chris46319 ""To make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the ..."

We go to Shapiro’s about 1 or 2 times a year depending on the frequency of our trips to Indy. It’s a typical Jewish deli with AMPLE deli style seating. The lines are long as expected with food of this caliber. I absolutely LOVE coming here for the Pastrami and Corned Beef but the Brisket is also unbelievable! Bring plenty of money since lunch for 2 can easily set you back $50.00 without alcohol. The sandwiches are reasonably priced but they really get you on the sides since everything is ala-carte.

The decor is pretty nice. The map of NWI is impressive. The wait staff were nice and dressed well. That’s really about it for the good.

I feel the food was a bit pricey for what we got. I tried the “Hog Eggs” which were little more than hard boiled eggs that were halved, battered, then deep fried. They were a little on the bland side and sat in my belly like a rock. My wife ordered the appetizer portion of the Crab Cake. It was extremely over-priced. And, yes, it was a single crab cake smaller than a hockey puck. I forget what the price was. I think it was around $10.00 or so. My wife said it was good so I let that be… for now. I ordered the Polish Sausage which was smothered in chili. This turned out to be a knife and fork meal. When I cut into it and tasted it there was a very farmilliar taste. It was actually 2 hot dogs!!! Actually, it was 1.5 hot dogs. Since we waited a little longer than I had expected to get our food I decided to choke it down and live with it but I was definitely going to express my dissatisfaction to management. When I had that opportunity I explained my / our dissatisfaction with the quality / quantity of our meal I was told the customers weren’t really liking the polish sausage so they switched to a hot dog. I asked “Why was I not informed”? I just paid like $12.00 (I forget how much the plate really cost but it was definitely up there.) for a damn hot dog!?!?" I then asked for the reason that a single crab cake would cost so much. I was told they were only using the very best crab meat. Hooray for that! However, we aren’t dining in some world famous fish house like Nick’s Fish Market or Shaw’s Crab Shack where the restaurant in and of itself can justify paying such top-dollar for a simple crab cake. I left the restaurant feeling mislead and dissatisfied and about $50.00 poorer. For what it’s worth, the kids plates are served on a souvenier frizbee. That was kinda cool.

Last night was my wife’s birthday and I wanted to treat her to something very special. I made rezzies about 6 weeks ago so we were seated right away. The restaurant was indeed crowded but the atmosphere was still very quaint and relaxed. We both ordered a different tasting menu with various wines. Absolutely EVERYTHING was fabulous!!! The only complaint I had was something that I had complete control over. Prior to dinner we stopped at Fado for a few drinks. That was a mistake. The wine accompaniments were more than enough alcohol for the evening. Neither of us could finish our wines but we definitely tasted them all. The bill was completely out of our price range but this was a special occasion and nothing is too good for my wonderful wife of 10 years. It will be a very long time until we can drop another $350 for a 2 person meal.

I took my family to Abuelo’s on New Years Eve for an early dinner. We arrived around 4:45 and the restaurant was at about 20% occupancy. The decor was very nicely done with plenty of room for staff to maneuver. I have a 4 year old and a 1 year old. The 1 year old was a bit fussy and required us to walk around with her until the food arrived. Everyone, including the other guests, were very nice and understood our circumstances.

As for the food… It was very good. I had the tenderloin and shrimp wrapped in bacon and my wife had a poblano pepper stuffed with seafood. The plates were presented well and the food was served hot! We also had an appetizer of queso and flour tortillas which were also promptly served. Their salsa was traditional cold tomato based but not as chumky as I normally like. It also had a distinct chipotle’ taste to it which I found refreshingly different.

For drinks we ordered a 1/2 carafe of sangria which, for the $10.00 price tag, could have had a little more (a LOT more) alcohol in it. We wound up ordering 2 1/2 carafe’s in total and didn’t even feel the alcohol. I guess that was a good thing since it was New Years Even and we still had to drive home.

In all it was a great meal with great service.

Not quite a supper club. Not quite a chain. It’s a good place to eat. I have been going here for almost 30 years and very little has changed. Same family of owners. The owner visits the tables every night with a smile and genuine concern.