Loon Lake Lodge

We took a trip to Indianapolis from September 16 to 18 because I had to attend a conference for work.  We took off from Ontario Airport at 6 am, flew on Continental for over 3 hours to Houston and had an hour and 45 minute layover there.  They showed a movie on that flight, Notting Hill, that seemed to us a very old movie to be showing on an airline flight.  From Houston, we flew for around two more hours to Indianapolis International Airport.  There aren’t any direct flights from the Los Angeles area to Indianapolis.  My manager was on the same flight and after deplaning in Indy, we picked up the rental car, a Dodge Caravan.  Our hotel and the site of the conference were in the northern part of Indianapolis.  To get there we drove north on I-465, and then east on I-465.  Their freeways are a bit confusing because they merge and split off from each other sometimes having two numbers at the same time.  Our directions for getting to the hotel threw us off at one point.  They said to take the Allisonville Road Exit 35, take the ramp towards Noblesville, and turn right onto Allisonville Road.   But taking the ramp towards Noblesville caused us to turn left on Allisonville Road and we had to make a U-turn to get back on track.  After driving back in the correct direction we turned left on 82nd Street that seems to be the main drag in that part of the city and eventually made it to the hotel.  There were lots of restaurants, both chain eateries and stand-alones along 82nd Street along with other retail businesses.  Just north of the site of the conference is a large mall, the Castleton Square.  My wife explored the mall later in the week and said it had both indoor and outdoor sections.

My manager allowed me and my wife use of the van that evening.  We needed it because even though the restaurant is very close to the hotel, there aren’t any sidewalks or crosswalks to get there.  We picked Loon Lake Lodge primarily because they served the breaded pork tenderloin sandwich.  My wife first found out about this sandwich from Rachael Ray Magazine that said to try it while in Iowa when there for the Iowa Caucuses.  It’s an Iowa or Hawkeye specialty.  While researching places to eat in Indy, she found that this place nearby called Joe’s Grille served the sandwich.  She did more research and learned that the sandwich is also an Indiana or Hoosier specialty.  She later found that Loon Lake Lodge served the sandwich.  We decided to go there because the sandwich is made with buttermilk that I can’t eat and the restaurant has other tenderloin options that I could eat.

Leaving our hotel, the Hilton North, we turned right onto Shadeland Avenue and left onto 82nd Street.  The restaurant is the first right after driving under the I-69 freeway.  It has a large parking lot and the outside resembles a large mountain lodge.  There’s a pole extended from the roof with a large model float plane mounted on it.  A sign along the street says they have live music on Fridays through Sundays.  They have outdoor seating in a patio called the “Looney Bin”.  There’s also a small totem pole, a sign identifying different types of animal tracks, and a large evergreen that had the shape of a Christmas tree.

We entered the large doors in front and the inside continues the sporting/outdoors theme.  The walls resemble those of a wilderness cabin.  The interior is large and has high ceilings with boats, stuffed game heads (e.g. elk, pronghorn) and other outdoor equipment (sleds, skis) adorning the walls and hanging from the ceiling.  Inside and out the Lodge is a bit reminiscent of the North Woods Inn though it doesn’t have the peanut shells on the floor and signature cheesy bread of that Southern California institution.  The Lodge has its own distinct atmosphere.  A rafter of the central high ceiling resembles a fallen tree with three stuffed and realistic-looking black bears perched on it.  Once in a while, lights would shine on them, their mouths would move and they would emit grunting and roaring sounds.  Fish also appeared to be “jumping up a stream” near one of the cubs.  At the end of the fallen tree perched an owl that would flap its wings and hoot occasionally.  There was a large fishtank containing a live albino catfish and other freshwater fish and they seated us near a large fireplace.  They have some signs on the walls such as a large one saying, “DON’T FEED THE BEARS”.  Another above a door near the kitchen says, “THE COOKHOUSE” and another above a door to a room for private parties says, “THE BACK PORCH”.  There are also poles made to look like trees and bear tracks on the floor.

We looked over our menus that were extensive.  They have sections for sandwiches (including the tenderloin breaded or grilled), salads, steak, seafood (section entitled “Simply Fish”), appetizers, and house specialties.  Under some of these sections are items you probably wouldn’t find at many other places such as rattlesnake bites made with real ground rattlesnake under appetizers, American bison meatloaf under House Specialties, roasted pheasant under Chef Features, and the Elk NY Strip Steak.  At the dinner we had there the following night we learned that they had a wide selection of beers, wines, and other drinks including beer brewed in Indiana.

We placed our orders and our server brought us some warm bread and butter on the side.  It tasted like sourdough bread.  They soon brought us our orders.  I had the rotisserie pork loin filet sandwich with fries as my chosen side.  It consisted of slices of slow-roasted pork loin filet stacked like shingles on a bun and coated in the Lodge’s own sweet and sour sauce.  There were so many slices of pork that I ate some of them separately from the sandwich.  They were over ¼ inch thick and had a smoky flavor like ham.  They were also fully cooked but not chewy, the perfect consistency.  The sweet and sour sauce complemented the pork well.  They put on enough to flavor it but not too much to make it messy.

My sandwich was great but the real showstopper was my wife’s breaded pork tenderloin sandwich.  It looked impressive.  The tenderloin was more flat than thick since they pounded it flat to make it even more tender.  It covered the bottom bun completely and nearly eclipsed the inside of the plate.  It was almost golden in color and not greasy at all.  Seeing it reminded me a little bit of the chicken suprema I had at Malbec restaurant last month.  And the tenderloin tasted as good as it looked.  The breading had spices in it enhancing the flavor.  It was so big my wife divided it into two open-faced sandwiches and there was still more to eat.  She chose as her side the fried corn fritters made with sweet corn.

Even with all this food we still had room for dessert and with their dessert selection how could we not make room?  It has selections such as the Brownie Explosion and Chocolate Fudge Fantasy Cake.  I chose the Lodge Apple Pie.  Rather than sealed in their crust, the golden-green apple slices looked like they exploded out of and mixed with the crust.  When served, the slices were still hot but they weren’t melted into goo.  They had just enough of their integrity and just a slight tart apple taste that mixed well with the sweet crust.  My wife had the homemade vanilla bean custard ice cream.  She enjoyed it very much and felt it had a premium ice cream consistency.

We returned there the next evening with my manager and one of my coworkers.  They enjoyed it too and got a kick out of the animatronic bears and owl.  I was considering having the rattlesnake bites but I chickened out and had the fish sandwich with blackened walleye.  I believe the walleye is native to the Midwest and I remember hearing about it on the Prairie Home Companion radio show.  It was a whitefish, flaky and delicious.  My wife also enjoyed her buffalo burger.

We stopped by the gift shop on the way out.  They had lots of outdoor-themed items such as candles made to look like birch tree trunks.  They also had some T-shirts with rather obscene wording.  Leaving the Lodge was also a little adventure.  The first time we turned right out of the drive and had to make a U-turn further down 82nd street to get back to the hotel.  But the second time, we noticed a sign pointing down a kind of alleyway to go to Bash Road.  It also said we could take Bash Road to reach a light where we could turn left onto 82nd Street.  We followed the alleyway that went behind the Lodge, behind a Red Roof Inn and then we turned left onto Bash Road, a winding side street that connects to 82nd Street at a light.

What began as a quest for a regional food item turned into a full scale dining adventure that encompassed two evenings.  I’m glad our trip allowed us to experience the Loon Lake Lodge, an Indianapolis institution.