The Feed: MOFOCO, Stella, And Tamika Catchings’s New Job
» The Indianapolis Museum of Art (4000 Michigan Rd., 317-923-1331) debuts a new family feature this weekend. For the first time, a beer garden will be outside the Madeline F. Elder Greenhouse, where visitors can take a seat and order an exclusive Sun King brew, root beer from Triton Brewing Company, and soft twists from Pat’s Philly Pretzels. The beer garden is opening in conjunction with Spring Blooms: A Celebration of Color, an exhibit with more than 250,000 blooms on the museum grounds (including rare Himalayan Blue Poppies, started as seed in Alaska for the IMA). Admission to the beer garden is included with a museum ticket.
» Broad Ripple gets a new grocery this week when Fresh Thyme opens for business. The festivities start Wednesday afternoon, March 29, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the store’s partnership with Indiana Grown, an Indiana Department of Agriculture program connecting Indiana farmers, producers, and retailers. The doors open to the public at 7 a.m. on Thursday, March 30.
» Speaking of Broad Ripple, neighborhood favorite MOFOCO (formerly the Monon Food Company) expanded to downtown last week, with a grand opening in the old home of the Great Steak and Potato Company (72 W. New York St., 317-722-0176). The weekday lunch outlet serves tacos, burgers, salads, and gourmet macaroni and cheese in the completely renovated space, and it delivers.
» The Mass Ave transformation of Pizzology into Stella (608 Massachusetts Ave., 317-685-2250) is complete. Chef Neal Brown shuttered his downtown pizza spot last month and quickly turned it into a Southern European restaurant, repurposing the wood pizza oven to create standouts like charred octopus, housemade bread, and roasted vegetables. Read our first look at Brown’s new concept.
» You have two opportunities to learn to make your own chocolates from local confection bosses. On Wednesday, April 12, The Best Chocolate in Town’s Elizabeth Garber will teach a truffle-making class in the commercial kitchen of R2GO (1101 N. College Ave., 317-737-2543). Tickets are $80 on Eventbrite. Chocolate for the Spirit’s Julie Bolejack is offering Chocolate Summer Camps June 10–11 and July 8–9, with hands-on instruction in tempering, truffles, ganaches, bonbons, molded chocolates, baking, and chocolate decorations. The two-day camp costs $300 and includes all supplies and lunch. Tickets are at the Chocolate for the Spirit website.
» WNBA superstar Tamika Catchings has a new gig in town, six months after she retired from the Indiana Fever. According to The Indianapolis Star, Catchings purchased Tea’s Me Cafe (140 E. 22nd St., 317-920-1016) when she learned the owners planned to close the Herron-Morton shop, one of her favorites, and move to Georgia for retirement. The cafe will continue with uninterrupted service, but Catchings is having a grand re-opening celebration on April 8. The lifelong tea drinker even plans to debut her own tea blend in the future.
