How do we celebrate Mardi Gras at Papa Roux? Let us count the ways….
** Happening from 5pm – 9pm on Fat Tuesday, Feb 21, at Indianapolis City Market… **
FREE PARKING – FREE PARKING – FREE PARKING
** UPDATE **
Live Music, Music, and MORE MUSIC!
We’ll have not one, but TWO live bands on Tuesday! A Zydeco band at lunch (Mojo Gumbo), and a Jazz band at dinner! Holla music lovers!
1) For the first time ever, true table service at Papa Roux City Market.
A brand new dish, reminiscent of a long-time crowd pleaser. Wee Mac Crawfish Sausage Etouffee Cajun Pasta Bowl. A huge heaping glass bowl of creamy Cajun Pasta with all the right Cajun Veggies plus gourmet Vaucresson Crawfish-stuffed Sausage finished in Sun King Wee Mac Scottish Ale. Sure to be a HUGE hit, and complete with table service right to you upstairs on the mezzanine. BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE! We’ll pair the dish directly with a local craft beer, as suggested by the palate of our professional pubtenders at the Tomlinson Tap Room. Huzzah!
2) Authentic New Orleans Hurricanes!
Yep, the traditional New Orleans drink will be available straight from the Tomlinson Tap Room. And that’s not even the best part! The best part is that they will be made with all natural, all freshly-pressed fruit juices from our friends at The Natural Born Juicers! It’s a New Orleans drink. It’s a health drink. No, wait, you’re both right. It’s two, two, two drinks in one! Enjoy yourself AND enjoy the natural benefits of freshly-pressed, vitamin-rich, fiber-rich, and nutrient-rich juice!
3) SHOW YOUR ***** FOR MARDI GRAS BEADS (and to help fight BREAST CANCER!)
Oh you read it right. You can show us your ***** and support a great cause at the same time. You know… “I ♥ BOOBIES” and all that stuff. For realz.
4) Flat12 Oyster-infused locally-crafted beer.
Don’t knock it. Word on the street is this stuff is MONEY. Flat12 brings it by after their afternoon tapping, and you can enjoy it at the Tap Room for the evening.
5) Beignets
No kidding. Circle City Sweets will reopen for a spell in the evening, just to cook you up some fabulous French Beignets! And as if that’s not enough…
6) Cafe au Lait
Yep. BJava Coffee will be right thurr alongside Circle City Sweets with fresh presses of rich and wonderful Cafe au Lait. AND…
7) Bananas Foster v 2.0!
Our Frenchie friends at 3 Days In Paris will be crafting a unique special for the evening: a Bananas Foster-inspired Crepe! Papa’s tried it. It’s yummy. And delicious. And yummy.
AND DON’T FORGET THE FUN AND PRIZES OF A HUGE COSTUME PARTY AND CONTEST!
Over $500 worth of prizes will be given away at this year’s Mardi Gras Costume Party and Contest. Some of the prizes involve New Orleans Dixie Beer and local Growler fills. But some are even better. I know, right!
9) King Cakes
Circle City Sweets will have King Cakes available over-the-counter on Fat Tuesday. They may even have some left by evening, who knows?
10) Other Cajun Bean Offerings and More!
Our friends at U-Relish Farms will have a unique and probably very attractive thing for you… a Cajun Bean Crock Pot package you can do at home!
And of course, Papa Roux will have the entire menu available besides, as will the Tomlinson Tap Room. And probably other vendors as well. Let’s do it up right for Mardi Gras, and let’s continue with this great city’s momentum in the drive to bring this wonderful City Market back to nightLIFE!
And before you think this is the end… oh heavens no. It’s only the beginning. I could tell you what we have planned for the rest of this coming week, and for Saturday… but you wouldn’t believe me. It’s best if I keep that secret until at least Ash Wednesday. 
Cheers,
Papa
Link to the related Facebook event:
http://www.facebook.com/events/270689849665843/
Directions to FREE PARKING (from Eastside)
- Take I-70 to Ohio Street exit (use middle ramp of three-way split at I-70/I-65)
- Take Ohio Street westbound to Alabama, turn right.
- Take Alabama southbound toward Market. Be in left lane. FREE PARKING is immediately before Market Street, and immediately opposite YMCA Bike Hub.
You may have heard. FIVE HUNDRED BUCKS worth of prizes could be yours.
We’re havin’ us a Mardi Gras Costume Party And Contest, and there’s some really cool and valuable prizes for the winners. But the costumes don’t have to be complicated! Anyone can do this! It could be as simple as putting on a big afro and some groovy clothes from the Goodwill. The grand prize goes to the best costume, and you never know just what the competition will do. They might make it EASY. Previous winners included a guy dressed as Towlie from Southpark. A big blue towel and some bloodshot eyes, and you’re rollin’ in prizes. Not so bad.
The party is a “come when you want” thing, after 5pm on Fat Tuesday at City Market, while we enjoy fresh Hurricanes and awesome New Orleans specials. But the contest itself starts being judged at 7pm, and by 8:30pm, somebody is crowned winner. And yes, the grand prize is truly worth $500. And it could belong to you!
We have a fantastic panel of judges that will be looking for creativity and originality. It’s really not about “how good are you with the makeup”, it’s more about being unique and surprising.
Over $500 worth of prizes for the winners!
Need to know more about Fat Tuesday at City Market?
You heard me. It’s Mardi Gras. Show us your YELPS!
Folks, let’s face it. Everybody knows what goes on down in New Orleans at this time of year. And we’re going to hear comments about it all night anyway, so why not do something useful AND legal with it?
The truth is, not everybody brushes this off as completely lighthearted and silly and immature. Papa doesn’t. You know what can make this no laughing matter? Breast cancer. With that in mind, Papa and Yelp Indy have teamed up to have a tongue-in-cheek fundraiser for breast cancer research. It’s called SHOW YOUR YELPS!
Yelp Indy has a huge set of… I mean stock of… YELP BALLOONS. And for a small voluntary donation of any amount, you can grab a pair (OF YELP BALLOONS) and do what you like with them. Show them off. Proudly. Be creative. And we’ll be sure to throw you the good beads!
And at the end of the evening, 100% of the collections will be donated to a local organization to fund breast cancer research. Huzzah! Let’s see some YELPS out there, and do some good while we have some FUN!
UR DOIN IT WRONG!
Wanna know more about Fat Tuesday at City Market?
You’ve probably heard: we’re having a Mardi Gras Costume Party / Contest!
So how do we propose we’ll figure out who wins? Easy. We have only the best judges available. Let’s meet them!
Name: Amanda Bailey
Profession: Freelance Costume Designer
Qualifications: She’s a Freelance Costume Designer! Think “musical stageplay”. Cats and Mamma Mia and stuff.
In Her Own Words:
“From Mascots to Masters of the Stage, Amanda has designed costumes for them all. She believes all you need for a great costume is imagination and probably some Duct Tape.”
Name: Catherine Castillo
Profession: Criminal Justice Student
Qualifications: As a New Orleans area native, Catherine’s seen and participated in more than her share of Mardi Gras Costume Parties!
In Her Own Words:
“Ask anyone who knows me… I’ve trained my eyes better than anything you can imagine. You might fake a N’awlins accent and I’ll never know, but if you can’t dress the part, you won’t sneak past these finely honed eyes!”
Name: Chad Heck
Profession: Librarian
Qualities: Look at him. He’s FABULOUS!
In His Own Words:
“Myers-Briggs says that Chad is an INTJ and that J means judge. He doesn’t have gay superpowers of fashion and over-the-top-ness, but he’s still a full two-snaps of fun and FAAAABULOUS!”
Our three judges will be looking for… well… for whatever they think makes a good costume, I suppose. Creativity. Originality. Element of surprise. In any event, they’re sure to have some great things to see and to say, and so will you! And when they’re done, somebody gets some fabulous prizes!
Wanna know more about Fat Tuesday At City Market?
Well… yeah, of course! Isn’t that what you need when life gives you lemons?
Lemons we got. Lemonade we made… and what a sweet lemonade it is!
Yes, life can get very lemony out here on the east side. Ask just about any small business owner. Roads are torn up and left that way. Entire areas are neglected for development without rhyme or reason. Over the past few years, we’ve seen friends and neighboring businesses fall on very hard times due to questionable development practices. A few eastside landmarks, especially on East Washington Street, have closed forever due at least partly to these pressures (granted, this phenomenon may be more city-wide than we realize, but our lives tend to be very microcosmed lately, so it’s difficult to judge).
You may recall that, long before the lemony zest really sunk in, Papa Roux set sights on an expanded dining room. Merts’ Sporting Goods, a veritable eastside icon, graciously relocated across the parking lot, simply as a favor to us, so that we could repurpose that unit and expand our seating capacity. It sounded like such a good plan, too! We’d finally get the handicapped-accessible dining room we’ve always wanted (but had no room for), and we’d have a chance to build an entire dining area in peace and at our own pace, while still being open for business on the opposite side of the wall. You wonderful people, our generous and faithful customers, even pulled together to sponsor various components — from ceiling fans to drywall to conduit — in eager anticipation of a new and comfortable Roux experience. What could possibly go wrong?
Lemons, apparently. Lemon shrubs began to pop up everywhere. Eastside lemons.
The initial buildout process, in July of 2010, went very smoothly: HVAC permit, HVAC installation, Electrical permit and installation, without a hitch.
And then… lemons.
At first, the main structural permit was simply going to be an administrative hassle — nothing to worry about, just papers to be filed and application fees to be paid. No worries! We did those things, called a halt on all activites, and awaited further instructions.
The further instructions, when they finally arrived, were a ten-month, eight-iteration, $30,000 slap in the area-that-isn’t-the-face. The initial rejection was, I believe, to see if we’d just walk away from it. We didn’t. We called in the professionals. These guys build multi-million-dollar hospitals for a living, so we figured a 1100-square-foot dining room should be a piece of cake!
Lemon cake, perhaps. By the end of the procress (which was only this past March!), our architects were scratching their heads at the repeated and inexplicable denials and demands. What began with “the handicapped parking area must be repainted to meet 2010 standards” had escalated to “the concrete floor must be cut and removed, and the in-ground plumbing relocated six inches to the east, in order for the required 60 inches of clearance between the toilet stall and the nearest appliance required for ADA-compliance in the restroom.” That, plus relocation of exterior doors in a concrete block structure, and the complete remodel of the existing restroom as well (yet again concrete and in-ground plumbing relocation), because it also is out of ADA compliance. Oh, and, because of the “new scope of the structural permit”, what was originally a simple city ordinance had now escalated to involve the State of Indiana and the Department of Homeland Security.
We simply wanted to put a few extra seats in an empty room, and offer Karen a comfortable wheelchair-accessible restroom.
But we obviously can’t afford $30,000 in improvements to a rental property, and the landlord, great though he may be, isn’t footing that sort of bill.
So. Lemons. We got lots and lots of lemons. It’s time for a really good lemonade recipe.
_____________________________________________
Indianapolis City Market Lemonade
Prep Time: 6 weeks
Assembly Time: 4 weeks
Difficulty: Moderate
Serves: Hundreds daily
Ingredients:
- Two fanatic, near-cult-status customers
- Mayor Greg Ballard’s Diversity Initiative
- City Market
- Originality
- Creativity
- Marketing experience
- Public Relations experience
- Thousands of Loyal and Dedicated Fans
- Highly Demanded Products
- Regularly Overflowing Existing Facilities
- 1100 Square Feet of Repurposed but Otherwise Unusable Space
Directions:
Start with two fanatic customers in contact with the organizers of the Mayor’s Diversity Initiative Appreciation Ceremony at City Market. Add a strong recommendation by these customers to feature Papa Roux at the Appreciation Ceremony as an on-site Personality, demonstrating Cajun Cooking Techniques and Recipes for guests. Add liberal doses of Originality and Creativity, and mix well with years of Marketing and Public Relations experience. Simmer until combination is just ready to boil. Add Thousands of Loyal and Dedicated Fans, Highly Demanded Products, and Regularly Overflowing Existing Facilities. Increase heat, mixing often.
In the 1100 Square Feet of Repurposed but Otherwise Unusable Space, increase free-standing and non-structural storage capacity to accommodate commissary supply needs of a City Market location with limited available space. Set aside to rest.
Working closely with City Market officials, design an entirely new, fun, and original concept location, borrowing heavily from existing business models. Adjust as needed to adopt an open-market feel with fresh product prepared on site daily, as well as unique and relevant market products available from both local and New Orleans-area artisans.
Once all other preparations have been finalized, and dreams are captured in legalis, embark on a major multi-media hiring spree, stirring up as much buzz as possible, in the shortest timeframe possible.
Announce final plans in a bizarre blog entry disguised as a Lemonade Recipe.
Papa Roux 15-minute At Home Jambalaya
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
Difficulty: easy
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients:
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
- 1 cup diced smoked sausage
- 1 cup diced cooked chicken breast
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 can kidney beans, mashed or chopped
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1/2 tsp Cajun Seasoned Salt
- 2 cups cooked white rice
Directions:
Papa Roux Jambalaya as seen on the Fox59 Morning News
Sauté smoked sausage and cooked chicken breast in a skillet or wok in vegetable oil over high heat, just until sausage begins to render (about 2 minutes). Add onion, celery, bell pepper and garlic, and continue to stir until vegetables just begin to soften (about 2 minutes). Stir in mashed kidney beans, diced tomatoes and seasoned salt. Heat through until saucy and bubbly. Reduce heat to low, add cooked rice and stir until thoroughly blended and hot all the way through. Serve immediately.
Note for cooks at home: The beauty of a traditional Jambalaya is that it truly can be built from a hodgepodge of ingredients. Experiment with leftovers. No sausage or chicken breast? No worries! Dice leftover pork chops, turkey, or ham steak. No diced tomatoes? Use tomato sauce (or even get creative with the ketchup). If you must substitute, remember to keep the final mixture saucy, even if it means adding a little water.
I would say that I didn’t like being fat, but that’s not technically true. The truth is, I didn’t even realize that I was.
Papa Roux circa 2006. I didn't mind being fat -- but only because I didn't know I was!
I remember my weight on my drivers license was 165 lb, back when I was 18. I guess it just kind of stuck in my head, because for the next 10 years or more, if you asked me how much I weighed, my answer was “165 lb”. Yep, 5′ 8″, 165 lb. That’s me!
I also remember stepping on my brother-in-law’s scale sometime in my mid-30′s, and telling him, “dude, your scale is way off. It says something like 210 lb, which is ridiculous, because I’m 165 lb.”
Denial? Blissfully ignorant? Both, perhaps. Whatever the cause, it kept happening, until it finally came to a head at my Lilly deskjob in 2006. I went for a routine physical, and was told I could not return to my desk. I was told to make an appointment with my doctor immediately, because at 220 lb, with a blood pressure of something like 200/115, I could literally die at any moment.
Big changes over many years had transformed me into a huge walking timebomb. Mostly changes in eating habits (and mostly after leaving New Orleans). Thickburgers at my desk for lunch. With a large side of fries. Tasty, yes, but deadly. Bags of chips for mid-afternoon snacks. Yikes. You get the picture.
Enter Papa Roux.
Fast-forward to 2007. The beginning of The Roux. By the time I left Lilly, I had changed my eating habits, and I no longer filled up on grease and pastries all day long. We ate Red Beans and Rice fairly regularly at home, so I tended to fill up on that, even via leftovers at work. High protein, low fat, and high flavor. I find high flavor — any flavor — helps me not crave junk afterward. I had my weight down under 200 lb, and was On The Road To Loving Me Again.
Creating A New Lifestyle
Willpower is a wonderful tool. It is also — at least for me — a short-term thing. For a few weeks (generally about two), I can will myself to or away from just about anything. What I learned (from a blog, of all the crazy things) is that I need to use those few weeks to make permanent changes, so when my force of will runs dry, I don’t have the option of falling back on the comfortable habits.
The blog I had read suggested using my “health nut” willpower focus to make such changes as throwing out bags of chips, replacing unhealthy foods with healthy options, so when (not if) the temptation to revert takes over, it’s much more difficult to give in. It’s kind of hard to grab a bag of chips during a commercial if it means driving to the store to buy them. Made perfect sense to me, so I used my willpower stage to quit my job and build a restaurant from scratch.
Building a restaurant from scratch is fairly difficult. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. So, yeah, it took up most of my time, and all of my focus. I didn’t grab the bag of chips during a commercial, partly because I always had a hammer or paintbrush or wrench in my hand, building Papa Roux.
Partly. The other reason was because I not only couldn’t afford the chips, I couldn’t afford the directTV that provided the shows that included the commercials. Fate is funny that way. Make crazy decisions, live with crazy results. For nearly four years, we didn’t turn on the TV, because static’s just not that interesting. However, Papa didn’t transform himself into the real piece of work he is today by just not watching TV. He did it by creating a menu from the very diet that was already working for weight loss!
Guess who likes healthy Papa? The Jane Pauley Health Center, that's who!
Creating A New Diet
Most of you probably have never seen the original Papa Roux menu. It bears little if any resemblance to today’s menu. For starters, there was only one Po-Boy, and we only sold a handful of them per day (contrast that to the literally hundreds we sell daily in 2011!). Rather, the menu was very heavy on stewy things over white rice. Red Beans and Rice. Creole. Even an Étouffée that would be unrecognizable to today’s Étouffée fans. What can I say, I was on a serious health kick, and I wanted everyone else to be, too! Four years later, we’ve grown and changed and improved in almost every way imaginable, but we haven’t lost that focus. Food can both taste good and be good for you, at the same time.
Ok, so it’s not exactly a diet, so much as a menu with lots of healthy options. For me, with my weight loss goals, it was Red Beans and Rice and Sweet and Spicy Creole, with or without Cajun Chicken, as my mood dictated. Fresh Gulf Shrimp, when it was available, was a favorite for me. Sticking to my few High Flavor, Low Fat selections was really all I did. I took the weight all the way down from over 220 lb to under 170 lb, and the blood pressure fairly well fixed itself as a result. Even today, to maintain a balance, I gravitate toward those dishes, or similar.
And — how exciting is this — we have many more options today than when I started this wild ride. Sweet and Spicy Chicken Chili at under 350 calories and 4 grams of fat? Shut the door! No, I’m serious, shut the door, because when people find out just how healthy some of this down-home-style cookin’ is, you won’t be able to get in the lobby!
How about Jambalaya at only 370 calories and 2 grams of fat — and that’s including the white rice! Seriously, I’m pretty upset we hadn’t invented this one back in 2007. Hey, at least we invented it for you!
Who's your Big Papa now? Not me!
Think about it. You could be the next Jared. You know, the guy from the Subway commercial that holds up the Tent made from Sears Huskies, and says he used to wear them as pants. See, the thing is, I know this stuff works. I know it, because I did it. And if a big lazy fatty like myself can do it… well then gee whiz… anybody can.
Eat Fresh™ with Papa Roux.
You can do it. We can help.™
NOTE: Papa is not a physician. Papa is just a guy who cooks really good food, and by eating it, lost a lot of weight and got in fairly decent shape. The information in this article should not be considered medical advice — because it isn’t — and should not be acted upon without consulting a physician — which Papa isn’t, as we’ve already established. While Papa lost weight and feels great as a result, be aware that each individual’s weight loss needs are different, individual results may vary, and you really should consult a physician. Your mileage may vary.
Eat Fresh™ is a trademark of Subway and Doctor’s Associates Inc.
You can do it. We can help.™ is a trademark of The Home Depot, Inc.
Many of you have commented on the fact that the Papa Roux phone rings “RING-A-DING-DING, DING, DING, DONG!”. You know, the obnoxious boss’ ringtone from the Geico commercial. No, we’re not promoting Geico. We don’t even USE Geico. I just happen to like the ringtone. It’s 1000% better than the ringtone we had before it, and what’s more, it’s loud. In Papa Roux during a busy lunch crowd, we need loud or we won’t hear it.
But… it got me to thinking about ringtones and viral marketing. Whether people realize it or not, the truth is I advertise for Geico about 100 times a day, very loudly, and with hundreds of ears paying attention. My friends, that’s genius.
So much so that I’m going to completely steal the concept!
Did you know that Papa has his own special ringtones for his cellphone, in order to hear it above all the other commotion? It’s true! And what’s better is… They’re quite ridiculous. Especially Papa’s voicemail notification.
Be the first in town to have Papa’s Ridiculous Ringtones. Be sure to tell people all about Silly Papa Roux when they ask.
- Papa’s Cellphone Ringtone
- Papa’s Text Message Notification
- Papa’s gmail Notification
- Papa’s Voicemail Notification
Cheers,
Papa
So we just paid the [auto/fire/home/business/unemployment/you-name-it] insurance bill. Again.
See, there’s some smart people out there. They know that eventually we’re going to have some sort of problem, and we’re going to have some expenses when it comes to our [auto/home/business/unemployment/you-name-it], and they figure we’ll be mighty glad when a guy (or gal) hands us a check and says “don’t sweat it, you’re covered.”
And you know what? We will be mighty glad, because we don’t keep much money in our you-name-it fund.
So, it got me to thinking… there’s all these companies out there that get money from us every month, and they spend their time hoping like crazy that our you-name-it never acts up. If it doesn’t, it’s Bahamasville for somebody!
How great would it be if everything worked that way? What if you could just pay a little bit to cover a “what if” event for everything in life?
What if you could do it for your hunger?
Introducing Papa’s Hunger Insurance!
Fifteen Minutes Can Save You 15% Or More On Hunger!
Mind you, I’m not even sure what the tagline means, but it sure is catchy.
Now, before you go saying but it’d never work, Papa! People would never go for it! Consider this: What happens if you get critically, devastatingly, hungry? Right! You could die!
If you get in a serious accident, or if your house explodes, or if zombies attack, you could die. You have insurance against those things, right? Why leave yourself wide open to hunger? Everybody gets hungry! It’s so much more predictable than Zombie Apocalypse, so why not be at least as well prepared?
How would it work, Papa?
Fair question. I see it working something like this: You pay a monthly bill.
Pretty much, that’s it. I mean, wait, I forget, there’s something in it for you. We’d take care of you in the event that you ever get hungry.
There’d be claims to fill out, of course. I mean you can’t just go around getting hungry all willy nilly, eating whenever you like. But as long as you get pre-approval for your hunger, you just go ahead and eat. Simple!
As long as it’s not pre-existing hunger. Don’t go being one of those “was already hungry” people. You’d have to go at least 4, 5, maybe 6 weeks or so without hunger symptoms. Once you get past that, though… you’re in for the WIN!
I guess, to be fair, you should know that if you ever do get hungry, we might start looking at how often you get hungry, and how hungry you get, that sort of stuff. If you get hungrier than we like, we might have to talk. Possibly you’d find yourself eating out-of-pocket sometimes, so you don’t have too many hunger claims. Still, you’ll be happy to have the insurance if you ever got really really hungry.
Oh… speaking of out-of-pocket… there’d probably have to be some sort of deductible, or co-pay, or something. Or both. Otherwise you’d show up at the emergency po-boy room in the middle of the night, because you just need a little something to get by until morning. So, yeah, we’d have to discourage that, obviously.
Oh and a cap. We’d have to have some limits I suppose. You know, like with dental insurance. Something like $1000 in a calendar year. Maybe more, maybe less, sort of depends on how much we decide for premiums, but with a $1000 cap we’re probably talking $80 or $90 per month…? Maybe.
So, you know, that’s kind of what we’re thinking. It’s certainly a racket worth considering.
Oh! Maybe a network! You know, have a few places where your hunger can be treated… but not too many, and not the ones near you obviously. And most won’t be accepting new diners, except for during a small window in November.
I guess, now that I look at it… it would never work.
Maybe we should look into Hunger Savings Accounts. That way, you could just predict how hungry you’ll get in the next 12 months, and let us hold onto your money.
Papa
I’m not a restaurant reviewer. I’m not a food critic, or a foodie, or any of those things. There’s plenty of people who do that, vocationally or otherwise, and they don’t need me meddling in affairs. So I generally don’t do it. I’ve had lots to say over the years, but aside from the stray Facebook status message, I stay fairly quiet on the matter of where you should eat besides Papa Roux.
Until today. I have much to say, suddenly, about a place I want you to go.
EL SOL DE TALA MEXICAN CUISINE
2444 E. Washington, not far from Downtown Indy (http://www.elsoldetala.com).
On the outside, it’s a forgettable yellow building, located right between Don’t Blink and You Missed It. The most memorable thing about the place — and I know you’ve all seen this — is the Giant Yellow Banner on the side, celebrating their 32th Anniversary (last year it was their 31th). If you know the building but haven’t stopped in, chances are you were probably never going to get around to it.
Well, my mission is to fix that problem. Get in there.
For starters, let me tell you that if you’re a fan of traditional Mexican-American cuisine, with the standard offerings of Combo Plate: One Taco Plus Rice Beans And Tamale… you need to restart your thinking. There’s plenty of places in town where you can get a very familiar standard Mexican-style dinner, quickly dished out and with little variation. This isn’t one of those places. Not even a little bit.
Step inside the building, and you immediately realize the place is huge. While it sounds stereotypical to say that it seems larger from the inside… that’s actually an understatement. I’m quite sure a TARDIS is involved somehow. I didn’t pace it off, but I’m quite certain the inside of El Sol doesn’t fit inside the outside.
I was expecting a hole-in-the-wall. Partly, I think, because Papa Roux in it’s infancy aspired to be a hole-in-the-wall, and finally achieved that status to our great joy. El Sol is no hole-in-the-wall. It’s quite lavish, very nicely decorated inside, and very much like a favorite independent Mexican restaurant from my childhood memories in New Orleans.
Still, Papa’s not going to tell you to drop everything and get in there simply because it’s big and pretty inside. Dining out is about the food. Let me tell you something: El Sol has the best Mexican cuisine I have ever tasted.
Ever.
I’ve never tasted better Mexican cuisine than at El Sol. Have I made that clear?
Their presentation is beautiful, but pales compared to the food.
Their service is above-and-beyond… but pales compared to the food.
So… the food. Oh. Em. AND gee. The food.
As you’d expect, fresh chips and salsa while you wait. The salsa is among the best restaurant salsa ever. It lit me up (it’s hard to light up the Papa!), but with such a good flavor I kept going back for more. I knew I was filling up on chips and salsa, and I couldn’t feel my lips, but I couldn’t stop eating them. It’s that good.
Authentic soft tacos, like I had at an authentic Taqueria back in San Francisco where nobody spoke a lick of English. Seriously, one of my peeves with places like Taco Bell in this country is that I don’t want the guy making my tacos to know any English at all. So, anyway, that’s how good these tacos are. Traditional meat-in-tortilla with diced onions and peppers on the side. The pork was good. The chicken was really good. But the Beef Tongue… I wept when it was all gone.
I watched as they made guacamole at the guacamole bar. Yes, an entire bar dedicated to the preparation of guacamole. It started with whole avocados, just like my home recipe. They added fresh lime and seasonings and such, just like my home recipe. So, it surprised me that the guacamole, when it arrived, made me want to throw my home recipe in the trash.
There’s more to be said, but I fear I’ll ramble on, and I don’t want to do that. The perfectly cooked rice was great with the black beans. The Flan was excellent, as was the Dark Chocolate Tamale.
Now that I’ve raved and raved and raved about the food, let me tell you the rest of the story, and why I entitled this piece The East Side’s Special Little Economy:
It’s because, if you’re not eating your Mexican dinner at El So De Tala, you’re likely a victim of The East Side’s Special Little Economy. That’s the one that has you driving to a strip mall for the nearest, brightest, most convenient place. It’s the reason you pop in at Taco Bell. It’s the reason a burger chain recently rebranded itself as The Red Burrito. Quick, cheap, and easy. I’m not talking about those seedy weekly apartments and motels on Washington in Irvington…but that’s the very mentality we fight against as East Siders, so we shoot ourselves in the foot when we make choices that feed the perception.
Speaking of seedy, I was amazed at the initial response when I posted about El Sol on Facebook. I expected a few “that place is the bomb!” comments. I expected a few “drove by a million times” comments. I got those, but I also got a few surprise comments about “looks like you need a handgun in the parking lot” and similar. Your East Side Economy at work, friends! Nothing ever goes wrong in strip malls, and all crime is west of Emerson Avenue. Everyone knows that.
I can remember a time, not many years ago, when the corner of 10th and Post was considered a seedy place, with only an Adult Magazine store and a Hip-hop Recording Studio seeing any real traffic. We set up right there, and did the best we could to overcome the 10th and Post stigma. We even had a visit from a fairly prominent local, a guy with several restaurants around town, who told me he felt bad that we got stuck in such a dumpy part of town, and that he had decided not to put faith in “the economy of the Eastside”, whatever that means.
Well, I call bullocks. If the Eastside’s economy is in trouble, it’s partly because we send too much money to other parts of town when we dine out. Or, worse, other parts of the country, by dining out at corporate chains with headquarters in New York. You know, like Denny’s. Lonestar. Don Pablos. Grindstone Charley’s. Remember those places on Washington? They don’t remember you.
So, here’s Papa’s challenge to you. It’s a fun one, and there’s a little bonus in it for ya.
It works like this: Papa will pay you to experience El Sol this upcoming week. Sorta. I’ll feed you for free, at least.
Go to El Sol this week (preferably on Monday, since Papa’s closed that day anyway). Keep your receipt. Bring it into Papa Roux by Friday April 1, and you’ll get a completely free meal at Papa Roux (actually a free fully-stamped stamp card, but I’ll let you use it right away).
El Sol has no clue I’m doing this. You can tell them, or not. Doesn’t matter to me. Just get yourself in to El Sol this week, and start taking pride in some East Side Indianapolis Legends, before it’s too late.
Red Beans and Ricely Yours (blatantly stolen from my good friend Paul Sanchez),
Papa.
