June 22, 2011

It's not football, it's food at SmashMouth Burgers & Pizza

By Kitty Conley

A plate of meat presented at Smash Mouth. | Photo Provided~Sun-Times Media

With all of the restaurants in Crown Point it seemed a little strange to drive more than 16 miles round trip from the Crown Point square to Schererville to get a hamburger or pizza.

The surprise was it wasn't your momma's burger or pie.

SmashMouth Burgers & Pizza is a different environment. It is gourmet food masquerading as fast food. This new venture by Chef Joe Arvin is about six months old. It is a small, order your food at the counter and take it to your own table establishment, just like a regular fast food joint.

Two sides of the room have flat-screen televisions. Since Smashmouth also serves beer and wine it could influence people to linger while watching a game.

With a name like SmashMouth the owner and part-time coach does tend to think football.

While Chef Joe features his burgers and pizza, that is not what got the big attention at a special tasting on June 16. Everyone was served a selection on a special smoked meat plate for the evening. Dawn Long loved the smoked Boston pork roast. A diner from Chicago loved the smoked chicken wings, and others were wild about the smoked baby back ribs. All were served with original brown bean mustard chutney.

"What I do as a football coach is SmashMouth - living large - to be the best I can be," Arvin said. "I want to also become a great teacher of everything that God gives us."

The vanilla bean sweet potato fries were good, probably too good for some. They were coated in sugar. If you have a problem with sugar skip the fries and go right for the very finely chopped baby spinach salad. It is served with Chef Joe's own bacon vinaigrette, egg, black olive and blue cheese crumbles. Talk about the clean plate club.

They offer a cheeseburger pizza that tastes like a cheeseburger. The pizza is all New York style with crust so thin it almost doesn't exist. For displaced Chicago and suburban folks who were raised on and love Chicago style deep-dish pizza, it doesn't make it.

The other pizza served that night was great and a bit unusual. It was topped with bacon, spinach and mushroom with an exclusive recipe of Alfredo sauce. Even a mushroom hater loved it. That combination of bacon, spinach and mushrooms with Alfredo would be fantastic on rigatoni or fettuccini noodles. That would be food to honor the palate.

SmashMouth has four items on the menu designed to keep kids happy: a fried PB&J or Mac & Cheese, both served with apple slices, to the more traditional cheeseburger or chicken tenders and fries.

And caterers in the area need to be aware. While the fast food feel of the restaurant in Schererville doesn't sound like competition, just wait. This chef is ready with his own truck to bring quantities of food to a party. From choices of in-house custom smoked meats such as pulled pork, barbecued beef brisket and chicken breast and wings, to side dishes with a southern flair, parties may start taking on a different flavor.

Arvin said his love for cooking developed in his early childhood. Having grown up in Lexington Ky., the man loves a southern influence.

Arvin is an Army brat who must have set his father back on his heels when he went off to study at Baltimore International College's School of Culinary Arts.

After graduation in 1996 Arvin worked at two east coast hotels and then as a corporate chef for Tyson Food Co. That brought this southern boy to the Chicago area.

Now a family man, he was flying around the country all week and wanted to stay close to home. With the help of his wife and business partners Brian and Caroline Brundage he was able to make SmashMouth a reality.

Press

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