Location: 102 North Chauncey Street, West Lafayette, IN (map it)
Phone: 412-216-1627
Cuisine: American

I mentioned on Facebook a few weeks ago that while out and about, I ran into one of the owners of the new School House of Chili. I had heard this restaurant was coming, but didn’t know anything about it so I was happy to meet him. He was very pleasant, told us all about his chilis and how the restaurant would be opening soon. Turns out he was wrong about the opening date, it took a few more weeks to get open. And I have to admit, today was actually my second trip in there. I was a bit disappointed my first time, and wanted to try it again before I wrote up this review.

So today myself and two friends went to try again. It’s located right at the corner of Chauncey and Columbia in West Lafayette, directly across from the Morton Center. It’s a small little venue, but nice with a fair number of tables and chairs. Here’s how it works. There’s a long counter and you order cafeteria style. They have a selection of chilis. Today they had: Cincinnati chili, California chili, tailgate chili, spicy chili, and white chicken chili. However, you can also choose a “bottom” on your chili, so you can have something else on the bottom of your bowl. The choices today were pasta, mac n cheese, rice, pasta, or fritos.

So you pick your bottom, then your chili. Then your bowl gets passed to the “toppings” area where you can choose from a variety of toppings such as sour cream, cheese, onions, tomatoes, and jalapenos. Then once that’s done, you get to the register where you can add in a drink and corn bread or a roll.

The last time I went, I ordered the Cincinnati chili. When I ordered, I was asked what bottom I wanted. I said, “Doesn’t Cincinnati chili come on spaghetti?” He answered yes, so I said I wanted that. But they didn’t have spaghetti, they had macaroni. Their own spin, he said. That’s fine, I’m not partial to one shape over another when it comes to noodles. So I topped it off with cheese and onions and went to eat. And I was utterly unimpressed. It wasn’t bad. But it wasn’t anything special either. I’ve had better Cincinnati chili. In fact, I make better Cincinnati chili.

So today I wanted to try something different just to be fair and give this place an honest review. I decided to order the tailgate chili, on Fritos, with cheese and onions. Since last time I got the corn bread, I choose rolls this time. One friend got the Cincinnati chili and another friend got the spicy chili. The tailgate chili was also unimpressive. Like the Cincinnati chili, it was okay. But it wasn’t anything special and it actually wasn’t even hot. It was warm, but I feel like chili should be served hot. My friend who ordered the Cincinnati chili gave it an “eh” review. So she was also unimpressed. My other friend ordered the spicy chili on rice and said it was quite good and she enjoyed it.  After eating, I asked for a sample (they are happy to give you samples) of the California chili. It seemed like more of a soup to me, and it was okay. Again, nothing special though.

We tried both the rolls and the corn bread and we all agreed the corn bread was good. However, there was no butter to be found anywhere. And corn bread just needs butter. The rolls might have been okay, but again without butter they were dry and bland.

While the staff was very pleasant, and very apologetic about the wait, the system they have for ordering is not exactly the most expedient system I’ve ever seen. When there are only a handful of people there, it is smooth enough but at one point, there was a line to the door and the ordering process was painfully slow. There was one person dishing chili, one person doing toppings, and then one person checking you out. Seems like maybe they need to work out a better system to get the food moving faster. It’s not like they have to go back and prepare each meal individually. I think this can be chalked up to being new and just opened, and will likely improve over time.

They also had a chalk board with the various menu items on it, but no real descriptions of what the chilis were. I think it would have been helpful if next to “tailgate chili” there was a description so I’d know what was in the chili. I had no idea what to expect when I ordered it.

The staff was very pleasant. One young man, who I think maybe was an owner, came over after the line died down to ask if we needed anything and make sure we enjoyed our meal. So I think there’s a lot of potential here. I just think the chili needs to get a little better.

From the friends: @kristenrielly “had lunch @House_of_Chili Very good spicy chili, it’s named appropriately; friendly staff; needs butter for roll/cornbread” @khaskett93 “Ate lunch @House_of_Chili. So-so Cincinnati chili. Good cornbread (though butter is desperately needed). Friendly staff. ”

Kid Friendly: Yes, so long as your kids like chili. (Although I think they have hot dogs.)

Price: Around $6-8 per meal it seemed.

Restaurant Name: Ah Z

Location: 35 South Chauncey Avenue, West Lafayette, IN  (map it)

Phone: (765) 743-5566?

Cuisine: Japanese

Review:  This review was not originally meant to be a review of Ah Z. It was actually meant to be a review of Maza. I got an email from a reader asking if I’d tried it. I hadn’t, so I looked it up and really wanted to try it out. Tonight, we drove over, sat through all the crazy campus traffic, and attempted to go to Maza. Apparently, though, you can only eat there if you have reservations so we were turned away. I had no idea they were so popular already.

We instead chose to go somewhere else in that area and walked around in Chauncey Village looking for another option. This is how we found Ah Z. It is called a “Japanese Fusion” restaurant. I have no idea what “Japanese Fusion” means, but we decided it was worth a try and went in.

It’s a very small place. Maybe four tables. A counter for ordering, and a big menu on one wall. We spent some time with the menu and it is almost entirely sushi. You’ve got regular sushi, then there’s a big menu for the “Big Ten Rolls” which is kind of neat. Each Big Ten school has a special roll. There is a smaller menu off to the side with a handful of non-sushi dishes.

You order at the counter and then, if you are eating in, they’ll bring your food to you. It appears they do a decent amount of take out orders. We ordered. My husband got one of the Big Ten rolls (I can’t remember which school, but it had Salmon, crab, and avocado) and I ordered the Spicy Chicken. I’m not a big sushi eater, I’m sorry to say. The lady taking the orders was very delightful. Friendly and enthusiastic.

We sat down with our Styrofoam cups of water. (No alcohol here, by the way.) The tables all have baskets with chop sticks, soy sauce,  sauce dishes, and napkins. While we were waiting, a fairly steady stream of people came in and placed to go orders. We were the only people dining in. Also, I was really mesmerized by the big screen TV over the counter playing Japanese pop videos. I couldn’t stop watching!

For the food, I would have to say that this is a probably a good place for sushi. Having shamefully admitted that I’m not a big sushi eater, I ordered the spicy chicken and it was not great. It came out in a Bento box. One square for salad, one square for rice, one square for chicken. It was very pretty and it looked really good. I was really excited about it. I started on the salad which was  iceberg lettuce, sesame seeds, and some dressing. It was just okay. Then I started with my main course, and it was really rather bland. It was spicy, yes. But still bland. There really wasn’t any flavor other than the burning on my lips. I ate some of it, but eventually gave up. After a while of trying to get through it, I just started looking wistfully at all the people in the Taco Bell next door.

My husband, on the other hand, reports that his sushi roll was really quite good and he could have eaten another one.  I would say this is probably a nice spot if you are on or near campus and like sushi or need a place to pick up sushi on the go, but I wouldn’t go there for anything else.

Kid friendly: Not really. (Only if your children like sushi.)

Restaurant Name: Blue Nile

Location: 17 Northwestern Ave West Lafayette, IN (map it)

Phone: (765) 269-9980?

Cuisine: Mediterranean

Review:  We decided to head out to eat tonight and decided on Blue Nile in West Lafayette. It’s on Northwestern in that strip where the Subway and Potbelly are, but you have to walk up almost like an alley to find it. We’d never been there, so we wandered around for a while trying to locate it. When we did go in, we were greeted warmly and taken to a seat. I presume it was the owner, but the nice lady who greeted us informed us that their air conditioner was out right now, but gave us a nice spot right next to an open door with fans blowing nearby. We stayed quite cool, but she did check on us later to make sure we were comfortable.

The restaurant isn’t fancy at all, just tables and chairs scattered throughout the long eating area. In fact, I don’t remember much in the way of decor, so there must not have been much to look at. That’s okay, what I really went was for the food. The reviews I’d read online went on and on about the Lentil Soup, so I knew I had to try that. Beyond that, I was open.

After being seated, we were greeted by a server. She brought us water and asked us if we knew what we wanted. We’d been seated for about two minutes, so of course, we didn’t know what we wanted. I asked her if she had any recommendations and she told us that she doesn’t eat the food there. Stop. Wait a minute. What? What kind of ringing endorsement is it when your servers don’t eat your food? I have no idea if it’s because she didn’t like it or what, but that is a huge pet peeve of mine. The servers should know the menu and be able to answer questions and tell you what’s good.

I ordered the Lentil Soup and Chicken Couscous and my husband ordered something that I don’t remember the name (probably I should start taking notepads to these places) but what was more or less ground beef shish kebabs with rice. I ordered the hummus as an appetizer and he got a yogurt salad.

The soup and salad came out and I would say that for all the hype the soup got on the reviews, I was unimpressed. It wasn’t bad, but I was expecting more I suppose. My husband says his yogurt salad was very tasty.

Next came the hummus. I love hummus. I could eat it all day. And again, I was unimpressed. The pita bread was dry and bland, more like the Kangaroo brand you buy at the store to stuff with chicken salad. And the hummus wasn’t really that great.

Finally the main entrees came. My husband reports his beef kebabs were awesome. The chicken couscous was pretty good. I’m not experienced in the ways of couscous, but I thought it had a nice flavor and texture. It had vegetables too (cauliflower, broccoli, potatoes, carrots) and a smattering of almonds which were happy surprises in your mouth when you found one on your fork. It was pretty good.

The service wasn’t great. The server, as noted, didn’t know much about the food and mostly just ignored us aside from taking our order and bringing our food. I’m not sure if they were having an off night, but the food was kind of hit and miss as well. I think this one may take another trip or two before I can make a final decision on whether I would recommend it to others or not.

Kid friendly: Not really.

Restaurant Name: Greyhouse Coffee & Supply Co.

Location: 100 Northwestern Avenue, West Lafayette, IN (map it)

Phone: (765) 743-5316

Cuisine: Coffee

Review: After dining at Green Sprout, my friends and I decided to take a short walk over to Greyhouse Coffee for an after dinner beverage and dessert. I’d never been in Greyhouse before, so I figured it would be a treat and it sure was.

Greyhouse is really a delightful place. I’m sorry I waited so long to try it out. It’s beautifully laid out, with artwork on the walls, big comfy chairs arranged artfully around the place, and of course, lots of diverse, unique people to make it all fit. I ordered a Café Mocha. I was given the option for here or to go, so I chose for here and not only did I get quite a large drink, but it was artfully arranged with a heart on the top. It was almost too pretty to drink. My friend’s mocha had a leaf. And the two hot chocolates? They were delectable with chocolate shavings on top. I was a little jealous.

My friends also got some cake that they say was incredibly rich.

I really enjoyed the drink and the atmosphere. Even though I am older than most of the people there and so unhip it’s not even funny, I still felt comfortable and enjoyed myself.

Kid friendly: If by kid, you mean college students, then absolutely. I’m sure kids would not be unwelcome, but it is sort of a trendy college spot.

Price Range: Not any pricier than Starbucks.

Restaurant Name: Green Sprout Restaurant and Bakery

Location: 102 N. Chauncey Ave., West Lafayette, IN? (map it)

Phone: (765) 269-7393?

Cuisine: Korean

Review: Whenever I get the opportunity to dine out without children, I immediately start searching for places that I’ve never been because I love trying new restaurants. I remembered from back when I reviewed Maru and Fiesta Mexican Grill that there was some kind of bakery place in that area and thought tonight would be a good chance to try it out.

It’s on Chauncey Avenue, just down the street from Noodles and Company. When we arrived, it was fairly empty. It’s a casual environment, tables along a wall with a big bench and big comfy pillows along the bench. In the center of the restaurant was a table of fresh baked bread choices. The entire place was bright and airy with high ceilings and lovely colors. And also, very clean. I tend to check out the floors in restaurants, because often they are just disgusting, but these were quite clean.

It’s not a fancy place. You order at the counter and they bring the food to your table on trays. The food is served on paper plates for the most part. Their main draw is something called a Sushi Salad. It’s layers of sushi rice, shredded cooked egg, cucumber, seaweed with your choice of avocado,  shrimp, mushroom, eel, or tuna and your choice of sauces like spicy mayo, wasabi mayo, sweet sauce, kimchi sauce, and soy sauce.

They also offer a variety of hot choices served with steamed rice, the most popular being the Spicy Peanut Chicken. I ordered the spicy chicken and my husband got the sushi salad, so we could try the two specialties.  We also got a pot of green tea to share.

I really enjoyed my spicy chicken. It was exactly as advertised. My husband also really liked his sushi salad. The tea was also very good. We dined with a friend who ordered teriyaki chicken and some kind of beef dish, served with rice, and she was not as pleased as we were with our entrees. Whether that’s because the food wasn’t good or because it didn’t suit her tastes remains to be seen.

Because they claim daily fresh baked breads, I felt like I needed to try the bread before leaving. I went up to the register and had the clerk explain what all the different breads were. The choices included multi-grain cream cheese bread, red bean soboro, regular soboro, and something with coffee in it. I chose the one the clerk recommenced, the soboro bread. It was delicious. It had the consistency and taste of a croissant, but was shaped more like an extra large cookie and was topped with a crumbly topping that tasted almost like a peanut butter cookie. I really liked it.

Overall, I think it’s a nice casual place for a quick meal. I’ll definitely go again.

Kid friendly: It was definitely casual and kid friendly as far as the environment goes. I believe I even saw high chairs. Whether kids will eat their offerings, that will have to be up the parents to decide.

Price Range: We ended up paying about $22 for two meals, hot tea, and bread.