The Hungry Hoosier

Lord-Jon Tacos, Kokomo

Put another notch in the sign post welcoming you into Kokomo. I'm not sure what it is about this city, put they've got a several hometown favorites that are unique, cheap, and long-standing. The first one of these I ran across where the Bake's served up at Louie's Coney Island (read about those here). I recently learned about another place serving up great grub - Lord-Jon's Tacos.

This place has been a around over 40 years and served up Kokomo's very first taco, long before Taco Bell or anyone else. These are very unusual tacos, especially considering, Lord Jon is a Gringo. Instead of the pre-made taco shells that usually wrap around a taco, Lord-Jon makes shells one at a time by plopping down a corn-meal mix on a hot griddle. Tacos come with seasoned beef, cheese, and lettuce and tomato is available by request. At just $1.09 each, you can get your fill for just a few bucks. The menu (available here) has several other choices but when I visited, the place was packed and I didn't see anyone ordering anything other than the tacos.

After ordering at the counter and waited just a few minutes for my made-to-order lunch. It arrived without much fanfare - just a couple of tacos each in a scalloped-edge paper holder usually associated with a hot dog. I topped mine with hot sauce found in red squirt bottles. This is powerful stuff - more Tabasco than salsa. The crisp shell, the spicy beef, the cool crisp lettuce and the fiery hot sauce all worked together beautifully. This is a great taco.

Lord-Jon Tacos is located at 1523 East Markland in Kokomo and they can be reached by phone at 765-452-0616.

Ned's Corner Pub, Kokomo

Ned's Corner Pub in Kokomo is a "joint" and I mean that in a good way. About as unpretentious as they come, this place serves up cold beer and straightforward food. There is more to Ned's, however, than the food and drink. It is the kind of place where local people gather to connect with one another. Staff and patrons alike catch up on politics, their kids and grandkids, and every topic in between. It is the kind of neighborhood joint that every neighborhood needs, but fewer and fewer have.

Ned himself is long gone. Today the place is run by his boys, Mario and Dean Glunt. It remains a popular spot for the locals and I feel privileged to eat there for lunch occasionally when I am in town on business. When I visited this week, the daily lunch special sounded too good to refuse - a baked tenderloin with mashed potatoes, green beans, gravy, and a couple slices of wheat bread for just $5.50. 

As you might imagine this is a substantial lunch. The kind of lunch that might cause you to skip dinner. On this cool fall day, it was just what the doctor ordered. OK, I'm sure my doctor would NOT have ordered this for me, but hopefully you get my drift. After I ordered, I swear it was only about 45 seconds before the heavy oval plate appeared before me. I was not familiar with a "baked" tenderloin but now I think it is my new best comfort-food friend - a pork tenderloin, dredged in flour and seasonings, pan-seared, and then baked in the oven. Accompanying the tenderloin was a mound of real mashed potatoes and heap of green beans (with bacon of course).

The plate usually comes with gravy on both the pork and the spuds but I ordered mine on the side. It has been my experience that even some really great food can be ruined by a add-hot-water-and stir, institutional-food pasty nastiness masquerading as gravy.No such fear at Ned's. This gravy was the real deal. As delicious as the pan gravy of my youth made by my family's matriarchs. This was a great lunch and such a terrific value at just $5.50.

As for the rest of Ned's menu, it is available here and includes a good combination of pub grub, steaks and chops, chicken, and I'm told the house-made chili is outstanding. Ned's is located at 105 West Markland (and Main).

Louie's Coney Island, Kokomo

Sometimes, I run across something that completely embodies the very essence of Hungry Hoosierdom. Such was the case today when I stopped in for lunch at Louie's Coney Island in Kokomo, Indiana. Although it stands in a new location, Louie's has been around since 1937 and their claim to fame is something called a "Bake." It is officially called a Baked Hamburger but I quickly learned that regulars use the monosyllabic short-hand version. A Bake is served in a hot dog bun with mustard, coney sauce, and a ton of diced onions. The meat is sort of a ground-beef, casing-less (I think) sausage type thing with some unusual spices. The consistency is somewhere between a hot dog and a hamburger. It is completely unlike anything I have ever had. The Bake runs only $1.40 and its served on a piece of deli wax paper. 

Louie's also has a traditional coney with all the same ingredients as the bake except for a dog instead of the burger. Traditional tenderloins. burgers, and a few other sandwiches are also offered. You can see a full menu here. Louie's also serves breakfast and is closed Sundays. You can find it at 17th and Hoffer in Kokomo and their phone number is 765-459-9649.