Le Peep

After dropping off my boyfriend's car for an oil change, we walked to the closest breakfast place which happened to be Le Peep. Since I've already declared Trader's Point Creamery to have the best brunch in Indy, nothing compares...but Le Peep has a solid breakfast with a ton of food. You'll definitely be full after eating here.

I had the Gypsy skillet. It came with potatoes, ham, onions, mushrooms, cheese and basted eggs. 1 dish meals is really how I like to eat, especially if there's a runny egg on top.

Mike got the Eighteen Wheeler. It came with 2 slices of french toast, 2 eggs, bacon or sausage (he chose bacon), and potatoes. The french toast was good. It must have had a lot of batter because it came out looking like pancakes. Oh well, it was still sweet and didn't have too much of an egg taste. That was always my problem when I made french toast at home. The bacon was crisp, but not as good as the bacon at Trader's Point or Tulip Noir.

With 6 locations in Indianapolis, this is a solid place for breakfast if you want something better than fast food but can't make it out to someplace really special.

The Rating

The Info

Le Peep

8255 Craig St.

Indianapolis, IN 46250

317-576-0433

www.lepeep.com

El Rodeo

It's tough to believe that so soon after having the best Mexican in Indy I was ready to eat more. I actually wasn't, but my boyfriend really wanted some so we went. One of his favorite places is El Rodeo.

It's not as unique or special as El Sol de Tala, but it was definitely better than La Piedad. I knew I would be disappointed with their tamales, so I actually ordered something different. Shocking, I know. I got the chorizo tacos, and Mike got the Acapulco with steak. It had lettuce, cheese, onions, steak, guac, salsa, and sour cream, all over a tortilla. Mike mixes it all together so that it's basically a giant opened soft taco. Not a bad concept. My favorite part of the meal dish was the rice and beans. Not only did I get a generous portion, the rice had veggies like green beans and peas mixed in. Healthier than your average mexican rice. ;-) My health conscience felt better, or was just fooled, about eating extra rice. I should mention that I ate a basket and a half of the tortilla chips. The servers were very attentive when we got low, and the chips were crispy, hot, and fresh.

Overall, this was an above average Mexican meal.

The Rating

- Solid

The Info

El Rodeo

9546 Allisonville Rd.

Indianapolis, IN 46250

317-913-7897

I couldn't find a website, but if you go to Urbanspoon someone kindly posted pictures of the menu.

Binford Cafe

Mike won a gift card for the Binford Cafe, so it was an obvious choice for breakfast over the weekend.

Binford Cafe is a small place with some tables, a diner counter, and a window into the kitchen. We felt like we were eating in someone's kitchen. There were family pictures and utility bills out. I'm just imagining this in my head, but it seemed like there were 3 generations working there. Parents in the kitchen; daughter is the waitress; and the grandson helps out where he can. Regulars went right up to the kitchen window and said hi to the cooks. That's nice to see.

The menu is standard breakfast food and sandwiches and some wraps. Nothing fancy. We didn't order from the regular menu, but the list of specials they had that day. Mike got the club omelet and I got the Hungry Hoosier (eggs, bacon, hashbrown casserole, baked apples, and biscuit and gravy) and a side of grits. Before you judge, I shared! Mike's omelet was pretty good. They didn't skimp on the fillings of tomatos, turkey, ham and bacon. And the potatoes were mixed with peppers and onions..yum. For me, the baked apples were the best part. They were warm and perfectly sweet. Everything else was just eh. I ordered my eggs over-easy, they came out over-medium. Bacon was extra crispy. The gravy had chunks of sausage, but was dry and needed a lot of salt. The grits were also very dry, but they made them with water instead of milk, which is what I prefer. When we were waiting for our check, the waitress took out some eggs benedict (also part of the specials menu), and it looked tasty. I should have ordered that.

I don't know if people are actually going for the food, but I imagine it's for the atmosphere.

The Rating

-Up for the atmosphere, down for the food

Info

Binford Cafe

6406 Rucker Rd.

Indianapolis, IN 46220

317-466-9631

No coupons, but they do offer a drawing for a free lunch every week.