Ryan Nelson

When Late Harvest Kitchen chef-owner Ryan Nelson saw his chance to snag the 4,000-square-foot former Cafe Nora, he pounced on it, hatching plans to launch a barbecue joint celebrating different regions and styles.

As we embarked on our own food-driven adventures for the October cover story on Destination Dinner, we couldn’t help asking a couple of pros for their favorite meals worth the drive.

Wine advice from Trad Ireland at Fleming’s, Late Harvest Kitchen’s Ryan Nelson, and Denis Lynch at Vine & Table Gourmet Market.

Patachou Inc.’s Martha Hoover on the chili-cheese fries and cheeseburgers at Steak n’ Shake: “After every gala and fundraiser my husband and I attend. You can be guaranteed bad food even at the best cause’s fundraiser.”

That third course and others over the course of the night, as well as the prior tasting time, saw delectable plates of food paired with choice wines, beers, and cocktails.

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.

If you had followed Ryan Nelson’s career from the beginning, you might have predicted the scene: Just 10 days after he opened Late Harvest Kitchen in the former Smith & Hawken storefront near The Fashion Mall, Nelson strolled from table to table in the packed, candlelit dining room of his first solo enterprise, talking to customers with the ease of a seasoned restaurant professional. But in many ways, he was still the guy from Minneapolis, the onetime English major and avid hockey fan a tad uncomfortable in his chef’s whites, humbly hoping you enjoyed the food he had cooked for you. Only now he was not answering to the corporate offices of The Oceanaire Seafood Room, where he established himself as both team player and rising star, garnering an invitation to cook at the revered James Beard House in New York City at age 26.