Food & Drinks

The first thing you notice at Divvy, after you have strolled by packed communal tables in the bar and passed under raw-wood lampshades curved like Mobius strips, are the menus. Long, horizontal, and leather-bound like an old-timey razor strop, they contain sections upon subsections with suggestive monikers such as “Motion in the Ocean” and “Grazers Galore,” spanning more than 20 pages. You could dine here five nights a week, as some have, and never conquer the dozens of “Tidbits,” “Liquid Goods,” and “Mini Morsels” offered by this new foodie oasis in the shadow of Carmel’s Palladium. “The fun part was coming up with the names of the dishes,” says owner Kevin “Woody” Rider, the restaurateur who also brought Woody’s Library Restaurant to northside diners and helped open Bonge’s Tavern in Perkinsville.

I. The Vonneguts were here (and still are). The new Kurt Vonnegut mural along Mass Ave has made the likeness of Indy’s most famous author a permanent fixture of the cityscape. And the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library, opened in 2011, allows visitors to lay fingers on the very typewriter keys the giant once tapped (and […]

With ingredients from The Winter Green Market at Traders Point Creamery (tpforganics.com)

The black-and-white cookie, an NYC icon, stacked at the King David Dogs hotdog stand at the corner of Illinois and Washington streets. Both the cookie and the hotdog stand (which King David uses for private parties) are here only for the Super Bowl. KDD ordered them as a sugary tribute to the Giants and their fans. Just don’t eat

Fountain Square’s new Venezuelan restaurant American Empanadas (1026 Virginia Ave., 317-644-0509) serves a variety of empanadas and arepas, featuring traditional options as well as items with a creative twist. The empanadas are made with traditional dough that co-owner Angelica Folkerts likens to that of a corndog, only less sweet. Made from white corn powder, the dough offers a nice contrast to slightly salty filings such as barbecued pork and 3-way chili. Dessert empanadas include a popular banana-chocolate version.

We’ve collected links to several recent local and national stories about dining in Indianapolis during the Super Bowl. Here, a few of our favorites.

First up: Ale Emporium. This 30-year-old icon across the street from the mall bustle of Castleton serves a lively crowd of first- and even second-generation regulars.

“Miguel” might not be the first name that comes to mind when you think of Southern or Creole cookery. But if you’ve followed Miguel Santana from the kitchens of erstwhile downtown bakery and restaurant Benvenuti to Battery Park Saloon (also now closed) to his innovative fusion cuisine at Northside Social, then you know he’s anything but a conventional chef. And growing up in Miami does technically qualify him as a Southerner. His eponymous Miguel’s Southern Kitchen (130 N. Delaware St., 317-955-0001) is certainly a nice addition to lunchtime choices in a classic high-ceilinged storefront that most recently housed a chicken roaster and before that a longtime newsstand. The gorgeously ornate tile floors with fleur-de-lis patterns are enough of a reason to stop by. Santana’s selective menu divided between comforting classics and Bayou favorites shows some careful forethought.

The gussied-up patties at Bru Burger Bar (410 Massachusetts Ave., 317-635-4278) are bound to upset purists. One is dressed in onion gravy and Swiss cheese while another, called Mount Olympus, scales great heights with enough pepperoni, feta, fried garbanzo, red onion, marinated mushrooms, kalamata olives, lettuce, and roasted tomato dressing to anger the gods. These are hamburgers, mind you. Not subs. But in keeping with the theme of all of the projects by parent company Cunningham Restaurant Group (Boulder Creek Dining Company, Stone Creek Dining Company, Mesh on Mass, and Charbonos), Bru knew exactly what it was doing from Day One.

Billing itself as an authentic Neapolitan-style pizzeria and restaurant, Coal Pizza Company (36 E. Washington St., 317-685-2625) has opened in the short-lived two-story Hue Dine space. The venture is backed by Jason Tipton of The Ripple Inn (929 E. Westfield Blvd., 317-252-2600) and Michael Keenan of Broad Ripple’s Za Pizzeria (801 Broad Ripple Ave., 317-602-3753). Its kitchen is run by Charles Mereday, managing partner and chef of The Ripple Inn and owner of Eagle Creek Pizza (5510 Lafayette Rd., 317-290-1122).

Those estimated 150,000 Super Bowl visitors will be in dire need of satiation—and hundreds of Indy-area restaurants are getting prepared. Chris Clifford, director of operations for St. Elmo Steakhouse (127 S. Illinois St., 317-635-0636) and Harry & Izzy’s (153 S. Illinois St., 317-635-9594; 4050 E. 82nd St., 317-915-8045) anticipates going through 600 pounds of shrimp and more than 80 pounds of horseradish during the event’s Thursday-to-Sunday crush. “Our supplier, McFarling Foods, will keep an extra 400 pounds [of shrimp] aside ‘just in case,’” says Clifford. Daily deliveries will arrive downtown between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m.

The Amexica–a potent commingling of smoky Mezcal, tequila, lavender, and absinthe garnished with mint leaf–that is putting hair on people’s chests at The Libertine (38 E. Washington St., 317-631-3333). Up, down, center, and in … don’t order one thinking you will get a margarita. The mini

Spotted dining al fresco at Tastings today.

We didn’t need a UK survey to tell us that Shepherd’s pie, that yummy deep-dish casserole of beef and root veggies crusted with mashed potatoes, ranks  high among comfort dishes to get us through the winter. Some of our favorites around town:

Depending on which home magazines you subscribe to, the French flea market trappings of Carmel’s darling brunch spot Eggshell Bistro (51 W. City Center Dr., Carmel, 317-660-1616) will give you either a serious case of decorator’s envy … or a petit headache. Larry Hanes, owner of the eatery in its first weeks of business in the brand-new Carmel City Center, has amassed an impressive collection of vintage flair, from the ’50s-era manual Italian espresso machine with a metal grill and wooden knobs to the antique cinnamon grinder at the coffee bar. And it all comes to roost in this sunny corner spot. Diners are seated in vintage blue and yellow metal Tolix chairs, at marble tables topped with Orangina bud vases. Even the banged-up institutional trash can and paper towel dispenser in the ladies room are covetable in a shabby chic kind of way.