Not too long ago the wife and I ventured out to a new place to try, Kuma‘s Corner in Fountain Square, Indy. This came through recommendations of a local foodie group. We were greeted at the inner door with this sign.

I turned to my wife and said, “well I can already tell I’m going to love this place.” The hard rock and metal atmosphere as well as the music pumping over the sound system assured I would love it. What came next was just as fitting.

This place is known for its burgers, but we started out with some appetizers. Feast your eyes on the fried pickles and jalapeno poppers.

Jalapeno Poppers – Deep Fried Cream Cheese and Chorizo Stuffed Jalapenos, Raspberry Jalapeno Jam

Fried Pickles – Deep Fried Panko Breaded Dill Chips, Chipotle Mayo

The poppers are good, but not typical in nature, think hot lava on the inside with a heavy heavy breading. The cream cheese balances out the heat of the chorizo and pepper and the sweet raspberry jams brings a sweetness that is fantastic. These were good, and I would recommend giving them a try.

The pickles really took us by surprise. I am not a fried pickle guy. Typically there are too salty, over breaded, and greasy (not in a good way). My wife tends to love them. These fried pickles we both really liked. It’s as if they debrined them, and the breading ratio to the long pickle slices was on point. And you know I’m down with chipotle mayo.

This is where we have to give a shout out to our server/bartender. My wife asked for ranch – you’ll notice it in the picture. Our server told us they do not do that, so no big deal. A few minutes before we got our apps, one of the gentlemen from the kitchen brought us out some ranch, and said they are working on a homemade one due to many requests (hello, it’s the fuckin’ Midwest), and asks us to try one his first batches. Under promise over deliver score for service! Needless to say, the ranch was very very good.

Knowing we had some burgers coming, we didn’t even eat half. Also, we have the great deep fried leftover equalizer (Ninja countertop oven and air fryer) at home, so we knew these would reheat ok – and they did!

That brings us to our burgers. I knew what I wanted almost immediately and ordered the Neurosis Burger with fries.

Neurosis Burger – Horseradish Mayo, Cheddar, Swiss, Carmelized Onion, Sauteed Mushrooms, LTO

My wife was undecided and ask our server for a recommendation between the Goatsnake Burger and the YOB Burger. The server without hesitation said get the Goatsnake Burger, and she was not wrong.

Goatsnake Burger – Herbed Goat Cheese, Poblano Sweet Corn Relish, Cholula Lemon Vinaigrette, Buttermilk Breaded Deep Fried Red Onions

As her side she got the Mac & Cheese with her two add-ons being Prosciutto and Sundried Tomato.

Mac & Cheese – House Blend of Cheese Topped with Breadcrumbs and Scallions with added Prosciutto and Sundried Tomato

Now if I am being honest, her burger was straight up better than mine, and mine was excellent, but her being more adventurous paid off. Don’t get me wrong, I loved mine, and it was very well prepared (cooked medium, pink throughout), but hers was just more flavorful and robust.

When it comes to the fries, think Five Guys, both in flavor and in fuckload-ishness. That was a lot of fries, and she had a lot of Mac & Cheese. Our strategy was finish the burgers, and bring everything else home. Mainly because we did not have a clue how to successfully reheat the burgers.

The Aftermath. Mac & Cheese, Poppers, Fried Pickles, and Fries.

All of this stuff warmed up fairly well the next day, with the exception being the Mac & Cheese lost some of its creaminess, but that was to be expected. It was still fairly tasty served day old and warmed over.

I did not drink, but my wife had a couple drinks, so after tip it was over $100, but worth it since it was new, very good, provided two meals, and prompted us to want to return and try other items.

One thing to note, if you’re a messy eater such as I, wear a shirt you don’t mind getting destroyed. My sweatshirt put up a valiant but losing effort as it had splatters and drips all down it. I don’t mind getting messy down in the trenches if the meal is worth it, and this one was.

However, sometimes that backfires such as it did that day. I walked out took about ten steps and immediately ran into a buddy from high school and his new girlfriend whom I had never met. I apologized for shit being all down my shirt, but explained I had just ate at Kuma’s for the first time. He gave me the “I am familiar.”

Would have loved to join them at Upland for a couple beers, but we had errands to run before getting home to the dog. We really do have to time these things. We’ll save that trip for another day and another blog.