Culinary Mill Market & Deli

As early as the 1880's construction began on the factory building that today make up Coppes Commons in Nappanee, and while there is no longer furniture being made in this factory, it offers plenty of other treasures in it's many shoppes ( Remember Rocket Science Ice Cream? http://albertassessment.blogspot.com/2012/11/rocket-science-ice-cream.html ). One of the shoppes located in the former Coppes factory is Culinary Mill Market & Deli, which is part small town grocery store, part deli, and entirely delicious! We entered the shoppe to find lots of bulk snacks, and moved through the aisles to find locally made pickles, jams, and sauces, cheese from the Guggisburg Cheese Factory, lots of candy, even sugar free, and a gluten free section (including bulk bags of GF flour); I haven't even made a dent in what the market side of Culinary Mill Market & Deli offers, but I can assure you that there is something for everyone. When you find yourself at the deli there is much more to offer than just sliced meat and cheese, between 11am and 2pm, be sure to check out what is being smoked for lunch, we were lucky to find that the lunch specials were pulled pork and spareribs, plus there is a list of sides for a dollar each including chips, macaroni salad, coleslaw, and several other options that go great with barbecue. My Hubby chose the pulled pork sandwich with a side of cole slaw, the sandwich was ample and smothered in barbecue sauce, my husband isn't always the biggest fan of barbecue sauce, but he did like this sandwich and got his money's worth at just over $4.00 for the sandwich.

I am a sucker for ribs and couldn't resist a half rack for just $8.00, the ribs are served dry rubbed, and while the seasoning had a little kick, I still thought they were delicious, and were VERY well smoked...there is just something I love about seeing that beautiful pink ring on smoked meat. Culinary Mill also offer's three different BBQ sauces, I truthfully couldn't pick one favorite because they were all scrumptious and complimented my already delicious ribs nicely.

Not only did we have a delicious lunch at Culinary Mill, but we also picked up one of their take and bake pizzas for our stay at home date night, I couldn't tell you the exact size, but it was huge and well worth the $10.00 we paid for it. We chose the 4 meat pizza, which we were pleasantly surprised to find had real meat on it; actual salty ham, big chunks of bacon, rich pepperoni, and tasty hunks of sausage and lots and lots of cheese. We baked the pizza straight on our oven rack and were incredibly happy with how crisp and tasty the crust came out, truthfully my only complaint about this pizza is that it was so chocked full of toppings that it became a little rich, which ultimately meant I could only eat one slice, so I suppose in the end that turns out to be a plus (at least for my waist line, anyway!). So next time your family is begging for pizza, head to the cooler at Culinary meal, because you won't find a better deal on delicious pizza, with gobs of real toppings anywhere else.

Culinary Meal Market & Deli might be a small shoppe, but they have a lot to offer so do what we did, browse for groceries, sit down for a hot lunch of delicious barbecue, take home a pizza for dinner, and embrace the pace of Nappanee.

Rocket Science Ice Cream

With traditional places like Dairy Queen, local places like Flavor Freeze, handmade places like The Chief, and buffet's like Honey's  it's easy to think that we have seen it all on the ice cream front, but today I had an experience that disproved that notion. Rocket Science Ice Cream in Coppes Commons in Nappanee, is serving up a unique ice cream experience that you can only find a handful of places in the U.S.; Steve Helmuth is serving up delicious ice cream that is flash frozen using liquid nitrogen, an idea born from hearing about the use of this super cooled element in science classes.

He starts with an ice cream base and adds syrups, fruit, nuts, candy, and other goodies; you can choose one of the special recipes like Almond Joy, Key Lime Pie, or Peanut Butter Bash or you can dream up your own creation with their extensive list of ingredients. The list consists of 16 syrups including caramel, hazelnut, maple, and orange;  a dozen fruits and nuts like almonds, raspberries, peaches, and pecans; and lots of candy and sweets such as cheesecake, gummy worms, peanut butter, cookie dough, and M&M's. After your ingredients are all mixed up they go through the magic of the liquid nitrogen that turns them into a smooth, frozen treat.

Very few people get the opportunity to try ice cream frozen by liquid nitrogen, but if you are reading this in the Michiana area, you can have this unique experience! A late morning excursion to Nappanee has reiterated the importance of exploring your community, because you might just get lucky enough to find an out of this world experience like Rocket Science Ice Cream!

The Tamale Place

A few years ago my husband and I found ourselves amongst a group of friends who was anxiously awaiting a hot batch of homemade tamales that a neighbor was making, it was an all day process, but by evening time we were sampling the tasty morsels, and we have been hooked ever since! Since that fateful day we searched for a restaurant version to rival these, and while nothing will ever beat homemade we have landed on a local joint in Indy that has become our favorite, and we never drive past the city without a stop at The Tamale Place. It is true that Goshen and Elkhart do have several Mexican restaurants with good tamales, but none can rival the variety and uniqueness of The Tamale Place. The owners Angela and Vladimir met while Angela was backpacking in Mexico in 1999 and  in 2003 along with Angela's mom they opened a tortilla business in Indianapolis, that was not as popular as anticipated, but when locals began asking about good tamales, Vladimir called his Mexican family for recipes, and while Angela loved cooking and had lots of experience, she had never rolled a tamale, which luckily for their customers means half-pound tamales! Though The Tamale Place is home to the half-pound tamale, my personal favorite is the $0.99 cigar sized Cuban stuffed with chorizo, shredded pork, and corn; but I also love the beef with red sauce, which is their most popular tamale, as well as the pork with green sauce. My husband is also a big fan of the poblano with cheese, which he loosely likens to one of his childhood favorites, the chili relleno. The tamales are $3.25 a piece or $38.00 for a dozen and trust me after the first one, you might just find yourself buying the entire dozen! The tamales don't stop at the main dish, The Tamale Place is also serving up delicious dessert tamales, including my favorite apple with pecans that is like eating apple pie in a corn husk, and the chocolate tamale that is somewhere between a brownie, chocolate cake, and mind blowing! While you will find that The Tamale Place makes a great variety of tamales, they are a labor intensive, handmade dish therefore they do not make all of them everyday; next to the cash register you will find a marker board with the day's choices and a number indicating how many are left, so I suggest getting there early in the day before they run out! If you aren't a fan of tamales, but still love good Mexican food, there IS still something here for you; we also love the tacos, they make their own tortilla's with the same masa they use for the tamales and have several different delicious protein options like my personal favorites carne asada and fish (they also have chicken, pork, beans, and veggies), I like mine the traditional way with cilantro and onions, but my hubby loves the addition of melted cheese. They heat the tortillas on the flat top which melts the cheese into the other toppings, and as my hubby says, makes them similar to a quesadilla. He also has an ongoing love affair with their nachos and has to get a half order any time he is there, and by half order we are talking about at least a pound to a pound and a half of homemade tortilla chips (made from their homemade tortillas), chicken verde, black beans, sour cream, white cheese dip, lettuce, guacamole, and jalapenos. There are many other options to customize your nacho order, but no matter how you top it, you can be sure it will be delicious. I cannot promise to have tried a lot of the Mexican restaurants in Indianapolis, but I have tried a great deal of authentic Mexican food, and this restaurant is a must try, especially if you are a tamale fanatic like we are!

The Golden Monkey Cafe

On the south side of Goshen there is an Asian restaurant that has something different to offer than all of the others around town; The Golden Monkey on Lincolnway is serving up Vietnamese food and proving that not all Asian food is the same. I started out with ordering a water ( I try not to drink my carbs or calories!), but The Golden Monkey has a large variety of bubble teas and bubble tea smoothies to offer. We had an appetizer of egg rolls, we still aren't sure how these tasty morsels ended up at our table, because we didn't order them, or at least not intentionally, but I like to chalk it up to divine intervention. These egg rolls were Delicious, they were smaller than a traditional egg roll, but packed a lot of flavor, the wrapper was thinner than I have ever had which made them incredibly crispy, and the filling was not overstuffed with cabbage, but had a nice balance of carrots, pork, and rice noodles as well. These egg rolls immediately shot to the top of my list and are my new favorites!

As I looked over the menu, the sweet and sour chicken was yelling my name, but I decided that since this was my first time in a Vietnamese restaurant and eating Vietnamese cuisine, I should go with something I hadn't tried before. I chose the Vietnamese sub, that had a wonderful picture of marinated pork with pickled carrots, cucumbers, and mangoes, all topped with cilantro, but was sadly informed that they were out of pickles, a shame, but I wanted to try the sub just the same. My sandwich came out with two different kinds of meat, one of which I knew was pork, the other I wasn't sure about, and mayo, which I have NEVER in my life eaten before and was hesitant about; but I ate it anyway. The sandwich was good, but the sauce on the pork was very sweet and could have used the pickles to cut through it. While I was in the bathroom my husband asked our waitress what the second kind of meat was on my sandwich, and it was bologna, fried bologna, something else I have NEVER eaten in my life, so this sandwich was a new experience for me in many, many ways, and it was a good one! I will warn, though, that this sandwich has an unreal amount of garlic, as in I am still tasting it and my mom could smell it on me when we picked up our little man three hours later. And yes, those are more egg rolls on my plate, I got them instead of fries!

I was a little disappointed that my husband ordered a burger, the Unique Burger to be exact, but it had cheese and jalapenos and that is all he needed to know. He said the burger was good, but a little spicy, which means something coming from him. He got french fries on the side of his sandwich which he was delighted to find were hand cut and seasoned with something more than regular salt (I'm thinking Lawry's). With hot tea, egg rolls, two sandwich combos (one with fries and one with egg rolls), and a tip our bill was still under $25, so definitely affordable. If you have some family members who are hesitant to try Vietnamese food, or anything new, you will be delighted to find that The Golden Monkey has many American options and also serves breakfast. My hubby also found out from our waitress that they are working towards changing into more of an Asian fusion restaurant, so there are definitely exciting things to come from this already delicious restaurant.

Mad Anthony Brewing Company

Perhaps most Elkhart eaters weren't as fond of Mad Anthony Brew House as my husband and I were, but we were bummed when they shut down the Main Street location here in town, sure we aren't beer drinkers, but their food was always delicious! Fortunately for me the Warsaw location is pretty much halfway between myself and a dear friend, so I get my fix several times a year, because they happen to have some great Gluten Free choices for her (they aren't outlined specifically in the menu, but they do have some options). This visit I was good and did not start dinner with an appetizer, but two of the apps I have had in the past and have loved are the brewery basket and the Bavarian pretzels. The brewery basket is deep fried heaven including pickles, zucchini, portabella mushrooms, and breaded ravioli. Frankly it is hard to screw up fried food, but I still recommend this appetizer as it has some pretty unique deep fried treats, and come on, you have to be getting some sort of nutrients from the zucchini and mushrooms, right? And as for the Bavarian pretzels, well, they don't taste like the pretzels in Germany, but they are still a delicious way to start your meal when dipped in Mad Anthony's pale ale mustard. I can assure you that once you get past the many appetizers on the menu at Mad Anthony's, you might feel pretty overwhelmed by the sheer number of entrees that they offer, so I hope that my suggestions can in some way narrow down your choices and make your dining experience a little easier. The first thing that I ever tried at Mad Anthony's was an unwrap, which is basically pizza on a wafer thin, crispy crust, if you are a lover of thin crust pizza there about a dozen different topping options for you including Greek, Jambalaya, Margherita, and a traditional sausage and pepperoni. Another favorite dish of mine, that I actually tend to crave is the Korean BBQ plate; it is basically a build your own lettuce wrap plate that includes romaine hearts, Bulgogi (Korean BBQ beef), cilantro rice, and several condiments such as fresh garlic, roasted jalapenos, and a delicious pear dipping sauce. This visit, as much as I wanted the Korean BBQ, I have also been dying to try the pizza at Mad Anthony Brew House, and I was NOT disappointed!! I tend to be pretty snobby when it comes to pizza, the crust has to wow me because I am a love of good bread, the sauce has to be well seasoned, and the toppings have to be quality and delicious, and did this pizza ever deliver! The crust was awesome, nice and crispy on the outside, chewy in the middle, the sausage and pepperoni were delicious (although I suspect my husband would complain that the toppings were too salty), and the sauce and cheese were perfect. All I have to say is that it is a good thing that this pizza is an hour away, because if it were any closer my checking account would be substantially smaller, and my waistline vastly larger, because it is very high up on my list of pies that I love!

If you find yourself in the lake town of Warsaw and are a lover of locally brewed beer, or maybe just want a menu that gives you options from every corner of this country, from the cajun fair of the bayou to the sophisticated cuisine of the West Coast, stop in to Mad Anthony Brew House on Center Street, right in the heart of downtown.

Constant Spring

As a general rule we are not bar people, neither of us cares for alcohol, so we don't really see the point, unless of course that bar serves all locally grown and purchased produce, cheese, meat, and desserts; then the bar isn't just a bar, it's a link to the community and a means of supporting it. While, I did feel a little funny going into a bar and just getting a water, I have heard enough good things about the food that I was excited to be there! The menu had MANY great choices that I mulled over; a Pad Thai Salad, Pesto Burger, Fish Sandwich, but what I ultimately decided on were a pound of naked chicken wings for $7.00 with Tangy Carolina BBQ Sauce on the side for dipping; you can also have them tossed in Frank's Red Hot sauce, or get any of their sauces for dipping. I am not a huge lover of wings, however, when our local Buffalo Wild Wings closed down for renovations, it about drove me crazy to hear everyone so upset about not having anyplace to go for wings, and to hear their elation at it's reopening, so I decided that I wanted, make that needed, to find good local places for wings, and so my search began at Constant Spring. The first thing that you will think when you see these wings is that they are small, but what that means to me is that these chickens have not been pumped full of growth hormones, since they are from a local supplier with a great reputation (Miller Country Poultry) you can rest assured that you are getting wholesome chicken. Even though the wings are small, you are paying by the pound not the wing, so you are definitely getting your moneys worth, I had 12 wings in my one pound order. The wings weren't breaded or battered, but had an awesome crispy skin and the meat was moist and juicy; and as for the "Tangy Carolina Sauce" it was delicious and lived up to it's name, I was pleased to find that it wasn't spicy, but also wasn't sweet, it definitely was a nice, tangy sauce. Every Wednesday, Constant Spring offers an "Oval Plate Special," for $12.00, which features ethnic and international food, and this week the special was Ethiopian food which my husband didn't even have to think for a second about ordering. His meal included an Ethiopian beef stew over a flat bread called injera, alongside a root vegetable curry, what a unique meal to get to experience in such a small town! So next time you have a hankering for wings, or you want to take your bar experience to the next level, or you just want some delicious food head to Constant Spring on Main Street in downtown Goshen; where a bar isn't just a bar, it is a means of stimulating your local economy.


 

Siam Thai

Admittedly, we haven't spent much time in downtown South Bend, and after spending date night there, I am asking myself "why?" The area has really been built up and from the looks of it, has many delicious restaurants to offer, one of those restaurants has been around for 17 years, Siam Thai on Main Street. My hubby found a Living Social deal offering $20 worth of food for $10, and fortunately he snatched this one up, we had never tried Thai food before, but were anxious for this new experience. The minute we walked in the door the owner (or the man we suspect was the owner) hailed us to a table, and was practically giddy to tell us about the special offerings they had including several appetizers, fusion dishes, desserts, and a tea of the month. Normally I am a water drinker, but the tea of the month was hot apple cider tea and with fall in the air I couldn't resist, it was more aromatic than flavorful, but it was a nice warm up. I had barely laid eyes on the appetizer section of the menu when "Thai Mushrooms" jumped off the page at me; mushrooms stuffed with marinated ground pork, tempura battered, fried, and served with Thai sweet and sour sauce, they were delicious and might make it near impossible to ever eat traditional fried mushrooms again.

Our waitress was very helpful in pointing us in the direction of very traditional, must try Thai dishes and my hubby was smart to take her suggestion to try the Pad Thai, it was delicious! He received a heaping plate full of stir fried rice noodles with shrimp, tofu, eggs, bean sprouts, onions, covered in peanuts and cilantro. The dish came with something like 10 tiger prawns so of course I took it upon myself to try one, the shrimp was cooked perfectly and the sauce was delicious, pair that with the crunch of the peanuts and I could have eaten a whole plate of just the shrimp! Despite the fact that this dish had tofu and onions, my husband loved it, and the heaping portion was just around $11.

  

I was very indecisive when it came to my dinner, they put stars next to the dishes to indicate heat and since I am a wimp when it comes to spicy food, I narrowed down my choices to the items with no stars. I chose one of the specials that the owner had told us about Neau Nam Man Hoi, which was thinly sliced beef with green onions, mushrooms, and broccoli in a wine sauce served with a side of Jasmine rice. Many times when you get thinly sliced beef it can be tough and hard to chew, but this was tender and easy to eat, not to mention the sauce was delicious. The dish cost around $12, but was delicious and a large enough portion to be worth the cost.

On top of delicious, well cooked food, the staff at Siam Thai were incredibly friendly and helpful, in fact we chatted with the owner for a bit who told us to let him know when we come back so he can suggest other dishes to us and give us a good taste of the menu. I am happy to report that our first experience of Thai cuisine will most certainly not be our last!