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.
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!
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.
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!