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Can anyone be a little more specific about the Miller Bakery Cafe in Gary? I did a search and there's reference to things like "great food" and "one of my favorites" but no one has said anything about what exactly makes it great or why it's a favorite. I'm driving through 94 tonight and was thinking of stopping there.

Hi,

I have personally not eaten there, though I have seen it from the street. I believe ReneG commented it has been on Check Please.

If you are interested in the Cheap Eats department, on the other side of the tracks from Miller's Bakery (south?) and a tad west is a BBQ shack. We walked in there once, but the food was not yet ready to be served. For those who insist on seeing smoke, there was plenty of smoke present.

Regards,

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Cathy2

"You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways, Road Food 2012: Podcast

Nope, not really looking for any cheap eats or fast food tonight. I was trying to get a better idea of what to expect at Miller's. From what I can gather the menu sounds West Town Tavernish, and I'd be very happily surprised if the kitchen is up to that high of a standard.

I just wanted to make a reply in response to this thread - in particular, Freddy's Steakhouse, which we visited last Saturday on our way to a Total Fight Challenge event in Hammond.

Upon pulling up to the place, I was a little skeptical; the neighbor is not exactly booming, and the restaurant definitely has the appearance of a place that's been in business for 50 years. Still, good food is good food, so we headed in...

I went with my husband, brother-in-law, and my husband's notoriously picky Jeet Kune Do partner. We were sat in a booth that was a little tight, though, to be fair, most of the restaurant was booths with some bigger tables in the middle of the room we were in. (We were sat in the back room of the restaurant.) I did not notice any smoke when we were in there. I've become particularly sensitive to it lately and definitely would have noticed.

Our waitress was a hoot; especially when our picky companion asked if they carried Hangar One vodka. She gave him a look and asked him where he was from exactly. Lucky for him, they had Grey Goose, which he deemed "acceptable," but -- you know. Us picky Chicagoans!

They brought out a small crudite plate and bread before the meal. I tried the famous honey butter, and thought it was all right. I appreciated the different butter - I'm always a fan of different spreads and condiments, so.

We ordered calamari for an appetizer, which wasn't extraordinary, but wasn't bad, either. Pretty much what you'd expect. It was fried and came with marinara sauce. The entrees all came with soup and salad, so I had a French onion soup and a salad with ranch. Despite asking for the dressing on the side, it came on the salad, and I have to say, they really poured on the dressing! (I was afraid to ask for another salad after the cocktails incident earlier, though, haha.)

I ordered a "queen" filet for my entree, and can report that it was cooked perfectly and that the meat was good quality. We like to order steaks a lot, and I consistently have issues finding a decent steak. My brother in law had the NY strip, our friend had the Special as did my husband. Everyone got their entrees at once except for my husband's, whose came out a few minutes later, sizzling hot, but undercooked. He ordered it medium and it definitely came out medium-rare, closer to rare. We sent it back to be cooked slightly longer, and luckily, it came out just right when we got it back. I asked him how he felt about his steak, and he said, "Adequate."

We didn't have time to order dessert, but overall, I'd have to give them a fairly favorable report. It's not some place I'd make a special trip to go to again, but if I was in the area and wanted a decent meal, I'd go here. It's hard to find places that serve good steak. It's definitely not cheap -- I think my steak was around $27, but all things considered, the meal came out to $190 with tip at the end, so I suppose that's not too bad.

Anyway, I appreciate all your feedback on this thread because I had no idea where to go when we were headed out this direction! It's great to know I can usually count on LTH to help me decide where I'm eating when I'm in unfamiliar territory.

Freddy's Steak House
6442 Kennedy Ave
Hammond, IN 46323
219-844-1500

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-- Nora --
"Great food is like great sex. The more you have the more you want." ~Gael Greene

So how was the Total Fight Challenge?

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What if the Hokey Pokey really IS what it's all about?

It was pretty good, overall. I've been to two of them so far -- we went to one in Cicero (which was a great opportunity to go to Xni-Pec, by the way), and then this one. The Hammond Civic center is bigger and slightly nicer. We got to sit in the balcony general seating which, unless you're sitting ringside, is one of your best bets. You get one of the best overall views and the cheapest seats. Oh, and the fights were better this time as well. It's always an interesting mix of seasoned fighters and newcomers and there was a few upsets. (The guy we came to watch won his fight, so we were happy.)

Also, from where I live, it literally only took us 25 minutes on a Saturday night to get to Hammond. I did not expect that!

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-- Nora --
"Great food is like great sex. The more you have the more you want." ~Gael Greene

HI,

NWI is a lot closer than most people believe. Thanks for the Freddy's review, it is on my list to visit someday.

Regards,

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Cathy2

"You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways, Road Food 2012: Podcast

Cathy, I've never been disappointed by a Freddy's Porterhouse steak. The "special" is usually good, and is an excellent bargain, but I have had a couple that were tougher than I like.

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What if the Hokey Pokey really IS what it's all about?

I haven't been to Freddy's for several months, but it sounds like they are addressing the smoke issue. Great! Time to go back!

I believe the "special" steak at Freddy's is a flatiron steak. It can be tough if cut wrong and/or cooked much beyond medium. However, a properly cut and cooked flatiron steak resembles a ribeye in texture but has more flavor.

I also believe (but am honestly not sure) that the $27 price of the strip steak includes salad and potato. I suspect you were charged extra for having both soup and salad. But the bottom line is, $190 all-in for four people having drinks, appetizer, soup, salad, and steak is something difficult (impossible?) to find in Chicago or the W/NW/N suburbs...

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Pi r round.

You'd be lucky to find it for $290.

_________________
What if the Hokey Pokey really IS what it's all about?

Eh, it'd be easy peasy at Sabatino's, where you can get a very good steak with soup, salad, potato/pasta for under $30. Add on a few drinks, a few appetizers, a couple desserts prepared tableside, and four can still come in under $200 with tax/tip.

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Ed Fisher
my chicago food photos

RIP LTH.

Based on the two times I've been to Sabatino's and the many times I've been to Freddy's...apples and oranges comparison. If we were talking chicken vesuvio or veal marsala, I would agree with you. But we're talking steaks the size of, and quite frankly better quality than, those at places like Sullivan's and Shula's. Sabatino's offers no steaks of this size or quality...at least the times I was there.

Have you been to Freddy's?

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Pi r round.

Sabatinos' NY Strip Steak is $24 by itself. I have never had one of their steaks so I do not know of their size or quality.

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What if the Hokey Pokey really IS what it's all about?

I can attest I don't think we were charged extra. Keep in mind we ordered an appetizer and the guys were all drinking premium mixed drinks, so that added another $16/pp approximately.

My point was, it's not going to be a super-cheap meal, but honestly, if the steak's good, I'm not one to complain about price. I thought it was a good deal for what we got. Just be sure to ask for the dressing on the side.

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-- Nora --
"Great food is like great sex. The more you have the more you want." ~Gael Greene

Nora, your sig line is funny. You may want to clarify it.

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What if the Hokey Pokey really IS what it's all about?

The steak, like all entrees at Sabatino's, comes with soup, salad, and a side. The steak is very good, and is high choice or maybe low prime. Freddy's website says that their steaks are all USDA choice.



I haven't been to Freddy's, have you tried Sabatino's steaks?

For that matter, I've never been to Sullivan's or Shula's, just Gibson's and a few of the other big name steakhouses.

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Ed Fisher
my chicago food photos

RIP LTH.

I've been meaning to update my sig, Cogito, so you just gave me the excuse to do it.

On a food note, I have not been to Sabatino's yet, but think I will give that a shot!

We've been to Shula's (eh), Morton's (not worth the price, IMO), Ruth's Chris (not bad) and, actually, one of the best steaks we had was at Phil Stefani's 437 Rush -- the Kansas City NY Strip. It's a bone-in strip and, honestly, our entire meal there was incredible. (The meal there probably cost me more than our entire meal at Freddy's, but I wasn't complaining.)

I'm kind of curious where Fast Eddie ended up going -- he mentioned Miller Beach Bakery Cafe and I'm wondering how that was. I was interested in trying that place sometime as well.

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-- Nora --
"Great food is like great sex. The more you have the more you want." ~Gael Greene

Oh, I don't want to imply that the strip at Sabatino's is going to be on par with a dry-aged USDA Prime steak like at Primehouse or Smith and Wollensky. It's not trying to be.

I'm just saying you can get a very good steak dinner, with soup, salad, side, dessert, appetizers, and drinks, for four, for $200 in the city.

Good values are not solely found in the suburbs and exurbs.

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Ed Fisher
my chicago food photos

RIP LTH.

I have tried a couple pieces of Sabatino's steaks from dining companion's plates, and my comment about quality was based on those tastes. However, I have never ordered a steak as an entree, and I should do that the next time I'm there because it can be difficult to judge the quality of a steak from one or two bites. I did see a few steaks being served, and my comment about quantity was based on those observations.

As for the rest, I simply said that the steaks I've had at Freddy's were better than two of the "big name" places. They were not the quality of Gibson's or David Burke's Primehouse, but at less than half the price I would not expect them to be, which is why I didn't bother mentioning it.

After re-reading my post which triggered your response, I guess I didn't make the point I was trying to make. I don't dispute that Sabatino's (and perhaps other places in Chicago) offers a good steak dinner for four for $200. My point was that you could not get a steak dinner with the quality/quantity offered at Freddy's for that price in Chicago. This was why I asked if you had been to Freddy's, because I knew you could not dispute this point without going there. Trouble was, that wasn't what I said! Oh well...I'll refrain from editing that post in order to maintain the integrity of this thread.

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Pi r round.

On a nice day such as this we wanted to get out of the city and figured we would grab some Old Fashioned doughnuts on the way. Alas, Old Fasioned is closed on Sunday. No problem we would stop by Pullman for brunch. Ooops there is no longer food offered at Pullman. So after tromping around in NW Indiana for a while without any food to speak of so far we figured an early dinner at Kelseys would be in order.
We arrived around 4:30 after calling at 2:30 to make a reservation for the 6lb challenge at the portage location .

Good beers on tap though nothing local, three floyds would have been a great addition. My SO really enjoyed the pomegranate martini despite the drink being noticeably small. The martini arrived in a smaller type glass and was only half full. The large beer on the other hand was nothing if not large and the giant mug was frosted.

We had the shrimp appetizer, soup, salad, sea bass, and 6 lb steak.

The shrimp were ok and presented on two skewers with the plate adorned by a very beautiful flower - nice touch!. The salad was a healthy mix of greens and the obligatory side of the house made creamy garlic dressing made this the highlight for my SO. The french onion soup was mediocre with a fair amount of melted cheese and large pieces of onion helping to offset the store bought soup base. The fresh bread is good and I definitely ate too much before starting with the first of the 3 two pound steaks composing Kelseys challenge. We finished with the apple pie.

I won't really comment on any of the steak after the first one because nothing is very palatable after a certain point.

The steak ordered medium rare was a solid medium when served and had a decent flavor and nice grill marks. My expectations weren't very high since I assume a 6lb cut of meat is probably not the best. The steak looked to be primarily sirloin and was a little tough. I suspect they use some sort of enzyme marinade on the meat but I am just guessing. All in all the steak was pretty good and I would guess that mine was not endemic of the regular steaks which in the past I have enjoyed.

I ended up finishing the bread, soup, potato, and steak to beat the challenge. I was told that I am only the second person to accomplish such a feat but I don't get the feeling they really monitor who attempts the challenge.

Challenge aside I found the prices to be similar to those near the city but the food and the service to be pretty far removed. The staff were all wonderful and very friendly but the service was a little off. We waited a long time before we got our drinks initially then had to ask for water each time we wanted some, and 96 oz of steak requires a lot of water. The food arrived way too fast so that we had every thing but the desert on the table at the same time. We had to ask for the bread service and I noticed two other tables had the same issue. The table next to us even had to ask for silvers

All in all Kelseys seems to me to be serving food below their price point and seeing as how difficult it is to eat 96 oz of meat I probably won't be back soon.

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“Statistics show that of those who contract the habit of eating, very few survive.”
George Bernard Shaw, Irish playwright (1856-1950)

What is the 6LB challenge?

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What if the Hokey Pokey really IS what it's all about?

HI,

The Six Pound Challenge is:



Did you go to the Kelsey's in Valpo or Portage?

Regards,

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Cathy2

"You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways, Road Food 2012: Podcast

I was just at the Kelsey's in Schererville on the 16th and they do have Three Floyds, I believe Gumballhead.

I updated my post to include the location which was Portage.

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“Statistics show that of those who contract the habit of eating, very few survive.”
George Bernard Shaw, Irish playwright (1856-1950)

I went to Freddies steak house last monday with my brother. I ordered the large prime rib, as I am known to do at steak houses , and my brother ordered the monday all you can eat baby back ribs . As allways the prime rib was excellent and my brother said the ribs were real good. The big prime rib was $29 and the all you can eat ribs were $17. Here you get soup , salad , relish tray , roasted garlic if you ask for it and fresh hot bread with your dinner. The service is usually very good. I think Freddies is a great value as far as steak houses go. But then again its in Hammond Indiana's Hessville neighborhood and not downtown Chicago .

Hi,

Freddies is very high on my list of places I want to visit in NWI.

Regards,

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Cathy2

"You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways, Road Food 2012: Podcast

I've got to pop in and give props to Three Floyds as well! Been there many times (and I live out by Elgin, so it's not a quick trip to hit there). Beer is amazing, food is equally amazing. Great thin crust pizzas, the best turkey burger I've ever had (topped with homemade guac and salsa), and really great Belgian style frites/fries (ie., double fried). And if the "Brewpub" element scares some people off, it's super casual and family friendly. 100% non-smoking, too.

I am a part time smoker but the people I have brought to freddies dont smoke. We always sit in the nonsmoking back room and you cant smell smoke. For that matter its not to bad up front. They have some big smoke eaters.

The Horseshoe Casino in Hammond actually has some decent food choices. The buffet is good...not as good as Four Winds in New Buffalo but pretty good. Some other decent choices. 5 or 6 different food outlets that I thought were all ok...the chinese food seemed pretty authentic.

The one thing the Horseshoe does have...is BY FAR the best poker room in the entire midwest...comparable to The Bellagio and Wynn in Vegas.

Arnies, a member of the Vienna beef hall of fame, has good NC dogs and you get the option of Chicago-Style of everything, which is mustard, relish, onions and a pepperonchini. This seems to be a popular topping in NW Indiana as you can see from this post. The chili cheese dogs reminded me of Demon Dogs, my favorite from my youth but I didnt get to try one, just saw a few being ordered.


Arnie's dog with everything, no relish.

I also stopped at Madvek's, previously reported on here by ReneG and Cathy2. Anytime I find a place to eat that intrigues me, the only thing I know for sure about it, is that one of you two has been there. Thanks for the heads up, I had randomly drove by and remembered it from on here.


I haven't tried many loose meats that I didn't make myself but this was the best version I have tried from a restaurant.

Next stop is a place that always caught my eye Johns Pizzeria, no surprise Cathy2 and ReneG have been there and they approve. So I'm going. Looks good. I love the old school pizza joints, im not big on the spacca nopoli's and all the new spots popping up. NW Indiana has tons of places that are 15+ years old and in many cases much older and most are little pizza taverns or shacks supplying the blue collar workers with good roadfood style food, its quite interesting driving around and exploring all the good eats and is much closer than you might think. There is a little grocery store in Whiting that pretty much sums up the area, they offer homemade tamales and homemade pierogi's.

Arnie's dog house
1503 Indianapolis Blvd
Whiting, IN 46394
(219) 659-3004

Madvek's
6923 Calumet Ave
Hammond, IN 46324-2009
(219) 932-1060

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Smokin' Chokin' and Chowing