Restaurant Review: Bagger Dave's

It  turns out we can’t go ANYWHERE without ending up on some train-related adventure.  Take this last Saturday.  After going to see a local theatre production, we decided to stop at Bagger Dave’s  (map) at 86^th and Michigan Indianapolis for lunch.  We’d never been there before and our good friends Brad and Brittany had heard good things about it.  Bagger Dave's is a chain with locations in Indiana, Michigan, and Missouri. 

When we first walked into the restaurant, a giant old train signal greeted us.   Score!  As we looked around, the wall was adorned with old black and white photos which included pictures of trains.  A stained glass window had a nice train image that got the kids' attention.    The train theme was further extended into the children's coloring place mats and stickers.   And the best was yet to come.

After we sat down and ordered, it wasn’t long until a model train chugged by over our heads!  Similar to the arrangement of the Whistle Stop in Monon, IN, this place has a model train on an elevated track that moves by quietly right over your head!  It circles around the room before disappearing briefly into the bar area and then emerging in the dining area just a moment later.  I couldn’t tell you what size train it was, but it was a large model train, larger than our O scale Lionel at home.  The kids went wild when they saw the train.  As the train moved around the two rooms, the kids would eagerly follow it.  In the above picture, you can see my son in the lower right corner, eyes glued to the train.

The dining experience was so-so.  The French fries were great, but the burger was not exactly memorable.  I could not bring myself to spend $5 on the milk shake.  They also offered micro-brew sodas rather than your standard commercial fare, and my root beer was fine but not memorable.  For our dinner for 3 (the kids split a meal), we spent about $40.

In the end, I would give them an A for good service, A- for train friendly atmosphere, a B- for food, and a C for the price.  You can get better train action at Pizza King, better burgers at (that place downtown, look it up), and better prices for similar quality with a Hardees ThickBurger (not to mention a Steak-N-Shake for half the price of burger and almost half price for shake).  Oh, and they get an A for being child friendly. Nice wide aisles allowed our kids to roam and follow the train, combined with spacious handicapped restroom stalls with changing table (which facilitated recovery from a potty-training incident ).

 

Train-friendly atmosphere: A-
Food Quality:  B-

Service:  A

Price:  C
Kid-Friendly:  A

Changing tables:  Yes

 

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