Hello and thank you so much for joining us on another episode of Experience Michiana, we are in Bourbon, Indiana right now at CR8-UR-Canvas.

And you are going to find out more about that on next week's show.

also the splatter boom.

Yes, we're going to take a shot at that to take a look at that before you find out.

We're getting messy and much fun, but we have a great show.

We do.

And I am so excited about this one because I am a foodie and this week is really kind of a feature of it because Niles is getting ready for their first ever restaurant week.

And I'm really excited about that coming up.

So we're going to be talking about that and what else we have to talk about?

Well, I went to Iron Shoe distillery, and I have to tell you, the food is fantastic.

So if you're on a diet, forget about it and forget about it for a week.

Just put it aside because we're going there.

And where else are we going?

Well, you know, while we're in this creative mode, there's a new restaurant called Create Bar and Grill.

And that's up in Niles, too.

And I have to tell you, it is just amazing because not only is it delicious, but the food is like art work itself, too.

It's amazing.

So why don't we go ahead and get started?

Because we've got to tell you about all the places that are taking part in Niles Restaurant Week.

I was able to check in with the Chamber of Commerce who's helping to put this on with Eileen.

She's going to tell us more about it.

It's so exciting that our restaurants are opening back up in the state of Michigan.

And with that, the greater that Niles Chamber of Commerce, along with some other organizations, are putting together the first ever restaurant week.

I'm super excited about this.

And I have with us Eileen Villanueva with the Chamber.

And welcome, Eileen.

Thank you for having me.

And so this is coming up here in a couple weeks.

What are the dates for the for the restaurant week?

They'll be the first week of March, March 1st and 7th.

OK, so that's that Monday through Sunday, correct?

Yeah.

So we can have a great weekend.

And there's a number of restaurants included in this that quite a few in fact.

What are some of the restaurants they're going to be taking part in Restaurant Week.

Yeah.

So we have about 18 restaurants that are participating businesses and I'm just going to run through them.

Does that sound good?.

Absolutely.

All right.

We have a Apothica Teas bruhaha cafe, great bar and grill.

Let me go Pepi's Front Street Pizza Pub, breezier Italian cafe and bakery.

Iron Shoe Distillery Jay's lounge Jims smoking cafe, Joey Armadillo's Lakeside Bar and Grill, Niles Brewing Company, The Nugget, Pizza Transit Plaza Restaurant, Prime Table Restaurant, Vini Sweetshop and Wings, etc..

There was a mouthful and I intend my mouth to be full after eating at all those places.

Oh my gosh I know it'll be great So many.

It's such a great variety variety of cuisine too.

Yes, absolutely.

We have a great spread of restaurants.

They're all fantastic community partners.

It's going to be amazing.

And now who came up with this idea?

How did you guys collaborate to make this happen?

So I think it came a lot out of a discussion that was held between some community partners that we're really looking at a way to support the restaurant community in these very trying times.

We are just at the chamber, really lucky that we were invited to be part of this conversation and be one of those organizing partners.

So we're really just grateful that we were able to help make this possible and help assist this program to come into the light.

Absolutely.

And now many of these restaurants are doing some special menus or special deals.

Do you have any of those that you can tell us about?

So one of the really cool ones that I'm just going to highlight is with Apothica Teas.

They're doing a Mad Hatter traveling Tea Party.

So it's like a really special like lunch or like tea and different kinds of scones and different kinds of like goodies that you can come by and get.

And it's only available that first week of March.

But that's just one example of what's going to be available.

Every restaurant supplied their own menus, so some have created a special menu items.

Some have just gotten really great deals of online fan favorites.

It's it's really a variety, but everybody is doing something a little special for their customer base.

And what I love about it, with it being so many restaurants all week long, let's say you go to lunch and dinner every day, you can essentially hit every restaurant.

And it's so important to support these local businesses right now especially.

Absolutely.

That's really where the heart of this program is, is.

It's coming together and supporting our business neighbors that really make this community shine.

We want to show them how much we appreciate them and how much we appreciate their impact on the community.

Awesome.

And Now Where can people find all the information about Restaurant Week?

You can visit our website, at Eat drink Niles dot com or visit us on Facebook at Facebook, dot com slash, eat, drink Niles.

Awesome.

And are you guys offering some kind of like a hashtag people can check in throughout the week too?

Yes, absolutely.

Use hashtag eat, drink Niles.

There's also going to be a photo contest available to anybody that's coming out.

If you take a picture, look at the different restaurants, it can be entered to win like a different gift card or little prizes that kind of just showcase the downtown even more.

And I know this is.

Restaurant week, but it's important to continue celebrating and supporting our local community businesses to keep them going, especially through these trying times that we've all been through, not just during the first week of March during Restaurant Week, but all year long.

Really?

Absolutely.

Absolutely.

And we're hoping that, you know, you can come to the four nine one two Oh for restaurant week, but you'll also visit to maybe some of our retail stores and other businesses in the area and just kind of really experience all that Niles has to offer.

So I'm going to guess that this is the first time doing this, but this is something that I expect will be happening again and again in the future years.

Oh, I hope so.

It's been a lot of fun and I think that it's going to turn out great and we'll want to keep doing it.

Absolutely.

Well, we are appreciative of your support and all the other people who helped make Restaurant Week possible.

I'm excited to get out and try some of them in the upcoming weeks, too.

So that's really exciting for the community to take part in that.

Absolutely.

We're happy to have you out there.

Awesome.

Thanks so much, Eileen.

Thank you.

I can't believe there's 18 restaurants taking part in the Niles Restaurant Week, and I'm planning on scheduling them all up for the week so I can sample everything with you.

Courtney, I'm with you.

But let's go to Iron Shoe Distillery, where we'll find out more about the food, the cocktails, the spirits, and a slightly scary legend.

It is finally Friday in Michiana.

And I don't know about you, but I have been cooking all week long.

And you want to know something?

I am done.

I do not want to cook.

So I thought, hey, this is the perfect time to visit iron shoe distillery and get some great takeout.

So excited to be here.

And Laura, you are the owner and well it's family owned and operated.

I want to just tell you I'm very hungry.

I am super hungry today.

So very excited to be here.

But there's also a legend to this place.

Right?

This place is great, but there's there's a legend.

It's a little scary, too.

It is.

So the name Iron shoe distillery comes from Saint Dunstan, and St. Dunstan was the patron saint of Ferrier's.

And so Ferrier's they do horseshoes.

And I'm an avid equestrian and my husband enjoys horses, our kids ride horses.

And so it all just came together when we were looking at this building in this spot.

And so we found that legend.

And so Saint Dunstan went around town and he nailed horse shoes above the doors.

And the idea was to keep all the bad spirits out so we make spirits.

And so our whole idea is only letting the good spirits in.

so in terms of good people, good vibes, and then the spirits that we make here,.

And I can't wait to find out more about the spirits, the good spirits, a good spirit.

But also this place, was it a sort of muffler shop?

It was an old muffler shop.

Wow.

And we've got these old pictures that show what it used to look like.

And it did take some vision when we first saw this space to come up with what it looks like now.

And it worked out really well because we distill everything.

We make everything here.

So the back big garage doors open up perfectly.

We have our still back there, all our big equipment.

And then this space we added on, we added the garage door to let the natural light in.

And we have an outdoor patio in the summer.

So it really just came together really well.

So you distill everything here and then you also use grains from local farms.

We do right here in Niles.

We get our corn right here in Niles and we source everything else as locally as possible.

So that's been really important to us.

And it's we live in the Midwest, so there's lots of farms, lots of fields nearby.

So it works out really well.

I know we're going to find out a little bit more about the spirits with Michelle, but there's some really interesting concoctions.

That's what we're all about doing, craft cocktails.

So taking things that people are familiar with and then adding that special little twist to them.

So some of our special spirits, I think our most popular spirit here is our lemoncello.

And it's an Italian liqueur, a lemon flavored liqueur that's been really popular.

And all of our whiskeys and our bourbons are single barrel.

So we're we're a small operation.

My husband is the distiller, so he makes everything here by hand.

And so every whiskey, every bourbon, there's just one barrel of that exact flavor profile.

So that's really unique.

A lot of the other distilleries, you know, they make these huge batches.

But here you can come here and there's always going to be something different, a different spirit, a different cocktail, something different on our menu.

That's great.

Speaking of the menu, I had a friend that came here a couple of months ago and she said that the food was to die for.

She said it was just fantastic.

Tell us a little bit about what's on the menu.

You know, when it comes down to it, we're a burger place, but not your average burger.

So I'd like to say that they're beautiful burgers, they're gourmet burgers, and we like to put some different ingredients on them to make them more fun.

So you can definitely find some burgers.

We have an awesome lobster, bacon, mac and cheese.

We've got some really great salads, some soup.

So if you're vegan, vegetarian, those soups and salads might appeal to you.

Our white cheddar Mac and Cheese is awesome, and then we switch out our menu frequently, too, so we're right now we're preparing for our April 1st new menu for spring and summer.

My first.

I feel great, but I'm already dreaming about summer and all those fun flavors, the same thing with our spirits, we try to switch out our cocktails every few weeks, get new flavor profiles in.

And so right now we're thinking about all those fruits that are cocktails that are about to come.

So forget the snow.

We are looking forward.

Looking forward.

Well, you will also vote at the best of the best and menu categories.

We've had such amazing community support, which has been awesome.

So we did we we always do well with our burgers and our food and our cocktails and our spirits.

And so we're really thankful that everyone appreciates what we're doing.

And can we just talk about the desserts?

Because I do have to tell you, I looked at your menu ahead of time.

I knew I was coming.

Oh, what am I?

And I saw a pumpkin bread pudding.

Yes.

Oh, my goodness.

And so I sent my husband out to get it.

And we had a Valentine's Day weekend and it was the best.

That one of our family recipes too.

So we are family owned and operated and we try to bring in some of those family recipes.

And that's one of them.

And that's one of my favorites as well.

So thinking about Restaurant Week, I'm just going to put a little plug for our desserts because our desserts that we're featuring for restaurant week are using our spirits.

So we have a lemoncello tiramisu, which is to die for.

And then we also have a bourbon, vanilla bean pudding.

That's really, really great.

So I'm excited about those because we're starting to put the spirits into the dessert, which is kind of elevate that flavor just a little bit more.

Well, let's talk a little bit more about restaurant, because it's the first ever from Niles, because really that's that's fantastic.

But what are some of the specials that you're going to be having here at Iman's?

So we have a three course menu.

So it's a three course menu for twenty dollars where you get to choose an appetizer, your main entree and a dessert, and then you can add on some discounted cocktails if you like.

OK, wonderful.

Well I'm ready to eat, but before we eat, I've got to have some cocktails.

Laura All right.

That sounds good.

Michelle, you are the bar manager here.

Bartender manager.

I have to tell you, it's been a long time since I've sat at the bar all by myself.

And I feel like going shot, shot, shot.

What you do have a shot flight, don't you?

We do.

We have a six shot flight.

It's for twelve dollars.

And each week we do different infusions with different flavors, with all of our variety of spirits.

And that's what's in these jars over here.

And then we list them on the board here.

So it keeps things new, fun and interesting each week.

So when regulars come in, they're able to try something new every week.

And I heard they're very unique.

I for one, I don't know if it's this week, but one that is infused with bacon.

Yes, we have done that in the past.

And the last week we even did all Girl Scout cookies.

And we just try to keep it fun and innovative and just it's a great way to try different things for sure.

Well, I was looking at some of the cocktails.

I know you're getting ready to make one for us.

So which one are you making?

So I'm going to make for you the smoke show.

And it's a hickory smoked infused maple, old fashioned.

Wow, that sounds really good.

What's in it?

So I made a maple simple syrup and it comes with our two grain bourbon whiskey and then it has a little bit of bitters.

And then what I do is I pour that into a bottle top and off with some hickory smoke and then I serve that to you with the glass, with a ice cube in it.

OK, all right.

Well, why don't you go ahead and start making that.

All right.

Is it sweet?

Is it because I do like sweet?

It is sweet that maple sirup that's in there does give it a little bit of a sweetness.

Got a little bit of a smoky so it's a little bit of both there.

So long making that.

Can you tell us a little bit about some of the other because it's such fun name.

Oh one notorious F. I. G. Yep that is another bourbon drink that we have and that is with a fig simple sirup that we make from scratch.

And then we have a little balsamic vinegarette in there, a little bit of orange juice, and then it's shaken and strained and it's very unique and very interesting.

Wow.

Tasty though.

Yeah, it sounds really good.

I also for one, I'm not taking the Lord's name in vain, but there's one called Sweet Jesus.

Oh yes.

That one is probably the most popular drink.

It's a little spin on like a Moscow Mule.

It's got a cranberries simple syrup and a little bit of ginger beer and our vodka and it's a very, very sweet and so hence the sweet Jesus.

Sweet Jesus.

And what's this one called again?

This is our smoke show.

The Smoke shows.

So what I'm doing is I'm starting off with the hickory wood chips here.

We just top these off and the smoke gun and then I'm going to add the Maple old fashioned into the bottle.

That'll make it nice and sweet, right?

Yeah.

And then we're just going to give this light here.

And then put this in here.

Wow, there's a lot that goes into this.

Yeah, but it gives the customer a unique experience because what it serve it in the glass wall with the glass and the bottle,.

All this orange in there.

Yep.

So a little bit of the orange zest in the ice cube already.

And then the longer you let the smoke sit in the bottle, the more that it'll infuse into the cocktail.

So but if you're wanting more of that smoky effect as it comes out, as you pour it, then you can pour it right now if you like.

All right.

Well, let's pour it.

So just so you just slipped up on this little just a little metal thing there.

OK.

I'll have to tell you, my kids Nick Named me two shot Kelly.

So guess this is just can we say this is kind of one.

How many shots do you think this is.

So that is a two ounce pour.

All right.

Because of this simple sirup.

But it's got the it's like old fashioned.

So do you mind if I just take a sip here.

Go for.

OK, here we go.

Cheers.

Cheers.

All right.

Here we go, guys.

Whoa.

Wow.

Oh, my gosh, that is really good.

I'm not used to drinking too much, but I tell you, I'll take another one.

All right, perfect.

Oh, I'm getting the royal treatment here.

I got to meet the owner, the bartender and now the chef.

And what a spread here.

I mean, it's like a spread fit for a queen or a Diva Either one.

But but tell me, why don't you tell us?

Because I tell you, this looks like I want to take a bite right now.

Can I do that while you tell us what it is?

Definitely.

Definitely.

This is our Nachos here it comes with our house made nacho cheese.

We have a slow roasted pork that's on there.

Let's see here.

We got corn, beans, jalapenos, the jalapenos Those are kind of spicy.

So if you don't like it spicy, maybe opt out there are pretty spicy.

Love Spicy.

Let's see here.

I've got our house made barbecue sauce, Mexican cherry barbecue sauce with green onions and cilantro on top.

That is so good.

You know what we probably should have said What's not on there.

Yep.

It Is the kitchen method.

That is fantastic.

Oh, my God.

Did you come up with the recipe?

Oh, yes, definitely.

Yeah, very, very good.

Now, what is this here?

Is this.

Of I heard about the famous burgers.

Which burger is this is going to be on our special for the restaurant week.

It is.

Um, let's see here.

I'll start with the basic comes with a fig jam.

Comes with an all angus beef pattyi topped with let's hear Bharata cheese.

It's kind of like a fresh mozzarella but it has creamier mozzarella on the inside of it.

It's like a cheese dumpling kind of thing and it's delicious.

It's like a multi on their top with bacon and arugula in our house made garlic.

It really got fantastic.

I love it.

Yeah.

No, I loved that fig jam too.

Oh my goodness.

Sweet and salty.

So salty.

Then we have some fries.

Oh yeah.

These are our truffle fries.

They come with our truffle salt and parmesan cheese.

Frustrated Parmesan.

Oh my gosh.

That trouble.

Oh my gosh.

This is really, really good.

It's very good.

I mean, what do we have here.

Here this these are crispy cheese curds here.

I had heard about those for sure.

They're very good.

Um, it comes with our housemates Serrato Sauce and this is our Cubano.

We did this on special a little while ago and that's going to be a special on our restaurant week here too.

It comes with our bread and butter pickles, mustard our slow roasted pork, honey ham and all pressed on our grill.

Wow.

That sounds to me really.

Comes out Crispy Nice and flat.

Delicious.

That sounds really good.

Now, now what are the hours that you guys are open.

We are open Wednesday, Thursday, four to eight Friday four to nine and Saturday.

Eleven to nine.

Sunday eleven to eight.

Oh well you know what, I wish I could wait.

We have to talk about forgot the bridges here.

OK, so I have the limoncello tiramisu.

It's really good to top of blueberries.

And then this is a bourbon vanilla bean pudding with strawberry on top.

Oh my goodness.

I can't wait to try it.

But you know what?

I promised my husband that I was going to get takeout.

I wish I could actually sit here and eat it all to myself.

But now I'm going to have to get going.

But thank you so much.

The food is so good.

Everything is great.

And guys You really do have to come on out here.

Come on down to iron Shoe distillery, bring your family, bring your kids great food, great desserts, great drinks.

And you know what?

I got married just on New Year's Eve, and now I wish I would have waited until after I to get married because then I wouldn't have to share with my husband.

Just joking.

So the legend is a little scary,.

OK,.

Because they said only good spirits.

And when you go there, there's only good food, good drinks and a good time.

So Courtney, that's one of the places that you've got to put on your list.

I will add it to my list for sure.

And next up, I'm heading over to create Bar and Grill in Niles.

And it is just so delicious.

There is not just artwork on the table, but there is artwork on the walls.

And it's such a great inspiring place.

Let's check it out.

Let's check it out.

My kind of food?

If you're looking for a new cuisine, one of the places that you might want to check out is create Bar and Grill in downtown Niles.

I'm really excited to be here in this new place that is just filled with artistic endeavors right now.

As you can see around us, this is the mural is the first thing you see and I have with us today.

Nate who is the general manager.

Thank you for having us.

We're happy to have you here.

Really excited.

This is just an eye catcher as soon as you walk in.

Right.

We wanted something that when they walked in the door, pow, it's right there in your face.

But as you look at it, you can actually find little elements to it.

So for the guests are waiting to be seated.

I wanted to give them something fun to look at while they were, you know, waiting to come into the restaurant.

And this is a newer place here.

So what was the inspiration behind it?

Well, you know, my wife and I, we've always been art inspired.

We love art and supporting local artists.

So especially with the year that everyone's had, you know, we thought, you know, if we could do something to kind of encapsulate the art and local artist and things of that sort from music to everything else, why not include it in what we do?

You know, and I notice, too, on the walls.

You can see there's a number of artwork of pieces that you can purchase, is that right?

Everything is for sale and we encourage people to come in, take a look and and see something.

Well, we tried to do is limited to just a few from every artist.

So there's a little different flavor everywhere, everywhere through the restaurant.

And these are local artists who they're all local artists, which makes it even more more exciting, more amazing.

It is.

And I notice even you can create your own on the tables themselves if you want to, like, pretend you're an artist like me.

That's exactly it.

So, you know, more than just being an observer of the space, what we wanted to do is actually have people interact with the space.

So we have on every table pencils, crayons, a little picturesque frame.

And and that's really the best part of my job, because after somebody come in hand wonderful meal, I look and see beautiful pieces that sometimes we take pictures, sometimes I cut them out and keep them because you just never know what you're going to see.

It's really, really exciting now.

So for those people who think, like when I first heard it, I was like, oh gosh, I'm going to have to create my own meal.

But do you have a tremendous display of food on the menu?

What is the cuisine like?

So it is modern American.

We look at our food just like what you see on the wall.

It's art, you know, the flavors, the textures, the colors, everything else.

But I wanted it to be nice and familiar, and that's really what we shot for.

We were super happy to do that.

It's nice having real chefs in the back.

And and when people come in, I want them to feel comfortable in the space and not be intimidated by what's on the menu.

So we kept it, you know, for anything from brisket, grilled cheese sandwiches.

And I love that.

That sounds delicious.

So delicious.

Yes.

Can we try some of the food today?

Oh, definitely.

We're going to try it all.

Awesome, awesome.

Let's check it out.

So not only is this a smelling delicious, but this is just artwork.

It's beautiful.

We really look at the food as an extension of the rest of the room.

It's art.

It's you know, we want it to look beautiful, taste amazing.

And, you know, when it when it comes to the table, you know, this is what I want them to see.

So it's gorgeous.

And it's to tell us everything that we have here.

I'm so overwhelmed because I just want to eat it all right now.

So I'll just give you a nice little quick tour of what we have out here.

Over here, we have our steak frites along with that's our fingerling potatoes.

I I've heard a lot about it.

I know I didn't want to do French fries.

I wanna do something a little different.

Fingerling potatoes.

I think of potato wedges.

They're delicious.

But with that as well, we have our mixed vegetables with muskies.

Bacon gives you a nice, smooth and delicious flavor.

And along the top of that, what we have is our peppercorn Hennesy sauce, which is amazing.

It's a crowd favorite.

People order it on the side for other entrees as well.

So that's a kind of moving along from that.

We have our salmon with a wonderful tomato garlic glaze over the top with mushroom risotto did not go wrong.

They're kind of moving through the middle.

One of my favorite salads as the apples, blue cheese, strawberries.

It comes with a nice poppy dressing, nice and fresh.

It's fresh, especially through the spring.

It's going to be a crowd favorite.

Definitely.

It's it's one of my favorites.

And over here on this, we have our Jack Daniel's, Tennessee glazed whiskey, French pork chop.

So it's a mouthful.

But anything with Jack Daniels on it here, it is pretty much a issue.

And we have what we have along with that is are like mama's mac and cheese, which is just delicious, homemade, homemade.

It's it's great.

Again, with the mixed vegetables and new ski's bacon.

And then over here we have a nice airline chicken breast and on that is so good.

So on this one, it has our has our barbecue sauce, which is like a jalapeno and corn barbecue sauce, a little bit of garlic mashed potatoes.

But really, instead of just eating, we have to think about the drinks as well.

And these are also artwork.

They're beautiful and tasty.

So it's like a win win win.

So over here we have our jolly rancher is amazing little tart, like you would think, sweet and tart, ticked paradise.

One thing about that is just nice and beautiful, tropical and flavor that I mean, after layers of colors in there, it's it's great.

Little bit of sour candy on top, so you can't go wrong there.

And for the bourbon lovers, which I happen to be one that's our Elijah and the giant peach peach schnapps.

Elijah Craig, bourbon.

So what's your favorite?

So I for me personally, I love our steak frittes.

OK, I'm trying that way.

I'm going to I'm going to switch this over.

And you were telling me, too, that there's more than just artwork on their walls.

There's more than just artwork on the table.

But you're looking forward to expanding to include other pieces of art like poetry, poetry and things like that to tell us about that.

Oh, exactly.

So what we're trying to do is just encompass everything artistic, you know, from our murals on the outside, when when we've kind of moved a little further along in opening up the state.

What we're going to do, we're going to have a live stage.

We're going to have live artist in the space, poets with poetry going to court.

Some of our screens and things of that sort, you know, really anything, you know, I embrace all the arts and and we look forward to it.

So anybody that's interested in discussing it with us, I'm happy to do that.

And what are your hours here?

Currently, we're open Tuesday through Sunday four till nine o'clock, and then we're actually open until ten o'clock on Friday and Saturday.

OK, perfect.

And where can people get information on your Facebook page website?

Yes, just come on our Facebook page or create Niles.

Dotcom has all the information, any events that will be, you know, upcoming over the next few months.

So in all of these items are part of Niles Restaurant Week, which is the first ever.

I'm so excited.

You guys are one of the 18 restaurants participating in that.

We are so excited that we were able to have Restaurant Week in Niles.

It is March 1st through March 7th.

Everything on here is available.

We're actually doing a three course meal for twenty two dollars, which starts with a salad.

OK, your choice of an entree and then a choice of a dessert.

And if I wouldn't say so myself, that's good.

Along with that, we are going to feature a few of our cocktails at different local beers as well.

But well, thank you for creating with me today.

It was great to be here and so glad to have you in the community here in Niles.

Wonderful, wonderful to be here.

Thank you so much.

Though.

Steak frites were amazing, so delicious.

And then after I'm going to go home and eat the whole plate, you know, I took my food, I took it home and I was supposed to share with my husband.

And let's just say I was supposed to.

It never happened.

my husband But this week.

When I get out, I'm going to I'm going to try it again.

I'll try to bring some try out and try to share this time.

But be sure to join us on next week's show.

We're here and create your canvas and bourbon in Indiana.

And we're going to have a wonderful time.

It's so much fun this week.

We got our food on Next Week we get our splatter on.

All right.Time to get creative.

Let's get a headstart!

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Thank you.