# The best \ in town! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 30, 2009, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-blank-in-town/515752 "2009-10-30T18:06:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-blank-in-town/515752/1 "2009-10-30T18:06:45Z")
A few summers ago, I decided to find out who had the best chicken pad thai in town. I figured that would be a decent measuring point for how good that particular thai restaurant was. So I had chicken pad thai at a different restaurant every night for a week. All my friends joined me for at least a few meals, and it was a blast. They’ve been bugging me for a new food adventure, and I can’t decide what to try to find. It can’t be too expensive, so no lobster or steak. Also, I’d like it to be something that doesn’t have a lot of variation. Pizza comes in too many forms to nail down quickly. I’d also like it to be a fairly standard dish you’d find in a \ restaurant. And not too filling - I will be eating 7 of them in a row! So I open it up to the floor. What dish do I need to find the best of in this town? ---
**Author:** ![whole\_bean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/96bed5/32.png) [@whole\_bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whole_bean)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-blank-in-town/515752/2 "2009-10-30T18:09:46Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > A few summers ago, I decided to find out who had the best chicken pad thai in town. I figured that would be a decent measuring point for how good that particular thai restaurant was. So I had chicken pad thai at a different restaurant every night for a week. All my friends joined me for at least a few meals, and it was a blast. > > They’ve been bugging me for a new food adventure, and I can’t decide what to try to find. It can’t be too expensive, so no lobster or steak. Also, I’d like it to be something that doesn’t have a lot of variation. Pizza comes in too many forms to nail down quickly. I’d also like it to be a fairly standard dish you’d find in a \ restaurant. And not too filling - I will be eating 7 of them in a row! > > So I open it up to the floor. What dish do I need to find the best of in this town? barbecue pulled-pork sandwich ---
**Author:** ![Ol\_Gaffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Ol\_Gaffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ol_Gaffer)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-blank-in-town/515752/3 "2009-10-30T18:11:59Z")
_Carne asada_ burrito. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-blank-in-town/515752/4 "2009-10-30T18:14:13Z")
How about the best hamburger in town? By that, I mean not fast food restaurant hamburgers, but ones offered at pubs or restaurants. And as for the best pizza, we did something like this when I was on the college newspaper. One night early in the semester, we gathered in someone’s apartment or dorm and ordered a regular cheese pizza from each of the places in town that offered delivery. We sampled all of them and rated them for taste as well as delivery time. Edited to add, that to avoid getting overstuffed, our test involved a few bites of each pizza. So that may be a way to eat the same big dish, like a hamburger or a burrito, multiple times over a week. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-blank-in-town/515752/5 "2009-10-30T18:20:02Z")
Does it matter which town you’re actually in? Pub burgers sounds like a good idea. You could also try deserts like tiramisu or baklava. ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-blank-in-town/515752/6 "2009-10-30T18:29:29Z")
How about breakfast burritos? Kind of tough since it’s a morning thing. I’ve been trying to find a decent one in town since my favorite place closed down about 5 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-blank-in-town/515752/7 "2009-10-30T18:30:16Z")
A local specialty. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-blank-in-town/515752/8 "2009-10-30T18:32:01Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > Does it matter which town you’re actually in? > > Pub burgers sounds like a good idea. You could also try deserts like tiramisu or baklava. Not really. I’m in Indianapolis for those keeping track at home. I was thinking maybe one particular sushi roll that every sushi place would be likely to serve, but complex enough to provide variation across the week. Baklava makes me think that a greek dish would be good. I’m not sure we have 7 of them though… Pulled pork is definitely a good idea. There’s a lot of good ones in the area. ---
**Author:** ![that\_darn\_cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/59ef9b/32.png) [@that\_darn\_cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/that_darn_cat)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-blank-in-town/515752/9 "2009-10-30T18:33:55Z")
Chile Relleno - my benchmark for Mexican. Hot and Sour Soup - ditto for Chinese takeout ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-blank-in-town/515752/10 "2009-10-30T18:55:01Z")
Omelets & home fries = those are hard to get right ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-blank-in-town/515752/11 "2009-10-30T19:19:39Z")
Hoosier Pie? Corn Pudding? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-blank-in-town/515752/12 "2009-10-30T19:26:50Z")
Kung Pao Chicken Cherry Pie á la mode Obviously, not at the same place ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-blank-in-town/515752/13 "2009-10-30T19:27:02Z")
Well, the perfect item in Indiana to do would be pork tenderloin. But there are so many of them, I’m not sure where I’d begin. And I’d like to stay away from bar food. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-blank-in-town/515752/14 "2009-10-30T19:29:06Z")
Cheese steak and/or onion rings. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-blank-in-town/515752/15 "2009-10-30T19:32:36Z")
> [@h.sapiens](#): > > Kung Pao Chicken > Cherry Pie á la mode > > Obviously, not at the same place Why the heck not? I realize it wouldn’t be traditional, but what’s to stop Asian restaurants from offering American/Continental desserts? That would be a great idea! ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-blank-in-town/515752/16 "2009-10-31T04:41:44Z")
Well, my first thought was tenderloins, but you are right that would be hard to narrow down. Based on your criteria I would think Ruben Sandwiches would be good as there are tons of places that have a version, and a lot of variations possible (how much kraut, type of bread, grilled, toasted, basic bread, etc.) But that could just be me and someone else may have trouble eating them every night. Anyway, you can go anywhere from Shapirro’s to Max and Erma’s to get one. Another thought keeping with simple sandwiches is some sort of an Italian Club… many places have a version even though they may call them different things. Various Italian meats and cheeses… maybe peppers, and veggies on likely a sub type of roll… maybe heated, maybe not. Whatever you decide, please share your results since I live in the same place as you… also, care to share who had the best Pad Thai? ---
**Author:** ![Terraplane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@Terraplane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terraplane)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-blank-in-town/515752/17 "2009-10-31T05:43:59Z")
Carne guisada. A Mexican restaurant with good carne guisada is a good Mexican restaurant. ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-blank-in-town/515752/18 "2009-10-31T06:04:43Z")
What about Menudo? It’s an adventurous ethnic food with a type of cult following. ---
**Author:** ![Winkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/41988e/32.png) [@Winkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winkie)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-blank-in-town/515752/19 "2009-10-31T14:14:21Z")
I would vote for a fish and chips comparison - although that is pretty bar food-ish, and the variation in offerings would be high, so I’m not sure it would be a good fit. Baklava or gyros would be interesting to try. There are quite a few greek, or greek-leaning, restaurants in Indy; here are the ones I know of off the top of my head (why yes, I do love greek food 🙂 ). [ul] [li]Santorini - in Fountain Square (my personal favorite)[/li][li]Aesop’s Tables - on Mass Ave[/li][li]Hella’s - on Westfield, just south of 86th[/li][li]Athens on 86th - on 86th by St. Vincent[/li][li]Greek Islands - I haven’t been to this one, but I think it is just south of downtown[/li][/ul] And in the “more mediterranean than greek but should still have the standards” category are the Canal Bistro in Broadripple, and the Mediterranean Grill in Avon (if you still consider that in town). If you are willing to venture slightly out of town, I hear that Zorba’s in Zionsville is quite good as well. ---
**Author:** ![BrandonR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@BrandonR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrandonR)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-blank-in-town/515752/20 "2009-10-31T14:18:07Z")
> [@tr0psn4j](#): > > What about Menudo? It’s an adventurous ethnic food with a type of cult following. Don’t they kick you out once you hit 16 though? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-blank-in-town/515752.md?page=2)