Tag Archives: burgers

Kuma’s Corner… Hell Yes!

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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.

Kuma’s – Malort 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.

Kuma’s – Appetizers

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.

Kuma’s – Neurosis Burger

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.

Kuma’s – Goatsnake Burger

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.

Kuma’s – Mac & Cheese

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.

Kuma’s – Left Overs

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.

Weekend Food Round-Up

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For personal reasons, this past Friday I had to be back home in Terre Haute. That always means, if I can fit it in, lunch at my favorite bar Charlie’s (A Foodie Hall of Fame founding member). The menu features the Tweety burger (named after the founder), and it is specifically offered with a monthly specialty version. This month’s version is named the Yellowstone, and it features the griddled half pound burger topped with melted provolone, pulled pork, onions rings, and Beezer’s hot BBQ sauce (a locally produced fantastic BBQ sauce). I ordered it medium with a side of onion straws because I thought they would compliment the flavors of the burgers, and I was not wrong. Frame of reference, 90% of the time I’m ordering tots.

Charlie’s Yellowstone Tweety & Onion Straws

To say this meal was anything but a 10/10 would be a grave injustice. It was superb. I order my burger medium, and it usually comes cooked close to that with a perfect sear. They nailed it this time! This was gooey, saucy, deliciousness as the flavors melded perfectly. Strongly recommend!

The only fault was on my end as I was traveling and driving, so I could not enjoy it with a pitcher of ice cold beer. It’s a tradition from my fraternity days that is often overlooked now at alumni gatherings, but back in the day it was a pitcher per dude at the table. However, we old now, so it might a good thing that is no longer the standard.

As said in an earlier post, we’ve been trying to get back to being adventurous when it comes to trying new places and getting out and about. I told my wife I wanted to take her to a new-to-us place I had heard rave reviews about in Indy foodie groups, so we headed to Indianapolis and the eastside of downtown to Futuro, a Detroit style pizza place.

The building is kind of weird, It looks as if it was assembled from two stories worth of shipping containers. You order at the counter on the ground floor, and wait for your food. Seating is available outside (too cold for that) with one table downstairs and the majority of tables upstairs. Cans of beer and soda, water, etc are available.

Normally in this situation I would order a basic pizza (pepperoni, sausage, maybe shrooms and peppers) just to try it out, but based on reviews both the wife and I decided to try something different. I went with the Meatball Garlic, and she ordered the Bacon Basil. We both wanted an order of breadsticks, so we added those as well – garlic butter dipping sauce for me and cheese sauce for her. Holy hell!

Futuro Breadsticks

Yes, those breadsticks are the length of a pizza box. Yes, they normally come four to an order, but in my unbridled fatassery I was buttery cheesy fingers deep into one before thinking about a picture. Oops. Wife for the save on the picture. These are baked in a blend of garlic butter, Pecorino Romano cheese and Italian seasoning and are served having a softer but not doughy texture with a delectable flavor. We only had one each based on we were told to expect individual pizzas on the heftier side. Strongly recommend trying them unless you’re one of those “Ewww carbs” types, then you should just skip this whole joint.

Next came the pizza.

Futuro Meatball Garlic (left) & Bacon Basil (right) Pizza

Meatball Garlic: Housemade Meatballs | Crushed Garlic | Pecorino Romano | Housemade Red Sauce

Bacon Basil: Spinach | Bacon | Red Onion | Ricotta | Fresh Basil | Hot Honey Drizzle | Pecorino Romano | Housemade Red Sauce

We each had a piece of each and ended up stuffed! Two completely different flavor profiles, but would have no problem ordering either one again. I loved both and so did the wife. But look at those dabs of Ricotta on the Bacon Basil! Are you kidding me?!? Those really added something as did the hot honey drizzle. Fantastic! As for my Garlic Meatball, the meatballs were delicious and everything blended well with the very good housemade red sauce. It tasted a little more like a traditional pizza, but in a good way. One of the things I really enjoyed is how carmelized or seared, if you will, they get the outer crust. This really adds something. It would be great with an ice cold frothy beer. Definitely doing that next time! Once again, I can’t recommend this place enough.

The aftermath is we both brought home half a pizza and a breadstick. I couldn’t wait, so we were back at it late Sunday morning for an early lunch. Even reheated, both pizzas were still very good – as were the breadsticks. I will have no problem bringing home leftovers in the future. And since I tried several items and adored them all, Futuro is a first ballot Foodie Hall of Famer!