Black Market

As consulting chef, Carlos Salazar assembled a menu of modified Southern dishes that are surprisingly complex for the bar-centric format.

Daily chalkboard specials, such as lamb-neck pappardelle, show chef Micah Frank’s drive to innovate, but we will never tire of his fried perch, his tangy-sweet duck buns, or his apple-brined pork chop.

Whether it was shrimp cocktail from St. Elmo Steak House, lasagna from Iaria’s Italian Restaurant, or tostadas from Acapulco Joe’s, Annie Zoll cultivated an adventurous appetite from the time she was 6 years old.

How to start your own venture in a few simple steps—by the Hoosiers who know.

“When scouting locations for Black Market,” he says, “we were looking for the same kind of neighborhood we knew in Fountain Square.”

These intriguing names for concoctions hail from The Libertine, Black Market, Bluebeard, Nicky Blaine’s, The Ball & Biscuit, and Plat 99.

Avoiding Friday and Saturday nights not only ups your odds of a table, but can also mean less harried service and more attention to dishes. And Sundays can be great nights to dine out—Bluebeard, for instance, stays open until 10 p.m. with a special, scaled-down menu of dishes you might not get the rest of the week.

The homey sides get special attention, too: luscious creamy grits, lightly sauteed fresh greens, and smoky barbecued black beans cooked until al dente.

Bangkok transplant Sasathorn Rudisell is the secret ingredient in three of Indy’s top kitchens.

From bourbon-drenched cherries to lychee shrubs, cocktail garnishes go the handcrafted way.

For one, turn those little white boxes of take-home Chinese rice languishing in the back of the refrigerator into a comforting yet elegant dessert.

Sunday marked yet another Dig IN festival in White River State Park.

Ed Rudisell’s much-anticipated, sure-to-draw-crowds Vietnamese sandwich shop opened quietly late last week in The Hinge building in Fletcher Place.

From The Libertine to Recess and Oakleys to Bluebeard, Korean to Latin and sushi to steak, our critics chose the cream of Indy’s dining crop,. Who’s at the head of the table? Read on to find out.

Hunky strips of General Tso’s Pork Belly laid atop a gingery stir-fry at Late Harvest Kitchen (8605 River Crossing, 317-663-8063). DIY blackened fish tacos at City Cafe (443 N. Pennsylvania St., 317-833-2233), served with