Aristocrat Pub & Restaurant

See the roster of five bars that have the greatest number of taps, and which one boasts 100-percent-local brews on draft.

We’re already well into this droll, sporty, and yet downright painful 2013—St. Elmo and soccer and Lance, oh my—and so here, without further ado and based on pageviews, are the top 12 stories of 2012 at IndianapolisMonthly.com as determined by you, our readers:

A bar crowd that had thinned (and aged) noticeably since the Aristocrat opened 80 years ago now seems to be reinvigorated, even on weeknights.

Champions were chosen based on the following criteria, with each bar rated on a scale from 1 to 10: visual appeal, creativity/originality, inventiveness of ingredients, and the balance of flavors and taste.

The Aristocrat presented “a refreshing cocktail that reminded us fondly of limoncello and summer evenings on the front porch swing.” Congrats to the victor, and to all of the mix-off’s participating bars.

Crisp sweet potato tots from Punch Burger (137 E. Ohio St., 317-426-5280). A Napoleon Dynamite Thanksgiving.   A crispy-edged hash brown fit for a field hand at Sophia’s Original House of Pancakes (1694 W. Main St., Greenwood, 317-888-6800). The house salad at

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Five weeks ago, we shared a preview of the reopening of Indy’s cherished Aristocrat Pub & Restaurant (5212 N. College Ave., 317-283-7388). Just like we remember it, the center cut fried pork tenderloin still takes up the entire plate. And the peppery potato chips still make us long for another pint of brew. 

This time next month, you’ll once again be able to grab a beer and a bite from the Aristocrat Pub & Restaurant (5212 N. College Ave., 317-283-7388). According to manager Melissa Uhte, the 79-year-old neighborhood favorite will reopen its doors in the first or second week of October after a 13-month closure for reconstruction, the result of an electrical fire that destroyed the back of the building and left everything else saturated with smoke. 

As St. Patty’s day came and went last week, we couldn’t help but think about Patty’s of the past at The Aristocrat Pub & Restaurant (5212 N. College Ave., 317-283-7388). Since last August’s electrical fire that resulted in more than $1.5 million in damages, we have been watching the business’s Facebook page for mention of a re-open date.

There is a lot of nowhere in indiana. I know this. I’ve seen it, grown up in it, lived in it. And right now my wife Michelle and I are poised at its edge, in search of the best breaded pork tenderloin sandwich in the state of Indiana.