But with all the possible variations, surely there’s room for one more. Last week, Kentucky-based BoomBozz Restaurants opened BoomBozz Taphouse (2430 E. 146th St., Carmel, 317-843-2666) in the former BD’s Mongolian Barbeque space. The brick-and-stone accented restaurant is fitted with around 25 taps, serving up a well-edited selection of imported craft brews, including custom brews made by Flat12 Bierwerks.
Sometimes it’s only the thought of breakfast that is able to pull us from the cozy clutches of sleep. “Daytime Cafe” First Watch, a chain founded in Pacific Grove, California, in 1983, is opening in Indianapolis in mid-April at 3309 E. 86th St., with a full line of breakfast and lunch options. Meals worth waking up for include eggs, pancakes, yogurt parfaits, homemade French toast, and signature items such as eggs rolled inside thin crepes. The menu includes a number of gluten-free, low-fat, and/or low-carb foods, and diners can pour their morning cup of Joe from personal pots. The eatery will remain open through the afternoon, with a lunch menu of salads, soups, and sandwiches, such as the Not Guilty Your Honor wrap of spinach, mushrooms, roasted red peppers, tomato, cucumber, and feta tossed together, folded into a wheat tortilla, and served with a side of hummus.
One of Indy’s newest food trucks, Mac Genie, ambitiously began its mac ‘n’ cheese service during Super Bowl. On the Friday before the big game, it sold over 600 bowls in seven hours. Macaroni and cheese dishes are prepared to order in skillets. The comfort food truck features traditional, or Naked, mac ‘n’ cheese as well as items with a creative twist. Buffalo Chicken Mac comes topped with breaded chicken, creamy buffalo sauce, and a wedge of crunchy Parmesan crostini from Irvington’s Roll With It Bakery. These hearty portions of gooey noodles don’t come cheap. The price during Super Bowl was $8 a serving.
Emily’s Garden pizza at Big Woods Brewing Co. (60 Molly’s Lane, Nashville, 812-988-6000), a gooey, crispy thin-crust that uses feta crumbles as a salty foil for the sweetness of squash mixed with tomatoes, red onions, mushrooms, and spinach. Sopes Surtidos from Adobo Grill (110 E. Washingto
In its first month, Eggshell Bistro (51 W. City Center Dr., Carmel, 317-660-1616) has already charmed diners with its inventive brunch menu, French flea market decor, elaborate Rube Goldbergian coffee maker, and exclusive deal with the coveted San Francisco roaster Blue Bottle Coffee. Owner Larry Hanes, an avid collector with a background in graphic design and a passion for food, has a few more tricks up his sleeve. Among them:
The tender carnitas in fresh corn tacos, served with a fiery red Diablo sauce at Tacos al Carbon, the kind of food truck that you’ll never see roaming Broad Ripple in the wee hours. This spotless restaurant on wheels parks in a rutted lot on East Washington Street, near Post Road. The humble graham crackers from The Measuring Cup (Get them at the Indy Winters Farmers Market.) The gluten- and dairy-free homemade brown sq
The black-and-white cookie, an NYC icon, stacked at the King David Dogs hotdog stand at the corner of Illinois and Washington streets. Both the cookie and the hotdog stand (which King David uses for private parties) are here only for the Super Bowl. KDD ordered them as a sugary tribute to the Giants and their fans. Just don’t eat
Fountain Square’s new Venezuelan restaurant American Empanadas (1026 Virginia Ave., 317-644-0509) serves a variety of empanadas and arepas, featuring traditional options as well as items with a creative twist. The empanadas are made with traditional dough that co-owner Angelica Folkerts likens to that of a corndog, only less sweet. Made from white corn powder, the dough offers a nice contrast to slightly salty filings such as barbecued pork and 3-way chili. Dessert empanadas include a popular banana-chocolate version.
“Miguel” might not be the first name that comes to mind when you think of Southern or Creole cookery. But if you’ve followed Miguel Santana from the kitchens of erstwhile downtown bakery and restaurant Benvenuti to Battery Park Saloon (also now closed) to his innovative fusion cuisine at Northside Social, then you know he’s anything but a conventional chef. And growing up in Miami does technically qualify him as a Southerner. His eponymous Miguel’s Southern Kitchen (130 N. Delaware St., 317-955-0001) is certainly a nice addition to lunchtime choices in a classic high-ceilinged storefront that most recently housed a chicken roaster and before that a longtime newsstand. The gorgeously ornate tile floors with fleur-de-lis patterns are enough of a reason to stop by. Santana’s selective menu divided between comforting classics and Bayou favorites shows some careful forethought.
The gussied-up patties at Bru Burger Bar (410 Massachusetts Ave., 317-635-4278) are bound to upset purists. One is dressed in onion gravy and Swiss cheese while another, called Mount Olympus, scales great heights with enough pepperoni, feta, fried garbanzo, red onion, marinated mushrooms, kalamata olives, lettuce, and roasted tomato dressing to anger the gods. These are hamburgers, mind you. Not subs. But in keeping with the theme of all of the projects by parent company Cunningham Restaurant Group (Boulder Creek Dining Company, Stone Creek Dining Company, Mesh on Mass, and Charbonos), Bru knew exactly what it was doing from Day One.
Billing itself as an authentic Neapolitan-style pizzeria and restaurant, Coal Pizza Company (36 E. Washington St., 317-685-2625) has opened in the short-lived two-story Hue Dine space. The venture is backed by Jason Tipton of The Ripple Inn (929 E. Westfield Blvd., 317-252-2600) and Michael Keenan of Broad Ripple’s Za Pizzeria (801 Broad Ripple Ave., 317-602-3753). Its kitchen is run by Charles Mereday, managing partner and chef of The Ripple Inn and owner of Eagle Creek Pizza (5510 Lafayette Rd., 317-290-1122).
Those estimated 150,000 Super Bowl visitors will be in dire need of satiation—and hundreds of Indy-area restaurants are getting prepared. Chris Clifford, director of operations for St. Elmo Steakhouse (127 S. Illinois St., 317-635-0636) and Harry & Izzy’s (153 S. Illinois St., 317-635-9594; 4050 E. 82nd St., 317-915-8045) anticipates going through 600 pounds of shrimp and more than 80 pounds of horseradish during the event’s Thursday-to-Sunday crush. “Our supplier, McFarling Foods, will keep an extra 400 pounds [of shrimp] aside ‘just in case,’” says Clifford. Daily deliveries will arrive downtown between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m.
