The Dish

Chef Daniel Orr of FARMbloomington is taking his successful restaurant concept to Columbus, hoping to open this time next year. Like its Bloomington counterpart, FARMbrew (4501 S. Lindsey St., Columbus) will focus on local ingredients, but there will also be a “global influence,” says FARM’s general manager Harry Shafer. The family-friendly environment will have separate entities for food and brew. Food will include burgers, naan bread pizzas, gourmet hotdogs, and global street food. Brews will range from local craft beers to ethnic specials to seasonal brews. 

This New York sub chain is making its way to Indy. On June 6, DiBella’s Old Fashioned Submarines opens a location in Traders Point (5650 W. 86th St.). A second will open in early fall near IUPUI (910 W. 10th St.). Billed as a higher end, fast-casual sub shop—think more Panera, less Subway—it assembles sandwiches such as the Godfather sub (with salami, capicola, and spicy ham) and the Dagwood (with turkey, ham, and corned beef). The medium sandwiches will put you back $7. But during Wednesday’s grand opening, the first wave of 25 diners through the door will get a year’s worth of free subs. 

King David Dogs (135 N. Pennsylvania St., 317-632-3647), Indy’s original all-beef quarter-pound hot dog spot, is now serving breakfast from 7:30 to 11 a.m. Nothing costs more than $4, and menu items include breakfast sandwiches, pancakes, breakfast burritos, Intelligentsia coffee, and the Top Dog–biscuits topped with gravy made from King David hot dogs.

You can order white again!

Yats lovers, rejoice: The Cajun/Creole mini-chain has opened its fifth location, up north at 12545 Old Meridian Street in Carmel. The new place offers the same etouffee goodness that gave Joe Vuskovich’s delightful 10-year-old eatery a cult-like following. The 1,400-square-foot location, while in a fancier part of town, will still allow customers to order New Orleans cooking from a chalkboard menu and savor the delicious bread slathered in melted butter. Even though the food will be the same, Vuskovich says they are experimenting with some new items to serve at all five locations. “We’re trying to rebrand ourselves as more New Orleans inspired,” he says, “instead of just Cajun or Creole.”

The famous family-owned Frank & Mary’s Restaurant & Tavern (21 E. Main U.S. 136, Pittsboro) is under new ownership. Sean and Kelly McBride and Joe and Mimi Boarini bought the catfish-serving establishment in March. McBride says that while the new team plans to add a Cajun/Creole twist to the menu, they’re still “continuing the catfish tradition.” The new menu will focus on whole foods and made-to-order dinners. Along with the updated food, Frank and Mary’s is also getting an updated interior. Renovations are still a work in progress, but the large main dining room, bar area, and kitchen are getting a new look after the restaurant goes smoke-free on Thursday.

June 11th marks the first day of this summer’s Chow Down Midtown, and we’re closely watching restaurants (slowly) post their menus. Here is what to expect from a few of the 30-plus restaurants participating in the $30/three-course eating frenzy that runs through June 24th.

Bebop Pizza Kitchen’s (705 E. 54th St., 317-253-1340) State Fair Pizza, piled with Italian sausage, bell peppers, onions, and banana peppers. A juicy New York strip with ramps, tender fava beans, and cherry tomatoes at Late Harvest Kitchen (8605 River Cro

John Harrison has a job everybody wants. This fourth-generation ice cream lover is the official taste tester for Edy’s ice cream. “It was destiny, I guess,” Harrison says. “This line of work got into me.” His family has been in the ice cream business—making, developing, or tasting ice cream—since 1880, all the way back to Harrison’s great-grandfather. Harrison alone has been tasting and developing ice cream flavors for more than 30 years. The most famous flavor he’s developed: Cookies and Cream. Harrison is traveling the country now to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Cookies and Cream.

The tangy, crumbly lemon bars from Duos Kitchen (2960 N. Meridian St., 317-508-8614). Morels, lightly breaded and fried to perfection at Salt Creek Golf Retreat’s booth during last weekend’s Taste of Brown County event. King Wok’s (4915 W. 38th St., 317-297-3636) Goi Ga s

The building has been in the Topolgus family since 1947 and is part of the Indiana Register of Historic Sites and Structures. David Tallent of Bloomington’s Restaurant Tallent will serve as consulting executive chef and will help develop the menu, hire staff, and oversee the food.

We talked with Brian Alvey, co-owner of the upcoming Carrelli, an Italian eatery, bar, and wine garden that will open (if everything goes as planned) next month along Virginia Avenue in Fountain Square. Here’s what he had to say about his Italian heritage, his competitors, and plans for an interesting menu concept. 

Lola, a new Filipino venture has started cooking up fried rice and lumpias, an eggroll look-a-like, for the Indy community. The business is located in Noblesville but currently only delivers on the weekends. The 60-year-old owner, Honey Cuttill, a Philippine native, says she  makes everything herself by hand. 

The highly anticipated (and controversial) Kilroy’s Bar n’ Grill in Broad Ripple is nearly ready to open. General manager Mike Augustinos says the construction is on schedule, and he hopes to open on June 1, after the madness of the Indianapolis 500. The renovated building, a former Cardinal Fitness, is approximately 7,000 square feet and can hold 300 to 500 Long Island Iced Tea sippers. In addition, the new hangout will feature what is being hailed as the largest outdoor patio in Broad Ripple.

The location itself has a history of flatlining, but the Friday-night scene at Clearwater Crossing’s months-old Brewstone Beer Company (3720 E. 82nd St., 317-577-7800) is alive and kicking. Barely recognizable under all of the varnished wood and fieldstone accents from its days as The Music Mill and, before that, a Discovery Zone indoor playground, the spot with the sprawling square footage (Cadillac Ranch was a prospective tenant at one point) combines the bling of a Vegas casino with the distraction of a big-screen sports bar. Diners pack the tables, jockey for spots at the central bar—where business got so frenzied one night that the ’tenders ran out of martini glasses—and occasionally hit the jackpot by landing one of the coveted outdoor tables, where the people-watching pairs well with a flavored mojito and an appetizer sampler. Imagine Geist’s Bella Vita without the water, or Champps Americana, but with better cut, clarity, color, and carat.