Italians and Italian food-lovers had heavy hearts (and empty stomachs) this June when the city’s annual Italian Street Festival was canceled in the absence of anyone to coordinate the event. Unwilling to accept a year without an Italian heritage celebration, Virginia Iozzo, of the Iozzo’s Garden of Italy family (946 S. Meridian St., 317-974-1100), began planning a different festival to tide the community over until the 29-year-old institution returns next June. Hosted by Iozzo’s, Taste of Italy will be held at 3 p.m. on Oct. 13 at Holy Rosary Parish (520 Stevens St.). The free event will feature the bands Indy Nile and South Six 5. Here, Iozzo tells us how the festival got a second chance.
A meaty squid salad at the SEO-friendly Sushi Bar Broad Ripple (911 Broad Ripple Ave., 317-257-7289). Carefully assembled to provide the perfect ratio of grated cheese to dressing per bite, the cherry tomato salad from Room Four (4907 N. College Ave., 317-925-7529). The shrimp and grits appetizer at
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
