One of the great joys of frequently eating out is that you
tend to find great food in unexpected places. Of course there are many eateries
you enter, expecting to have a delicious meal because of an established
reputation. An surprising place for a delicious home-style meal prepared by a
lady who is a surrogate grandma, Annie Mae, is right around the corner of
Evansville’s east side. I found all this at the Marigold Bar on the corner of Pollack Avenue and Weinbach Avenue.
The
Marigold Bar is indeed a tavern, and on weekend nights it’s a crowded party
spot. But since owner Dave Bush took over, it’s been thoroughly
refurbished, and thanks to Dave’s mother Annie Mae Gough, they have plate
lunches and sandwiches that are out of this world
If her name
sounds familiar, it’s because of the Westside restaurant she owned and
operated, Annie Mae’s Café. She offered big portions of homemade food there,
and she continues to do so now at the Marigold Bar. And she does it all with an
ease and casualness that makes her dishes all the more impressive.
That’s all
good and well, but what’s for lunch and how does it taste? The day I ate there
with Rachel, my co-worker, lunch was a number of things, and I can honestly say
that everything we tried exceeded our expectations, and then some. First, we
tried samples of Annie Mae’s tenderloin, tuna and egg salad, chicken breast and
cheeseburgers on toasted bread accompanied by Marigold’s chili and beef and vegetable
soup. The chunks of beef were large, tender chunks of chuck roast. And, when I
asked Annie Mae what her secret is she replied, “I don’t really have any secret
ingredients, except I never make anything from a can, it’s all homemade/”
Sandwiches
are a tavern staple, so how does the Marigold Bar distinguish itself? The
simple answer is, I don’t know. There’s something special in Annie’s kitchen
that makes a grilled tenderloin on a buttered bun something you eat and say to
yourself, “I think I could eat one of these every single day.”
It was
Marigold’s meatloaf and pork roast with mashed potatoes and gravy that really
did it for me. Sounds pretty simple, this dish. But just like the sandwiches,
the plate lunch just had a certain something that’s hard to pin down. The
meatloaf had a sweet, tangy sauce topping it and the gravy was as real as my
grandma’s. Certainly the pork roast was warm and filling and the mashed
potatoes were smooth and creamy; the corn was savory and the green beans would rival
Thanksgiving. Finally, out came our banana pudding. Served in little yellow
bowls, this dessert was a sweet treat to top off our gargantuan meal. Once
again, it seems the touch of Annie Mae added made all the difference.
Annie Mae
also caters with Marigold. She recently catered a Christmas party for 95
people. According to Annie Mae, her biggest challenge… “keeping it all hot! It’s
a down-home place and we just want everyone to be happy.”
At this point,
lunch had to be over for us. Going back to work was a chore, we were so full.
We’ll be back for sure for the hefty-portioned plate lunches, which, by the
way, are a scant $4.75, served Monday through Friday (they serve baked pork
chops every Tuesday and fried chicken every Friday) from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. We’ll
be back, too, for a cold beer and another one of those grilled tenderloin
sandwiches. I know this fall (or sooner, why not?) I’ll be back for as much of
Annie Mae’s vegetable soup as they’ll let me buy.
Oh, and one
other surprise- Annie Mae will make a cake or pie specially for you - just give her a few days’ notice. How cool is
that?
Marigold Bar is at 2112
S. Weinback Avenue, just south of Pollack Avenue. For
carryout orders or to find out what the weekly plate lunch menu is for the
following week, call 475-8780.
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