Casa Grande

Address: 6035 Stellhorn Rd, Fort Wayne, IN 46815

Phone:(260) 969-0005 

 

Not to be confused with the Casa chain of Italian restaurants that are scattered around town, this little place is big on taste, and big on portions. 

Casa Grande Mexican Grille is tucked neatly into a strip mall, and is easy to miss, both from the main streets, and from within the shopping center. While the place is large, it looks the same as every other building in the row and the standard, red letter, lighted sign on the front doesn't exactly grab your attention. Once you walk in the door, however, this lack of decoration changes immediately. The walks, floor and ceiling are all heavily decorated with the traditional Mexican flair, but aren't over-done or cheesy. 

Offering booths, tables, and a bar area, you can almost always get a table, incurring maybe a 20 min wait during weekend rush periods, or slightly longer for a large party. The wait is fairly standard, and definitely worth it. 

The menu is pages upon pages of standard Mexican fare, burritos, fajitas, quesadillas, etc. You will also find some more unique creations such as the Alambre, a pita stacked high with meat, veggies, sour cream and bacon, accompanied by sides. All of the food is tasty and reasonably priced, most dishes hovering within a dollar or two of $10, with plenty of "combo plates" for those who know exactly what they want. These are nice choices if you want something tasty and filling without getting fancy. They typically feature combinations such as, "two enchiladas and a burrito," or, "two tacos and a cheese quesadilla." They add a nice alternative and variety for those afraid of commitment. 

With daily food and drink specials (and they make a mean margarita), you'll have cheaper options if you want, and with the provided chips and salsa while you wait, you should never leave hungry. In fact most people leave with plenty of leftovers. 

 

Price: 2.5/5 not great, but plenty of food and quite tasty

Selection: 4/5 a huge menu with standard and unique options

Taste: 7.5/10 never heard a complaint, but nothing that will steal your heart

Atmosphere: 4/5 incredibly friendly staff, nice decorum, and a clean, happy restaurant. 

 

Overall: 18/25 a step above most Mexican places in town, without stepping up the price.

Paper Lantern

Address: 4610 Coldwater Rd, Fort Wayne, IN 46825

Phone:(260) 471-4990

 

This place doesn't look like much and walking inside may not completely change your mind, but walking out without ordering would be a huge mistake. 

The building has held a variety of restaurants over the last few years, none widely successful, and having eaten at most of them, I can't say I'm too upset. This, however, will hopefully break that chain. The food is great. Some of the best in town, and at a very agreeable price. 

After being seated you're given a two sided menu, one side for Chinese dishes and one side for Vietnamese dishes. On my first visit I went with two buddies for lunch, each of us ordering something different from the Chinese side. I sampled everything and we all agreed it was some of the best we've ever had. The lunch dishes come with your entree, choice of steamed rice, fried rice or lo mein, as well as egg drop or hot and sour soup, all for under $7 after tax. For $1 more you can add a spring roll, egg roll, or crab rangoon, all of which are highly recommendable. The portion sizes were very generous, the food was hot and tasty, and didn't feel like the standard greasy, nondescript, saucy mess that you tend to get from these 'typical' take-out prices. I went back on my own to try the Vietnamese menu, and had the pho, a delicious rice noodle and beef broth dish. It definitely didn't disappoint.

 

Price: 4.5/5 you definitely get what you pay for, and then some! Great quantity AND quality for the price (at least during lunch, can't speak for dinner)

Selection: 4/5 combining the two ethic menus isn't necessarily unusual, but they managed to keep an extensive amount of choices from each culture, and have done it well

Taste: 8.5/10 we were all shocked at how thick and hearty the soups were, how flavorful and fresh the veggies were, and how distinct each of the various sauces were. You'll never have to guess what you're eating!

Atmosphere: 2/5 this takes a huge ding for the location, outside, and inside decorum. It seems they put all their effort into the food, and quite frankly I'm not upset.  

 

Overall: 19/25 Definitely a gem. The food quality can compete with the best of the best in town, and the only real upsetting factor is having to eat there. This is readily solved by ordering take out and eating in the comfort of home. 

Corner Pocket

Address: 3215 St Joe Center Rd, Fort Wayne, IN 46835

Phone:(260) 492-7665

http://cornerpocketfw.com/

 

A place that lives up to it's name. Tucked in the corner of a strip mall, this seems to be a bar for everyone (depending on the day). With ample outdoor seating, frequent live music, free pool throughout the week, and great food and drink specials, it's an easy place to call your favorite bar.

 

While they seem to do the traditional "bar food" well, they also have an assortment of wraps, burgers, sandwiches, and more which are incredibly tasty and much healthier. As for hydration (or intoxication) they have daily drink specials, a standard selection of draft beers, and a healthy variety of bottled beverages to suit your needs. 

 

Corner Pocket has two separate sections full of billiard tables, allowing you to get up and play right away on all except their busiest nights.  They also have outdoor seating (with live music on some nights), and tables in each of the two billiard rooms, and a third indoor section with tables closer to the bar and farther from the tables. All indoor seats have views of multiple televisions which typically have the sports you want to watch, or they'll offer to change them. 

 

Price:  3.5/5 a cheap place to grab a working lunch, or to go out for a night out with the boys

Taste: 7/10 while you'll  always enjoy eating here, I rarely find myself coming JUST for the food

 Selection: 4/5 both in brews and bites you'll find something that fits the mood you're in

Atmosphere: 4/5 its a lively little place that is big enough to not feel crowded, but is rarely dead

 

Overall: 18.5/25 a fun place to waste a few hours with friends or when you want to go out without feeling like your at a college bar/night club 

Mah'nin

Address: 2701 S Calhoun St, Fort Wayne, IN 46807

Phone:(260) 744-3584 

 

This hidden little gem in Fort Wayne's downtown is something you'll wish you'd discovered years ago. Located on Calhoun St. just blocks from South Side High School, this little place doesn't look like much from the outside, and isn't exactly something to write home about from the inside either. Mah'nin has a maximum capacity of 25 customers, and only about five copies of their menu, and coupled with the appearance of the building and the occasional language barrier between the employees and customers, you may be hesitant to try it out. DON'T BE! The food is incredibly tasty, featuring a limited Thai and Burmese menu for incredibly cheap prices (typically I'd spend ~$15 for full dinners for my girlfriend and myself). They offer variable levels of spice to meet everyone's comfort zone, and have the "common" Thai dishes for those less adventurous. 

Price: 4.5/5 incredibly cheap for good quality, friendly service, and good sized portions

Taste: 7.5/10 not the best I've had, but it'll certainly make you want to come back

Selection: 3/5 while the menu doesn't tote very many items, they are likely dishes you won't find elsewhere in town

Atmosphere:  2/5 the tiny little building looks like it could use some TLC and you'll likely be in view of ingredient storage regardless of where you sit, but certainly friendly and inviting

Overall:  17/25  This is a place you can easily drive right by everyday without noticing, but once you try it, you'll be hard pressed to drive by WITHOUT stopping in for a bite!

Baan Thai

4634 Coldwater Rd Fort Wayne, IN 46825
Tel: (260) 471-2929

Baan Thai is a classy place to get great quality Thai food with a few close friends or for a romantic evening. The menu is typical Thai food, and you can safely order anything knowing it will be prepared well. The servings are easily enough for a person, but not so large as to make you uncomfortable. The atmosphere is nice, dark (the lights are down low, but every table has candle), and quiet, making it a nice place for a romantic night out. The prices are a touch higher than you might find at other Thai places, but the overall experience is worth it once in a while.
The food is also available for take-out as well.

Price: 3.5/5 little pricey, but you get what you pay for in terms of quality
Taste:  8.5/10 I've never heard a single complaint or mediocre review from anyone I've taken with me
Selection:  3/5 a surprisingly large menu for such a traditional place
Atmosphere:  3.5/5 nice, quiet, personal

Overall:  18.5/25 if you're looking to relax into a nice dinner with great food, this is just the place.

Pad Thai

Address: 3307 E State Blvd, Fort Wayne, IN 46805 
Phone:(260) 267-2885

Pad Thai, named presumably for the signature Thai dish, is a small (and I do mean small) place with decent food, quick service and not a lot of frills. The portions are enough to make you happy, without making you too stuffed, and the service is quick, but entirely out of sight other than when you need them. The menu is nothing special as far as choices good but dishes are prepared in the standard way and taste like they should.

This place seems more akin to a take-out version of Thai, rather than a place for a date.

Price: 4/5 most dishes are under $9 for a healthy sized portion.
Taste:  7/10 could definitely be better, but every dish we've tried here has been good
Selection: 3.5/5 standard Thai cuisine with a few extra dishes on top
Atmosphere: 3/5 small, pseudo cheesy decorations

Overall: 17.5/25  good for quick, tasty, cheaper Thai food.

Detroit's Finest Coney

Address: 2145 Taylor St, Fort Wayne, IN 46802
Phone:(260) 435-1536

When you are looking for it, you'll probably still pass right by this little place. For a corner shop, it has a very hole-in-the-wall feel to it. Inside you instantly get the Detroit's Finest feel. Started by a former Detriot PD officer (currently a FWPD officer), the place is small, comfy, and decorated well. You can sit on stools at the bar or a few scattered tables, standard for a coney place, but done well.

When we went, it was a mid-week early evening (~4pm) and we were the only customers. In fact the only employee at the moment meet us at the door as she was on a smoke break. This set the tone, but in a very friendly and reassuring way. During the meal the employee told us the story of Mr. Drake, the restaurant's owner, and how he wanted to give the people good food at cheap prices. You certainly get just that, huge burgers and hotdogs for good prices. The staff also seems to care very much about the experience of each customer. On one occasion, we had a coupon which was run by accident (the business deal hadn't been finalized) but they still honored it for us. On another occasion one of our burgers, "just don't look right," and the staff recooked it for us, without having to be asked saying, "I wouldn't feed it to my family the way it looked, I'm not going to feed it to you that way."

A cool place, one of the best "cheap burgers" I've ever had, and a good time.

Price: 3/5 a touch pricy for the food, but it reflects in the quantity
Taste: 7/10 some items would be closer to a 9, but overall it just isn't mindblowing
Selection: 3/5 a small menu, but as they say, stick to what you do best!
Atmosphere: 4.5/5

Overall: 17.5/25 Worth a stop, but I wouldn't drive all the way across town.

Covington Coney

5920 Covington Road Fort Wayne, IN 46804
 (260) 459-3647

Far and away the best cheese coney in town. The owner is also pretty amazing, striking up a short conversation in the sixty seconds you spend waiting for food.

The store isn't really a store, more a drive-up shack with a parking lot. That said, there are also two picnic tables you can sit at, and on most days, the staff will come out to take your order/bring out the food if you just plop down and smile/wave. The menu is tiny: coney dogs, cheesy coneys, pulled pork, chili, and not much else.

As I've said with other places, if you can do a few things very well, you don't need to do many things. We've tried it all, and it definitely varies. While the cheese coney and the chili are outstanding, the regular coney and the pulled pork are so-so. Regardless of what you order to chew on, you will be sorely remiss you if you leave without trying the Fizzy Phosphates. They come in three flavors, and are old soda-fountain style sodas. Wonderful flavor, made right in front of you, and less sugary than normal soda, these are the perfect way to wash down whatever you eat.

 Price: 4/5 $1.79 for a cheese coney, so a few pennies more than normal
Taste: 9/10 In Evan and my opinions the cheese coney is 10/10 and other items detract
Selection: 2.5/5 if you like coney dogs, perfect, if you don't, try somewhere else.
Atmosphere: 3/5

Overall: 18.5/25 The overall score belies the hidden gem that is Covington Coney.

East State Coney

Review coming soon!

New Haven Coney Cafe

Address: 357 Lincoln Hwy E, New Haven, IN 46774
Phone:(260) 748-7470

 If you aren't familiar with New Haven it is a sleepy little town butting up to Fort Wayne's southeast corner. In it you'll find a lot of small-townesque shops and eateries.

New Haven Coney Cafe seems a mix between a 1960s diner and a truck stop cafe. In other words, friendly without being cheesy or overdone. It's that place you can plop down at the end of the day without changing out of your muddy work boots, or you can take your family for a Sunday treat.

The menu features your normal assortment of burgers, fries, and quite a few different hotdog creations. They also tote several variety of homemade pie, but these are inconsistent so don't bank of them being there. They do have a few items that stand out, such as the Western dog, a hotdog with bacon, bbq sauce, and I believe onion, and the New England dog, which is similar with coleslaw traded for bbq.

So far, everything we've tried (and that is nearly everything) has been quite tasty. From the burgers and sliders, to the specialty dogs and coneys, everything tastes, smells, and sits well in the stomach. One of our group described it as, "the perfect hangover food, without the greasy feeling two hours later." The prices are good, and be sure to ask for their stamp card. It's a standard, "buy x meals and get one free," but I think you'll find yourself going here more than you realize, and it might be worth it.

As I mentioned, the place is quite comfortable, but as with a lot of small town diners, the staff is what sets it off. They always seem to know how much to joke with each customer, and how to make everyone smile.

Price: 4/5 cheap and bountiful
Taste: 8/10
Selection: 4/5 there is something for everyone, as long as you're not watching your calories!
Atmosphere: 4.5/5 there is just something so friendly about this place

 Overall: 20.5/25 A must-have if you're close, and worth the drive if you're craving a comfortable sitting feeling.

Bandido's

6536 East State Blvd. Fort Wayne, IN 46815 *note* They have multiple locations
(260) 749-0485

Your typical Mexican restaurant. This place has great quality, and a superb lunch menu. Other than a touch pricey (maybe a dollar or two more than seems standard) you can trade it out for any other Mexican place and not notice too much.

The seating is nice, comfy chairs, darker (but still highly visible) rooms, mirrored walls, but there are an oddly high amount of rails, partial walls, and other steps to trip you if you aren't paying attention. In general good flavor, standard selection, some servers better than others, etc.

Price: 2/5
Taste: 7/10
Selection: 3.5/5
Atmosphere: 4/5

Overall: 16.5/25 If you don't mind the extra few dollars, you'll have a good meal in a more quite, intimate, relaxed atmosphere. Good, but there are better places to go.

Jeff's Coney

Address: 6330 E State Blvd, Fort Wayne, IN 46815
Phone:(260) 748-7300

Growing up this was a place I would frequent with friends when we wanted a cheap hotdog. Sadly, some parts of childhood are best left as memories.

We tried this place during the "lunch rush" on a week day. It was surprisingly busy, although most of the patrons seems to be of the retired age. The waitress was nice enough, but definitely nothing I would have noticed at all had I not being reviewing the place. The food prices have definitely gone with, for three coney dogs and a small plate of fried mushrooms I paid more than $10. Most of the food seemed as if it had been pulled from the freezer and microwaved to death, or worse, simply dropped in a deep frier and forgotten.

Other dishes at our table were: the chicken strips, various coney specialties, and cheese fries. None were worth the price, and this is one of the first times each of the people I went with actually left food on our plates.

Price: 3/5 Still a cheap-ish meal, but not for quantity or type of food.
Taste: 2/10 horrible temperature on most dishes, as well as over seasoning (salt, mustard, onion, etc.) and a general sense you could have microwaved the same concoction at home.
Selection: 2/5 it's your standard hotdog joint without all the sandwich and burger options which usual accompany.
Atmosphere: 3/5 The decor is cool, but nothing special. The staff was pleasant but nothing more.

Overall: 10/25 the old-time feel and decor of the restaurant seemed to match my overall opinion, this place used to be a lot better than it is now.

Welcome!!

Hello and welcome to my latest blog! This is an ever growing attempt to create a guide to eating out in Fort Wayne. The reviews come from myself, as well as others who have eaten at these places with me. Hopefully this will help to avoid bias. I do pretty much fall in love with every food I try, so keep this in mind as you read, but hopefully this can help point you to something you've never tried or wouldn't have known about!

Where did this idea come from? About a full year ago now my friend Evan and I decided we wanted to try every coney dog eatery in Fort Wayne. From there, my girlfriend and I wanted to try every Thai and Chinese place. My friend Aurora and I then set out to try every pizza place. Along the way I kept hearing students at my school (I'm currently in grad school at IPFW) mumbling about the three places they knew where to grab food. So in short, I writing this because: I like to eat, I like to write, I want to let other people know about great food, and this helps me justify going out so much :)

As I said this is a work in progress so please be patient, and check back often and I'm going to try and ad a review or two a day until I'm caught up.