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Michiana Food Guide, 2522 Miracle Ln, Mishawaka, IN (2026)

03/12/2025

Bululu Tropical-$-Mishawaka, IN
📸Patacon with Sweet Plantains and Grilled Steak; Black Beans; Fried Arepas with Parilla; Empanada Operada with Chicken; Strawberry Tropical Juice

I love a good fast casual place where I can grab a bowl or a wrap, but sometimes I need something more than just the standard chicken and tortilla, and Bululu Tropical definitely offers some more creative and flavorful options. Their Venezuelan twist on some of my lunchtime go-tos were pretty spectacular. The Patacon is a massive sandwich that needs a fork, and the fried sweet plantains that served as the crunchy bun for the grilled steak, fresh avocados, and other abundance of toppings is my new favorite sandwich container. My dining companion considers himself a black bean connoisseur, and he gave these a solid rating. Because they were at the top of the menu, I thought Empanadas Operada would be more appetizer-like as they are in many other restaurants, but this one was a meal in and of itself wrapped in a deep fried cornmeal dough with lots of melty cheese and shredded chicken. Bonus: If you dine in, your food is delivered quickly and efficiently by a cat-themed robot 🐱 🤖

02/24/2025

Corndance Tavern-$$$$-Mishawaka, IN
📸Wagyu Ossobucco; Rosemary Lemon Drop, Butcher’s Wedge Salad; Fire Roasted Elote Corn; Southern Style Green Beans; 14oz. Ribeye

There are so many amazing options for those extra special dinners that come along to celebrate life’s victories or mark major milestone, but I always find myself gravitating back to Corndance Tavern for these occasions because they never disappoint when it comes to quality and creativity. For Valentine’s Day this year, we paid a visit and were met with some amazing specials as well as the menu standards we’ve come to love. The Wagyu short rib with bone marrow and risotto was slow cooked to tender perfection. The sides, especially the corn, were perfect accompaniments to the juicy ribeye. We skipped the apps this time and opted for the Butcher’s Wedge Salad that had homemade blue cheese dressing worthy of licking the plate but completely inappropriate on such a romantic night in a packed house😂. My favorite dish here is the ever-changing Sword 🗡️ of John Adams (yes it’s actually served on a small sword!), which on this night I didn’t order, but was loaded up with enough food for two with a pork chop, ribeye, New York strip, scallops, mac & cheese, and a wedge salad. No wonder John Adams had a dad bod😊

02/17/2025

Franklin House-$-Valparaiso, IN
📸Gene Autry’s Diner Burger & Sweet Potato Fries; Chipotle Honey Wings; Irish Totchos

Franklin House is everything you’d want and expect in a local bar: tons of tap options, warm and worn interior, and colorful local characters chatting up the friendly, but no-nonsense veteran bartender. What you may not be expecting are words like aioli and brioche on the menu and food that wows you by being incredibly creative and stunningly delicious. The place touts their burgers as the best in Valpo, but we believe it rivals anything we’ve tried in a 100 mile radius. The Gene Autry’s Diner was a smash burger with mustard, grilled onions, American cheese, Magic Sauce, pickles, and lettuce, and the menu is very clear that there are no additions or subtractions because they believe, and we agree, that chef got this one perfect so don’t mess with it😂. Next time we’ll be trying the House Burger because peanut butter, bacon, fried egg, Swiss cheese, and mayo on a pretzel also sounds genius. Wings were crispy and juicy, and tater tots loaded up like nachos with cheese and bacon were more than we could finish but too melty and crunchy to resist.

09/22/2023

Dave’s Hot Chicken-$-South Bend, IN
📸Sliders with Cheese Fries; Slider and Tender; Kale Slaw; Top-Loaded Oreo Shake; Mac and Cheese

“College Game Day” is rolling into town tomorrow for the Notre Dame vs. Ohio State match up, and whether you are getting up early to get a chance to be seen on TV with your clever cardboard creation or you are gearing up for a gigantic tailgate, you are gonna need some food 🍗. And now that Dave’s Hot Chicken has set up shop in Eddy Street Commons, you won’t have to go far to find some pre-game grub. Now don’t start hating if you don’t like spice. Dave’s has seven levels of heat from No Spice to Reaper so there’s no reason to let your pepper 🌶️ prejudice hold you back from placing an order. And you will be pleasantly surprised at the large portions of crispy, juicy chicken that Dave’s is serving up. What Dave’s calls a tender is more like a fillet, and when that tender goes on a soft, warm bun, they call it a Slider, but it’s actually the size of what other chains call a sandwich. They keep it simple with those two offerings and three side choices of crinkle-cut fries, mac & cheese, and kale slaw, which were all super tasty. And to keep that large-portion theme going, the Top-Loaded Oreo Shake lived up to its name, with an over abundance of cookies crushed on top of a creamy vanilla shake. Ranch lovers take note: it’s BYOB for you since Dave’s Sauce is the ONLY kind they serve, but the mildly spicy mayonnaise-based blend is a perfectly complementary condiment for the chicken. They also offer several options of Hot Boxes to feed all your tailgating friends or to keep you fueled for a long day of cheering on your favorite team🏈

05/10/2023

Studebagels- South Bend, IN- $
📸Hashbrown Smash Bagel with one egg and avocado
🥯We’ve never met a bagel place we didn’t like! South Bend Chocolate Company’s recent business addition is serving up homemade bagel sandwiches made to order. The hashbrown smash bagel had a cheesy flavor and the bacon was high quality. I added avocado because why not, but their avocado is guacamole (personal pet peeve). Their sandwiches normally come with 3 eggs, but I reduced to one egg for personal preference. The interior is minimalist and offers a retail storefront for their chocolate products. I searched everywhere for a Lox bagel and theirs is only on the lunch menu! We will have to return for ultimate lox bagel sandwich, The Lorax.

03/11/2023

El Cantarito-$$-La Porte, IN
📸Tacos De Birria; Steak Fajitas; Raspberry Margarita; Chips & Salsa; Grilled Shrimp Tacos; Queso Dip & Guacamole; Pork Taco and Chicken Burrito

When someone tells me they found a new place with great margaritas, you better believe I will prioritize a visit ASAP. So after a dinner party where some guests were raving about the margs at El Cantarito in La Porte, we decided to start our weekend early there one Friday with lunch. Situated in a strip mall not far from Pine Lake, the interior is spacious with a large bar area and booths in the dining area adorned with warm, sparkly string lights. But the first problem…no margaritas on the menu. No tabletop flip cards with flavors. No mention of tequila anywhere. Was this the spot with legendary libations or were we in the wrong place? Granted it was lunch, but according to Jimmy Buffett is was 5 o’clock somewhere, right? After asking the server, she did confirm that both on the rocks and frozen versions were available and then proceeded to list the 7 or so flavors. I chose frozen raspberry, and unlike many frozen margs I’ve had, this one did NOT skimp on the tequila, and the result was a well-balanced drink that tasted more like a cocktail and less like a Slurpee. The lunch specials were incredibly tasty and incredibly reasonable, including Steak Fajitas for $8. The Tacos De Birria, according to the taco snob I was dining with, were an excellent version, with the crispy shells dipped in the rich consommé with some more consommé on the side for additional dipping. The Shrimp Tacos were plump and fresh with big slices of avocado to top them off, and the freshness theme continued in the guacamole and the salsa we scooped up with multiple baskets of hot chips. Looking forward to a return visit to try another marg flavor (passion fruit?) and the extended options on the dinner menu.

02/24/2023

King Crab-$$$-Mishawaka, IN
📸Boil with Snow Crab and Black Mussels; Mai Tai; Spicy Honey Wings with Sweet Potato Fries; Hushpuppies; Crab Rangoons

In a former life, I am sure I was a New Englander. My deep love of all things crab, clams, mussels, and pretty much all edible crustaceans had to have been honed somewhere other than the oceanless Midwest, which is why I am so thrilled by the recent proliferation of restaurants specifically focused on my boiled and buttered seafood desires. King Crab has taken up residence in the former TGI Fridays in Mishawaka, and they have spent some coin to turn the place into a cool version of what Captain Nemo’s man cave might have looked like, adding plenty of nautical decor while retaining the bar and TVs. A cocktail menu is available, so we started with a Mai Tai, which was a tart and tasty monochromatic version of this classic, and we paired it with the Crab Rangoons and Hushpuppies. The puppies were fine, a standard offering from the freezer to the fryer, but the Rangoons were disappointing. Everything you would want from this app, most importantly the smooth and savory crab and cream cheese filling, was missing, and we were left with thick wonton triangles with nothing inside. We ordered the Spicy Honey Wings with Sweet Potato Fries, and like the Hushpuppies, were hot and crunchy, but the wings were neither spicy nor sweet. While the description said they were “non-breaded” they also arrived non-seasoned and non-sauced. We did politely ask if we were missing the sauce, and our server explained to us that “non-breaded” meant no sauce. We decided to create our own boil and chose snow crab clusters and black mussels in the Tangy Special Blend. It arrived at our table in the usual steam-filled plastic bag, and while the seafood was properly cooked, it had not spent much time boiling in the house sauce. None of the components, including the corn and potatoes, had absorbed any of the richness of the butter or the spice of the blend. We ended up taking most of it home (because no seafood-loving Midwesterner leaves crab legs behind) and it was a better dish a day later after it sat in the sauce overnight.

02/10/2023

Vinyl Tap and Table-$$-Mishawaka, IN
📸Korean Glazed Brussels Sprouts; Shotgun Truffle Fried Chicken Sandwich; Potato Fritters; Jumbo Wings with BBQ Sauce

If you would have told me 10 years ago that I would dine at a particular restaurant specifically to taste their Brussels sprouts, I would have thought Ashton Kutcher was showing up to punk me (although Kutcher has not Punk’d anyone on television since 2007). Brussels sprouts as destination dining??? No way! But that is exactly what another table of diners shared with us on our recent trip to Vinyl Tap and Table, a music-themed, diner-vibe establishment in downtown Mishawaka. As they were passing our table on the way to theirs, they stopped to admire our Potato Fritters, a larger-than-life and ultra-bougie version of a tater tot, stuffed with rosemary and goat cheese, and accompanied by a killer house made ranch dressing. They asked if we had been there before (we had not) and if we had tried the Brussels sprouts (we had just placed our order for them) because they had heard they were amazing and they were there to try them. Like us, I am sure they were not disappointed. The Korean Glazed Brussels Sprouts were indeed a top-of-the charts version of this trendy app, soaked in honey chili sauce with big chunks of crispy bacon. Unlike other versions I have had, it was clear these sprouts had spent some time getting to know the other ingredients because every nook and cranny had locked in the sauce and bits of bacon to create a tender bite-sized explosion of sweet, salty and spicy. The “jumbo” wings, which may be a little hyperbolic, were meatier and larger than ones I’ve been getting recently at larger chains, and came with just enough sauce that you could still taste the actual chicken. They also came with the aforementioned ranch dressing, so BONUS! The Shotgun Truffle Fried Chicken Sandwich was huge, hot and crispy, with pepper jack, pickled vegetables, spicy ranch, a a beautiful runny yolk egg which always sounds delicious on the menu but ends up having a mind of its own, migrating off your sandwich, onto your face and hand and down the front of your shirt. Not that this has ever happened to me😁

12/27/2022

Blockhead Beerworks- Valparaiso, IN
📸Crab Rangoon Potstickers, Should Have Been a Cowboy roll, Humble Pig Pho, and the Fried Rice of the Week
Look at that sushi art! Not a bad bite this whole meal. The crab Rangoon potstickers were sweet and crunchy. The sushi roll had bacon that made it special. The pho broth had a lot of flavor and the brussel sprouts were a great addition. The fried rice of the week with filet and shrimp had so much flavor for a fried rice. Not a single boring dish here! (And they’re open for lunch too.)

07/04/2022

No. 6 Scratch Kitchen-$$$-South Bend, IN
📸Brisket Biscuit; Beef Bourguignon; Beer & Cocktail; Fig and Goat Cheese Jar; Mediterranean Airline Chicken

Six things you need to know about No. 6 Scratch Kitchen:
1. It’s adorable! Set in an old firehouse on the edge of downtown, it classy, quaint, and intimate.
2. Don’t take the kids! This is only for 21+.
3. Go thirsty. The wine and cocktail menu is lengthy, creative and very affordable. The cocktail I had, which I believe was a key lime martini, was delicious and a bargain for $8.
4. The service was super friendly. Our waitress was so knowledgeable and so attentive without being intrusive. Perfect service!
5. Go hungry because the food is not only incredible, it also comes in gigantic portions. The Brisket Biscuit, which was listed as a shareable, was a meal all on its own, with a huge buttery drop biscuit filled with tender brisket and tangy melted cheddar. We love anything with goat cheese so we had to try the jar and though it was missing the advertised baguette that was supposed to accompany it, the substituted naan still let the sweet and savory cheese mixture be the star. The airline chicken tasted nothing like any airline food I’ve ever had, as it was nicely seasoned and joined by a zesty lemony couscous.
6. Make reservations. Word is spreading about the food here, and since the space is small you don’t want to be disappointed by a long wait or a full evening.

Michiana Food Guide

03/12/2025

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09/22/2023

05/10/2023

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