Terre Haute Indiana Eating & Shopping Recs Needed

Since everyone was so helpful with the Detroit recs ( I actually had written a long report on my trip and when I went to submit I was logged off so I took that as an omen) I was hoping somebody could add some recs for Terre Haute, In. I am not expecting a whole lot, but it appears there is no residence inn so i wont have a kitchen to cook in and will be mainly eating out. Any good Chinese, Greek, Local Fare and non chain type places would be great. Even a dive is fine if the food is good. IF there is a 24/7 place besides steak n shake that would work too. Thanks in advance

I am in beautiful Vigo county this week corresponding from my luxurious "King Executive" quarters at the Fairfield Inn Terre Haute. Complimentary real popcorn in lobby and the widest cable channel selection i have ever seen including TCM which is my fave. That makes up for the room and marriot's lack of having one with a microwave and fridge ready for me . Even though when I reserved it the reservationist cheerfully retorted "no problem, Mr. K(she should have stopped at K)." As of today I see no fridge/microwave and really doubt that it is on someones to do list. All this despite my impressive Marriot Rewards Elite Gold status which virtually gives me pick of the house as well as liberties with the proprietors wife and free grocery shopping service. As it turns out when every schmuck in the place has one your lucky if you dont get a room with a pay toilet.

I digress from the writing about food mainly because, well, there isnt anything to write about. When I didnt even get a single rec and saw this empty forum I knew it had to be for 1 of 2 reasons. Nobody Likes Me, or , there is nothing happening. I quickly ruled out nobody liking me since I have never met any of you so I couldnt have possibly offended anyone with my antics, yet. So I took a survey of food choices around town. All of the chains are here including Sonic. There are at least 6 great wall type chinese buffets. And the neon from the applebee's, outbacks,fridays, etc could probably guide the space shuttle home. I searched high and low for even a sign in a window saying "Home Cooking" but came up empty.

I ate dinner last night at the newest chinese buffet in town, opened 2 weeks ago. Extremely friendly staff, I cannot over emphasize it, always checking, always a huge smile. That has only happened to me once before years ago and it was because they thought I was John Matuszak the football player, now deceased. The food was the same as most of these places. It all was fresh and hot, the fried wonton crispy the dumplings soft but still firm. They did have a baked fish that was tasty, it certainly wasnt salmon and i was thinking pollock? But it was good, I guess the light soy based sauce was what made it a chinese dish. But everything else was the typical thick breaded over sauced type stuff. . At 5.99 they might be a little pricey for the area as it was empty. all the while the drive throughs across the mall where packed. I swear there where cars in line at long john silvers the whole 45 minutes I was here.

After skipping breakfast today I decided to talk to some of the locals to get recs. Everyone kept steering me towards Lonestar Steakhouse (pun intended) where aparently the sun rises and sets every day for lunch and dinner. "Stay away from that Outback, its for tourists" one local manager warned in a fatherly way. I took his advice and kept asking around. "You from chicago? you like barbecue?" asked a well meaning person who overheard the lonestar rec. I gave him the affirmative on both counts and he told me to try the only one of 3 bbq joints in town that was open during the week. So I ended up at Big Soul's Barbecue for lunch today.

Just by the sound of the name I envisoned myself being sent to somewhere over the tracks along with a warning to be careful. Big Soul's BBQ, who was Big Soul? Would I get to meet him? Would I once again get to enjoy the amused stares of patrons when I was "the only cracker in the pretzel barrel". Perhaps it would be like Kalamazoo where the chef actually smoked and cooked out back of his house that had a roofed in eating area. All these thoughts where soon dashed when I was given directions. " Over in the xxxx mall where the new Kroger is. Rats! But by now I was starved so I headed south on 41 to give it a try. A nice clean place in a nice clean mall with nice clean people in nice clean cars. The place is nicely albeit sparsely decorated. The menu simple as you would expect. What struck me was no type of smokey smell at all. nada, just nice and clean. The menu was simple with ribs, tips, chicken,pork and catfish. I got the rib dinner for 9.95 . I was asked sauce preference, hot or mild. I went with hot. "You get 2 side dishes" the counterman stated. Without looking at the menu I ordered greens and mac and cheese. I was told they dont offer those and my choices where potato salad,cole slaw and baked beans. I went with my SBS (standard backup sides) of slaw and beans. I paid and in short time got my order. The slaw was some kind of bulk pack product and at first taste seemed off. The beans where hot but also tasted quite canned. So the sides where tasted and passed over like Bill Gates in a pickup game. I lifted the 2 slice wonder bread hood of my Rib Dinner to reveal 4 large end ribs soaked in a brown , watery sauce. What the hell is this I said to myself. I then checked around to make sure that I got the same thing as all the other patrons. I did and they seemed to enjoy it. I tasted the sauce with some white bread. It is very thin, thinner than water if that is possible. and it was brown. It tasted of vinegar and liquid smoke. The hotness of it was creeper though and in a minute my mouth had a warm sensation all over. The ribs looked barbecued on 1 side with some charring of the meat. but they where very mushy, even the charred parts. Yes, they fell right off the bone leaving it clean. They didnt have the strong pork flavor that the ribs i make at home have. Just a weak flavor on their own really. I am guessing I was the vicitm of boiled and oven roasted ribs. And even though I was eating at a peak time they may well have been on hold too long as well. Although I am interested in the house sauce to try it on my own ribs I dont plan on making a second stop at big souls. They do have a website and I guess you can order the sauce from them there.

www.bigsoulsbarbecue.com

So I am off again to fend for myself and decide what to do later tonight. Right now the place that intrigues me is called "Crabby Joes Seafood" so I will see if I can get a look at a menu now and possibly try it for dinner later. There has to be something happening around here, dontcha think?

Louise's an Italian restaurant on the main drag towards the south part of Terr e Haute. Stunning homemade pasta and Italian wines.

This past Saturday, while I was down in Terre Haute for my son's football game against Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, we came across an Indian & Nepalese restaurant called Himalyan Aroma. We tried chicken pakora (bite size pieces of battered chicken dusted with some type of spice mixture), fried veggie momos (dumplings), fish curry, and shrimp biryani. The standouts included the fish curry and biryani - very flavorful, nice firm fish in the curry ( i think it was cod), mild heat(per our request). The biryani was beautifully seasoned with cardamom and came with several large, plump shrimp, as well as a slightly sweet yogurt sauce with shredded carrots (on the side). I'm not sure if that's typical with biryani but it was quite tasty and I could eat it all by itself. The veggie momos contained very finely shredded cabbage and carrots- I would have liked a bit more aggressive seasoning but the accompanying tomato sauce helped to boost the flavor. The chicken pakora was nicely fried. I would have liked a bit more salt but once i added the table condiments, it was fine. Those included coriander sauce, tamarind sauce, and pickled onions. I would definitely return next time I'm in the area and explore other dishes on the menu.

http://www.himalayanaromain.com