restaurants

Executive chef Ricky Hatfield’s experimental concoctions—such as wild-boar Wellington, wrapped in mustard greens and a puff pastry—are catching on among a traditionally risk-averse crowd.

Bistro-style dishes like root-vegetable cassoulet baked in its own cast-iron pan, unapologetically heavy Croque Monsieur sandwiches dripping with bechamel, and crepes of both the sweet and savory variety all taste delicious.

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

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.

Carlos Salazar’s umami-rich mushroom dumplings, pork-belly steamed buns, and meat-on-meat pig-face hash have raised the culinary bar while channeling the true spirit of Asia’s great street-food snacks.

The repurposed decor jibes with the menu’s reinvention of tavern fare: comfortable yet civilized, with flashes of brilliance, as in crispy-fried Citrus Spiced Seitan; beer-battered walleye with housemade tartar sauce; and black bean–corn fritters with cilantro cream.

After work, folks head upstairs to the 1933 Lounge, where they tuck into plates of mini bone-in filet chops, like caveman finger food. Even that famous cocktail sauce is now available by the bottle.

The servers here know they have the local lock on authentic Chinese dishes: twice-cooked pork belly shimmering in a tangy-sweet sauce; silky eggplant redolent of garlic or basil; perhaps the lightest seafood soup in the city.

Whether it was shrimp cocktail from St. Elmo Steak House, lasagna from Iaria’s Italian Restaurant, or tostadas from Acapulco Joe’s, Annie Zoll cultivated an adventurous appetite from the time she was 6 years old.

It’s rare that an outing with friends doesn’t involve breaking bread, right? All the more reason to check out this month’s 25 Best Restaurants list.

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.

Since the General Assembly lowered the daily gift-reporting minimum from $100 to $50 in 2010, steakhouses and other nice restaurants in Indianapolis have noticed a change in the dining habits of legislators.

“When scouting locations for Black Market,” he says, “we were looking for the same kind of neighborhood we knew in Fountain Square.”

A few Indianapolis-based entrepreneurs reveal their insights on starting a business, be it a boutique or a bar, a franchise or a food truck.

Meals ranging from $48 to $119 should leave you with a satisfied stomach, and a lighter wallet.