The building has been in the Topolgus family since 1947 and is part of the Indiana Register of Historic Sites and Structures. David Tallent of Bloomington’s Restaurant Tallent will serve as consulting executive chef and will help develop the menu, hire staff, and oversee the food.
Lola, a new Filipino venture has started cooking up fried rice and lumpias, an eggroll look-a-like, for the Indy community. The business is located in Noblesville but currently only delivers on the weekends. The 60-year-old owner, Honey Cuttill, a Philippine native, says she makes everything herself by hand.
We talked with Brian Alvey, co-owner of the upcoming Carrelli, an Italian eatery, bar, and wine garden that will open (if everything goes as planned) next month along Virginia Avenue in Fountain Square. Here’s what he had to say about his Italian heritage, his competitors, and plans for an interesting menu concept.
The highly anticipated (and controversial) Kilroy’s Bar n’ Grill in Broad Ripple is nearly ready to open. General manager Mike Augustinos says the construction is on schedule, and he hopes to open on June 1, after the madness of the Indianapolis 500. The renovated building, a former Cardinal Fitness, is approximately 7,000 square feet and can hold 300 to 500 Long Island Iced Tea sippers. In addition, the new hangout will feature what is being hailed as the largest outdoor patio in Broad Ripple.
The location itself has a history of flatlining, but the Friday-night scene at Clearwater Crossing’s months-old Brewstone Beer Company (3720 E. 82nd St., 317-577-7800) is alive and kicking. Barely recognizable under all of the varnished wood and fieldstone accents from its days as The Music Mill and, before that, a Discovery Zone indoor playground, the spot with the sprawling square footage (Cadillac Ranch was a prospective tenant at one point) combines the bling of a Vegas casino with the distraction of a big-screen sports bar. Diners pack the tables, jockey for spots at the central bar—where business got so frenzied one night that the ’tenders ran out of martini glasses—and occasionally hit the jackpot by landing one of the coveted outdoor tables, where the people-watching pairs well with a flavored mojito and an appetizer sampler. Imagine Geist’s Bella Vita without the water, or Champps Americana, but with better cut, clarity, color, and carat.
Every year the James Beard Foundation recognizes five classic restaurants in America, honoring the nation’s top restaurants with timeless appeal, beloved in their regions for high-quality food that reflects the character of their communities. St. Elmo Steak House owners Steve and Craig Huse flew out to New York last week for the 2012 ceremony and took home a hulking medal. See pictures from their Facebook page.
Broad Ripple denizens have several options to guzzle pints of brews, down Jägerbombs, and hookah with high schoolers on the crowded strip, but starting May 23, those with more sophisticated palates have a more grown up option. Head to the Village Cigar (6513 N. College Ave., 317-253-0450) for crafted cocktails, tumblers of brown liquor, and stogies. This new cigar and cocktail bar was the brainchild of the owners of Northside Social (Nicole Harlan-Oprisu, Tim Oprisu, Bill and Nancy Ficca, and Jamie Browning). This cigar-only spot will sell notable blunts like the Padron 1964 Anniversary Series, Cameroon by CAO, and La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor (prices ranging from $6-24). Its well-curated menu of distinguished cigars will be encased in a humidor created by Bob Staebell in Texas, who has also built custom humidors for Tom Cruise and George W. Bush. For drinks, expect a list of brown liquors, wines, and classic cocktails made with small batch spirits (Small American Gin, Cherry Heering, St. Germain, and Chartreuse). And for fare, the owners will offer a small menu of sandwiches and wings from the Northside Social.
Fountain Square newcomer B’s Po Boy (1261 S. Shelby St., 317-916-5555) just opened for lunch, focusing on that epitome of New Orleans cuisine—the po’ boy. Housed in a small distressed-wood–sided building formerly occupied by a catering company, the eatery serves a selection of the hoagie-style sandwiches, with fillings that range from a tasty pulled roast beef to lightly battered, perfectly fried shrimp. Each po’ boy comes stacked with meat, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, and mayonnaise, but the best part of these sandwiches is the crusty, airy French bread from Leidenheimer Baking Company that B’s brings in from New Orleans for that genuine, unforgettable Louisiana chew.
The Illinois Street Food Emporium (5550 N. Illinois St., 317-253-9513) is getting a makeover. Most noticeably, the construction of two sidewalk-side patios and additional plantings will give the Butler-Tarkington–area cafe’s alfresco tables more of a garden feel. Inside, new windows sit closer to the ground, opening up the dining room’s close quarters. And the removal of an oven in the kitchen means additional space for seating. Minor touchups are also in the works, including some painting and a bathroom redux.
The First Friday Food Truck Festival on May 4 attracted a crowd eager to try foods from more than 25 trucks. The looming promise of a thunderstorm (later fulfilled) didn’t keep hundreds of people from attending the event outside the Old National Centre. Hungry patrons endured long lines in the hot weather for the best of the Circle City’s mobile restaurants.
The vegetarian BLT from The Owlery in Bloomington, thin strips of crispy fried tofu served on thick-cut farm bread with tangy house mayo, fresh avocado, and—well, you know the rest. Frozen-treat bicycle cart Nicey Treat’s Nice Dream popsicle, fresh-squeezed orange juice around a creamy vanilla
Rockville Road’s status as a destination for international eats recently grew by one cheery and intriguing eatery, Tandoori King (7220 Rockville Rd., 317-240-8000), which is billing itself as an “Indo-Pak” restaurant offering both classics of Indian cuisine and some not-so-common Pakistani specialties. We stopped into this spacious storefront restaurant last week to try it out and were charmed by neat rows of napkins folded into glasses atop all of the tables around us. We also found ourselves intrigued by the little labels on the lunch buffet promising goat dishes and egg curry. But since it was dinner time, we put ourselves in the hands of our pleasantly gruff but no-nonsense waiter, who laid out a whole meal for us including a crisp iceberg and cucumber salad on the house and heavenly light and flaky garlic naan—some of the best we’d had in town.
Starting next week at Spencer Farm (7177 E. 161st St., Noblesville, 317-776-1560), strawberry lovers can taste summer’s favorite tender-fleshed crimson treat in their ripe, juicy glory. Guests can roam the patches and fill a flat or head to the cashier and purchase them already picked. When Kyle Spencer founded the farm, in 1982, he was just a young farmer renting ten acres for u-pick strawberries. 30 years later, Kyle and his family now run a 45-acre farm—adding already picked strawberries and fresh baked goods (pies, hand-dipped ice cream, and fudge). It’s not just about the strawberries, it’s about what the experience brings to a family. “We have many regulars who came as children and are now bringing their own children,” says Spencer.
