Ed Battista

The one-of-kind independent cinema and culinary collab, makes its debut after a long delay.

Grab your popcorn, downtown Indianapolis’s first art-house cinema will open its doors just after the start of the new year.

“I don’t want to be too cheeky about pairing food with the movies.”

Indy dining news this week includes Ed and Tom Battista’s upcoming project, the launch of Open Society Public House’s coffee program, and the grand opening of Primanti Bros. sandwich shop in Noblesville.

If opening Bluebeard was all about innovation for restaurateurs Ed and Tom Battista, buying the 55-year-old Pasquale’s Pizza involved holding onto house favorites.

Salted peanuts, pickled ramps, fried shallots, and cilantro adorn the carpaccio, a small plate offered at the Fletcher Place spot, topped with a miso vinaigrette.

If there were a playbook for new restaurants, mapping out everything hot and covetable right now in the ever-changing game of dining out, Fletcher Place newcomer Bluebeard would already have it memorized.

Since January, Indianapolis Monthly has been following the progress of Bluebeard (653 Virginia Ave.). So this past Friday, our forks were at the ready for the restaurant’s soft opening. Fans of Abbi Merriss Adams and John Adams were happy to see the pair back in the kitchen (right behind the bar), plating everything from white-bean salad with chorizo, zucchini, and radicchio fleur to a sharable whole snapper with house giardiniera.

Editor’s Note: This story on the soon-to-be-opened Bluebeard restaurant appeared in the May 2012 issue. For 10 weeks this winter and spring, we followed father-and-son team Tom and Ed Battista as they faced the joys and tribulations of opening their new restaurant, Bluebeard. It is a venture, however rewarding, not for the faint of heart. […]