Porthole Inn 'simplifies' menu as Chocolate Moose says goodbye to Spanish burger

Two Bloomington area restaurants have eliminated some items that surely are someone's favorite. The changes at the Porthole Inn and Chocolate Moose were made with a lot of thought and may help make both places more profitable, ensuring their continued presence. Certainly we can all agree that would be a good outcome.

Menu 'simplified' at Porthole Inn

The Porthole Inn recently announced it has simplified its menu. The longtime restaurant, at 8939 E. South Shore Drive on the banks of Lake Lemon, changed ownership two years ago. The new owners kept much of the menu, as well as the weekend live music.

On the restaurant's Facebook page, the announcement explained a simplified menu will allow the Porthole to improve the quality while lessening wait times. The post said, "During our busiest times, it’s not possible to keep up with the demand while offering so many food options. We are scaling back to our pizza menu and appetizers." Catfish, tenderloins, burgers and other items will be offered as daily specials.

The restaurant offers 10- and 14-inch pies. Customers can choose barbecue chicken, meat lovers, Hawaiian and chicken ranchero or build their own. Other choices include breadsticks, strombolis, wings, pub pretzels and catfish nuggets.

The post continued, saying, "We want to keep the Porthole open for gathering with friends and listening to live music every weekend and this is a necessary step in making that happen. We would appreciate your support and would ask that you keep negative comments to yourself."

Chocolate Moose no longer makes Spanish burger

The Chocolate Moose also posted changes on social media, letting customers know it has discontinued the Spanish burger, a sandwich that dates back to at least the 1940s. Jordan Davis, director of operations, said the Chocolate Moose sells only a couple of Spanish burgers each week and that's not enough to keep it on the menu. He said taking the burger off the menu has been under consideration for years.

"If everyone who reacted to that (Facebook) post bought two Spanish burgers a year, we’d be fine," Davis said.

Chocolate Moose added other hot sandwiches to its menu at the downtown Bloomington location, 405 S. Walnut St., last year; the Nashville location, 278 S. Van Buren St., has offered sandwiches for years.

Fans can keep eating Spanish burgers. The recipes for the sauce and the burger were posted on Facebook, which customers appreciated, Davis said.

You'll find the recipes at the bottom of this column.

St. Patrick's Day specials at Lennie's

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day from 3-9 p.m. March 17 at Lennie's, which will have special menu items. Special appetizers will be Dublin coddle, a stew of potatoes, sausage and onions in a rich broth; and potato cabbage soup that includes leeks, carrots and celery cooked in a cream-based broth.

Entrees will include stout beef stew made with beef, potatoes, carrots, parsnips and peas, and served with mashed potatoes and cabbage; corned beef and cabbage, also served with mashed potatoes; and fisherman's pie with cod and shrimp, gently poached and then mixed with a creamy white sauce and topped with mashed potatoes before browning in a wood-fired oven.

Special dessert is Irish whiskey cake, created with whiskey-soaked chocolate cake topped with chocolate mousse, ganache and Chocolate Moose vanilla bean ice cream. Lennie's is at 514 E. Kirkwood Ave.

Irish Lion celebrates St. Patrick's Day but it's first-come, first seated

Of course Irish Lion Restaurant and Pub will be celebrating St. Patrick's Day. This year is the 42nd time the Bloomington restaurant at 212 W. Kirkwood Ave. has done so. This year's festivities will include live Irish music with the Bloomington Ceili Band beginning at noon.

Irish Lion will be serving its traditional Irish food of corned beef and cabbage, Irish Lion Celtic stew, coddle, shepherd's pie, Irish soda bread and Blarney Puffballs as well as offering Irish whiskies, Irish beer and Guinness to adults.

Note: There will be no reservations taken on March 15-17; it's walk-in seating only.

Recipes for Chocolate Moose's Spanish burger

The recipe for Chocolate Moose's Spanish burger begins with the special sauce. These recipes are meant for large numbers of hungry people.

SPANISH SAUCE

• 1 10-pound (109 ounces) tomato sauce
• 1 10-pound (109 ounces) tomato paste
• 1 10-pound (109 ounces) tomato ketchup
• 3 tablespoons garlic powder
• 3 tablespoons ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 tablespoons salt

Blend all ingredients together then add to Spanish burger as detailed below.

SPANISH BURGERS

• 15 pounds beef
• 3-4 cups cracker meal
• 7 eggs, medium or large
• 1 green pepper, diced
• 2 cups dried onions

Begin by soaking dry onions in water before beginning the mixing process. After dicing green pepper, drain any excess water off the onions. Add pepper along with spices, eggs, and cracker meal with the beef and hand-mix thoroughly.

After mixing beef into the other ingredients, weigh out the mixture into 5-ounce balls. Patty the balls by hand or with a patty maker.

In 2 large skillet pans, brown beef patties (do not thoroughly cook), then place in a larger pan and prepare for baking.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Pour 64 ounces of Spanish sauce over the burgers. Bake for 1 hour, 45 minutes.