Odds are your not going to plan a vacation to this area anytime soon. Myabe theres a slim chance you go to the nice area along the beach in Long Beach, Indiana or that area but otherwise you will probably just be passing thru to or from Chicago or en route to four winds casino in New Buffalo, Michigan. But its just 20 miles from downtown Chicago and me being the fiend I am for roadfood, I like to ride around and eat there.
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Some of the places in NW Indiana such as Gary are like the Pompeii of the USA, deserted and not much has changed since in years. The same goes for the food.
Took some rides thru NW Indiana did some good eating. I had been to the Lincoln Take-Out's in Hobart and when we were with my buddy I told him we were right by this place I went too and poof it popped out of nowhere. Then when we were headed back we came across another Lincoln's in Calumet City, IL. I had known all along I read about this place somewhere and the name Lincoln and subs in NW Indiana all together rang a bell. Turns out that Lincoln's in Highland, IN was a very popular spot during this areas prime during the 70's and it spawned many imitators who copied the exact style of this unique NW Indiana roadfood joint. More on the original later.
Lincoln carry outs in Hobart, IN
we were told that the steelworkers special and the bunny girl are two of the favorites
Quite a menu selection that extends all over the walls
Steelworkers Special (L) and Bunny Girl (ham & melted swiss served on French bread with mayo lettuce and tomato)
according to the Post tribune the "Steelworkers" special is the best sandwich in NW Indiana (grilled roast beef, American cheese, lettuce, tomato and onion on grilled beefsteak rye)
Would of tried a Lincoln burger (double jumbo burger on French bread with all the trimmings) but we had already ate them at Miner Dunn (below) and TAB.
picked up some Peerless chips which are native to the area
Also hit up Miner Dunn for one of the better burgers Ive had this year, amazing fries too. I will 110% be back here, loved this old school burger place located in Highland, IN.
C'mon you know just by looking at the sign that its good.
MD deluxe special (cheeseburger with ketchup, relish, onions) their amazing thin fresh cut fries and a orange sherbert.
On the way back what do you know we hit up another Lincoln sandwich shop in NW Indiana.
In Calumet City
very similar and when my buddy asked if they had any relation to the one in Hobart we got a "arrggh no"
I spotted that they serve "Toledo" sandwiches. It was too late as they were closing and we were the last to order.
My buddy went with a Chicken teriyaki, not bad at all for $2.99
Im going to re-educate myself on this later but I thought I would share the pics now. The dining spots still around that survived time really have that old school feel, thats what I love about the area. Anyone else been to these spots? I like all of them and would put the Lincoln in Hobart as better taken care of and less grimey than the one in Calumet, but ill be back to both. Ones things for sure these places have all been around and not much has changed about them or the food I assume. I love it.
Arnies, a member of the
Vienna beef hall of fame, has good Natural casing dogs from vienna and you get the option of Chicago-Style or everything, which is mustard, relish, onions and a pepperonchini. This seems to be a popular topping in NW Indiana.
Arnie's dog with everything, no relish.
I also stopped at Madvek's, for a loose meat sammy.
I haven't tried many loose meats that I didn't make myself but this was the best version I have tried from a restaurant.
NW Indiana has tons of places that are 15+ years old and in many cases much older and most are little pizza taverns or shacks supplying the blue collar workers with good roadfood style food, its quite interesting driving around and exploring all the good eats and is much closer than you might think to Chicago. There is a little grocery store in Whiting that pretty much sums up the area, they offer homemade tamales and homemade pierogi's.
I had read on another forum I post at that the original Lincolns in Highland, IN is the real McCoy and that all others cant hold a candle to the real deal.
Well I listened and I am glad I did. I have now been to three different Lincoln's and to quote the poster who tipped me off "The places you went to are pale comparisons that do not hold a candle to the real McCoy"
This picture from across the street kind of sums up how nondescript Lincolns is, if you were a passerby you would never think that this is a sandwich place. When you look at it from the outside it looks as though it is either a wedding banquet hall or a wedding tailor or flower shop or something of that nature. Then when you step in the first thing that came to my mind was that I felt like I was at a hospital cafeteria. Its a large pink dining room with old school tables and chairs with fake flowers on each table and then the ordering station in the very back.
Just like the previous two Lincoln's I visited, they had all the sandwiches described on some paper taped onto the wall. Its really sad how excited I was when I finally found this place, I had been looking around for it every time I was in the area and never had the address. This time even with the address, google text didnt recognize it so I had to find it on my own.
I believe this was the Crisper, an Italian piled with meats, cheese and veggies. Notice how big these sandwiches are? They are just $3.95 each and I though we were getting sandwiches with the portions of the other Lincolns...no sir. This is the real McCoy.
Look at this Bunny Girl special compared to the one I got in Hobart (upthread) The meats are triple the amount and much better quality and the price is lower.
The Sibley special was a loaded sandwich consisting of turkey, bacon, lettuce, tomato, hard boiled egg and oil.
Portions for the price are almost unreal at the Real Lincoln's. This is half of a Lincoln burger...what I think were four all beef patty's with special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles onions on a French bread bun. But this was so much better than a Big Mac. When did Lincolns come up with this burger? if it was before 1968, McDonald's ripped them off.
I really enjoyed this sandwich, burger or whatever you want to call it.
Lincoln's is the real deal, thats for sure. I see a visit from Diner, Drive In's & Dives in their near future. It really is a diamond in the rough.
I have been going to a friends house in Michigan City over the summer for over 15 years now. When I got my license and we came and went ourselves, I always loved taking the South Shore and driving thru all the neighborhoods in the area all the way up or back. I found alot of info on places to check out from posts around the net. I have been going up to the area for work the past few Mondays and finally stopped at the Whiting Pierogi & Tamale store after driving by it the past few years.
Located on Indianapolis right across the street from the Dunkin Donuts that is right in the middle of Pierogi fest.
Its a small store that has six of these freezers pictured above on the left filled with various pierogi's, dumplings, blintzes, knish, pierogi bombers and all that stuff including deli goods like meats and salads. They have over 40 types of pierogi according to the menu. They also have pork, beef, chicken, hot pork, spicy chicken, cheese and jalapeno and bean & cheese tamales available hot by the dozen and frozen. You can mix and match all the items and save the more you by. Its a place I fell in love with upon entering. I got some frozen pierogi to go and had to pass on the tamales b/c it was just me and a friend and we were on a different mission. I will say by the smell and feel and look of the tamal's, they seemed and smelled pretty damn good.
Northwest Indiana has two native fast food joints with various locations...
Schoops and
Zel's.
A Mickey burger from Schoops and a chili cheese fries from Zel's
I also made it to John's pizzeria last night on my way home around 7:30 and it was doing good business for a Monday, quite a few family's and people enjoying their pizza's.
I thought this place was the definition of an old school pizza joint. I enjoyed everything about this place including the pie. I tried a signature loose meat sausage and give it the thumbs up and on my way out a father and son had a onions and sausage delivered that smelled so good it had me thinking about getting a small to go.
There is no denying that NW Indiana is still rich in food gems that have withstood the downfall of the area. Not much has changed out there. If you need an excuse other than just the food, the gas is cheap and the Cabela's in Hammond is still one of the funnest stores to shop at in the world.
Im not a big hunter or outdoorsman and I still love it. They have everything you need to deep fry your turkey this Thanksgiving season and all sorts of fun BBQ and kitchen toys like dutch ovens and smokers and marinades and rubs for the holiday season. I had been there four times previous to yesterday and just saw that they have a general store for the first time. Ive been to Mackinaw Island and their fudge shops but I have never seen so many different flavors of fudge.
Quick Question: has anybody ever been to or heard of "The Lure Hamburgers" in Gary? The only mentions of it on the internet are in the comments section on stories about Gary scattered throughout the internet. People reminisce about it on their comments as if it is gone but its still there and open but there are no listings that I can find. I think it was on route 20 near the minor league baseball stadium.
Proving once again, there's more than corn in Indiana and in Northwest Indiana you can visit the childhood neighborhood of the King of pop and eat great roadfood. Muhahaha.
If you like this
check out my sitewhere I report on my food adventures throughout Chicago and the US of A.
Lincoln's O
2813 Highway Ave.,
Highland, IN
(219) 923-4144
Whiting Pierogi & Tamale
1548 Indianapolis BLVD
Whiting, IN
219-659-2222
The Original John's Restaurant & Pizzeria
2356 Schrage Av (at Indianapolis Blvd & 124th St)
Whiting IN
219-659-1046
Sun-Thu 10:30-11, Fri-Sat 10:30-12
Cabela's
7700 Cabela Drive
Hammond, IN 46324
(219) 845-9024
The Lure Hamburgers
Gary, IN
????????????????
Lincoln Carry-Out's
1002 Lincoln St
Hobart, IN 46342
(219) 942-2113
Miner Dunn
8940 Indianapolis Blvd
Highland, IN 46322
Phone: (219) 923-3311
Lincoln's Tasty Sandwiches
1458 Sibley Blvd
Calumet City, IL 60409
(708) 891-3240
Arnie's dog house
1503 Indianapolis Blvd
Whiting, IN 46394
(219) 659-3004
Madvek's
6923 Calumet Ave
Hammond, IN 46324-2009
(219) 932-1060
