Megan Rohrer

Ali Baba’s Cafe is now up and running in the northwest corner of the Block Building just off Market Street. The cozy little Greek and Mediterranean restaurant serves a bit of everything, from all-American french fries to falafel, and includes a discounted Express Lunch Combo menu from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. We stopped in just past the lunch hour (rats!) and gobbled up a large order of hummus topped with ground lamb and pine nuts, served with steaming hot pita bread on the side. Large orders of shawarma sandwiches came with grilled and marinated chicken or beef on two round pitas and a choice of taziki or tahini sauce, or sour cream. Dessert was a delectably sweet order of baklava.

If you’re a little worn out on the autumn-themed drinks at your favorite corporate coffee store, there are five perfect-for-fall concoctions brewing at the South Bend Chocolate Company on Monument Circle that we can’t get enough of. Don’t let the Halloween-y names fool you—these drinks are for the big kids, too!

Designed by Brazilian architect Daniela Kohl of Kohl Interiors, Carmel’s two-story Sonata Cafe Bar and Art (31 E. Main St., Carmel) will feature large bay windows, an open-area bar and atrium, hardwood floors, and an open-air counter for window service to passersby on the street. Co-owned by Magdalena Segovia (who also owns the Magdalena Gallery and runs the Carmel Academy of the Arts), the restaurant with the Italian piazza-style atmosphere comes complete with live music from

Downtown’s ethnic dining scene gets a new addition this fall in the form of Ali Baba’s Cafe, which has  set up shop at The Block building in the spot previously occupied by Tea Cozy. Slated to open late September, the family-owned and -operated restaurant will seat up to 50 diners and serve Greek and Middle Eastern dishes for lunch ($7-$10) and dinner ($15+). In the evening hours, the restaurant devotes itself entirely to hookah.

Owner Mamduh Almaaitah says he

As it celebrates its first anniversary in September, Fountain Square’s tiny Tortas Guicho Dominguez y El Cubanito (641 Virginia Ave., 317-658-0735), is setting its sights on getting a space as substantial as its name. The restaurant known for naming its massive sandwiches after celebrities (such as the Selma Hayek, with grilled chicken, ham, mozzarella, avacado, tomato, and jalapenos) is expanding to seat up to 60. Construction should be completed by the end of the year with the restaurant remaining open throughout.