Northwest Indiana Discussion :: View topic - Bronko's Restaurant & Lounge

Joey Doves wrote:

Seems to me Crown Point is the place to go for good food in NWI, so it can't be that bad.

Really? Where?

I'm only half-joking. Other than Lucrezia, which is good mom n' pop Italian, there isn't much else. And I would add that the original Lucrezia in Chesterton is IMO the better of the two locations. Munster (with Cafe Elise, Cafe Borgia, and Giovannis) and Valparaiso (with Bistro 157, Don Quixote, and Pikk's) offer IMO more choices in fine dining than Crown Point. I personally consider Valpo to be the destination dining town in NW Indiana.

I noticed you have tried a number of Italian restaurants. By any chance have you tried Gamba in Merrillville? Where Lucrezia's Chicago equivalant is something like Sabatino's or a simpler Merlo on Maple, Gamba's equivalent is something like Spiaggia (actually something between Spiaggia and Cafe Spiaggia). For reference, IMO the Chicago equivalent to Giovanni's is Vinci.

Author:	Food Guy [ Sat Feb 05, 2005 5:12 pm ]
Post subject:	Bronko's Restaurant & Lounge - Crown Point
1244 North Main Street Crown Point, Indiana 219-769-3124 What do you think?

Author:	nullvalue [ Mon Nov 13, 2006 1:39 pm ]
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I ate here on a neighbor's recommendation of good pizza.. I can tell they had grown up in indiana because their pizza was not all that impressive.. Plus when we went, they were extremely busy and the service sucked hard. We nearly walked out of the place..

Author:	party42 [ Mon Nov 13, 2006 9:59 pm ]
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Null, it is always busy at Bronko's. I for one do not like their pizza at all. It is like eating cheese and grease on a piece of card board.

Author:	nullvalue [ Mon Nov 13, 2006 11:30 pm ]
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party42 wrote: Null, it is always busy at Bronko's. I can't understand for the life of me why..

Author:	party42 [ Wed Nov 15, 2006 10:23 pm ]
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I think it has just been around for so long people have made it the place to go. Go figure?

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Author:	Joey Doves [ Sat Mar 08, 2008 12:01 am ]
Post subject:
What kind of place is this? A restaurant? Lounge? Pizza parlor? I'm assuming the pizza is not too good by some of the comments I read. Do they have any other food on the menu? Seems to me Crown Point is the place to go for good food in NWI, so it can't be that bad.

Author:	markh [ Sun Mar 09, 2008 6:49 pm ]
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Joey Doves wrote: Seems to me Crown Point is the place to go for good food in NWI, so it can't be that bad. Really? Where? I'm only half-joking. Other than Lucrezia, which is good mom n' pop Italian, there isn't much else. And I would add that the original Lucrezia in Chesterton is IMO the better of the two locations. Munster (with Cafe Elise, Cafe Borgia, and Giovannis) and Valparaiso (with Bistro 157, Don Quixote, and Pikk's) offer IMO more choices in fine dining than Crown Point. I personally consider Valpo to be the destination dining town in NW Indiana. I noticed you have tried a number of Italian restaurants. By any chance have you tried Gamba in Merrillville? Where Lucrezia's Chicago equivalant is something like Sabatino's or a simpler Merlo on Maple, Gamba's equivalent is something like Spiaggia (actually something between Spiaggia and Cafe Spiaggia). For reference, IMO the Chicago equivalent to Giovanni's is Vinci.

Author:	Joey Doves [ Sun Mar 09, 2008 7:11 pm ]
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markh wrote: Joey Doves wrote: Seems to me Crown Point is the place to go for good food in NWI, so it can't be that bad. Really? Where? I'm only half-joking. Other than Lucrezia, which is good mom n' pop Italian, there isn't much else. And I would add that the original Lucrezia in Chesterton is IMO the better of the two locations. Munster (with Cafe Elise, Cafe Borgia, and Giovannis) and Valparaiso (with Bistro 157, Don Quixote, and Pikk's) offer IMO more choices in fine dining than Crown Point. I personally consider Valpo to be the destination dining town in NW Indiana. I noticed you have tried a number of Italian restaurants. By any chance have you tried Gamba in Merrillville? Where Lucrezia's Chicago equivalant is something like Sabatino's or a simpler Merlo on Maple, Gamba's equivalent is something like Spiaggia (actually something between Spiaggia and Cafe Spiaggia). For reference, IMO the Chicago equivalent to Giovanni's is Vinci. I've never been to Gamba, but I proposed to my wife at Spiagga. I'm not sure there's ANY Italian restaurant in the entire Chicagoland area like Spiaggia. Not many Italian places require a suitcoat and tie. As for the restaurants here, well, Giovanni's reminds me of the old Como Inn. Local favorite, big rep, above average food. Good place (Giovanni's), but nowhere near Vinci. Not even close. In any repsect. Used to live not too far from Vinci and was a regular. I still like Giovanni's and go often, but Vinci is not what comes to mind when I go there. Maybe Rosebud on Taylor. I haven't been to Sabatino's for a long time. Had a buddy who lived in the six corners area and we used to go once in a while. Interesting analogy though. Maybe. Or maybe like Il Vicinato on Western. I used to really like Cafe Borgia when they were in Lansing. Hands down my favorite in the area. Since the move, it appears the food has gone down considerably, however. People may think I'm nuts, but I also like the tortellini alfredo at Taste of Italy in Cal City. Seems like you know your Italian places if you pull Sabatino's and Merlo from a hat. Just be careful that somebody doesn't come on one of these threads and accuse you of being a "city lover". LOL! Maybe we should start another thread about Italian restaurants in the metropolitan area? btw, the reason I mentioned Crown Point is because I went to Lucrezia's which was pretty good and a place called the Circle???? (I think) where I had a decent steak.

Author:	markh [ Sun Mar 09, 2008 7:39 pm ]
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I agree there's no other Italian restaurant in the Chicago area like Spiaggia, though IMO the jacket/tie requirement is ridiculous. Gamba shows a fair amount of the creativity of Spiaggia in its food, just not to its level. That's why I called it a cross between Spiaggia and its lower-end cafe. FWIW, the rabbit dishes at Gamba (usually specials) are incredible. http://www.gambaristorante.com

Author:	Joey Doves [ Sun Mar 09, 2008 7:43 pm ]
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Great. I love rabbit. Especially in a stew. Went to the site and the menu looks outstanding. I'll have to give it a try.

Author:	markh [ Sun Mar 09, 2008 7:48 pm ]
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Here's some interesting info for you. The owner of Vinci, Paul LoDuca, is the owner of Pikk's in Valparaiso. He grew up in NW Indiana and got his start in his family's restaurant..........Giovanni's! The cooking style at Vinci and Giovanni's is IMO very, very similar. I should mention that I stay away from most of the standard menu items at Giovanni's (except for the pizza, strip steak, and duck) and stick to the specials. FWIW, I too was a regular at Vinci for many years (I loved its no-corkage policy for bottles more than 10 years old!) but got tired of the menu...

Author:	Joey Doves [ Sun Mar 09, 2008 8:09 pm ]
Post subject:
I knew Paul LoDuca owned Vinci, I just didn't know he was related to Mary Lo Duca at Giovanni's. In any event, I wasn't talking necessarily about the food, but rather about the decor, ambiance .... although I still think Paul does a better job than what they serve at Giovanni's. Not that Giovanni's is bad. Quite the contrary. And I agree with you-the duck and pizza are very good at Giovanni's. I also like their linguine in white clam sauce and their spinach fettucine alfredo, although their canelloni and gnocchi leave a lot to be desired. Actually, most of the pasta is menza menza. Like you said, the specials is where its at at Giovanni's. They had a seafood sfogliatelle the other day that looked delicious, but I wasn't in the mood for that much food.

Author:	Joey Doves [ Sun Mar 09, 2008 8:16 pm ]
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btw markh, you sound a lot like that mhc guy. Coincidence?

Author:	markh [ Mon Mar 10, 2008 12:35 am ]
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A long time ago I asked Paul LoDuca about his family, and he said he was not on speaking terms with the members of his family who own Giovanni's. But that info is more than 10 years old, and who knows, maybe that has changed. One thing is for sure...there is nothing at Giovanni's that tastes like Paul's food at Adobo Grill! I sound like "mhc"? Really? That screen name is well known on the Hammond forums on two different discussion boards. "mhc" and another member named "freetime" have had some, um, interesting exchanges. Hmm... OK, I just checked the threads here, and all I can say is...wow. Strange stuff. "mhc" should stick to the Hammond forums. As for me, I pretty much don't care for any variant of Italian beef, and for a similar price I will always get a burger instead.

Author:	Joey Doves [ Mon Mar 10, 2008 9:10 pm ]
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^^^^ Yeah. First time I've heard anyone try to argue that an Italian Beef ceases to be an Italian Beef when ..... it crosses the Indiana state line, solely by virtue of the fact ..... it crossed the state line. Or that Carm's Beef and Buona Beef are different because their recipes reflect their respective neighborhoods, despite the fact both started on Roosevelt Road in Berwyn approximately 3 blocks apart. Maybe what mhc doesn't realize as well is that Johnnies in Elmwood Park is only about 4 miles from the original Carms location. Like going from Munster to Griffith.

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