The Indy 500
So, Gastronomic Adventure #6 was winding down. As I was saying my good-bys to JoeG, I mentioned that it would be a whole month before I would see him again for our scheduled adventure in June. He gave a wry smile and said "we'll see". That was on a Wednesday. The next Monday morning the phone rings. JoeG had just spoken to his brother who asked if there was Amtrak service to Indianapolis. Joe told him yes, it was no problem. His brother has two extra tickets for the Indianapolis 500, right in front of the pits at the finish line with a bonus pit pass for Gasoline Alley. Could I make it? Silly question! By Monday afternoon we had our Amtrak reservations and a hotel in Indianapolis to arrive four days from then!!
Our itinerary is fairly simple. On Friday, 24 May, I ride from Grand Rapids to Chicago on the Pere Marquette and rendezvous with JoeG as he arrives from Carbondale on the Saluki. On the southbound to Indianapolis we are scheduled for the Friday, Hoosier State #850. Since this train alternates every other day with the Cardinal, our north bound the following Monday will be on the Cardinal #51.
We get together in Union Station at our regular meeting place -- Metro Deli -- and the immediate discussion (after ordering today's special $9 adult beverage pitcher) is what to do for a mid-afternoon lunch/dinner. We settle on Lou Malnati's Pizzeria. Malnati's is only a mile north of Union Station on Wells Ave. On a nice spring day it is an easy and beautiful walk beside the river, cross the bridge by the Merchandise Mart, and it's just a couple of blocks up Wells. Otherwise, a couple of different busses right outside the Jackson St doors will get you within a couple of blocks. Before we hear from readers about it, we are aware of the Malnati's on State that is equally close to the station but not nearly as pleasant a walk or neighborhood.
In Chicago there are two major debates-- Cubs or Sox and who makes the best pizza. Everybody has an opinion and some of the most ardent fans on the pizza question are for Gino's East, Uno, Louisa's, PeQuods, Crust, Aurelio's, and at least 50 more. JoeG has been talking about his favorite pizza joint, Lou Malnati's, since last year and he has gone there several times “unofficially”, not as the 2 Joe's contingent. There are several different pizza joints with the Malnati name. After the patriarch died, some of the family splintered the company but the piece that seems to have retained the best original quality are the shops that have “Lou” included in the name. Enough about the politics, let's talk about the food!!
The Malnati salad is a thing of beauty. Even if you don't care much for pizza, come here for the salad. It is a bowl of romaine lettuce, chopped tomato, black olive, mushrooms, crumbled Volpi salami, and gorgonzola cheese dressed with sweet vinaigrette and Romano cheese. Only order one salad, there was enough for the two of us and probably would work for three or four people. The salad is only outdone by the pizza. We ordered the Chicago Classic: lean sausage, extra cheese, and vine ripened tomato prepared in the deep dish style on a “buttercrust” crust. The pizza takes about 45 minutes to cook (another good reason to enjoy the salad) because all of the ingredients are put in the pie raw and then it is cooked to perfection. The biggest mystery to me is how they keep the crust buttery and crusty, but they certainly do! The only downside to this joint is that the beer is sold at “Amtrak prices”. We thought about having iced tea BUT pizza is only half a word, pizza and beer is the proper phrase. So we had a beer with a side of water. Remember, it is only a few minutes back to the Metro Deli and the $9 pitcher special! At any rate, you will not leave this pizzeria hungry!
The appointed time arrives for the departure of the Hoosier State. Of all of our adventures to date, this is our most unremarkable train ride for a couple of reasons. First, the trip from Chicago to Dyer is agonizingly slow. It is a 29 mile segment and scheduled for one hour and 15 minutes, and it takes every single minute of it. This entire trip to Indianapolis is only 196 miles and takes 6 hours. You do the math - 36 mph!! If we could talk to the engineer we would have been like two little kids in the back seat of the car - “are we there yet, daddy?” To add to the exasperation, I must admit, we did not read the service comments for this train, there is no food service. That means there is no diner, no cafe car, and no observation car, not even a little guy with a cooler strapped around his neck walking thru the coaches shouting popcorn, peanuts, soda, and, most importantly, beer here, ice cold beer here! There is a tank of water in each coach where you can get a paper cup of water. JoeG came unintentionally prepared with a couple of bottles of water but that was it. Thank goodness we overate at Malnati's or we might have expired right there on the train! Luckily we arrived at IND on time, not a great trick; we could almost have walked it and had a convenience store close by the hotel.
Saturday morning we headed out for some breakfast and to wait for JoeG's brother to arrive with a car. There were a couple of fast food joints very close to the hotel but not close enough. Enroute we walked by Wolfie's Bar and Grill. They were featuring Bloody Mary's so we avoided the dreaded breakfast taco or egg and cheese muffin. Our ride arrived and we headed for the track to buy souvenirs and get a famous Indy hot dog. Well, we had the hot dog but I will not attach the adjective “famous”, it doesn't measure up to a Chicago dog and it sure ain't in a league with Pinks (Gastro # 4.2)!! But it was fun to tour the museum and all of the concessions so not to waste valuable race time on Sunday. The best result of this afternoon was to build up an appetite for supper and head downtown for a steak at an Indianapolis icon.
St Elmo's Steak House is in the very busy restaurant and club scene downtown. When we arrived the place was very crowded and we were prepared for a long wait, not to worry, our next scheduled activity was the race tomorrow. JoeG went to the desk to get on the list. At first blush the wait was 45 minutes but as he was walking away the maitre de called him back as a table had just become available. JoeG really deserves my appointed nickname of leprechaun. This place is famous for their shrimp cocktail and we saw many being served. They were very large and could easily be a meal in themselves but this is a steak house and that is our focus. They also claim to be famous for their bean soup so JoeG gave it try - it was really very good. I went with the tomato juice, kind of an odd appetizer but quite tasty, very cold, fresh squeezed tomatoes. We both decide on the Strip Steak but still have a decision to make. When the waiter arrives, tonight's special is a dry aged strip. I decide on the wet aged version from the menu and JoeG goes with the dry aged steak. Both were very good and the only discernible difference was JoeG got to pay a few bucks more for the “dry aged” experience. Our side dishes were very simple; salad and baked potato and both were excellent additions.
Sunday morning we head to the track bright and early. You never know what sort of delays you will encounter when you are going to the same venue with over 400,000 friends and we didn't know what sort of increased security there would be as a result of the Boston Marathon incident only days before. This isn't JoeG's brother's first rodeo. He has been coming to this race for about 45 years and JoeG can add on 8 years before that. He has prepaid parking right across the street from the track and we are early enough to get thru security with no delays. Fans are allowed to bring coolers to the track which eventually slows the line considerably but we were, luckily, ahead of all of that. It was a great race this year; record speed and record lead changes. You can see the race a lot easier in your living room but to experience the “greatest spectacle in racing” live and in person, one time, is definitely worth the effort. Two notes of interest: 1. Jim Nabors was healthy enough to make an appearance and sing the traditional "Back Home In Indiana". His voice isn't what it once was but it still raises the hair on the back of your neck. 2. The Hulman family (they own the joint) was able to get the Confederate Air Force to perform a flyby of WWII vintage aircraft following the National Anthem. Take that sequester!! And happy Memorial Day to those of you who honor it!!
After the race we head back downtown for dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory. We thank JoeG's brother and talk about the fun we have had over some nice Italian food. I select the spaghetti with mazithra cheese, mushrooms, and bacon. JoeG goes for the spaghetti and brown butter and mazithra and a side of Italian sausage. We don't do chain restaurants very often but this place has good food, efficient service, and was convenient to where we needed to be - remember the same 400,000+ friends were vying for the roads and the restaurants after the race.
On Monday morning our ride on the Cardinal was a big improvement on the ride down on the Hoosier State. The slow part of the ride came at the end of the trip and you are never as excited to get home as you are to get to an event. But, more importantly this is a long distance train equipped with a diner/lounge. No threat of starving or drying up and blowing away on this ride. The trip is uneventful and timely, depositing us in Chicago Union Station about 10am. Neither of our next trains leaves until late afternoon and Monday is actually Memorial Day. The loop area around the station is mostly large business buildings and the restaurants in the area cater to those businesses, therefore they are all closed except for the occasional McDonalds or Subway. Michigan Ave, on the other hand, is wide open and bustling with shoppers and visitors. We catch a bus and hop off at Michigan and Ohio streets. There are literally dozens of good eating opportunities within a couple of blocks walking in any direction.
We decide to have lunch at Heaven On Seven on Rush. This isn't the original Heaven On Seven but it is very convenient to the Miracle Mile. While the name says it is on Rush St, this is one of those places you need to have been to before to know how to get there! Fortunately, JoeG knows the way. Look for the Lowes Theater sign on Ohio and take the escalator up to the theater. At this point you have two choices, get a bag of popcorn and enjoy a movie, or enter this very good Cajun restaurant. We start with a Bloody Mary. I have the regular and it is super hot. This place has a dozen hot sauce choices on every table and they obviously have a few behind the bar also. JoeG decides on the bacon infused vodka Bloody Mary, after all it is about 11:30 and still brunch time. His is really hot too, but he has a little more of an iron gut than I do. I get a cup of gumbo and it is very tasty and kills some of the heat from the drink. I also switch to water! I follow up with a dish of red beans and rice and lots of andouille sausage. It is delicious and I did not add one drop of hot sauce. JoeG went with a Cajun version of Eggs Benedict. This starts with a split biscuit, lots of andouille sausage, poached eggs and smothered in a Cajun hollandaise sauce - a sauce with a big kick!
After lunch we walk around this vibrant downtown area scouting out joints and dives for future reference (don't forget, we have 4 or 5 days here during the Gathering) until it is time to get back to Union Station and catch our trains home. The Pere Marquette to Grand Rapids for me, and the Illini to Carbondale for the other Joe. This was a whirlwind four days and we did some exciting things; not sure we took much time to sleep, but we theoretically have three weeks until our next adventure. I notice another wry smile on JoeG. Regretfully, this was not a very productive adventure in terms of making Executive level, only 400 TQP. We'll do better on the next adventure where we are scheduled to pick up 1300 points in mid-June.
Another Episode od "As the Stomach Turns!" (credit to Carrol Burnett) A pretty nice trip even if ya'll had to Ride the Hoosier (glad yall didnt hit any Tractors! 
