Food & Drinks

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.  

Give your mother the day off this Sunday and treat her to brunch at one of Indy’s restaurants that bridge the breakfast/lunch gap in style.

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.

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 10 acres for u-pick strawberries. Thirty years later, Spencer and his family run a 45-acre farm—adding already picked strawberries and fresh baked goods (pies, hand-dipped ice cream, and fudge) to the lineup. 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.

By the look of the hordes of people piling into last week’s grand opening of Poccadio Grill (1045 Broad Ripple Ave., 252-5911), the new Moroccan quick-eats spot in Broad Ripple, you would have thought they were offering free flights to Marrakesh. Nope. But owner Anass Sentissi (also chef/owner of Saffron Cafe) did offer free bocadillos (sandwiches) to the first 1,000 guests. Lucky insiders received soft, crusty baguettes stuffed with a variety of heavily spiced accouterments.

Cooler: Tundra 50 by YETI (512-394-9384, yeticooler.com)  1. Creamy yet firm Fleur de la Terre cheese from Traders Point Creamery (9101 Moore Rd., Zionsville, 733-1700)  2. Handmade chips from the Amazing Potato Chip Company (City Market, 222 E. Market St., 916-2447)  3. Half Cycle IPA from Flat 12 Bierwerks (414 N. Dorman St., 635-2337) packs enough […]

In our weekly e-newsletter this past Tuesday, we noted that Kelties in Westfield has closed. That is not the case, though the owner intends to close in September if she does not sell the restaurant. This news means that diners who relish high-quality comfort food should make their way post haste to Westfield.

Gunthorp says Indianapolis is taking the sustainable trend to new levels. “It’s going gangbusters,” he says. Chicago’s Rick Bayless is his biggest customer, but Chris Eley from Smoking Goose is a close second.

For three month this winter and spring, we followed father-and-son team Tom and Ed Battista as they faced the joys and tribulations of opening their new restaurant, Bluebeard, in Fletcher Place (at 653 Virginia Ave). It is a venture, however rewarding, not for the faint of heart. In IM’s May 2012 “Made from Scratch” feature,

Looking for a 5-star margarita for your Cinco de Mayo sipping this Saturday? We’re not talking newfangled margaritas with fresh-squeezed guava juice or tequila aged for 20 years. We’re talking margaritas as big as your head, served up in giant bowls that could house a whole school of fish, rimmed with salt and big wedges of lime. For a margarita you can spend the whole night drinking—or split with the whole table—try one of these 5 big pours:

1. Mexican food lovers on the Westside know that Wednesday night is margarita pitcher night at Puerto Vallarta Mexican Restaurant and Cantina (5510 Lafayette Rd., 317-280-0676), but you can get one any night, and this one might just contend for the largest in town.

2. Served in a curvy tall glass that probably holds as much as the big glass bowls at other Mexican joints, the margarita at Los Chilaquiles (3712 Lafayette Rd., 317-293-1111) is definitely a looker, with plenty of chunks of lime. Some interesting dishes you don’t always find elsewhere, including great sopas, huevos rancheros, and the name sake chilaquiles, served with plenty of

sour cream and queso fresco.

3. If you operate nearly a dozen (currently 11 and counting) restaurants in a single metro area, you have to be doing something right, and the margarita at El Rodeo is definitely the right size and a perfect quencher when you’re digging into a super spicy plate of shrimp diabla!

4. With several bright and cheery locations sprinkled around Central Indiana, as well as on the west and south sides of Indianapolis, El Meson Mexican Restaurant and Cantina may have one of the largest selections of combo platters in town—and salt-rimmed and frozen margaritas that won’t leave you wanting.

5. If you want some of Indy’s most authentic and beloved Mexican cuisine to go along with your margarita, stop in at El Sol de Tala (2444 E. Washington St., 317-636-1250), where the margaritas are some of the biggest around and almost as good as that guacamole the regulars rave about. Now in its 33rd year in business.

Bonus—Specials:

Get started early on some tasty and plentiful Cinco de Mayo specials at Adobo Grill (110 E. Washington St., 317-822-9990). Shrimp crepes, pan-seared Ahi tuna with a mango salad, and a chocolate sponge cake in the shape of a pyramid stuffed with plum mousse may just prove that May 5 is as much for dining as it is for tying one on.

Cinco de Mayo isn’t just one day at On the Border, which has been unveiling daily drink and dinner specials (including free meals for kids) for the 30 days leading up to the holiday.

Considering the electric lime and Pepto-Bismol pink walls, mounted taxidermy, indoor bocce ball court, and Mister Rogers and Merle Haggard portraits, we have a feeling the owners of at the soon-to-open The Tin Roof (36 S. Pennsylvania St., 317-224-0785) won’t be taking much of anything too seriously.