Chances are you’ll smell one of Indy’s newest food trucks even before you see it. Makin’ Bacon recently cruised onto the food truck scene in hopes enticing the breakfast, lunch, dinner, and late-night crowds with the intoxicating aromas of hickory-smoked pork. Makin’ Bacon hits the streets on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. We asked owner and bacon addict Holly Canter to tell us more about her newest endeavor.
Over the past several months, we’ve shared a couple of out-of-town restaurants worth the drive, like Franklin’s Indigo Duck and Batesville’s Butcher Shoppe. Shelbyville’s 18 on the Square (18 Public Square, Shelbyville, 317-398-7373)—a warm and ambitious restaurant located in an old hardware store—definitely deserves consideration.
Stephanie Topolgus, managing and creative director of the luxurious road-trip–worthy Topo’s 403 (403 N. Walnut St., Bloomington, 812-340-7453) tells us that the restaurant debuted a new winter menu last week. New offerings include chickpea and pumpkin fritters, Gunthorp Farms Greek-style chicken wings, fritto misto, a traditional Moussaka, pan-roasted Red Snapper, and skewered sea scallops. Vegetarians can tuck into a new briama featuring roasted and grilled vegetables.
When my editors first told me we were doing a piece about the best places to get cookies, I had this picture in my head of the three of us huddled around a cookie-covered table, spending half an hour tasting, discussing, and describing the sweets I spent all day picking up.
Two years ago, chef Joseph Hewett opened Indigo Duck, a down-home French-style bistro just off the courthouse square in Franklin. The Charleston, South Carolina, transplant who honed his skills in Indianapolis at Oakleys Bistro chatted with us about his grandmother’s cooking, small-town life, and the addictive qualities of pimiento cheese.
As we shared back in July, Craig Baker and Derek Means of The Local Eatery & Pub (14655 N. Gray Rd., Westfield, 317-218-3786) plan to open Bent Rail Brewery & Coffee Co. in the SoBro area, taking over the now-shuttered Monon Fitness Center. The 12,000-square-foot space will serve as restaurant and microbrewery. And the owners describe the menu as Tuscan and French peasant-themed with several house-cured meats, rustic dishes, and gourmet pizzas. For early hours, they plan to sell house-roasted coffee and fresh-baked goods.
The papa rellena at Mama Irma Restaurant (1058 Virginia Ave., 317-423-2421), a puffy zeppelin of mashed potatos stuffed with onions and meat. A cooling sour relish of slivered red onions shares the plate. The flamboyant lobster tempura roll at Tomo Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi
Not so long ago, you could mark the start of spring by the crowds of Corona-sipping customers lounging on the patio at La Jolla in Broad Ripple. Not exactly known for its cutting-edge cuisine, this watering hole with its iconic al fresco deck along Broad Ripple Avenue was the place to hang in warmer climes. So when it closed last year, it was pretty certain someone would come along and make it a hit again. Unfortunately, recent ownership changes have left some doubt in the minds of locals about whether this is a viable business address. Last spring, when record temperatures should have drawn throngs to what was then The Night Porter, the place was practically deserted, perhaps owing to its bar menu light on local brews and its dinner offerings, which ranged from a build-your-own grilled cheese to a burger to little else.
Bloomington is making room for its newest beer spot, The Tap (101 N. College Ave., Bloomington). The craft beer bar recently opened on the college town’s downtown square, offering 50 daily rotating taps and around 500 bottled beers. That’s a lot of options, but owner Nathan Finney hopes the concept will appeal to craft beer connoisseurs as well as novice sippers (a demo he believes has been underserved). New to beer or just overwhelmed by the whopping menu that ranges from cream ale to quadrupel? The servers are loaded with beer knowledge and willing to help you choose something.
There’s nothing worse than getting excited for a night out only to be turned away at the door for not meeting the dress code requirements. Surprised? Formal dress codes may seem outdated, but they are still alive and well. Those who enforce them just refer to them as “preferred dress,” these days, which translates to “follow these rules or you won’t be allowed in.” Check out what you can and cannot wear at a few downtown hotspots.
Though the unseasonal weather outside didn’t exactly feel like winter, Saturday marked the opening of the 2012-13 Indy Winter Farmers Market at the Platform, the newly renamed west wing of City Market. Market goers were treated not just to the harvest’s best produce and some of central Indiana’s finest farm products, but they also got to see the renovation of the once-barebones space with new partitions and rustic wood walls. It’s a collaboration of the City of Indianapolis and Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) that is helping to revitalize the City Market complex, making it the home of such organizations as Growing Places Indy, The Indianapolis Cultural Trail, Inc., and the Winter Market. With former City Market food vendors relocated to other parts of the market, shoppers had more space to mill about, with a few vendors spilling out into the courtyard along Market Street. Among new vendors to the market this year is Brownsburg-based Petit Pain, offering up baguettes and their signature blue cheese and walnut boule, all prepared by artisan baker Mark Brouwer. Be sure to stop in next week to get your sweet potatoes, squash, Brussels sprouts, and meats for your Thanksgiving table. A full list of this year’s vendors can be found at https://www.indywinterfarmersmarket.org/vendor-list.
Shoefly Public House (122 E. 22nd St.) is scheduled to open in February in the Fall Creek Place neighborhood that is home to Goose the Market and Tea’s Me Cafe. Two years ago, owner Craig Mariutto and his wife, Kaitlin, decided Shoefly was exactly what the near-downtown neighborhood needed as it experiences a period of renaissance: a family-friendly place with good food that residents could call their local restaurant.
