The summer season is upon us, which means kitchens are getting creative with the southern classic side dish that dunks crisp slices of green tomatoes in batter for deep frying and mayonnaise dunking. Here are some Indy restaurants that are putting their own interesting spin on fried green tomatoes.
It boasts one of downtown’s most coveted locations, at the busy crossroads of Pennsylvania and Washington streets, with Bankers Life Fieldhouse framed squarely in its front windows. But the brand-new, Atlanta-based Tin Roof (36 S. Pennsylvania St., 317-951-2220) seems determined not to be mistaken for some kind of nice, uptown restaurant.
The moist, savory pull-apart bread at The Libertine Liquor Bar (38 E. Washington St., 317-631-3333), essentially adult monkey bread made with Sun King Wee Mac, Fair Oaks cheddar, mustard, dill, and crunchy salt. It arrives in a bowl. Tug it out in big, buttery hunks. Crunchy, breaded onion rings served with a creamy horseradish-spiked sa
On Saturday, I rounded up some friends and joined the “Ridin’ Local” tour–a 9-mile excursion highlighting three restaurants that emphasize locally grown ingredients. Note: Because this same tour happens every second Saturday this summer, I will not tell you the locations along the tour. Tippins guards the identity of the specific locations as fiercely as a chef does his recipes.
Chef Daniel Orr of FARMbloomington is taking his successful restaurant concept to Columbus, hoping to open this time next year. Like its Bloomington counterpart, FARMbrew (4501 S. Lindsey St., Columbus) will focus on local ingredients, but there will also be a “global influence,” says FARM’s general manager Harry Shafer. The family-friendly environment will have separate entities for food and brew. Food will include burgers, naan bread pizzas, gourmet hotdogs, and global street food. Brews will range from local craft beers to ethnic specials to seasonal brews.
This New York sub chain is making its way to Indy. On June 6, DiBella’s Old Fashioned Submarines opens a location in Traders Point (5650 W. 86th St.). A second will open in early fall near IUPUI (910 W. 10th St.). Billed as a higher end, fast-casual sub shop—think more Panera, less Subway—it assembles sandwiches such as the Godfather sub (with salami, capicola, and spicy ham) and the Dagwood (with turkey, ham, and corned beef). The medium sandwiches will put you back $7. But during Wednesday’s grand opening, the first wave of 25 diners through the door will get a year’s worth of free subs.
King David Dogs (135 N. Pennsylvania St., 317-632-3647), Indy’s original all-beef quarter-pound hot dog spot, is now serving breakfast from 7:30 to 11 a.m. Nothing costs more than $4, and menu items include breakfast sandwiches, pancakes, breakfast burritos, Intelligentsia coffee, and the Top Dog–biscuits topped with gravy made from King David hot dogs.
If you have spent any time at all with an East Coast expat, you’ve probably been apprised of the embarrassing state of pizza in Indianapolis—our dearth of pizzaioli dusted in doppio zero flour, dough spiked with mineral-rich water, and slices that fold neatly down the middle. But when a place like downtown’s Coal Pizza Company comes along, cooking its pies in a 900-degree oven in the big-shouldered tradition of America’s first pizzerias, redemption is served by the slice.
Call him a caterer. Call him a chef. Just don’t call Brad Gates a man without big ideas. He may be working in one of his smallest kitchens yet, in a corner of City Market, but Gates is putting his highly refined palate to work on catering, to-go lunches, and one of Indy’s best cheese cases, stocked with up to 40 selections.
