Eating our way around Hendricks County
The food scene in Hendricks County is delicious! I felt like I gained at least five pounds during our visit (fortunately, the scale didn’t agree when we returned home). We dined at some amazing restaurants, each of them locally owned.
Oasis Diner in Plainfield opened in the mid-1950s. It was closed for a few years, but new owners took over and moved it from its original location to the town center. It fits well, among the early 1900s buildings.
The food is made inhouse with as much locally sourced products as possible. The eatery makes its own sodas. I enjoyed a root beer. The food is amazing. My pork tenderloin sandwich is the absolute best I’ve ever had. The pork was tender and moist. The breading was light. Paired with sides of sweet potato fries and homemade coleslaw, I couldn’t finish the meal.
Lisa opted to go with the Quaker breakfast meal, with ham, eggs and toast. A side of grits was perfect.
Danville’s Bread Basket Café and Bakery was lights out good. Situated in a renovated house a few blocks from the city center, homemade meals hit the spot. The tomatoes in my omelet tasted so fresh I could have sworn they were handpicked that morning.
Lisa and I each had breakfast dessert – chocolate brownie for her and coconut cream pie for me. Yummy!
Staying in Danville, Diesel’s Sports Grille offered a nice take on burgers. We both enjoyed a burger and fries while catching a few college football games on the television sets scattered around the restaurant.
The food was overshadowed by the front of a truck behind the bar. A Freightliner front (its headlights can be turned on) was the inspiration of the owner. He first thought of using a truck theme about six years ago. It works.
A few steps from Diesel’s is the Mayberry Café. Based on the television series “The Andy Griffith Show,” Mayberry serves comfort food that you may have seen Aunt Bea make on the show. The food is great.
The restaurant’s décor is based on the show. Pictures of scenes of the show and its actors are located throughout the eatery. Outside, an old police car sits in front of the restaurant.
Dawson’s Too Sticks and Stones in Brownsburg holds a special place in our hearts. Lisa had mentioned to the Hendricks County visitors bureau that we wanted to find a sports bar that was showing the Nebraska football game. They went above and beyond for us. They made reservations for us at Dawson’s Too.
The restaurant took it a step further. They reserved the middle two seats at the bar for us. They had the two middle 55-inch TV sets turned to the Husker game. And, we had our own beer glasses – Husker beer glasses. The manager had bought them and put them at our spot. Impressive!
The food matched the service. We started with an appetizer of calamari. We expected the typical calamari rings and cocktail sauce. Instead, we had calamari strips with a tartar sauce, cocktail sauce and a special sauce. The strips were impressive.
Our main “entrees” were actually more appetizers. We had barbecues chicken wings and Lisa had a quesadilla. We were impressed with the food.
We had read about Pit Stop BBQ in Brownsburg before our trip. We knew it was a place we wanted to check out. We were super impressed. The food was delicious and the décor used a race car theme. Made sense.
We enjoyed experiencing the great food and service in Hendricks County. I could go for a return trip on a foodie tour. We recommend checking out the food scene in the county.
For more information on Hendricks County, please visit www.visithendrickscounty.com.
Disclaimer: Thank you to Hendricks County and the following businesses for complimentary visits: Oasis Diner, Bread Basket Café and Bakery, Mayberry Café and Dawson’s Too. However, all opinions and reviews are ours.
