I would like to continue this thread from the old forum, so consider it migrated.
organized: Sun, Oct 11 2015 12:45 PM
Let's try to keep reviews focused on recent (2015) dining and drinking experiences.
Ram
I've been here nine years in a row. Did a Thursday lunch. Line was out the door, but we were lucky to snag a table in the bar without waiting. I find the Ram's food to be in line with big box pub grub (think Applebees). Edible but not remarkable. For me the Ram is more about the atmosphere than the food. Never ending story was on the big screen and the place was decked out, as usual, by Privateer Press. I enjoy most of what they brew. I believe I stuck with their Belgium Wit which is always pleasing to me. Staff was clearly having a hard time keeping up, and service was slow. I've come to expect this at the Ram. Average price point. After finding a couple of new places this year, I think next years return is in question.
Scotty's
I was at Scotty's Thursday night and Friday night. This has been an annual stop since they partnered with Paizo. I really enjoy seeing the placed decked out with Pathfinder posters and banners. Pathfinder has been my jam for many years now, so I will try to remain impartial. Again line out the door, and again we got lucky immediate bar seating (both nights). Like the Ram the menu seems to flirt with big box pub grub, but I find the cuisine to be one notch better. Fresh piping hot pretzels are divine with a solid selection of local brews on tap. I stuck with something local but can't recall the make or model. Average price point. I did hear you could order the same meals from their regular menu at a cheaper cost than the 'Pathfinder' themed menu. Apparently you don't get the free dice in that case. I did not confirm this. Service was quick enough in the bar area. I'll be back as long as they are getting sponsored by Paizo, but it helps that I find their food to be slightly above average.
Loughmillers Pub & Eatery
First time experience. Conveniently located in the rear side of the Westin building, we practically had the place to ourselves for lunch just a little before noon on Saturday. Burger with beer cheese was way above average for pub food. Beer cheese tasted homemade and unpasteurized (yum yum). I have no idea if that was actually the case. Excellent array of brew on tap. Happy to see my local favorite 3 Floyds represented. Friendly staff. Came back that night around 10:30 pm. Jam style band was playing live, but there were no seats. Had to move on. Average price point. I could see returning in 2016 to see if the home made taste is a rule or exception.
Claddagh Irish Pub
First time experience. Drank here with friends waiting for the Beiber crowd to exit the city. Very close to the Crown. You could clearly see the dividing line where Gencon stopped and regular city nightlife began cutting right down the sidewalk. No wait to get in. We didn't eat but I found a new favorite beer here (Torpedo). Finally an IPA that I really really love. Not too crowded, pretty good service. It was dark, but they had no problem with us playing Ale & Iron which gets at least mildly obnoxious at times. Crowd was a mix of gamers and non-gamer locals. Average price point. Any other time I prefer a dark bar, but I would pass next time for something with more game accommodating light. Still, I would have no problem returning if elbow room was top priority.
Coaches Tavern
First time experience. I thought this was another Irish Pub, but unless there was a name change google maps calls it Coaches tavern and Street View looks exactly right. Late Saturday night Scotty's looked like it was busting at the seams, and group was looking for something more relaxed. Coaches was nearby and totally fit the bill. We sat on comfy couches for a few hours of eating, drinking, and playing games. Pub food again but this time fresh and excellent. Pulled pork sliders were amazing. Everyone's food looked way better than the average pub offerings. Like they got their food from a market and prepared it instead of it coming out of boxes delivered by Gordon Food Supply. Far superior to the Ram and even Scotties at the same price point. Beer selection pleased me. Another place with 3 Floyds, but no Southern Comfort, really? I'm not sure how common or not these are, but jute box claimed to play any song in the world. I didn't test that claim with anything completely obscure, but I was tickled to be able to play a few of my favorite deep cuts that were all available. Seemed like it was mostly local non-convention going patrons. No complaints on service, it was neither fast or slow. Average price point. Will visit again.
Penn Station East Coast Subs
First time experience. Located on the other side of the mall. I wasn't impressed. AC was broke or inefficient. Looked to be staffed by a skeleton crew who was working hard to keep up, but too far outnumbered by the long regenerating line. Probably worth noting that I was tagging along with group and still feeling content from the Beer cheese burger so this review is based on the physical experience of heat and line. My lemonade was refreshing. No one commented on the food being either good or bad, but probably not worth the 20 minute round trip walk. Inexpensive price point. I'll skip this one and meet the group later next time.
Subway
The one in the Hyatt lower level. Hit this up for breakfast Friday morning. Subway is Subway. They toasted my sub even though I said not to. Didn't notice till I say down and the line was out the door. Like Penn Station it seems like their staff situation is always 2-3 employees VS an ever replenishing line of dozens. I didn't want to give the overworked minimum wage employees any grief so I just dealt with my hot $5 foot long. It was fine for the (inexpensive) price (point) and relative convenience. I'll return. It's the only inexpensive breakfast option out there that I am aware of. I did notice some other locations not even a full block away that did not seem to be suffering from extreme con related line bloat.
In closing I am apparently not very picky about drinks, and any respectable establishment should have something for everyone on tap in this golden age of craft brewing.
So lots of pub food for me in 2015. A few dry meals in the hotel room. No food trucks and no fine dining to report on. That's not always the case but I would prefer to share recent experiences. No rude service, and outside of the two sandwich places with the overworked minimum wage earners, they were all downright friendly.
Jobeth66: Sun, Oct 11 2015 4:12 PMGeorgia Reese - We went here for Sunday Brunch last year, it was billed as a 'jazz brunch', but it was just one singer with backup playing an electric keyboard, singing covers (and not all of them jazz). We didn't realize we couldn't order off the menu until after we'd been there a bit, and the brunch was sort of meh. On top of being seated right next to the stage, we were underwhelmed and likely won't return next year. $$$Yard House - This was our go-to place for the whole con. Excellent selection of beers and pub grub, and very welcoming for gamers. You could go cheap or expensive, your choice. This was their first year, so they weren't very crowded. I expect that to change next year. The Ram - We were here a few times, and were incredibly underwhelmed with both the service and the product, every time. We went on Monday for lunch, and it was very slow - and it was very empty. We went on Wednesday for KFG and hung out at the bar while waiting for our game to start, and the service was ridiculously slow. Nothing to write home about, and while we'll return for KFG, we likely won't go back for anything else. Claddagh - Great food and atmosphere, service is really good. Prices are reasonable, good selection, we'll be back here. California Pizza Kitchen - Same as every other CPK we've been to, nothing special, but ok. Service here was also slow, even though it was dead.Colts Grille - This was a solid choice. Very busy, food was good, they messed up my drink order but they got everything else right and were very responsive. It was packed, but we were happy with the atmosphere here. Panera - We hit the Panera by the Embassy Suites multiple times, this was a 'we're exhausted and just want to go back to the room' stop a few nights. Like CPK, nothing special, but absolutely just what we needed on those nights. Very inexpensive, good quality, no real wait any time we popped in.Patachou - Best place we ate by far the entire week. Even though Embassy Suites has complimentary breakfast, we went to Patachou instead. Medium pricing, I think - not incredibly expensive, but not cheap, but everything we had there was amazing. We'll be back here many, many times next year.
soulcatcher78: Sun, Oct 11 2015 8:01 PM
RAM - tradition for our first stop of the convention. The earlier you visit the more likely you are to enjoy your food and not have to hear 'sorry, we ran out of that yesterday".Yardhouse - wide selection fo beers on tap, fast service, and a relaxed atmosphere. While this year was their first GenCon they did a good job of keeping up with the customers. The servers and management were enthused to see us and that made me enjoy it all the more. Vampire Tacos were amazing, definitely give them a try. Maybe they'll get the "gamer fever" next year and partner with someone but I'll be back in any event. Georgia Reese's - Southern cooking, great staff, "grown up" atmosphere, and not far from monument circle (less than a block). This was a nice break from "pub food" that makes up most of our diet during the Con. The mac n cheese was good enough that I thought I was going to get stabbed when trying to sample some off of my wife's plate.
NJSeahawksFan: Tue, Oct 20 2015 8:27 AM
Scotty's Brewhouse -- After hitting up Scotty's every day in 2014 and collecting all the dice, our group was fully prepared to do it again in 2015. Unfortunately, the server on Wed was not aware that the dice started on Wed so we missed out on that. Coupled with a change in policy that said you had to order an entree off of the Pathfinder menu in order to get dice meant that we bailed on Scotty's for the remainder of the con. The service was prompt, the food and beer was delicious but the change in policy meant instead of getting our lunch business every day, they got it once. We will absolutely return on Wed before the Con in 2016, but we'll try other places after that. Colts Grille -- Good food, fun nerd themed drinks and solid service made the Colts Grille a definite add to our Con rotation. RAM -- After hearing nothing but good things we tried the RAM this year and were really disppointed ... poor service, mediochre food and running out of many items on menu = no repeat business from our group. The only bad dining experience we had. We also ate a place right next to Chammps over by the mall and it was quite good. I forget the name, when I remember I"ll edit this post.
[email protected]: Fri, Oct 23 2015 4:18 PM
We went to RAM Wednesday and we're pretty excited about based on preivous years' reviews. Unfortantely, it was a complete disappointment. The service was incredible slow and the food didn't arrive until a little over an hour after we had ordered. This can be easily overlooked/forgiven due to how busy they were everyone was at the time. However, when the food arrived, it was cold with barely a hint of warmth. The manager on duty, when alerted, quickly brought out new food which was hot. However, the food was nothing remarkable and definitely not worth the wait.
Chance Gardener: Sun, Oct 25 2015 10:05 AM
For all the love The Ram gets by Con goers, I have to say that the quality of the food and the service does not match that love.
I've tried it 3 times in 3 years and each year the food is mediocre to bad. The service is not good - the servers for the most part ARE good but they are overwhelmed by the volume and so can't offset the late to the table service that seems to be the hallmark the experiences I've had.There are better and more enjoyable places, some of which have already been mentioned. In 2016 I plan to explore more of such places and see if they can't become the new "place" to be.
Steve Spikes: Sun, Nov 1 2015 4:11 PM
I've been to the Claddagh twice in as many years. The food is very good. This past year, I will add that the service was beyond exceptional. The waitress, whose name escapes me at the moment, took care of us. She was on loan from another Claddagh. We got to talking. I mentioned she should transfer to the Downtown location. She replied, she would love to. The manager on duty at the time joined in, and acknowledged the praise we gave to our waitress, and she also agreed that she would love to have our waitress on her team. I will be back. I've added the Claddagh to our rotation.Gen Con 2015 was the first time a few friends and I made it to the Colts Grill, mainly for the Wednesday (General Trivia) and Friday (STAR WARS Trivia) evening events held there, hosted by a local game store, SALTIRE GAMES. The food was quite good. The service was also good. Again, I was mainly there for the trivia events. I will have to go back withot all the Gen Con distractions.I always make Scotty's Brewhouse my go-to place on Saturday night, when my friends from Star Wars Indiana hang out and "troop". I was too busy to make it there during Gen Con 2015. I will return, for sure, for Gen Con 2016.The Subway in the Hyatt Regengecy is my go-to breakfast spot. I've lost interest in going to Steak & Shake, mainly because of the wait, and the relative inability to maneuver my wheelchair between the seats. I would head out from The Westin to the Hyatt for breakfast at Subway. My favorite breakfast would have to be a Steak, Egg, and Cheese; with spinach, onion, and mayo on a flatbread with a side of hash browns and orange juice.On Sunday, we would stay in-house at The Westin, and eat breakfast in the Shula's Steakhouse/No Name Lounge. We would get the buffet, and relax since we go our separate ways, until the next year, soon thereafter.
Buddah: Sun, Dec 6 2015 3:47 PM
Ram: Yeah the Ram definitely underwhelmed this past year. In past years on a Saturday night, it was practically standing room only in the bar. Last year, on a Saturday night, it was actually kinda dead. Plenty of open tables. Service and food was no better than average. And probaby the biggest reason for going there, the movies, seems to be stuck in this eternal rut. Despite having a rather lengthy thread last year about movie suggestions, they somehow ended up with an 80's night on either Friday or Saturday. Yes there's lots of good 80's movies, but the ones they played weren't sci-fi/fantasy and seemed out of touch with the atmosphere of the con.Friday's (next to the JW): We stayed at the JW so ate here for a lunch. The ribs were tasty and the service was great. Worth checking out if you're in the area, but it is a little off the beaten path.