In the midst of the hustle and bustle of our everyday lives, my boyfriend and I try to go on a date every week. Since we both love good food, our dates usually consist of eating out at a restaurant around town.
For a recent date night, we decided to try the newly opened Side Street’s American Grill on 38th Street.
If that name seems familiar, you may have heard of or tried the now closed Side Street Grill on Pennsylvania Street and Side Street Deli on Illinois Street. Dennis Wheaton Jr. and Cheryl Wheaton, the owners of Side Street’s, previously ran both restaurants before opening their new location on the Westside.
After we walked in, I took note of the orderly interior but was quickly distracted by a sandwich they were advertising near the hostess’ stand.
When our friendly and attentive waitress came to take our drink orders, she explained that the sandwich I had seen was one of their Sunday specials.
She also told us that the substantial sandwich was a combination of beef brisket with barbeque sauce on pretzel bread.
Both avid lovers of brisket and pretzel bread who were already planning on splitting an entrée, we were sold.
Feeling particularly indulgent that night, we also decided to start our meal with their Triple Loaded Fries.
In what seemed like practically no time at all, our waitress delivered our rather large appetizer and we dug in.
Much to our delight, the fries, in this case large waffle fries, were hot, crispy, well-seasoned and came with a side of ranch dressing. The fries were also topped with a delicious blend of four cheeses, Applewood-smoked bacon and chives. As you can imagine, it didn’t take long to finish our appetizer.
As an unexpected bonus, our waitress brought out a basket of cornbread for us to enjoy while we waited for our entrée.
When our sandwich and sides did arrive, I immediately noticed and appreciated that someone had taken the time to split our entrée onto two separate plates.
I also noticed that everything looked great and when we started eating, we weren’t disappointed.
Perfectly cooked and absolutely delicious, the brisket on our sandwich was definitely worth the anticipation. The pretzel bread bun and barbecue sauce were also delicious and paired well with the brisket.
For our sides, we both ordered a cup of Side Street’s College Gumbo.
As the menu will tell you, the gumbo’s name stems from the fact that Chef Wheaton created the original version of the soup while at Indiana University.
Made with three different types of meat, rice and quite a few different vegetables, today’s College Gumbo is tasty and filling to say the least.
After eating as much as we could, our waitress brought our check and I was pleasantly surprised to see that our meal had only cost us around $20.
From the quick glance I took at the menu when we first arrived, the other salads, chicken, fish, ribs, sandwiches, etc., also seemed fairly priced given the portion sizes and quality ingredients used.
So the next time you’re on Indy’s Westside and want to try a new restaurant that offers good food at reasonable prices, consider visiting Side Street’s American Grill.
