Greg Hardesty

Bookings now accepted through the end of the year.

Saying goodbye to Recess and 10-01 Food & Drink.

SoBro prix fixe fave Recess is closing, and Neal Brown’s Ukiyo will replace it.

No. 8 – No one tells us what to eat—except Greg Hardesty, the Recess chef-owner who has been crafting a prix-fixe menu at his SoBro mainstay since 2010.

Your guide to Indy’s 2016 James Beard Awards semifinalists.

Last fall, Hardesty (whose first Indy restaurant was H2O Sushi, let’s not forget) added a selection of raw-bar nibbles, like $3 Montauk oysters and bowls of scattered sushi, to the standard set.

A strong sense of community pervades one little downtown neighborhood populated with charming 1800s Victorians.

At Room Four, customers may quibble over taco choices—carne asada or rockfish—or opt for a Fischer Farms cheeseburger, a backyard memory revised to succulence by a master who appreciates simple food as much as esoteric fare.

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.

But now two of Indy’s titans of food and drink are pairing up to give suds-friendly cuisine its day: Ted Miller of Broad Ripple’s Brugge Brasserie,and award-winning chef Greg Hardesty of (deep breath now) H2O Restaurant & Sushi Bar, Elements, Room Four, and Recess.

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.

INGREDIENTS

Seven of Indiana’s top culinary dogs are strutting their stuff as 2013 James Beard Foundation nominees, selected from more than 44,000 online entries in 20 categories. Last week, the foundation unveiled its “long list” (421) of the year’s semifinalists—which will be cut down to the final list of nominees on March 18 during a press brunch in Charleston, SC. (NOTE: nominations will also be announced live via the Foundation’s Twitter feed.)

From classic patty-and-bun combos to gussied-up versions, these seven stack up.

Last Thursday, the idyllic Joseph Decuis Farm in Roanoke played host to a Celebrity Chef Tour benefiting the James Beard Foundation. The tour travels the United States, replicating the once-in-a-lifetime dining experience at the historic James Beard House in Manhattan. The farm’s gorgeous spread, located six miles from the restaurant, offered the kind of perfect backdrop that made you wonder when the Saveur photo shoot would begin. In fact, before guests were seated at a sprawling white-clothed barn table decked out in vases of fresh flowers, visiting James Beard rep Jeff Black, owner of the series, hailed the Indiana venue as the third most beautiful site the series had ever visited, Number One and Number Two being Hawaii and Napa Valley. According to Pete and Alice Eshelman, the owners of Joseph Decuis (that’s pronounced day-QUEEZ, by the way) and gracious hosts for the evening, the 130 guests came from as far as Texas, Boston, and North Carolina to partake in the festivities.