Dining

The menu plays coy at Topo’s 403, Bloomington’s elegant-edgy riff on Mediterranean food. An entree billed as spanakopita rainbow trout arrives not in the expected brick of phyllo but as a piece of iridescent-skinned fish, filleted and stuffed with spinach and cheese. You taste the same strata of crisp, salty flavors—the sweet nuttiness of the fish layered with the savory greens, on a bed of bulgur salad brightened with lemon-caper vinaigrette. But this is the big fat Greek restaurant standard deconstructed. Here, authenticity is overrated.

By Craig Baker, Chef/owner of the Local Pub & Eatery

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.
 

Inside any of the six Scotty’s Brewhouses dotting the Indiana landscape, overgrown frat boys never go thirsty. Neon signs cover the walls, and TVs inside bathroom stalls tout “U-call-it” and Bud pitcher nights.

With so many food trucks stuffing the humble taco full of Korean-style pork and Indian pakoras, another “fusion taqueria” is hardly a trendsetter. But when veteran chef George Muñoz started filling thick tortillas with salt-and-pepper shrimp and skirt steak marinated in red curry, he set the bar for flavor. In July, Muñoz opened his first solo effort, La Chinita Poblana (927 E. Westfield Blvd., 317-722-8108, lachinitapoblana.com), in the former home of Boogie Burger in Broad Ripple. Removing indoor seats and painting walls in rainbow pastels gave the tiny lean-to a new spaciousness. Counters and neighboring outdoor tables still accommodate those dining in. Bubble teas and hot-and-sour soup, offered alongside churros and sweet-potato fries smothered in mole, attest to Muñoz’s playful approach. But the crispy bark on his slow-braised pork carnitas and his perfectly blackened yellow-curry tilapia, not to mention custom sauces and mixed herbs, help elevate his funky tacos above the rest. 

Leaves are not the only things beginning to fall from the trees of Indiana. In Mitchell, the community’s beloved persimmons have begun their annual drop. This Saturday, the town celebrates persimmon season with the 66th Mitchell Indiana Persimmon Festival. As any veteran persimmon baker will tell you, the local fruit is best harvested once it falls naturally from the tree. Alverta Hart, persimmon and novelty dessert coordinator for the Persimmon Festival says the fruit has a “puckery” and unpleasant taste if harvested directly from the branch. And since the majority of the 130 to 230 contestants who flock to the festival each year reference a similar, if not almost identical, pudding recipe, it is important to pick persimmons at the peak of maturity.

Crunchy, tender deep-fried frog’s legs at The Local Eatery & Pub (14655 N. Gray Rd. Westfield, 

>> REGINA MEHALLICK of R Bistro

888 Massachusetts Ave., 317-423-0312

Dress Codes

This time next month, you’ll once again be able to grab a beer and a bite from the Aristocrat Pub & Restaurant (5212 N. College Ave., 317-283-7388). According to manager Melissa Uhte, the 79-year-old neighborhood favorite will reopen its doors in the first or second week of October after a 13-month closure for reconstruction, the result of an electrical fire that destroyed the back of the building and left everything else saturated with smoke. 

Forty Five Degrees (765 Massachusetts Ave., 317-634-4545) re-opened earlier this month following a four-day break to complete the final stage of a $100,000 renovation. Now, the Mass Ave sushi bar is 10 feet longer, accommodating 14 diners and five chefs. And the dining room has one less wall to give the corner spot a more open feel. The remodel of the 4-year-old hotspot was born out of necessity, according to owner Bill Pritt, who notes that the business has grown every year since the restaurant opened in 2008, and the original layout didn’t function well for the volume of customers.

The latest lunchtime addition to downtown is Punch Burger (137 E. Ohio St.), a casual burger-and-beer joint where diners can grab a quick bite for $5 to $6. Scheduled to open Oct. 1, the concept comes from Travis Sealls and Devon Everhart, owners of downtown’s fast-sandwich spot, Pita Pit (1 N. Pennsylvania St., 317-829-7482).

As backyard barbecue season draws to a close, let us direct your attention to these 10 wild and wonderful burgers that might make you want to retire your charcoal for good—or at least put away your Kiss the Chef apron until spring.  

Inspired by the success of upscale watering holes like Ball & Biscuit, Libertine, and Bluebeard, Valerie Vanderpool, chef and co-founder of Zest! Exciting Food Creations (1134 E. 54th St., 317-466-1853) is getting in on the cocktail craze. In April, Vanderpool plans to open Twist Lounge in the former N. Rue spot next door to her SoBro restaurant. The lounge will have a “sparkly, Paris boudoir look,” according to Vanderpool, who plans to apply Zest’s philosophy about food (“make it fresh, use quality ingredients, add a little whimsy”) to drinks such as the Cuzmopolitan and the SoBro Long Island Tea. “It’s going to be a total extension of what we’ve been doing for the last six and a half years,” Vanderpool says.