El Arado Mexican Grill

Fountain Square is finally starting to redeem itself to the dining duo. After a rough start with disappointing outings to the Diner and Shelbi Street Bistro, we rebounded with the fantastic Santorini’s and a promising lead to the El Arado Mexican Grill

Quickly greeted and directed to a table (are you listening, Greek Islands?) our perusal of the menu was cut short when we both spotted chimichangas – a craving for their crispy fried deliciousness had to be satisfied. Even more boringly, we both got the same type of chimi – steak please! It was somewhat tempting to ask for additional plates and tell the server that we were going to split our meals, but we decided not to try and confuse them or make them wonder about our sanity.

Chips and salsa were delivered promptly, and just as promptly we began to devour them. The salsa was good – not too onion-y – but Sheila would have preferred more heat.

The chimis were a good size, not overstuffed monstrosities but a nice lunch-sized portion. The rice and beans on the side were tasty, and the guacamole was delicious, and this by two people who are new to guacamole appreciation.

Our only (minor) complaint was the lack of drink refills. What is the deal with this in Indianapolis? Do they not want diners to be well hydrated?

A definite plus is the prices – a very affordable lunch spot with a huge menu of choices. Maybe on a return visit we can branch out from the delicious chimichangas.

Food ***1/2
Service **1/2 Minus a half a point for the no refills
Atmosphere ** *
Overall ***

El Arado Mexican Grill
1065 Virginia Ave

Greek Islands Restaurant

With its welcoming web site and some great word-of-mouth, the dining duo were looking forward to lunch at the Greek Islands Restaurant. We should have just skipped it and gone to Santorini’s if we wanted Greek, and Shapiro’s if we wanted to stay in the same area.

It didn’t immediately begin as a poor visit- we found the restaurant with little trouble (a location on South Meridian helps), and parking is ample and convenient. No tricky street parking necessary here!

Once inside the building however, things turned sour. The lunch shift was in full swing, and apparently that meant that all servers and other staff were incapable of even a brief greeting along the lines of “hi, we’ll be right with you!” Nothing. Absolutely nothing for over ten minutes (yes, we looked at our watch). The line behind us grew and grew and grew and still no acknowledgement that anyone was there. We were wondering if it was a seat-yourself kind of place (there were open tables and no sign saying what to do). Finally, as we seriously debated walking out, someone came to get us to a table. Or, more accurately, someone waved us to a table and several minutes later wandered by with menus.

A less-than-stellar opening.

We’d settled on our lunch choices by the time anyone arrived to take a drink order, but all they wanted to do was take the drink order. We had to wait until they returned to order our meals.

Sheila decided on the Greek spaghetti since it combined two of her great loves; pasta and gyro meat. Yummm! Unwisely, she ordered this on a day when she was wearing a stark white shirt. Could she manage to eat her lunch without wearing any of the tomato sauce?

Jennifer debated between the spanakotiropita, tilapia, and pasticchio, before finally settling on the moussaka. I think it was the bechamel sauce that swayed her.

Both entrees were good, although nothing earth-shatteringly spectacular. Dessert might have tempted but we’d already been gone so long we had to hustle to get back to work.

Overall, it was a huge disappointment. We loved Santorini’s and Istanbul Cafe so much more that if we’re in the mood for that sort of food we’ll just go back to one or the other of them. Unless someone tells us we absolutely hit them on a bad day and they’re good enough to get another shot, we won’t be back; there are just too many other places to go and not enough days we eat out to enjoy them.

Greek Islands Restaurant
906 South Meridian St.

Food **
Service *
Atmosphere **
Overall *1/2

Oh, and Sheila’s shirt by the end of the meal? Pristine. Apparently years of spaghetti-eating practice pay off. That or she’s used up all of her neat-eating luck for the next decade.

Shapiro’s Delicatessen

We’re not completely sure if Shapiro’s qualifies as an Indianapolis institution, but if it doesn’t, it’s awfully close. Any establishment that gets mentioned in a book such as Roadfood counts as a local institution in our book.

Jennifer has been to Shapiro’s a time or two with her family, including her tongue-sandwich-eating father. Yes, we said tongue. Sheila went to the Carmel location several years ago and mostly remembered that the sandwich she got was much too big to eat responsibly. So of course she was un-responsible and polished it off solo.

Today however, we decided to behave ourselves, perhaps not entirely by choice. When we first walked in the setting is almost overwhelming – the takeout counters, the crowded seating area, the busy menu board. Yeah, we had no idea what we were doing and kept trying to get other people to pass us so we didn’t hold up the line. Desserts (mostly cheesecake) started the line, which didn’t really give us time to consider what we wanted, and by the time Sheila realized she would have liked a piece of plain cheesecake we were much too far along in the line. Fortunately the the line’s progress, we’d already decided on our lunch – we were going to split a Reuben.

But then they threw in other options like sides and did we want something? Who knows what some of those things were, although the mac & cheese looked delicious and there were some very healthy-looking greens. The line just moved too fast! Confusingly, when Sheila gave the Reuben order she was presented with an empty blue plate and a mumbled “… this” ? Huh ? After asking, yes, we were to take the (empty) plate with us.

And then we were at the drink station (what, no chips anywhere to grab a bag?) and were getting pressured to go to the other checkout on the other side of the line – but we still needed a drink so we were slow to react. Finally getting to the checkout, Sheila asked for clarification on the empty plate and how exactly we would get our Reuben.

Turns out the Reuben is the only sandwich that gets delivered to you, so the blue plate is just so they know who’s waiting for a sandwich.

So we find the glasses of ice / water spout, and find an empty table, and before we get settled they bring the Reuben. And all the issues we had with not knowing what we’re doing go out the window once we taste the sandwich.

We’ve had a Reuben or two in our past, and this one is up there with the best ever. Sheila feels it’s the best rye bread she’s ever had, and Jennifer thought the meat was exquisite. The sauerkraut was appropriately tangy and if we were to look for something to complain about, it would only be the slight excess of Thousand Island dressing. But really, that’s quibbling and you know we hate to quibble. (No comments from the spousal unit, please).

One sandwich, no sides, no dessert and it still was enough for two. They pile the meat on with a very VERY generous hand so it’s really the perfect place to spit a meal. As long as you’re not with Jennifer’s dad and he’s ordering tongue.

Oh, and the chips? They’re in a rack as you first enter the line. So plan ahead.

Food ***1/2
Service ** Friendly enough but very basic. It’s a cafeteria line after all.
Atmosphere ** 1/2. You’re not going there for the atmosphere.
Overall ***

Shapiro’s Delicatessen
808 S Meridian St
Indianapolis, IN 46225

Or, if you’re north of town:
918 S Rangeline Rd
Carmel, IN 46032