Barley Island, Noblesville, Indiana
Barley Island is, again, one of those places I’ve been aware of for years, but never had the opportunity to stop in. There are 2 locations, one in Noblesville and one in Broad Ripple.
We stopped in the Noblesville store.
Upon entering, I was really surprised at just how large this place is! From the street, it doesn’t look like it would seat more than 20 or 30 people, but there’s a nice dining room, a nice stage area and a nice bar. The evening we were there, most of the people were seated at the bar, and for good reason….the bartender was serving as the server for the entire place.
I was pleasantly surprised at just how varied the menu was. Steaks, salads, sandwiches, burgers, and much, much more. A several page menu, it took a few minutes to peruse it and make our choices.
Well, actually, it didn’t take me long. When I saw “hand breaded tenderloin” I knew what *I* was going to get.
When I ordered the sandwich, the server ask me “Do you want the beer breading or the regular breading?”. Now….here’s a place that obviously takes their breaded tenderloin serious! I chose the beer batter breading, and I’m glad I did.
The sandwich is nice and thick…thicker than all but a couple of tenderloins I’ve tasted. The meat is moist and tender, with not even the slightest hint of gristle. The flavor is great, and it was done perfectly.
The beer breading is really, really outstanding. It’s a little thinner than some of the breadings I’ve had, but, in this case, it works, and it works well. It’s so crisp and flavorful that you don’t need a lot of it to make the sandwich really “pop”. The sandwich was served dressed exactly as I ordered it, the bun was nicely toasted….this sandwich certainly is a 5 out of 5…really, really outstanding.
I ordered onion rings as my side, and they were very, very good also. I certainly wouldn’t hesitate to get them again.
For her dinner, Holly choose the Lime Glazed Salmon Salad. It was quite tasty as well. She also sampled the Dirty Helen Ale and said it was outstanding.
Barley Island is located at 639 Connner Street in Noblesville, Indiana. It’s an all ages restaurant until the kitchen closes (“around” 10PM) then it becomes 21 and over.
You can find them online at http://www.barleyisland.com
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Just who is The Tenderloin Connoisseur?
Rick Garrett
The Tenderloin Connoisseur is Rick Garrett…singer, songwriter, multi instrumentalist who lives in Indianapolis, Indiana. Over the past 30 years, he’s traveled the Midwest in search of that most perfect of all sandwiches, the Breaded Tenderloin. From mom and pop diners, to state and county fairs, to some of the finest dining restaurants the Midwest has to offer, he’s always on the lookout for the next breaded tenderloin. Join us on our journey!
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I would like to add that their Fish and Chips uses the same beer batter as the tenderloin and they’re fantastic.
Just to give you a heads up, the Broad Ripple location closed a few months ago. I never had any of their food, but the beer was always good, its just too bad that it seems like a quality local business can’t stick around in that space.
So Rick, howzit over there, by the way. But tell me, I never knew this was a SANDWICH you are talking about? Please explain more about it? Is it native to Indiana? Love> colleen
I am a native Hoosier and I live in Memphis. Whenever we travel back to Indiana we try to get as many tenderloins as possible. We tried Barley Island based on this review. It must have been an off night because although the tenderloin was nice the breading just didnt taste right to me. We also had the fried mushrooms with the same breading. My husband disagreed and thought this was one of the best we had this trip. If you have not been to the GerstHaus in Evansville try to add it to your travels. I think you will like it.