Food & Drinks

Barbecue, bourbon, beer, and live music sounds like the perfect night on the town in Memphis. But as of next month, downtown Speedway will serve up the same good old Southern combination at Barbecue and Bourbon.

Almost as soon as Bakersfield opened in early March, the eat-drinky with the subhead “Tacos Tequila Whiskey” enjoyed quite a following, having transformed the old harlequin-themed Bazbeaux location into a warren of rough-hewn, amber-lit nooks.

Craving something salty? Locally made beef jerky at Joe’s Butcher Shop delivers a surprising lemon-peppery kick.

The annual suds-and-fundraising event benefits the Phoenix Theatre and featured more than 25 breweries taking part in four hours of beer-swilling fun.

Including wafer-thin slices of ruby tuna dressed simply with oil, crushed oranges, microgreens, and tiny-diced cucumbers and radishes—among the Chef’s Daily Preparations of crudo at Restaurant Tallent.

Taste Cafe & Marketplace. Breaded calamari rings sit atop an Asian-inspired toss of edamame, daikon, spinach, cucumbers, and tomatoes—all bound with miso vinaigrette.

A double-decker BLT spilling over at the edges with crisp oven-cooked bacon—one of the specialties of the house at Just Judy’s. …

Humorless diners be warned: The puns and innuendos on the menu at Greenwood newcomer Between the Bun are spread as thick as the sweet Poontang sauce on the Dirty Bird.

Soft-serve cones are handed out of the window of this tiny hut painted a cheerful yellow. Tenderloins, elephant ears, and other State Fair grub headline the menu.

To Patachou Inc.’s 32-year-old executive chef, Tyler Herald, they’re not just diners seeking sustenance—they’re fans gathering before his live rock concert–esque performance.

Chef Mark Marlar says the restaurant has been serving the Blue Island Oyster Company’s shellfish for about two years. They are harvested off the coast of the Great South Bay in New York state.

Ed Rudisell’s much-anticipated, sure-to-draw-crowds Vietnamese sandwich shop opened quietly late last week in The Hinge building in Fletcher Place.

A salad of fregula tossed with peas, black walnuts, roasted fennel, and pea tendrils shot through with nibs of Traders Point Creamery’s cheese—served on a plate dotted with sweet carrot vinaigrette at Napolese downtown.

But now two of Indy’s titans of food and drink are pairing up to give suds-friendly cuisine its day: Ted Miller of Broad Ripple’s Brugge Brasserie,and award-winning chef Greg Hardesty of (deep breath now) H2O Restaurant & Sushi Bar, Elements, Room Four, and Recess.

Queisser and his crew have largely re-created the Locals Only vibe, down to the Sunday Bears-game specials (and the open-mic poetry nights that are on the horizon).