Miles Lab (The Burger Bar at Bull Dog Crossing)

The moment you walk into the door of Miles Lab on East Jackson Street in Elkhart, it is evident that the establishment is rich with history; from the name to the pictures on the wall, this restaurant is an homage to the owner's great great grandfather, Dr. Franklin Miles, founder of Miles Laboratories, the predecessor of Bayer.  Not only are the name and the walls full of history, but the bar itself was a speakeasy during prohibition, and served WWII vets on many a Friday night after the war.

The original Miles Lab in downtown Elkhart, IN

I have to admit that I have been to Mile's Lab, several times before today, but wanted a fresh experience before I blogged, and this visit did not disappoint...which is a relief, because this time we invited friends! We started our meal with the chips and beer cheese appetizer because it was easy to share at the table and because I LOVE hand cut potato chips; the chips were delicious, crispy, and salty, and from what my hubby reports the beer cheese was good, but not really his thing.

Hand cut potato chips & beer cheese

While I have tried many delicious items at Mile's Lab, for instance the ever Hoosier loved favorite, the tenderloin sandwich is to die for, I decided to go for something I hadn't tried, the fish and chips, well, my friend Robert had the fish and chips, I had the fish and onion rings!

Fish & Chips

I had every intention of getting my beer battered cod with a traditional side of hand cut "chips," but when my waitress gave me the option of onion rings I was powerless to resist, and rightfully so, these giant onion rings are hand battered, perfectly crispy, and dusted with just enough coarse sea salt to compliment the sweetness of the onions, they truthfully are some of my favorite. The fish came out as two large filets that made Robert and I both say "dang!" the beer batter on them was thick, crisp, and delicious, and from the talk around the table I hear the cole slaw was delicious as well.

Beer battered cod & onion rings

While "The Lab" serves a unique burger that uses grilled cheese sandwiches in place of buns, my husband forewent this veritable heart attack on a plate (which he has tried and thinks is great) for the blackjack burger that starts with a fresh hand pattied burger and gets topped with one of their delicious onion rings, jalapenos, spicy mayo, the hubby's favorite, pepper jack cheese, and if these delicious unique toppings aren't enough Mile's Lab kicks their burgers up a notch by serving them on a ciabatta bun, instead of a traditional bun. And as if this wasn't all tasty enough, he got hand cut fries on the side (trust me, they were good, I stole one!).

Black Jack Burger & Hand cut fries

Our friend Andrea tried a dish that is traditionally a salad, but was turned into a sandwich, the caprese. Just imagine, a chicken breast topped with a tomato, covered in melted mozzarella,  smothered in house made pesto on a ciabatta bun, and if you are a vegetarian, you can even get this sandwich sans chicken breast. She was also pleasantly surprised to find that one of the side options was sweet potato fries.

Caprese & Sweet potato fries

Personally I ran out of room before I ran out of food, but I was bound and determined to try a slice of house made cheesecake, because the pictures on Facebook always look so scrumptious, so I took home a slice of chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake and wow!! Talk about cheesecake perfection, from the delicious, crispy crust, to the creamy filling chock full of cookie dough, to the sweet chocolate ganache on top this cheesecake was out of bounds. If you're not one to save room for dessert, you should at Miles lab, or at least take some home, you won't be sorry. If it is your thing Mile's Lab also has 18 beers on tap, and from our experience, always has a full bar, regardless of the traffic in the dining room. From the history buff to the food lover, Miles Lab truly has a little something for everyone; from burgers, to wings, to giant steaks, handmade sides, and delicious desserts you will not be disappointed.

ModMex Part II

There is no doubt the nation loves Chipotle, Q'Doba, and Moe's; there is something about walking down the line choosing various fillings for a one pound burrito that people can't resist. Although, maybe you are the kind of person who prefers to eat local or isn't within close proximity to one of these chains (say Elkhart or Goshen area), there is a solution for you, and that solution is ModMex on  Toledo road in Elkhart. Now, I have already touted the delicious food that ModMex serves for dinner (http://albertassessment.blogspot.com/2012/08/mod-mex.html?m=0), but for lunch they're doing something completely different! Behind the counter you will notice a sign with your choices; start by choosing whether you want a burrito, taco, chimichanga, or a shell-less burrito, I chose the shell-less burrito, but a gentleman at a nearby table ordered a burrito and it was at least the size of the Chipotle burritos, if not a little larger. Next you choose steak, chicken, veggies, or carnitas, then you top it with your choice of pinto or black beans, cilantro lime rice, pico, guac, peppers & onions, corn salsa, lettuce, cheese, and sour cream, and finish up with one of their salsas, iwhich includes mild green, spicy red, and honey chipotle. You can also order a side of their delicious chips and fresh guacamole for $3. This lunch was delicious, with fresh, quality ingredients, and was a fantastic deal at right around $6, so on your next lunch break or afternoon off (lunch is served Monday-Friday 11-2) be sure to treat yourself to the delicious choices of ModMex!

Rolling Scones

Every once in a while I do something stupid, something that sabotages any control over my blood sugar, and throws a wrench in my weight loss goals, this something stupid actually turned out to be some wonderful and that something wonderful is the scones at Rolling Scones in the lower level of The Old Bag Factory on Chicago Avenue in Goshen. I am a sucker for a good pastry, which admittedly can be tough to find in the states, but Rolling Scones has hit the nail right on the head with their delicious crumbly scones chock full of real and delicious ingredients.

I bought a box of nine scones to share with my colleagues, as work has just been downright overwhelming lately, but I selfishly hid the only cinnamon scone in my car to eat for breakfast on my drive home in the morning. After a few hours of running nonstop I decided a quick scone break was well overdue, so I sunk my teeth into a tasty morsel chock full of dark and while chocolate and I was in pastry heaven, I truthfully felt I had just met the greatest scone of my life...and then I met the berry white. Now so I don't sound like a complete pig, when I got in the car to drive home my cinnamon scone was frozen, so I had no choice, but to eat one of the leftovers that the gals from work didn't eat, and when my tongue met those tart raspberries in that sweet, crumbly pastry it was love at first bite. When I woke up in the afternoon with an empty stomach you better believe I ate that cinnamon scone...well half of it anyway, and while it didn't top the berry white it is still at the top of my favorite scones list.

Now maybe scones aren't your thing, maybe you prefer omelets made with free range eggs, or smoothies made without syrup, just real ingredients, or authentic Puerto Rican food or perhaps you have a special diet, and need a gluten free treat or a vegan lunch, Rolling Scones definitely has something to offer everyone, and they are doing it with real, quality ingredients, because if you are going to eat all of those extra calories, they might as well be good quality calories, right?

Fiddler's Hearth Public House

Occasionally you find yourself in a restaurant that is more than just a meal, it is an experience; with the worn tables, old church pews, and mismatched chairs, Fiddler's Hearth in downtown South Bend is just that, an experience. The roaring fire, invitation to sit with and meet strangers, and family crests on the wall will have you feeling like you have stepped across the ocean and in to a Celtic pub. We chose a corner booth so as to box in our toddler, skipped the extensive beer list, and ordered the pub pretzels with Welsh rarebit cheese sauce to hold us over until we ordered lunch, and for $6 they did the trick. The pretzels were pretty non traditional, no folded shape, deep brown crust, or giant pieces of rock salt, just simple, homemade, golden sticks that were lightly salted and delicious; my hubby reports that the cheese was "a little different," but he dipped every bite of his two pretzel sticks in it, so I don't think that different was a bad thing, plus he loves cheese. Not only is my hubby a sucker for cheese, he is also a sucker for fresh seafood, so it didn't take him long to settle on the Molly Malone stew, a tomato and white wine broth for $12 that was chock full of large shrimp, scallops, muscles, cod, crab, clams, mushrooms, and barley, served with a crusty slab of bread that had a hint of what we suspected was ginger. He described the broth as light, was amazed at the amount of seafood that filled his large bowl, and scowled when I suggested he share a bite with the little man...I can only assume that meant is was too good to even give up one bite.

I merely had to look at the menu to confirm they had fish and chips before I ordered, because let's face it, it's a Celtic pub, how could they not? I chose the three piece order for $8 so as not to make a glutton of myself, but frankly I would have eaten the fourth piece if I had ordered the larger size. I was a little bit giddy when they brought my lunch out wrapped in a local newspaper instead of on a plate.

I opened my paper to find three ample pieces of golden fried cod and a mess of hand cut chips (French fries on this continent), they were on the greasy side, but I suspect that has to do with being put straight into the brown paper and then newspaper. The fish was cooked perfectly, crispy on the outside, moist on the inside, not to mention cod is a fantastic fish to fry because it flakes into these big chunky pieces, that make it feel all the more hearty. The chips, like any hand cut potato were delicious, that is the great thing about fries you don't have to do much except cut, fry, salt, and eat.

While my hubby finished his stew, the little man and I went for a walk (after about 15 minutes of sitting he gets restless), checked out the pictures of Irish writers and Scotsmen in kilts throwing poles, and were pleased to discover a fantastic family friendly corner stacked to the brim with kids toys, board games, and books. The only regret about our visit was that we weren't there when they had live Celtic music, otherwise we were completely pleased with Fiddler's Hearth from the delicious food to the family friendly environment.