Cicero

Here’s where to go to explore this laid-back slice of small-town life.

In some ways, the recent furor over Indiana’s RFRA echoed a heated discrimination debate from three decades ago, when the state was previously a battleground in the national culture wars.

Diners belly up to a gleaming custom-made community table crafted from bark-on slabs of poplar to devour 10-ounce Delmonicos and 14-ounce New York strips freshly cut at the nearby Cicero Market and Harbour Market.

Housed in a revamped storefront full of intimate tables and timber-chic accents, this cozy family tavern has been packed to its exposed brick walls on the past two weekends that we popped in.