chefs

With new chef Ryan Kernodle in charge of the food, the kitchen continues to crank out delightfully elaborate dishes that are worth discovering over and over again.

The bric-a-brac–heavy country French decor may want for a makeover, but this date-night and anniversary draw offers the consistent comfort of an old friend’s house.

The Neapolitan-style pizzas are straightforward, with only five red-sauce varieties, each one garnished with Smoking Goose proteins and hand-pulled mozzarella.

The threat of rain might have sent partygoers under the cover of tents during the weekend’s Rev festivities at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. But spirits were not dampened during the evening party.

Says Micah Frank of Black Market, “Becky Hostetter of Duos was a pioneer for vegetarian-based cooking in Indianapolis way before it was trendy.”

See the full tasting-hour and sit-down dinner menus from our April 24 event celebrating many of the city’s top chefs and restaurants.

To Patachou Inc.’s 32-year-old executive chef, Tyler Herald, they’re not just diners seeking sustenance—they’re fans gathering before his live rock concert–esque performance.

Of all the experiments chef Neal Brown has conducted, whether in his kitchen laboratoire or the culinary free market, none has come as close to successful alchemy as The Libertine Liquor Bar, his shrine to the cocktail in a Washington Street storefront downtown. A shot of Scandinavian austerity, a jigger of pre-Prohibition American frontier swagger, and a dash of orange bitters dosed from eyedroppers by Brown’s exacting barkeeps, The Libertine is a study in contrasts—some logical, some forced—that all mingle, dazzlingly. Take “The Last Word,” one of several clever coinages on Brown’s drink menu. It mixes Bluecoat gin, lending its distinctly piney profile, with Luxardo maraschino and green chartreuse, haute liqueurs as opposite as stop and go. A bracing hit of lime merges these improbable comrades into a restrained elixir that cleanses the palate at the same time it sweetens it, a beguiling medicine you’re all too glad to take.