Ate at the new Lafayette IN Blaze BBQ/White Castle . . . not bad!
Blaze is "open" from 11 to 11, and has a nice HD-TV menu panel showing all options. After 11pm (and before 11am) the tv switches to standard White Castle fare (which is also available when Blaze is "open"). The restaurant is a very standard White Castle, just with the tv menus, with a floor display selling (for $2.99) bottles of two of their five bbq sauces (standard and smokey-tomato, both rated one out of four stars for spiciness).
I had the brisket sandwich with corn (sandwiches cannot be ordered a la carte, and come with a side - plate lunch/dinners are also available, and the sides can be ordered independently). Sandwiches include pulled Cuban pork, bbq pulled chicken, Asian bbq pork, bbq turkey, and brisket.
The brisket was pre-cut, and in a warming oven. Even so, it was very moist, extremely tender, and tasty. I did not notice any bbq flavor or bbq smoked ring in the meat, but it did have a very good beefy flavor. There was a sauce "bar" with five sauces, and the "smokey tomato" I used was not too sweet and surprisingly nice.
For those used to ordering four-six sliders at a time, Blaze is a culture shock. Prices for sandwich plus side run around $5.75 (6.75 for brisket), but the buns are fresh (tasteless, but Wonderbread soft, absorbant, and freshly made) and the sandwich contained around 8 oz of meat!
I got there around 1:45 enroute back home from Chicago. The restaurant is at exit 172, on the East side of the road next to the Dairy Queen and sort of in front of the Meijers parking lot - it's only 30 seconds off the highway, and easy to get on & off. The only real problem was parking! The place was totally slammed, with a constant line (only 2 people waiting, but steady throughout). Looking around, I'd guess around half of the customers were eating bbq and half eating more standard White Castle fare.
While not "make a special trip" good, I'd definitely go back, maybe try the char sui pork sandwich with Asian bbq sauce or another option. It's so easy to get to, and so close to I-65, that why not!
Interested if anyone else has been there yet.
