The embarrassingly large portion of smoked rib tips—probably a dozen of them—and scoop of macaroni and cheese that goes back to basics with just a bit of crunch on the edges, at GeoSoul Soul Food (3705 N. Illinois St., 317-920-8090), which opened in May. The Cuban sandwich at Twenty Tap (5406 N. College Ave., 317-602-8840), a reference to the storefront’s former tenant, Northside News
A decade ago, if you had said you were opening a restaurant in Indiana with comforting farmstead dishes paired to a full 16 taps of local beers, you probably would have roused a few chuckles. A full-bodied lager to go with that root-vegetable salad? Maybe a pale ale for the trout with Brussels sprouts? Is it Black Swan Brewpub’s location just off I-70 west of the city or its stark, neo–machine shed decor that makes the proposition still a bit surprising? Whatever the case, this gastropub arrives just as the state’s ascendant beer scene is becoming a bona fide movement. Who wouldn’t want to pull off on the long haul for a plate of sweet-potato gnocchi with braised duck or a Hoosier bison burger with truffled frites?
