first one I used was for Chela's Cocina. I had heard good things about Chela's in the past so I decided to give it a try. We started with a Chicken Quesadilla, which I though was kind of bland. I ordered the Three Meat Fajita Steak, Chicken and Shrimp), and my friend had the Steak Fajita. They brought the plates out and the metal plates were so hot that the onions and peppers were burning! The smell of burning vegetables lingered throughout the meal which had an effect on the flavor of the meats. There was plenty of meat which was I thought slightly underseasoned, but tasted okay. I did like the rice and the refried beans were okay. We ordered a flan for dessert and I've had better. About half way through our meal, the dining room started getting smoky and the aroma of burning food filled the air. When we left, my glasses were covered with an oily film that wasn't there when I went in.
I'd like to give them another chance since I have one more coupon for Chela's but I'm not sure if I'm going to use it or give it away. Giving it away could cost a friendship, maybe I'll give it to the ex-wife.

Chela's Cocina
1927 45th Avenue
Griffith, IN
219-924-8532

i understand chela passed away not too long ago and some said the food just isnt the same quality.i haven't eaten there lately so i don't know.i will say that though i don't like fajitas other restaurants i have been to have "overdone" the vegetables and that fajita smell just lingers throughout the restaurant.

She did and they moved to a smaller place across the street.

Da Beef wrote:I talked to the 20 something kid working and asked about the pizza and he said its a 30-40 minute wait and I didn't feel like waiting.

I'm really not a huge fan of their pizza, it's just OK.

The hoagies are good.

Da Beef wrote:I think Cool Guy Fieri needs to do a DDD episode dedicated to just Highland, IN...he would love it. Blue Top, Miner-Dunn, Romano's and Lincolns. Ill let him know next time hes in town.

I emailed him about them a while back, but I'm sure he receives thousands of emails every day from fans recommending places. You probably could add Schoop's to that list, but I don't know if he'd do it because they're a chain.

The coolest thing about Blue Top, Miner-Dunn, and Romano's is that they all still have their vintage signage.

Thanks for the review and pictures!

DKriv wrote:You probably could add Schoop's to that list, but I don't know if he'd do it because they're a chain.

On second thought, Schoop's in Munster (oldest location remaining, opened in 1959) has an old-timey feel to it.

Schoop's Hamburgers
215 Ridge Rd.
Munster, IN
(219) 836-6233

Hi,

My Christmas fantasy NWI one-two combo:

Lunch at Cavalier for the pierogis (and fried chicken livers):

Cavalier Inn
735 Gostlin St (just west of Calumet)
Hammond IN
219-933-9314

Then visit the Indiana Welcome Center (no, I am not crazy)

The Indiana Welcome Center is located at the intersections of I-80/94 & Kennedy Avenue South at 7770 Corinne Drive, Hammond, Indiana. The Welcome Center can be reached at 1-800-ALL-LAKE

To the the A Christmas Story Comes Home exhibit and perhaps get my picture taken on Santa's Mountain. There is a great, never to be missed, opportunity to see (and purchase, if it is your heart's desire) a real live leg lamp.

I wonder if I can talk my Moms into this today?

Regards,

How do they prepare their chicken livers?

Cogito wrote:How do they prepare their chicken livers?

Breaded, fried and with lots of onions. I never think to order chicken livers in restaurants. It was another friend who suggested it. It was (for me, anyway) an inspired choice, because I pretty much took over the plate once everyone else lost interest.

Regards,

Hi, I'm new to the board. I live in East Chicago, Indiana, and I'm in the beer distribution business. I'm familiar with several of NWI's restaurants, bars, etc. Here are some of my favorites:

Giovanni's in Munster is an excellent Italian eatery.
Tiebels in Schererville remains a top notch place.
El Taco Real in Hammond is very good, but there are dozens of places that serve good Mexican or Tex/Mex food. Plaza Girabaldi in East Chicago is really good.
Good steaks can be had at Gino's in Dyer, Kelsey's, and Freddy's.

Welcome to LTH. Good to have some more Hoosiers around.

See , we have no problem with people calling this the region.This guy proudly calls himself a 'regionrat'. The region is short for the calumet region.

dbrick59 wrote:See , we have no problem with people calling this the region.This guy proudly calls himself a 'regionrat'. The region is short for the calumet region.

Is it confirned to Calumet (maybe definte it geographically, because I don't know) or is it northwest Indiana (however that is defined)?

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:

Cogito wrote:How do they prepare their chicken livers?

Breaded, fried and with lots of onions.

I've tried the chicken livers three times and they never fail to please. For about six bucks you get this mammoth plate of food plus a "greeting" of cottage cheese, kidney bean salad and cole slaw, all served with true friendliness. I love The Cav.





Cavalier Inn (Since 1949)
735 Gostlin St (just west of Calumet, across from the Roller Dome)
Hammond IN
219-933-9314
http://www.cavalierinn.net/

Cathy2 wrote:

dbrick59 wrote:See , we have no problem with people calling this the region.This guy proudly calls himself a 'regionrat'. The region is short for the calumet region.

Is it confirned to Calumet (maybe definte it geographically, because I don't know) or is it northwest Indiana (however that is defined)?

Regards,

The Calumet region, I've been led to believe, is technically any area around the Calumet Rivers including the Cal-sag channel. This would include parts of Illinois.

Llama wrote:

Cathy2 wrote:

dbrick59 wrote:See , we have no problem with people calling this the region.This guy proudly calls himself a 'regionrat'. The region is short for the calumet region.

Is it confirned to Calumet (maybe definte it geographically, because I don't know) or is it northwest Indiana (however that is defined)?

Regards,

The Calumet region, I've been led to believe, is technically any area around the Calumet Rivers including the Cal-sag channel. This would include parts of Illinois.

There are several definitions of the Region. The broadest is Lake and Porter County. The narrowest would be the cities of Gary, Hammond, Whiting and East Chicago. The original definition would be the land in the Grand Calumet and Little Calumet's basins. My definition is any place that is strongly influenced (dominated?) by the culture of the original Region. This culture is ethnicaly diverse, with an emphasis on the migrations of the past 115 years, has a blue collar mentality, even amongst its white collar residents, interesting politics (I won't go any further) that are tied to the substantial money that was available through the mills, and a sense of social leveling because anyone could earn a decent living as a millrat.

If you are from Calumet City,Burnham ,Hegewisch maybe even Lansing you are essentially from the Region also.Yet if you are from Illinois and tell others from Illinois you are from the Region they wont know what you are talking about.If you tell anyone from anywhere in Indiana you are from the Region they know exactly what and where you are talking about.

In Region food news, Zel's has switched to Nathan's for it's hot dogs. For years they used Best Kosher until switching to a different provider a few years back.

Llama wrote:Welcome to LTH. Good to have some more Hoosiers around.

I agree, welcome aboard.

I tried Sammy's Pizza in Highland a few weeks ago, and it was pretty good. Has anybody else here been there yet?



Sammy's Pizza
8020 Kennedy Ave.
Highland, IN
(219) 923-3200
http://sammyspizzadelivery.com/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Highland- ... 1460113110

We tried them a couple weeks ago and liked the pizza a lot. It's nice to have a thicker crust option around the area. MincyBits said it reminded her of John's Pizza in Whiting (though not quite as good).

I'll make sure to give a more detailed review the next time I order from there.

dbrick59 wrote:See , we have no problem with people calling this the region.This guy proudly calls himself a 'regionrat'. The region is short for the calumet region.

It's Da Region. Kinda like Da Coach.

Has anybody here ever been to El Taco Mariachi in Highland? I just found out about this restaurant today, and I'd like to hear something about it before I try it. Thanks.


El Taco Mariachi
8620 Kennedy Ave.
Highland, IN
(219) 923-6000

I was there a few years ago. It was just average.My brother used to live in Hessville and I often drove by it and I cant figure out how they stay open with so few customers. I have been to a lot of region mexican places and I think El Mariachi in Cal city/Lansing/Dyer and of coarse El Taco Real have by far the best food.

According to Google Maps, I live next door to that place... but I've never heard of it. Where is it, exactly?

Llama wrote:According to Google Maps, I live next door to that place... but I've never heard of it. Where is it, exactly?

I think it's right by the Town theater. I had never heard of it either until I found mention of it online yesterday.