Over the past several months, we’ve shared a couple of out-of-town restaurants worth the drive, like Franklin’s Indigo Duck and Batesville’s Butcher Shoppe. Shelbyville’s 18 on the Square (18 Public Square, Shelbyville, 317-398-7373)—a warm and ambitious restaurant located in an old hardware store—definitely deserves consideration.
As we shared back in July, Craig Baker and Derek Means of The Local Eatery & Pub (14655 N. Gray Rd., Westfield, 317-218-3786) plan to open Bent Rail Brewery & Coffee Co. in the SoBro area, taking over the now-shuttered Monon Fitness Center. The 12,000-square-foot space will serve as restaurant and microbrewery. And the owners describe the menu as Tuscan and French peasant-themed with several house-cured meats, rustic dishes, and gourmet pizzas. For early hours, they plan to sell house-roasted coffee and fresh-baked goods.
Over the weekend, Indianapolis received a little love in the Chicago Tribune’s travel section. The writer seemed to enjoy her breaded pork tenderloin from Plump’s Last Shot. She even had nice things to say about the margherita pie at Coal Pizza Company. And after a seemingly wonderful four-course dinner at Recess, she was blown away by the restaurant’s affordable prices. (Maybe she needs to get out of Chicago more often?)
A new Indiana cheesemaker, Jacobs & Brichford has come on the scene, offering tasty small-batch European-influenced cheeses. With fifteen-plus years in the dairy business, husband-and-wife team Matthew Brichford and Leslie Jacobs recently decided to devote space on their 1,200-acre Connersville farmstead to producing more than milk. The new cheeses come from their grass-fed Jersey, Normande, and Tarentaise cross cows. They began production just five months ago, and already they’ve been spotted on menus in Louisville, Cincinnati, Chicago, and St. Louis.
While most of Indy’s cocktail connoisseurs have been so preoccupied with brown-liquor-this and absinthe-that from the bar chefs at Severin, The Libertine, and Bluebeard, a couple of local entrepreneurs have been preparing to mix things up with a mixology-focused place just a tad further north. How far north? Almost road-trip north: try downtown Noblesville. Dave Pumphrey and John Manley have recently purchased the Conner Station on the square at 917 Conner Street. The bar will be renamed Copper Still and will get a fresh makeover, inside and out. They’ve tapped Brad Gates Catering to consult on the food. “Expect back-porch food, but better,” says Pumphrey. The menu’s still being rolled out, but the owners tell IM that dishes such as Carolina barbecue, corned beef, and cole slaw will be available.
Billing itself as the city’s first full-service espresso bar on wheels, Indy Coffee Van has joined the crowded food truck scene. The checkered orange box truck was spotted yesterday morning on the Circle. Behind the wheel is Wes Kerlin, a former US Air Force special agent. His affinity for coffee runs deep in his family and is what drives him each day. “My pare
Five weeks ago, we shared a preview of the reopening of Indy’s cherished Aristocrat Pub & Restaurant (5212 N. College Ave., 317-283-7388). Just like we remember it, the center cut fried pork tenderloin still takes up the entire plate. And the peppery potato chips still make us long for another pint of brew.
Ed Rudisell doesn’t fit the typical multi-restaurant-mogul mold. He’s not the clean-cut suit who rolls up in a Lexus and barks about food costs and mission statements. In fact, this laid-back and tatted entrepreneur (who drives a Buick) landed in the industry by accident, after getting laid off from a bank job. “When I was 24, I started working for Buffalo Wild Wings. I just needed to pay my rent,” says Rudisell, now 36 and co-owner of two successful local restaurants, Black Market and Siam Square.
Those bright–orange banks of jack-be-little pumpkins spotted at farmers markets can be much more than teeny decorations—they make the perfect vessel for nutty, autumnal pumpkin soup. Here, executive chef Edsel C. Secrest from Peterson’s (7690 E. 96th St., Fishers, 317-598-8863) shares a simple at-home recipe that takes advantage of fall’s fleeting flavors.
Last fall, first-time restaurant owners Michele and David Dessauer quietly sold their adorably located Broad Ripple spot, Fire by the Monon (6523 Ferguson St., 317-252-5920), to seasoned restaurateur Tim Reuter. No stranger to the industry, Reuter, has made a business of resuscitating ailing bars and restaurants (having previously flipped the likes of Bourbon Street Distillery, Tip Top Tavern, Living Room Lounge, and The Stadium Tavern). Once at the helm, Reuter convinced Vicki Higuera, then the director of retail planning at the City Market, to leave her post and act as his co-owner.
