Old Skool restaurant review: Hollyhock Hill, Indianapolis, Indiana

My date and I visited a great old-timey restaurant on the outskirts of Indy. It's actually really close to the highway, so if you're cruising down 65, take 465 east or south or whatever, so you're going over the north end of Indy, and get off at route 31. Travel south to 76th street, take a left, then take a right at College avenue. You'll be only a couple short blocks from Hollyhock Hill. Actually, I recommend a ride up from Indianapolis--we came from downtown, and the drive up Meridian starts a bit unattractively but ends up in a beautiful, leafy suburban paradise full of old, beautiful houses with expansive lawns.

Hollyhock Hill serves chicken dinners, family-style. There really isn't too much else on the menu, but why, frankly, would you want anything else? I know I didn't.

OK, so on the old-school criteria list, it definitely had the added-on appearance. We were sitting on the back porch of what was once a house, and we were DEFINITELY listing. My boyfriend said anytime anyone walked behind him he thought the porch was going to collapse. Still, it's decorated quite cutely, a bit too preciously feminine for my taste but not over-gaudy. The waitresses wear this blue sort of jumper that looks vaguely like something a Fundamentalist LDS polygamist wife would wear--not too attractive. But a uniform is old-school, and I'm all for a little formality in my restaurant, so no problem.

The dinners are very much a family-style thing. We placed our order, and were first served with (another check on the checklist) a relish tray of cottage cheese, raw vegetables, pickled beets, and a head lettuce salad with a very light, sweet-sour dressing that was very refreshing. No dressing carousel here, no blue cheese nor creamy garlic, either (though I didn't ask for options--their house dressing is so famous they bottle it for sale).

They also teased us by putting down apple butter, without anything to put it on. The target food, the biscuits, came later, with the meal. And the meal was delicious. Really good, nicely breaded, just really tasty, moist chicken; corn that was cut off the cob; cooked down green beans with bacon (a little too cooked for me, but still good); whipped mashed potatoes that were not in the least bit gluey; chicken gravy; and delicious biscuits. I wish I knew my biscuits better. These were not like the typical type you get from KFC or Popeye's. These had more of a bread-like consistency, but were still definitely short--you could tell there was a fatty richness to them. But with the apple butter, they were to die for. We only got three small rolls for two people, which was weird; maybe they do it so that you order more. I would have been content to eat all the sides and the biscuits, so I did restrain myself on the chicken, because the only thing as good as good fried chicken is good fried chicken in a doggie bag.

We weren't done yet. The dinner finishes with vanilla ice cream and a carousel (ah-HA! I guess I can half check off that one) of toppings. Other options include brownies and peppermint ice cream.

I took the chicken and the apple butter home. This one's definitely worth a visit. (By the way, so is Indianapolis--the state museum, Indianapolis speedway museum, and an Indianapolis Indians baseball game are all great fun.)