The Feed: The Return of Room Four Burgers, Provision, and More
» Chef Greg Hardesty, who broke hearts all over town when he closed his prix-fixe restaurant Recess in February, is back in the kitchen for one week only. Hardesty will be cooking his famous Room Four burgers, with Fisher Farms beef and Circle City Sweets buns, at his former culinary neighbor, Open Society (4850 N. College Ave., 317-999-8706). The burgers are available on the lunch and dinner menus August 7–13.
» Two local restaurants are splitting the large stall at City Market vacated by Jumbo’s, which closed in February after 42 years. Duos will take part of the space to open its third location (currently operating inside Eskenazi Health at 720 Eskenazi Ave. and the International Medical Group at 2960 N. Meridian), and caterer Gomez BBQ will use the rest for its first brick-and-mortar spot. Construction is ongoing, and both businesses hope to be open in the next few weeks.
» Changes at the local Cunningham Restaurant Group mean Vida’s popular chef Layton Roberts is expanding his role in the company, and handing the Vida kitchen over to Thomas Melvin (formerly of CRG sister restaurant Union 50). According to the Indianapolis Star, Roberts is headed to Provision, one of CRG’s two new restaurants planned for the Ironworks Hotel at Keystone (2727 E. 82nd St.). Roberts is launching Provision in his new role as chef de cuisine at CRG, under executive chef Carl Chambers.
» The North End Barbecue (1250 E. 86th St., 317-614-7427) landed on Southern Living magazine’s Great American Barbecue Bucket List, grabbing the prize for the place to visit for barbecue in Indiana. The magazine editors gave a special nod to North End’s The Sandwich, praising its “epic piling of savory brisket, with sliced sausage and tangy slaw.”
» It’s time to start making your Devour Indy plans (between sit-ups, of course). From August 21 to September 3, more than 175 restaurants all over the city and suburbs are offering three-course, fixed-price meals, and many of the menus are online now at the Devour website.
» Goose the Market (2503 N. Delaware St., 317-924-4944) launched a Friday lunch cookout series on the patio, happening every other Friday with rotating themes. This week (Aug. 11) is Banh Mi Mania, with banh mi sandwiches, Vietnamese iced coffee, glass noodle salad, and free tastings with Cauldron Elixers. The party starts at 11 a.m., and goes until they sell out (which usually happens fast).
» West Fork Whiskey is making a jump from its production facility at 86th & Michigan to a larger building with a bar, lounge, dining room, and retail operation. According the the Indianapolis Business Journal, the two-year old distillery is prepping for a move to the Kennedy-King neighborhood at 1660 Bellefontaine St., next door to Cannon Ball Brewing. Owners David McIntyre and brothers Blake and Julian Jones anticipate a fall opening in the new space.
» Indianapolis bartender Maggie Day won a national cocktail contest with Ocean Prime restaurants and Absolut, creating her own original drink called the Watermelon Elyx. Day’s creation leans heavily on the summer flavors of watermelon and basil, and beat out competitors in Beverly Hills, New York City, and Boston.
