Visiting Notre Dame tomorrow (Monday and Tuesday)

[coweepooh]

My first time in South Bend, IN

Am staying at the Marriott South Bend while visiting Notre Dame...curious if there are any places within walking distance or a short cab ride from the Marriott hotel that I should try.

I'm a huge foodie hailing from Boston (was in D.C. and grew up in Los Angeles) but I'm not expecting anything amazing as far as asian-Chinese cuisine.

With that said--sometimes I do have a sudden craving for anything with rice (like chinese, thai, japanese, etc), so if you have any recs for that, it would be awesome, I heard about JW Chen's having some authentic chinese dishes? Do you have to request items off the menu?

I've also heard about Tippecanoe?

If I do not have my "rice" craving, I would like to try some place that reflects the cuisine of this region, so if anyone has recs for that, I'd love to try it and if need be, can just cab over from my hotel :)

I will most likely only have 1 free meal on Monday, well, maybe 2 free meals (late lunch on Monday and dinner on Monday) as I arrive at 1:30pm Monday--so maybe a late lunch though I'll have to check into the Marriott first.

Thanks!!!

-----
Los Angeles Cafe
280 E Haven Ave # 30, New Lenox, IL 60451

[nsxtasy]

There's a huge discussion of food in South Bend at http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/125485 It started some years ago but it's been updated pretty regularly ever since.

LaSalle Grill downtown is excellent. And for breakfast, go to the Original Pancake House just east of ND on Ironwood.

[jes7o]

I'm not a huge fan of Tippecanoe Place. Overpriced, and the food isn't very good. Very stuffy and past its prime. I really can't recommend any Asian other than *maybe* Siam Thai downtown, which would be walking distance from the hotel. For "regional" , the places that come to mind are:

1. Corndance Tavern on Grape Road in Mishawaka. I'm a huge fan of the original Corndance Cafe in Culver, IN. Great place for a variety of meats, seafood, and pastas. http://mishawaka.corndance.com

2. Uptown Kitchen in Granger and the Mark at Eddy Street Commons by ND. Both are run by the same guy and offer great food in a casual environment. The Mark is definitely closer by cab and might be nice for lunch.
http://thecleanplateclubrestaurants.com/uptown/
http://thecleanplateclubrestaurants.c...

Hope that helps. N. Indiana doesn't really have a cuisine, per se...but these are some newer restaurants that are trying hard to bring fresh, local ingredients to the forefront.

-----
Corndance Cafe
117 S Main St, Culver, IN 46511

Siam Thai Restaurant
211 N Main St, South Bend, IN 46601

Tippecanoe Place Restaurant
620 W Washington St, South Bend, IN 46601

Uptown Kitchen
303 Florence Ave, Granger, IN 46530