If you’re like me, you tend to scope out a restaurant online before you go — maybe take a peek at the menu and check social media posts for daily specials. With Kuma’s Corner, a casual dining restaurant in Fountain Square, be careful not to let the website and social media posts turn you off.
This burger place has a clear heavy metal music/lifestyle theme that might not seem welcoming to some. I admit I was a little nervous; I’m a music fan and I’ve attended my fair share of rock shows, but it’s been years since I’ve been that cool.
So I was relieved when I walked into Kuma’s and found a welcoming environment and a very friendly staff.
The restaurant was busy with the lunch crowd, which included a group of office worker colleagues, some blue-collar guys in work boots and coveralls and a middle-aged couple, but I was seated immediately.
Looking at the menu, it’s clear Kuma’s prides itself on its burgers, but (and I’m about to get personal, sorry) since I’ve been pregnant, all I want to eat is carbs and cheese.
Lucky for me, Kuma’s offers a build-your-own macaroni and cheese option, with more than a dozen possible mix-ins from which diners can choose. For my lunch, I chose to add broccoli and peas to my cheesy noodles. My server, Craig, predicted I would need a to-go box; boy was he right. If the serving had been any smaller, I would’ve been pretty annoyed by the $14 price (for macaroni and cheese?!), but since I got two meals out of it, I let it slide.
One added bonus: the to-go container was foil with a recyclable plastic lid, not the typical flimsy, bad-for-the-environment styrofoam.
The mac and cheese was delicious. It was the perfect combination of wet and dry, chewy and crunchy, and it had a layer of toasty breadcrumbs on top. It came with a sprinkling of scallions, which I love. I didn’t order them because I didn’t want to pay an extra $2 for the additional topping, but it was a nice surprise to see them anyway. One gripe about the broccoli, though: the florets weren’t cut small at all, and it’s pretty impossible to knife-and-fork a piece of broccoli on top of a bowl of noodles. The broccoli was also too tough to bite apart, so I ended up just avoiding the broccoli altogether.
The wait for my meal seemed a bit long for lunchtime, but I suspect it would have been quicker if I’d ordered off the lunch specials menu, which mainly included smaller versions of the restaurant’s burgers.
Each burger on the menu is a 10-ounce beef patty by default, but customers can pay $4 more for an 8-ounce buffalo patty or substitute a boneless chicken breast, fried chicken tenders or a veggie patty.
If I go back (assuming I get out of this macaroni and cheese phase), I’d like to try the High on Fire burger, which has Sriracha hot sauce, roasted red pepper, prosciutto, grilled pineapple and sweet chile paste. I’m also intrigued by the Iron Maiden, which comes with cherry peppers, chipotle mayonnaise, pepper jack cheese, avocado, lettuce, tomato and onion.
Kuma’s also has a rotating Burger of the Month. This month’s Burn it Down burger includes a lightly breaded and deep fried beef patty, applewood smoked bacon, sharp cheddar, dill pickle spears, mustard, fancy sauce, lettuce, Spanish onion and Sriracha coleslaw.
Worth noting is Kuma’s Corner’s community involvement. The restaurant collects funds each month for a different cause, organization or individual in need of assistance. This month’s beneficiary is the Southeast Community Services Center.
Kuma’s Corner
1127 Prospect St. Indianapolis, IN 46203
Sunday–Thursday: 11 a.m.–11 p.m.
Friday–Saturday: 11 a.m.–1 a.m.
(317) 929-1287
