Food & Drinks

The lineup is limited to tacos, quesadillas, burritos, tamales, and tortas, which meant we were able to eat almost everything the kitchen makes. Out came a pair of tamales moist to the point of corn pudding, and loaded with seasoned shreds of pork and chicken. We could not resist the squirt bottles of smoky red sauce and kicky tomatillo, though these tamales needed no further adornment. A pork torta was more modest with its fillings than we are used to (in other words, we were able to finish it without dialing 911), and a chicken burrito had more meat than filler. But the winning order, three soft beef tacos at $2 each, contained perfect, salty morsels of steak, cradled simply with chopped onions and cilantro inside double-layered corn tortillas that had touched the griddle just long enough to attain the gentlest crunch. Muy Bueno!

Thursday’s half-price martini night at Mesh on Mass (725 Massachusetts Ave., 317-955-9600). Always jammed. Good value. Brown-sugar oatmeal pancakes with blueberries at Rosie’s Place (68 N. 9th St., Noblesville, 317-770-3322).  The Take You Back PB&J at

Art Bouvier grew up in New Orleans, where almost everyone he knew owned a restaurant, and he was pretty sure that wasn’t the life he wanted. He even moved north, seeking a corporate career that would keep him safely out of the hospitality business. But eventually the cubicle lifestyle wore him down. Good for us. In 2007, Bouvier left his seven-year IT career at Eli Lilly to open his authentically Cajun Papa Roux on the east side. “At the time, everyone thought I was nuts,” says Bouvier. “Now I don’t look so nuts.”

An estimated 5,000 foodies, locavores, beer heads, wine lovers, and summer festival buffs took advantage of a gorgeous August afternoon at White River State Park this Sunday for the second annual DIG-IN: A Taste of Indiana. Over 50 chefs, Hoosier farms, wineries, and breweries offered up samples of the tastiest products Indiana has to offer, with lines sometimes 50 deep for duck flatbreads, Wagyu burgers, wheat ales, Chambourcin wines, and coffee sodas—all proving that Indiana is much more than pork tenderloins and sugar cream pie.

Pork tacos from Restaurant Tallent, bread pudding from Keltie’s, and a killer meatloaf sandwich.

Check out this story on how the JW Marriott plans to clean up during the Super Bowl.

Sweet potato waffles at Maxine’s Chicken & Waffles (132 N. East St., 317-423-3300). The Boston-Cream-style chocolate cake at Saffron Cafe (621 Fort Wayne Ave., 317-917-0131). Rhubarb Wine from Mallow Run Winery in Bargersville—swee

Know your audience.

Sunday marked the end of the Fair’s 2011 run. We said our goodbyes until next year … which gives us roughly 365 days to work off the following.

Philly Steak Slider. A respectable $2 version of the $7 original, the four-bite snack featured remarkably tender slices of “prime rib,” with onions, peppers, mushrooms, and cheese sauce.

Gyro. An annual must-eat. Tender lamb and beef inside pillowy pita, with onions, tomatoes, and addictively cream

Designed by Brazilian architect Daniela Kohl of Kohl Interiors, Carmel’s two-story Sonata Cafe Bar and Art (31 E. Main St., Carmel) will feature large bay windows, an open-area bar and atrium, hardwood floors, and an open-air counter for window service to passersby on the street. Co-owned by Magdalena Segovia (who also owns the Magdalena Gallery and runs the Carmel Academy of the Arts), the restaurant with the Italian piazza-style atmosphere comes complete with live music from

The gourmet popsicle trend might finally be edging out the cupcake cafes and food trucks to get a toehold in Indianapolis. Nothing against fondant and street tacos, but you can’t get much more adorable than Pop Cycle, spotted pedaling “mostly organic” frozen treats on the Monon last week.

Downtown’s ethnic dining scene gets a new addition this fall in the form of Ali Baba’s Cafe, which has  set up shop at The Block building in the spot previously occupied by Tea Cozy. Slated to open late September, the family-owned and -operated restaurant will seat up to 50 diners and serve Greek and Middle Eastern dishes for lunch ($7-$10) and dinner ($15+). In the evening hours, the restaurant devotes itself entirely to hookah.

Owner Mamduh Almaaitah says he

In October, former Oceanaire Seafood Room executive chef Ryan Nelson will open his new restaurant in The Shoppes of River Crossing (Next to Old Navy). Late Harvest Kitchen, will feature New American cuisine at prices ranging from the high-teens to mid-twenties. “If I had to boil down the concept, there’s a great tradition of fine dining chefs that do food in a more casual setting,” Nelson says. “I want to make my food available to everyone, not j

Hungry downtown dwellers and Northside commuters who have passed the darkened home of short-lived Bonjour Cafe and Bakery at 24th & Meridian, your wait for some new victuals is (nearly) over!   After last summer’s rumors that a Dunkin Donuts and a Baskin-Robbins were taking over the spot never panned out, it looked as though it might be another blight on the Meridian corridor. But a banner has gone up announcing that

The Guinness chocolate cupcake at Creation Cafe (337 W. 11th St., 317-955-2389), rich (but not too), with a perfectly piped cap of semi-sweet chocolate icing. The trifle-style tiramisu at Iozzo’s Garden of Italy (946 S. Meridian St., 317-974-1100