The Local Eatery and Pub seems like a swell first stop of a day tour in Indy on a party bus with a stripper pole.  We arrived right after they opened for lunch so it was to nobody’s surprise we were solo in the dining room, which is sort of exactly what we wanted.  We were seated at our table and started ordering beverages.  I had the Farmer’s Gin and Tonic, with cucumber and rosemary – quite refreshing; then switched to the Hairy Navel (look for the pic of my buddies namesake belly button!). 

The appetizer order was next; we got nachos, frog legs, the local poutine, wings, and hummus.  Everything came out at the same time, looked nice and for the most part was quite tasty.  The frog legs were a little under seasoned, however when you dipped them in the remoulade all was good.  The nachos fell victim to my nacho peeve, unequal ratio of chips to stuff – they were good nevertheless.  The poutine was their own spin of the Canuck classic fries, gravy and cheese curds.  The fries were great; gravy and meat in the style of stew aplenty and shredded cheddar on top – my favorite app.  We got the mild wings, which were good and the hummus was nicely presented and flavored dish as well.

I believe there were close to 12 in our party and I’m sure 12 different menu items went back to the kitchen.  It’s always nice for a larger party to have a couple of the same items to ease up on the cooks a bit.  Ps, by this time there were 4 or 5 tables of 3 and 4 tops surrounding us; so the kitchen was feeling some heat.  If we weren’t a drinking crew and nearing already full from the apps, I would say the wait between apps and entrée was a little on the long side. But again, there were probably just 2 cooks back there taking care of 30ish people all at once.  

I ordered the local cheesesteak; braised beef tongue, caramelized onions, fig mustarda and swiss cheese.  The glazed over look of the cheese and the temp of the meat said it was probably one of the first things made.  It was really good despite being served room temp; the meat was flavorful and tender and the onions were nicely caramelized and the fig mustarda was a nice touch.  I got a side of the Cajun Tots with it and they were awesome!  I split the sandwich with my buddy’s pork tenderloin sandwich; another good choice.  May have been better than my choice. 

The menu has plenty of choices, everything I ate was above average for Indy and I’ll definitely be back.   

Let’s chat a bit about caramelized onions shall we?  The biggest mistake when someone tries to caramelize an onion is usually too short of cooking time.  It should take at least 30 minutes to cook.  Slice the onions, add them with some fat to a heavy bottom pan and cook down low and slow.  Not too low that they don’t ever turn from white to that lovely rich brown; but if the heat is too hot they burn before they are done.  Also, if they do start to burn you can add a little water to the pan, this will release anything that might be getting too charred on the bottom of the pan.  Stir on occasion and just let them roll.  Use anywhere, hamburger, sausages, soups, salads, ice cream or cereal!