Houlihan’s brings from-scratch dining to Noblesville

By Justin Schneider, Herald Bulletin Online Reporter/Manager

The rich, thick aroma of oak- and mesquite-fed wood fire emanates from the stone-laid chimney, broadcasting the flavor.

Even before the plate hits the table, the taste is unmistakable.

On July 21, Houlihan’s marked its first year at Hamilton Town Center in Noblesville. Flanked by a harem of restaurants at the ever-growing development, Houlihan’s makes the case for competing on quality while the other guys compete on price.

“We try to set ourselves apart with a more eclectic kitchen and by having a 95 percent scratch kitchen,” said General Manager Rich Levenhagen. “We make our own alfredo sauce, we make our own marinara. It’s also a very labor-intensive kitchen.”

Houlihan’s got its start in Kansas City in 1972, kicking off the casual dining trend, and has since expanded to more than 100 locations nationwide. Levenhagen spent seven years at franchises in Chicago and Lansing, Mich., before helping the taste transition to central Indiana.

He said that smoky cooking fire is stoked at 8 a.m. every day. Houlihan’s uses a core menu, but rotates seasonal dishes four times a year. That leaves room for a little creativity among the Houlihan’s kitchen staff, including Grover Smith, executive chef in Noblesville.

The menu looks trendy, a two-sided paper slate with a bold green-and-white layout and black dining icons: a rolling pin, a mixer, a set of utensils. It’s notable for the “R & D” section — presumably “research and development” — which describes itself this way: “Some things we’ve been working on in the test kitchen. Try them. We’d love your feedback.” That area currently features french fried asparagus and Thai peanut noodles.

My meal started with the jumbo stuffed mushrooms, each packed with cream cheese, deep-fried and served with a horseradish sauce. I ordered the giant panko shrimp with fries for my entree, while my dining companion chose the filet mignon, cooked medium-well (overdone, in my opinion, but that’s another story), with a baked potato and asparagus.

The platter of eight shrimp were deep fried and served with cocktail sauce, while the fries were crisp and tasty. The cole slaw was unusual, not creamy and tangy with vinegar, but with a more dry flavor. The steak was robust, although my dining companion applied A1.

For dessert, we ordered the S’mores Fondue Crock off the “R & D” menu: a platter of sugar-glazed graham crackers with a pot of hot marshmallow with a chocolate surprise underneath. It was playful and perfect with fresh strawberries on the side.

Food is important, but Levenhagen considers his business to be 70 percent service-oriented.

“It doesn’t matter how busy you are, the level of quality has to be there and the level of service has to be there,” Levenhagen said. “That’s the other thing; our servers aren’t robots. They interact with the guests.”

Everything about Houlihan’s is sleek.

The interior is all horizontal, with ledges around the walls and recessed lighting behind the booths, all backed with green leather. A cluster of rounded ceiling fixtures lights the dining room and collage-style paintings adorn the walls.

The interior is multi-tiered with upper and lower dining areas, while the bar is raised to street level. Three walls are lined with windows and the fourth leaves the kitchen exposed. Houlihan’s, it seems, has nothing to hide. The restaurant also offers people watching on its patio and a semi-private dining area tucked back into one corner. The bar has a modern look with flat panel televisions dangling prominently above.

This is one chain that got it right.

Appetizers range from $7 to around $10, entrees from $12 to about $25. In these harsh economic times, Levenhagen said, diners will remember an exceptional experience.

“People are still going to go out,” he said. “But maybe they scale it back from two to three nights a week to one. It’s a bite to eat and then home.”

In the final analysis, Houlihan’s will probably skirt the upper register of many family budgets. But, for diners planning for one meal out per week, Houlihan’s is not a bad alternative.

“We buy fresh produce every day of the week,” Levenhagen said. “Everything we do, we prepare fresh, so we take a lot of pride. It also takes a lot of labor. But at the end of the day, you can taste it.”

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