Terry's Pizza & Sub

When you think of dining in Amish country, visions of chicken, potatoes, noodles, and pie often dance in your head, but what if I told you that Middlebury has some of the best subs and hot sandwiches in the area? Surprised? So was I! If you head North on State road 13 from US 20, before you hit the vast expanse of corn fields, you will see a worn down sign that says Terry's Pizza & Subs, don't let that sign fool you, because the food will not let you down! The building is humble and very clean, and as I looked around I saw the customers were mostly business, which gave me a hint as to the quality of food (admit it, business men will rarely pay for crappy food!). The choices of subs is immense, and trust me when I say there is a little something for everyone, because if you aren't into sandwiches there are pizzas, including Chicago deep dish, as well as salads. I truly wish I could give you some examples of the subs on the menu, but I literally ordered the first one I saw, which happened to be a French dip...my new favorite hot sandwich, but I will say that there were two columns worth of sandwich choices. I won't say that my sandwich was piled high with roast beef, but there was enough there to satisfy, and the fact that my sub was served on homemade bread...well, all I can say to that is, wow! The combination of hot roast beef and crusty homemade bread dipped in salty, warm au jus was an experience my tongue won't soon forget! As I looked across the table at my hubby's plate, I saw a foot's worth of the same crusty, homemade bread piled with roast beef, ham, turkey, tomato, lettuce and mayo, and as he got halfway through his sub I heard him utter "I would love to dig into the rest of it, but I'm just too full!" Did I mention, we also had an order of crusty, garlicky, buttery bread sticks? Yes, I know, carbs and carbs, but hey, they were delicious! The whole family will agree! So next time you find yourself in the land of horse and buggies, forget the chicken and pie, and head North of town for a delicious, hot sub on delicious homemade bread!


 

BIG & little's

If you happen to be in Chicago, driving down North Orleans Avenue and you notice a yellow awning that says "BIG & little's," you should stop; the building may not look like much, but the food will blow you away! As you walk in and see the picnic tables lined end to end, you may think you have walked into a BBQ joint, but as you read the chalkboard menu, I can assure you, you WILL be surprised. They claim to serve fast food, but don't let that fool you, with a menu that includes Mahi Mahi tacos, soft shell crab po' boys, poutine, and foie gras over fries, they are anything but your average fast food restaurant. With the wonderful variety and unique nature of their menu, it can be tough to choose just one dish, so allow us to offer a few suggestions to make your dining experience a bit easier. I, personally, am a sucker for fish and chips, and am always looking for an order that will blow the rest away, well, BIG & little's fish and chips has done just that! You may shake your head at $15 for fish and chips, but I can promise it will be well worth the price, you will get an entire filet of cod atop a bed of twice fried French fries that will easily feed you and two of your closest friends. And now a word from my culinary comrade;

One of the many things that Big & Little's is popular for is Po' Boys, so pretty much any Po' Boy you order is going to be amazing; I decided to go to the sea shore, and try a fried oyster po' boy. The Oysters were perfectly battered, crisp, and wonderfully cooked. Afterwords my tongue was screaming for more, we only eat here a couple times a year so why not? As I perused the menu again, I saw a tuna Poke taco that piqued my interest, I asked the guy at the counter about this and he explained it as a Sushi grade tuna that is poached in buttermilk and then seasoned very lightly with salt and pepper. When this came out the shell was crunchy like a potato chip and it was filled to the top with the tuna, and boy was it wonderful. It was creamy and light tasting, definitely something that I would order again!

 Fish not your thing? More of a turf lover, than surf? Then allow us to recommend the pork belly po' boy. If you know anything about pigs, then you know the belly is where the bacon comes from, so imagine if you will, cubes of marbled meaty goodness, deep fried, topped with a maple sauce, and overflowing from a crusty roll...your taste buds won't know what hit them. We won't promise that the food at BIG & little's will be friendly to your arteries, heart, or waist line, but we can promise that your belly and taste buds will fall in love!

 

Ricky's Taqueria

I often ask why places like Hacienda and Taco Bell are so popular when this area has great, authentic Mexican restaurants like Ricky's Taqueria. Ricky's is a small building in Elkhart located on Prairie Street (County Road 9), between Hively Avenue and Mishawaka Road, and is just close enough to my house to get me into trouble! They only have about three tables and a handful of counter seats inside, but for this warm weather, they have ample outdoor seating. Our lunch started with a basket of chips and some not too spicy, definitely not bland, delicious salsa. My hubby had the huge, jam packed torta with pastor (pork) for $4.99 sans onions, and while it was hard to eat, he reports that it was good, and since I tried his pastor, I have to agree, it was good! At $1.50 each, I ordered three tacos, one with asada (steak), one with chorizo (sausage), and one with barbacoa (shredded beef); the asada and chorizo tasted fantastic, and while the barbacoa had a great flavor, it was too spicy for my taste. I was disappointed to find they were out of pork tamales, but I guess that just gives me an excuse to go back so I can try them. We washed our lunch down with a couple of bottles of international coke, which blows the American stuff out of the water, and agreed we had found our new Mexican restaurant (we love Los Primo's in Goshen, but it just isn't as close). So next time you are craving a taco, pass by taco bell, and drive straight to Ricky's Taqueria, you won't be sorry! Oh, did I mention they were voted best burrito in the area?