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Broad Ripple Brew Pub: Killer Beer!
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This past weekend was pretty good for me, at least in terms of cruising around the Indy Metro area devouring burgers. I stopped at Casler's Kitchen and Bar to try their fantastic patty melt, and before that I had gone to the Broad Ripple Brew Pub (in Broad Ripple) to hang out with friends, have a few beers, and try their bison burger. In Indiana, bison seems to be taking off as a substitute for beef in a lot of burgers. People like bison because it has a unique flavor, but isn't so wildly different from beef that you don't feel like you're eating a burger. Oh, and then there's the nutritional aspect of bison - it's very lean, especially when compared to beef:
For example, bison meat contains 2.42 g. fat, 143 calories, and 82 mg. of cholesterol per 100 grams of cooked meat. By comparison, beef has 9.28 g. fat, 211 calories, and 86 g. cholesterol.
As such, a lot of people have taken to bison burgers, and the Broad Ripple Brew Pub is one of the places in Indy that serves a bison burger. I ordered the burger "straight" - just cheddar cheese and veggies for condiments. No polluting my burger with ketchup, mustard, or mayo - bison should be eaten with as few accoutrement as possible. The other thing about bison is that if it gets cooked past medium, it dries out, primarily because it's so lean. That's fine with me, since I prefer my burgers medium rare, which is how I ordered the bison burger.
Unfortunately, I can't give you an honest review of the bison burger, because when it came out, it was way past medium and into medium-well/well done territory. That's too bad, because cooking bison that thoroughly really kills a lot of the flavor. However, all is not dark clouds, because the other item I had at the Brew Pub was fantastic. Their Lawn Mower Pale Ale was absolutely on point and exactly as described in their beer menu: light and slightly sweet. It was the perfectly compliment for my burger, and my only regret is that the burger was over done.
Don't worry though - I'll be returning to the Brew Pup to have a rematch with the bison burger, as well as to hit up the other burgers on their menu. One of my friends had their nachos, and I will say that those were devastating - loads of cheese, jalapenos, and everything you could want on nachos. The flavors are there, the beer is fantastic, so they're definitely worth a second run. I think I'll also try the bison burger at their sister bar, the Nickel Plate up in Fishers. Both restaurants are owned by the same locals, and both serve the incredibly popular bison burger.
I'll be back to the Broad Ripple Brew Pub for sure. The atmosphere is great, and the beer is on the money; what's not to like? You can find them on the web at http://www.broadripplebrewpub.com/.
