FoxGardin Kitchen & Ale
FoxGardin Chili Tony Valainis
Of all the unexpected places Indy’s ever-expanding food scene took us this year, we never figured on Main Street Fortville as the location for a rollicking comfort-food pub with a lighthearted yet sophisticated soul. But when a high-end steakhouse chef returns to his old stomping grounds and pairs up with his college buddy to renovate a decades-old storefront, the locals, long starved for a better dining alternative, will definitely come. And so they have, causing such long waits that the partners, Jake Burgess and Toby Shelton, now take Open Table reservations. Burgess applies local honey to sticky, crackling wings and channels his high-school cafeteria in a chili full of steak tips, served with a side of peanut butter. Somewhat more upscale fare comes in the form of hand-cut filets available in portions from six ounces up to the hulking 14-ounce “Eddie,” named after one of the regulars.
TIP: Live music several nights a week features colorful local acts, and in the upstairs lounge, it’s BYO vinyl for the record player.
DON’T MISS: Made-from-scratch pies baked by the owner’s mother, including a gooey, decadent bourbon-pecan version topped with vanilla ice cream, of course.
215 S. Main St., Fortville, 485-4085, foxgardin.com
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