The Feed: Goodbye Duos, National Coffee Day, And More

It’s been another sad week in Indy’s post-COVID food scene. Duos, one of the city’s best sources of delicious, health-conscious food, is officially done. Years ago, the restaurant transitioned to a permanent space inside an office building across from the Children’s Museum, but the rise of the work-from-home shift has devastated business. The restaurant was one of the OGs in Indy’s plant-based dining culture, made famous by their trademark Balance Bowls that included veggies, grains, beans and all kinds of other filling brain foods. We’ll miss the pickled beets terribly, and keep our fingers crossed that Rebecca Hostetter’s brainchild is reborn in the future.

Today only from noon to 5:00 p.m., the former Black Market team including Esteban Rosas, Gabriel Sañudo, and Grace Seibert are offering some of the best al pastor tacos you can get in the city. They’re also serving up mushroom guisado, ceviche, pollo pibil tamales, and birria noodles—and if they ask, yes, you want your tacos “vampiro” style, served with a blanket of cheese between the taco and the filling.

Heartbreaker (118 S Audubon Rd.) is officially open for a full week of all-day service. The new Irvington restaurant kicked off this summer with a few milkshake and burger pop-ups, which have since expanded to daily dinner service. They’ve now expanded again to include breakfast and coffee starting at 8:00 a.m., with lunch and dinner starting at 11:00 and continuing until 9:00. For those who are already huge fans of sister restaurant Provider’s breakfast and coffees, those are included along with some other car-hop favorites like extra crunchy handheld style hashbrowns, sandwiches, and the lattes you love. If you still haven’t tried them, any and all milkshake lovers owe it to themselves to get a house-made frozen custard shake. They taste like a religious experience.

Indy businesses and non-profits are getting creative with their fundraisers, and the Indianapolis Zoo is joining that party with the help of Scarlet Lane Brewing Co. The zoo relies on private donors and fundraisers for the majority of their funding, and your ticket proceeds from their adults-only “Brewfari” will go straight into its coffers. More than 20 breweries and cideries from Central Indiana and beyond will be represented, and guests will be able to wander between distanced tasting stations (all equipped with hand sanitizer). Zoo restaurants will be open late to serve snacks, plus music from DJ Lockstar, free psychic readings, and a whole bunch more. Dress up if you like, but another reminder: this is an adults-only event.

It’s National Coffee Day, and lots of local roasters are getting in on the celebration with giveaways and prices. Just to name a few, Westfield’s Viewpoint Roasters is giving away a bag of coffee and a tumbler on their Instagram; Indianapolis Coffee Guide is giving away a free month of Indy Coffee Box; and Indie Coffee Roasters is offering 15% off of beans both in-store and online with the coupon code COFFEEDAY at checkout. Check in with your favorite local roaster and coffee shop for deals, and support local roasters today and every day.

Fall drinks are also hitting coffee shop menus in a major way. Bovaconti (1042 Virginia Ave., 317-222-1855) just released their ginger spice latte, a not-so-subtle shot at the crown-wearing Pumpkin Spice Latte. Circadian (2045 E 46th St., 317-719-8869) just released their limited edition Witches Brew, only available until the end of October. Last, we want to wish a happy 10-year anniversary on October 1st to the folks behind Rosie’s Place (1111 W Main St., Carmel, 317-688-7350), and advise everyone to make the trip for the perfect combination: a cup of coffee and and a fat, gooey butter cookie, Rosie’s twist on the St. Louis-original cake.