Derby Dish

So I'm back from my Derby Hiatus and I had a fantastic weekend. I got my fill of Indianapolis (which is where you stay when the rooms in Louisville are sold out), witnessed the "Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports" and spent far too much time in the car. Oh, and I picked the winning horse :)



My very first mint julep ... at the place that made 'em famous!



But despite the fabulous weekend we had, I have to admit that I'm terribly disappointed. As you probably know, our sightseeing primarily revolves around food. We visit lots of places we see on the Food Network or Man vs. Food. We always seek out famous local or regional dishes. We try to avoid chains at all costs. And this tactic usually results in some favorite, memorable meals!

 We've had kalbi barbecue in Honolulu, we've had Juicy Lucys in Minneapolis, we've had cannoli in Boston ... and now I can say I've had a mint julep in Louisville. But that's about all I had this weekend that was notable. We were sorely disappointed in the food in both Indianapolis and Louisville (well, specifically at Churchill Downs, since that was all we saw of Louisville).

We had a pretty average meal in downtown Indianapolis on Thursday night. On Friday we made our way to a place called Edward's Drive In, which we saw featured on Man vs. Food. Here, Adam ate what has to be the world's largest pork tenderloin sandwich. It was fine, but nothing to write home about. It was packed, though, so at least the locals seem to love it.

Yes, that's a pork tenderloin the size of your head. And I nearly polished it off.

At the Derby on Saturday our options were hot dogs, peanuts, popcorn and soft pretzels. Thank goodness there were mint juleps to make up for the lack of edibles. I expected more from the most revered racetrack on Earth. I can only hope that the rich and famous enjoy some pretty superior catering, especially with the likes of Guy Fieri and Bobby Flay there. Oh, Adam Richman was there, too, but as we've learned (see Edward's Drive In, above) he's not too picky.

The "Big Ugly," which Bill was way too weak to finish!

Before we headed home on Sunday we visited another Man vs. Food stop, Bub's Burgers in Carmel. This is where Adam encounted "The Big Ugly," a 1-pound burger. If you finish it, you get your picture on the wall. Bill ordered it and didn't even come close. I polished off my half-pounder, no problem, but Bill was left with more than half his burger on his plate. Turns out a burger that big can't be juicy and delicious (as Adam so often claims of giant slabs of meat). On a positive note, Carmel is a super cute little town!

So while the food was lacking, I'm glad to say that I crossed two more Man vs. Food stops off the list AND I had a once-in-a-lifetime experience at the Kentucky Derby. It was well worth a few not-so-good meals :)