Dickey's BBQ. I have been to Dickey's several times and really like it.I first went in the early 90's to their place in Dallas.To me this place is just as good. I will grant you I dont think they smoke meat at the store.I think its smoked elsewhere and brought here.I think its the best example of Texas bbq you will find in the Chicagoland area.Love the brisket.

Some Hot Dog spots (and their associated art):



Rubens Vienna Beef
(formerly Arman’s Hot Dogs)
2236 Ripley/I94
Lake Station, IN

Andy’s Red Hots
6220 Central Avenue
Portage, IN

Dari-Dip
5469 Central Avenue
Portage, IN

A few mexican restaurants to explore in the Lake Station/New Chicago area:
El Ranchero (3559 Michigan St):

La Fonda “El sazon de doña mago” - (The seasoning of doña magician?) – 2989 Dekalb St:

Taqueria El Organito (410 W. 37th Ave.):

Taqueria Mazamitla (Central and County Line): Carniceria La Chiquita #4(~Michigan & E. Washington):

DKriv wrote:

DKriv wrote: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'm pretty sure this place is closed. I haven't been by in quite some time, but I tried calling a few weeks back, and the phone has been disconnected. I recently found their FB page, but nothing's been posted to it since November.

I've gotta do a little more homework on this, but from what I understand, this place has seemingly reopened (same location and phone number), but it's now called "Maria's Buena Cocina."

Here's a photo of their tortilla soup.

Does anybody know any more about this?

I used to like the tacos at Ruben's, when they were Arman's. Not sure if they are the same thing now. They weren't like anything you would normally expect at an authentic Mexican joint, but they had a very enjoyable unique flavor of their own that I don't think I've ever seen anywhere else.

Where is Ruben's? I have never heard of it.

I'd like to invite y'all to my little corner of the culinary world here at Bub's BBQ in DeMotte, IN. I've been at this location a little over a year now and have been in business about a year and a half. I'm a very small facility and have been carry-out only since day one, however we are in the process of putting in a few seats (4-6 total for now). I do all the traditional BBQ favorites, ribs (St. Louis style), pulled pork, beef brisket, and chicken. All are dry-rubbed and sauce on the side. I lived outside of Kansas City for 2 years, and that is where I learned my "craft". All my sides are made fresh daily and are my own recipes. I do all the cooking and smoking and prep myself. We've been fortunate to get some great comments from our customers and have people who drive 2 hours or more to come to my place. I'm a relatively new business and I've been fortunate to be doing well, but always appreciate any support and patronage I can get. Please stop by, or give us a call and say you saw us on the LTHForum. I'd love to show you how we do BBQ down here in DeMotte.

My buddy (and fellow LTHForum member) Phil Wingo introduced me to this site, so a big shout out to you brother.

Please take a look at our website. We also have a facebook page and have been reviewed on most of the major sites (Urbanspoon, Yelp, etc.)

Thanks for letting me be a part of your foodie community. I look forward to getting involved.

Cheers,

RJHoward

BubsBBQ wrote:I'd like to invite y'all to my little corner of the culinary world here at Bub's BBQ in DeMotte, IN.

Thank you, I'll make a note of it. I'll have to check your place out next time I head south on 231, I love good BBQ.

DKriv wrote:I've gotta do a little more homework on this, but from what I understand, this place has seemingly reopened (same location and phone number), but it's now called "Maria's Buena Cocina."

Here's a photo of their tortilla soup.

Does anybody know any more about this?

An article about Maria's appeared in one of our local papers recently.

More than mere tacos

The Post-Tribune usually leaves articles on their website for only a month, so enjoy it while it lasts.
It's dated 1/27/12.

I like the fact that they only use fresh, quality ingredients.

dbrick59 wrote:Where is Ruben's? I have never heard of it.

Rubens Vienna Beef
(formerly Arman’s Hot Dogs)
2236 Ripley/I94
Lake Station, IN

Just for the roadside art, there is a reason to stop by.

Thanks for the picture.

Regards,

SCUBAchef wrote:

dbrick59 wrote:Where is Ruben's? I have never heard of it.

Rubens Vienna Beef
(formerly Arman’s Hot Dogs)
2236 Ripley/I94
Lake Station, IN

Had a reuben at Ruben's last month.







The corned beef itself won't win any prizes but everything was put together with care. The meat got a bit of griddle time, bread came nicely toasted, kraut was judiciously applied, the cheese properly melted, and everything came together better than it had any right to. A pretty enjoyable sandwich, especially considering its price of $4.20.

Also tried a reuben at Super Submarine in Hammond.







This thing was a monster but unfortunately it didn't taste all that great. Massive quantities of cold industrial-grade corned beef and unmelted cheese don't make a good reuben in my book. Super Sub sells potica (nut roll), heavy on the golden raisins but not a bad version.





I keep wanting to like this place even after two somewhat unsatisfying visits so might actually give it one more chance. Maybe a meatball or sausage sandwich?

Ruben's
2230 Ripley St (south of I-80/94)
Lake Station IN
219-962-3212

Super Submarine
7010 Kennedy Av (south of 169th)
Hammond IN
219-845-6705

Rene G wrote:I keep wanting to like this place even after two somewhat unsatisfying visits so might actually give it one more chance. Maybe a meatball or sausage sandwich?

Super Submarine
7010 Kennedy Av (south of 169th)
Hammond IN
219-845-6705

I've been to this place dozens of times when I couldn't make it down to Lincoln's. And I'm still "wanting" to like it too. It's not good enough to love, but not bad enough to totally dump. Utility-grade food at its finest.

If I was at 169th and Kennedy and wanted a sandwich for lunch, the first place I'd go is Bread Basket.

http://www.breadbasket-hammond.com/

Warning: crappy hours, and when Purdue-Calumet is in session, long lines between 11:30 and 1:00.

I've already sung the praises of the Bread Basket on LTH in the past, but I agree that it's really a hidden gem in NWI.

Also, phone first. They will happily take orders over the phone and have your stuff waiting when you get there.

HI,

The only reason I have never gone to Bread Basket is their hours: Tuesday thru Friday 10:00am - 4:00pm. Even Hot Doug is open on Monday and Saturday.

It is very rare I am in NWI on a weekday during those hours.

Regards,

I'd try it, based their menu, but those are crazy-stupid hours. They are hours for a place that doesn't care about staying open.

Cogito wrote:I'd try it, based their menu, but those are crazy-stupid hours. They are hours for a place that doesn't care about staying open.

Or you have a line out the door waiting for your food like Hot Doug's.

Their menu and pricing is very attractive.

Regards,

Cogito wrote:I'd try it, based their menu, but those are crazy-stupid hours. They are hours for a place that doesn't care about staying open.

Or hours of a quality lunch destination within walking distance of Purdue-Calumet. Their hours are crappy, but other than being inexplicably closed on Mondays, they mirror the times when the largest numbers of students and faculty are on campus.

I suspect this is one of the main reasons that Super Sub has been able to stay around so long. It sure isn't the stellar quality of their food.

FYI: Groupon has a $10 off $20 deal for Piatak Meats
Limited Quantity Available
http://www.groupon.com/deals/piatak-meats?c=all&p=0

Piatak Meats
6200 Broadway
Merrillville, Indiana 46410
(219) 980-3520
http://www.piatakmeats.com/index.html

Cogito wrote:I'd try it, based their menu, but those are crazy-stupid hours. They are hours for a place that doesn't care about staying open.

Au contraire, they're a local institution that has been in business for going on 25 years now.

As others have already pointed out, the Bread Basket does it's business during lunch hours and it does so quite sucessfully. Not only are they popular with nearby students they also service a lot of local, nearby business employees. And don't forget that a lot of NWI residents still do shift work, so again those sort of business hours aren't all that inconvenient.

Had a really nice pre-dad's day "linner" (ate at about 3:30 this afternoon) at the Lighthouse in Cedar Lake. The NWI area is somewhat lacking in "nice" places--meaning celebration/date-worthy spots--and I was pleasantly surprised by the Lighthouse. Situated on Cedar Lake with a lovely view, nautical themed and well furnished, good service and more than passable food, especially considering the location. Good lobster bisque (a special), crab stuffed shrimp, wedge salad--nothing fancy but enjoyable. If in the area, worth a stop.

Lighthouse Restaurant
7501 Constitution Ave
Cedar Lake, IN
219-374-9283
Cedarlakelighthouse.com

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

Romano's new address is...

Romano's Pizza
840 S. Broad
Griffith, IN 46319
(219) 838-1731

https://www.facebook.com/romanospizza53

I dont know where "Chicagoland" ends in the Northwest Indiana region or if this post belongs elsewhere but since this is such a useful thread and has stuff from Michigan City in it, why not here? Supper Clubs are a big part of Wisconsin cuisine but they extend throughout the Midwest. Take the Heston Supper Club in LaPorte Indiana as example.


Down a long dark road off US-12

I stopped in a couple weeks ago and enjoyed the ride to get there down some random road with no other businesses around. This is also the case for many supper clubs found in the Northwoods of Wisconsin and Minnesota. Upon pulling up it had the feel of an authentic supper club and sure enough on that Saturday night around 7p it was packed with only a few parking spots in the large lot next door.


Sitting down at the bar

You get the same authentic feel when you walk inside the building that was once the center of town in Heston, Indiana. At first a creamery it then turned into a general store followed by a tavern and now its a supper club. The original Heston Bar was purchased by the current owners in 1982. They added 'supper club' to the name in 2000 when they decided to add that element to their property. They got the vibe and good practices of great supper clubs down pat. Just like a few other supper clubs I've been to there is no eating at the bar which is used for those waiting to be seated but still in need of a drink.


Some of their popular cheddar spread w/ crackers and enough butter to make Paula Deen wonder...

Right after your menus are brought out upon sitting down the sharp cheddar spread comes shortly after. Good stuff similar to Merkt's although they make theirs themselves. The menu is what you would expect and includes a perch dinner which I got to try a little bit of but was just ok compared to other places I'll post about in a perch report coming soon. The prime rib however was top notch and as good of a piece as I've had in a while. I'll be adding the Heston and their perfect piece of red meat into the rotation of summer spots to eat at while kicking it in Long Beach. With my meal came a choice of soup and their beef vegetable with hunks of prime rib was very hearty. The only thing I wasn't able to confirm is if they make an Old Fashioned the right way. Next time.


The "small" cut of Prime Rib w/ mashed potatoes and horseradish sauce was what I want from a supper club

Heston Supper Club
2003 East 1000 North
La Porte, IN 46350
(219) 778-2938

Highland Fresh Produce has opened. Open daily 7AM-9PM
3311 W. 45th St
Highland,IN
219-924-7386

Moderate size store selling Produce,Deli counter,and a Meat counter that just opened. I believe there was previous ane of international market grocery store there before that failed. This place seems to be operated by Latinos.

Produce department is large with lots of variety and really good prices. Examples..Bananas .39lb,Jalapenos .49lb,Avocados .50each. I picked up a whole pineapple for 1.50 that was actually ripe and smelled like a pineapple as opposed to those flavorless greenish things that usually sell for at least twice as much and never seem to ripen correctly.

If you're just driving by Adrians you probably wouldn't look twice. It looks like pretty much every other sit down restaurant in the area from the outside and it's got the looks and feel of a NW Indiana restaurant on the inside.


East Chicago, IN

Adrians is a bar first. I think a good chunk of their business comes from that. As you enter you're greeted by a swinging wooden door like you'd find at on old Wild West bar. On there is a note making sure you know that unless you're 21 you are not to enter. Over to the side in the other room next door is a family dining area that hasn't changed since the 70's.


Can we tweet?

I was tipped off on here buy someone I know from Horseshoe who said it's one of his favorite places to eat and drink at when he gets off. Like the decor in the dining room the menu seems to be the same as you'd find at a 1970's restaurant. Think Pepe's or Chi-Chi's as if an old timer who just likes to cook good homestyle food his way was running the place. The tipper along with the freindly waitress who I'm sure has been working there since the 70's both rec'd the nachos as being very popular. So we tried those.


Heaping Plate of Chicken Nachos

This big ass plate pictured above was $10 and came loaded with shredded chicken (choice of meat) and beans underneath all that cheese. We couldn't finish the whole thing despite trying. The drinks are cheap and the margarita wasn't half bad considering. But the reason I was there was because he told me they have some great deep fried tacos like those at Loncar's. Available everyday for $2 each these were as big as theirs but stuffed with a wetter more seasoned blend of ground beef. Good although not quite up to par with the other guys across the border. There's just something about that hot sauce.


The elusive Deep Fried Taco

Adrians Lounge
1208 Carroll St
East Chicago, IN 46312
(219) 397-5951

Da Beef wrote:Available everyday for $2 each these were as big as theirs but stuffed with a wetter more seasoned blend of ground beef. Good although not quite up to par with the other guys across the border. There's just something about that hot sauce.


The elusive Deep Fried Taco

Adrians Lounge
1208 Carroll St
East Chicago, IN 46312
(219) 397-5951

nice,

did Loncars again last night, might as well check this place out tomorrow(Friday) night.

I have not had a real deep fried taco in over a decade. I used to live on the East Side and there was a place on the corner of Ewing & 106th st. that made them.Long gone. Thanks for the heads up on Adrians Lounge , its actually not that far from me. I can continue my burrito quest and get some 'real taco's' at the same time.

Villa Nova has a location in Chesterton Indiana...near Indiana Dunes.

Villa Nova
213 Broadway
Chesterton, IN 46304
(219) 728-6648

Same famous thin crust pizza as the Stickney IL location. The Chesterton location is a bit more upscale and has a full menu of other items.