Passed thru Indianapolis on the way to Louisville and then again on the ride back to Chicago. It's shame but on the way down we were passing thru town before 11a (neither open yet) and then on the way back it was a Monday, so both the jerk joint and the Pakistani grocery were closed and are going to have to wait for another day. Nonetheless I liked both places enough to where I'd go back to each, though the more this thread fills up the more options there are.
______________________________________________________________


Menu board inside Punch Burger

This popular downtown burger joint is in the mold of many other modern burger shops. It reminded me of both Shake Shack and also Company Burger in New Orleans. Local fresh ingredients, locally brewed beers, walk up place your order and take a seat etc. Here they're doing thinner griddled patties with some traditional and also some not so normal toppings. Menu has quite a few specialty options or you can build your own. I went with the burnt cheeseburger off the specialties as its description was something new to me.


Burnt Cheeseburger

The griddled patty is topped with a mold made of three slices of cheddar cheese cooked on the flattop. The result is a crispy extreme cheeze-it taste along with the other traditional flavors of a classic cheeseburger to cut some of the saltiness of the burnt cheese. The bun was nice and pillowy and the beef flavor was there. Damn good burger.


The insides
______________________________________________________________


Burmese Eats in the suburb of Greenwood

En route home I had my eye on this Burmese spot which has been on my radar for a couple years now. All Burmese clientele on my visit, good start. The lady behind the counter was telling me her specialties and finished with mentioning the pork with pickled mango as her most famous dish thus I was sold. I went with an order of samosas to start.


Samosas

Excellent eats. These were just stuffed with potato and spiced with curry but they were extra crispy on the outside and really smooth inside. Now I'm not that familiar with Burmese cuisine, other than this excellent cover story by turkob the only familiarity with it I have was trying a place Rene G rec'd in Moline, IL. That said I loved the meal I ate in Moline and enjoyed this dish below every bit as much. It wasn't spicy at all, just full of flavor from the pork and mango, the former of which was maybe the best prep of meat I've ever had at an Asian place. It was extra thin and oh so tender. I'm not sure when life will allow me to make it to Burma, but over in Fort Wayne they have the highest concentration of Burmese people in the States which equates to a few restaurants serving their native cuisine. I'm thinking an LTH Roadtrip might be in-store sometime this Spring. Got on it SteveZ.


Pork with Pickled Mango
______________________________________________________________

Punch Burger
137 East Ohio Street
Indianapolis, IN 46204
(317) 426-5280

Kimu Restaurant
1280 South U.S. 31
Greenwood, IN 46142
(317) 893-2221

I finally scratched off 2 ancient blue collar classics on a recent swing through Indy and Louisville for work. The well-documented Workingman's Friend, in addition to having the best bar name ever, also wins the Pantheon award for looking small and crummy from the outside, but expansive and inviting from the inside. Burger was good, and I really liked the hyper-specific Indy blue-collar, hard knock, hayseed with a Macedonian great grandpappy vibe, shared with kissing cousin John's Famous Hot Stew.

Peppy's, the 24 hour grease spot near downtown Indy, is less well known on LTH. It was an interesting place to be late-night when I rolled into Indy for a pause from the despicable I-65. Club kids, tweakers, junkies, streets and san workers, and maybe a drag queen on a lunch break got along with the Hoosier grandma working the grill and fryer. Perfectly acceptable tenderloin on a surprisingly good bun.

Peppy's Grill
1004 Virginia Ave, Indianapolis, IN 46203

I also just stopped by Working Man's Friend the other day, meeting my brother for lunch on my way to Nashville. It's a friendly little place, and was hopping within a few minutes of its 11am opening time. I ordered their well-known "giant" double cheeseburger, consisting of two patties on a triple-decker bun, with pickles and grilled onions. I love the concentrated beefiness and crisp-edged texture of the smashed style of burger, and though this wasn't the best one I'd ever had, it was a fantastic version of the style, with some very good onion rings, in exactly the kind of local joint we all like trying.

Gonna be in Indy for one night on a golf trip. If you had to choose between one meal at either Shapiro Deli or Bru Burger Bar which one it be? We're staying downtown so those are both really close to the hotel.

Shapiro's

I 2nd Shapiro's. Awesome homemade bread. It's better than anything similar I've had in Chicago. Certainly better than Manny's.

laikom wrote:I 2nd Shapiro's. Awesome homemade bread. It's better than anything similar I've had in Chicago. Certainly better than Manny's.

Ha! As I've often quipped, Shapiro's is the best deli in Chicago.

=R=

A couple years ago I stopped at Jamaican Style Jerk, recommended by laikom and discussed here. Turned out they’d just gotten a favorable review in the local paper and had sold out of everything. I was happy for them and knew I’d be back. Finally got another chance during a recent short stop in Indianapolis.







It was about 4:30 and they were out of almost everything except a couple orders of chicken. I need to go back again because the bird was really dry, though tasty. Get there early!

I'd wanted to visit Milktooth ever since I saw some pictures of their food earlier this year. It was the lox and cream cheese Danish that really caught my eye. That's typical of Milktooth's frequently-changing menu—slightly unorthodox dishes that usually make a lot of sense when you think about them.







It's an appealing place—pretty outdoor seating, bright airy interior and interesting food. The Danish is baked with only cream cheese in the center and salmon is added upon ordering. It pretty much lived up to expectations and made me wonder just why these things aren't more common. Milktooth appears to take coffee seriously, but for whatever reason my espresso wasn't very good. I need to get back with more time and appetite.

Jamaican Style Jerk
3355 N Keystone Av
Indianapolis IN
317-926-1110

Milktooth
534 Virginia Av
Indianapolis IN
317-986-5131
http://www.milktoothindy.com/

Rene G wrote:
Milktooth
534 Virginia Av
Indianapolis IN
317-986-5131
http://www.milktoothindy.com/

Milktooth - hip place - got here for breakfast as a first stop on a daytrip cruise to the Indy area a couple Saturdays ago -

I know zero about grits - but liked these - topped with green onions, bacon, some salty cheese and a runny egg nestled in there....




i kind of liked Milktooth - - that fried mortadella dutch baby pancake on the menu is on my hit list..

needed a place to check out the start of the OU v Texas game - Michael Symons joint B Spot Burgers seemed like as good as any - specially since they do a bologna sandwich - a weakness of mine -

I know..... a chain, celebrity chef, not very jimswside right? - all good - I kind of like M Symon, & liked his place in Detroit(Roast) alot .

new school bologna sandwich - thick cut bologna, et al..: cant really go wrong with this combo.



B Spot
2727 E. 86th St.
Indy

http://bspotburgers.com/food/

Yet another A+ spot in Indy, Asian Snack.

It is a tiny little snack corner nestled into a giant international market. You could almost miss it if you were in a hurry to get your groceries, but they are putting out a lot of dishes, and they're all great. Excuse the hyperbole, but this may have been the single best Chinese meal I have had since my 19 day trip to China in 2009. IMO, Katy’s (Downers Grove location only) may be the only place locally that could potentially compete. My lunch there was so good that while I had other places on my list, I couldn’t resist returning again for dinner the same day. To anyone planning a trip to Indy, I would put this little hole in the wall high on your list of must-trys.



Here are some new friends we met during lunch, we ended up eating together!



The English name is Asian Snack, but if you can read Mandarin (I can’t, I used Google Translate), you would would notice that the name is actually Tianjin Snack. Tianjin is the City from where the owners emigrated. I had not even heard of Tianjin prior to my visit, so I have no clue about the local cuisine. Despite the distance from Szechuan Province, I would describe the flavors as similar. In general it wasn’t quite as spicy, and the use of szechuan peppercorns not as extreme. There is a serious language barrier, i.e. zero english, so you are a bit at the whim of the delightful chef/proprietor on some things, which turns out is a great thing. A lot of the specials were ordered by pointing to items sitting out on the counter, such as the trays of stewed pork belly sitting out to cool during our first visit, or the duck heads sitting out to cool on our second visit.



Before I rattle on too much, here are the food (cell phone) pics. I'm not going to add much description because it was all delicious!


Fish Fillets in Hot Chili Oil


Griddled Fish Slices


(unknown) mushroom dish


Tofu in Casserole


duck heads


duck head


Black Mushrooms and Bok Choy


Grilled Lamb with Cumin (interestingly it included shishito peppers.)


(unknown) black bean type dessert


(unknown) soup. It was very interesting with an herbal flavor I have never tasted. It was also completely salt free, which made it taste more like a tea.


(unknown) Spicy noodle soup with offal.


beef pancake


chive pancake


both


pork pancake


stewed pork belly just chillin'


above pork belly incorporated into a dish with glass noodles and cabbage


Broiled Chicken in Hot and Spicy Sauce


Twice Cooked Pork Belly


special (unknown) pork intestine dish

Asian Snack (Inside Saraga International Market)
3605 Commercial Dr
Indianapolis, IN 46222

I've been in and out of Indy a few times this Summer/Fall and have a few more spots to throw up.
______________________________________________________________


Milktooth

One of the most buzzed about restaurants in the Midwest, or at least in Indy, is this boozy brunch spot that was recently named one of the 10 best new restaurants in the Country by Bon Appetit. Normally I tend to stay away from most brunch places but the reasoning for the recognition along with the menu got me to stop in. Milktooth is a daytime only operation and they open early for both coffee and pastries. Neither of which I tried on my two separate visits as I'm not a big morning sweets guy and I don't drink coffee. Instead I went straight to the booze and the food. The menu consists of a few sections. One is 'Classic Stock' which includes their takes on breakfast plates. Another section is titled 'Of the Moment' which lists that days specials. Then theres the 'sides and sweets' section which is just what it reads. The entire menu does change with some frequency though so there's a chance you don't see some of these items on future visits.


Potato and Yuca Latke - acorn squash jam, local sour cream, scallions

The cooking style here is very hipster and I mean that in the best way possible. Open air kitchen with guys in beards cooking and having a good time while doing so. Some of the concoctions they come up with are really fun and extra tasty. Take the potato pancake pictured up above. It was certainly the most pretty of it's kind I've ever came across. It tasted damn good too.


House Cured Trout with Homemade Cream Cheese on a House English Muffin

My two main courses at Milktooth have both been winners. On my first trip this past summer I wanted something semi light and opted for the house lox served atop a toasted English Muffin. This was the best breakfast I had all summer. Yeah I don't eat it often but this was good enough to make we want to return stat. The lox was deep in flavor with great texture and the muffin had perfect crunch. Then there's the Cuban Lamb Frita Burger. The menu does switch but this one has remained on it thru visits. It takes a local lamb patty and tops it with a fried piece of pineapple and sweet chile ketchup and white American cheese which when molded together makes for a fantastic bite. I suggest you add an egg allowing creamy yolk to slide down into your mouth with each taste.


Cuban Lamb Burger with Egg


Bathroom Art Humor
______________________________________________________________


Jamaican Style Jerk

Despite going to or thru Indy countless times over the last couple years I only recently got the chance to go try this well known Jerk Stand that. When I was finally able to head over this past summer it was right as they were getting started for the day. The friendly owner said what up and told me I came at the perfect time as he just pulled the meats from the smoker mon. The owner is from Jamaica and goes back there yearly. Winter time of course. I opted for a lunch special which includes 1/4 chicken and a couple jerk ribs. Rice and Peas and plantains come on the side. All this below was like $7 and it was some of the better jerk chicken I've had in the States, though I'm not going to say it was better than the best spots in Jamaica where the must visit stands are grilling over pimento wood. The ribs were just tender enough to pull easily off the bone and had good smoke flavor in them. Rice and peas were on point. My minor complaint was the sauce was slightly off as far as flavor. Other than that, and it was still a pretty solid sauce, this place is a gem that the residents of Indy are lucky to have.


Jerk Chicken and Jerk Ribs Lunch Plate
______________________________________________________________


Love Handle

The people behind this semi-new sandwich spot have a history in Indy. They ran this place before breaking the locals hearts and moving to Milwaukee where they eventually broke the locals hearts there and moved back to Indy. They bring with them a little bit of a different approach this time around as most everything is made in-house, as opposed to by Smoking Goose, which is where the owner once worked. The menu features all day breakfast and sandwiches. I stopped in for a snack and tried the days featured biscuit ($3). It had an excellent piece of pork belly cooked crisp on the outside topped with pickled red onions placed on a very soft and semi loose biscuit. I was not expecting the biscuit to be as good as it was as I would've been satisfied with the product if I was served it a few hours further down I-65 in Nashville. Hard to imagine a better breakfast snack for under $5 in town. Check them out.


Pork Belly Biscuit
______________________________________________________________

Milktooth
534 Virginia Ave
Indianapolis, IN 46203
(317) 986-5131

Jamaican Style Jerk
3355 N Keystone Ave
Indianapolis, IN 46218
(317) 926-1110

Love Handle
2829 10th St
Indianapolis, IN 46201
(317) 430-5004

Indianapolis 1

I forgot a place. Some breakfast. In Indianapolis for a friend's 50th birthday party on an upper story of The Columbia Club. The city's grand central phallus a blue blur beyond the reflected ballroom bulbs and distortion of the floor to ceiling windows. Indianapolis. The flight from Newark, we sat in back of some Jerseyite college music professors namedropping Vampire Weekend(of all fucking things) flying in for a college music conference at the J.W. Marriott. The Marriott has a good Italian place. T had a muffin and my breakfast, a pack of Juicy Fruit, by the time we were on the road and past visiting a new dental office(beautifully-securified, magnetic locks, ubiquitous cameras, a narcotics safe within a safe), stomachs growled. We stopped by the old place, saw Dublin, the dog with the massive bestial head, jaws gulping my hand like a biscuit, playful, yes, a mere crunch and I'd miss half a hand. A beautiful, beastly, mastiff of a puppy. They'd painted the old house a red that looks good in person and rather barnyardy on camera. Most of our visit was skies muted songs.

From the backyard of our old friends' new place I took a shot of clouds incandescing against an Yves Klein International Blue sky. Inherently banal, photos of blue skies are multitudinous, to make a gallery of same old blue skies. Everything we ate in Indy was great. And that's saying something. I'd contacted N whose new restaurant is in it's pre-production phase and to write, eagerly-awaited, well, once she's among us I expect insanely audacious gorgeous things. I asked N what's on his radar and he wrote back, Plow n Anchor, the reconcepting of Recess, Milktooth, a little bit, Milktooth's getting enough press, Pioneer. Suffice it to say we didn't get to any of them.

Having had my hand in a dog's mouth, we hit up his owner's rec., a "taco place," Luciana's in Broad Ripple, open two weeks. Antiseptically-cheerful, table salsa Herdez(I like Herdez), I didn't expect much and boy was I wrong. Him tacos carnitas, myself tacos asada(juiciest, tenderest carne asada I've had in a long while, nice lime in the marinade, decent char) presented sparingly, just meat, corn tortillas, and a bed of foil on a long oval plate. Rice, beans, on point. Adequate pico de gallo. However, the house salsa is something else entirely a miniature plastic molcajete of pugnacious, bright, smirky, I tasted chile de arbol, but maybe that's just me. Good stuff.

That night our neighbors took us to a place that's been there for awhile, a Broad Ripple local, The Usual Suspects. The server, C, played to his table. There wasn't a double entendre he didn't deploy without a saucy wink. El Parador's shrimp quesadilla remains my "crack," but the similar described to us as such at TUS, is a close second. The app's, strong renditions of nothing out of the ordinary. My pork shank osso buco over truffle risotto and mushrooms, omg. The pork so lovingly flavorful, the truffle note perfectly harmonizing with the dish. Breakfast next morning!

Columbia Club, following evening, Astute bartender, heavy pours. G, so good to see her and hear her giddy laugh, in demand society/wedding photographer, shot the event. Said, "why are we shaking hands?!" And hugged me. The birthday boy, suave in his suit with rubine accents and cosmo.

We adjourned with the neighbors to the new location of N's Libertine. Always good to see N, the most welcoming of gentlemen. I think the reconcepting of Libertine is the bar scene of Tarkovsky's Stalker, people in sepia standing at tables, the light fixtures, T says no one would ever get that. My new to the Fall menu cocktail, Cinnamon Toast Punch, our shared meal, the cheese and charcuterie, the popcorn, the tartare, the oysters. A damn fine repast. The bartender who used to make my celery bitters cocktail that everyone loved served us. T wanted me to bug him for one. I didn't want to bug anyone. I just wanted to curl up in a booth in the basement of Pizzology and sip my drink and nibble at our spread and slowly slip away into oblivion.

Indy 2

The Bataclan, terror, who knew? Facebook informs me George Bataille is okay, great, he's been dead awhile and I don't feel so good myself.

Even Alex Stupak worships at the shrine of the freshly made tortilla, to that end I forgot that the best tweak at Luciana is that they source excellent factory corn tortillas, and mein gott im himmel, griddle them to the extent there's a welcome crispness yielding to chewy mixtamal and a deluge of juicy carne asada. Yum double dutch.

We went to Oceanaire, the Indianapolis location was so on point once upon a time. Now it's a bathroom in dire need of a rubdown, gefiltefisch is absent from the relish tray, and, yes, we dined late, however one seeks to invigorate a market menu, yes? My ono offered a preferred medium rare was two thirds well. A tasty steak regardless. T's young niece likes oysters! How cool is that?

Indianapolis 3

Our progressive autonomies belie inferior outliers. Outlier's munchausens by proxy. Stop. Houellebecqian scorn postulates diseased borders. I forget most things as soon as I remember them. Indianapolis.

I forget a meal. I remember a meal. Breakfast at Biscuits behind 3 Wise Men in the strip mall in Broad Ripple. There'd been a cold snap where leaves were just adjusting color in New York, here they'd shuddered shocked for the gospel of an early December. Leaves cluttered the streets. Great jumping leaves flagrant in the sigh of. We love Biscuits. Even now it's relatively hoity-toity, given a glossy menu and listing every sauce made in house, a SOBRO mole', precocious, even. The legendary chilaquiles are a chalkboard special, and damn if they ain't worth it, but 12.95 per platter is New York prices for what's basically leftovers. We ate off it for a couple days. Leftovers be damned.

I said the sky settled down the color of curdled milk.

Our Sunday we met effervescent D at Louis' Wine Dive for brunch. The Bangkok Bloody Mary made me cough, the French toast just about as swell as Black Tree(but nothing really ascends those heights), I asked after the savory element on the plate, somewhat mustardy, the waitress explained it was a creme anglaise, mustard, maple, ricotta, they should all make friends, just a question mark on an otherwise stalwart dish; mustard, who knew? It wasn't listed on the menu description.

Dinner with family at The Local. I admire their farm to table ethos. A diverse menu lends me to indecision. My aged burger hit the spot; mineral, tang, beefiness. A perfect medium rare. There were several service hiccups. The food I noshed off others' plates let bygones be.

And then Rosie's in Noblesville.

Power lines muscle in over cow crossings. You sip a 175 dollar scotch. Sleep in on a so slowly deflating air bed upstairs. Face still puffy, scrub up and get to downtown Noblesville, 9:30 light trying to decide if it's an early winter balm or a laser.
We met S at Rosie's. Seeing him is when you say yes and know that. I could simply hang out. An omphalos, a world navel, a place where people breakfast. Such a meal: all baked goods including my Pullman loaf are in house, my eggs, joyously softly scrambled, my sausage and home fries just, I want to say yes and will. Seeing S was a boon to our whistle stop tour.

And on the way out, f'ing perfect gringo tacos up in the air at friends' downtown place, they make them better than me, and airport food later in that cattle corral that is Indianapolis International Airport.
Forgetfulness is a prayer. I do not know the psalm.

The Columbia Club http://columbia-club.org

Luciana's http://www.lucianasmexicanrestaurant.com

Usual Suspects http://www.usualsuspectsindy.com

Libertine http://libertineindy.com

Oceanaire http://www.theoceanaire.com/locations/i ... tions.aspx ...our friends always just walk into St. Elmo's, our first choice, fie on you Stevie Wonder!!

Biscuits Cafe' http://www.yelp.com/biz/biscuits-cafe-indianapolis

Louie's Wine Dive http://louieswinedive.com

The Local http://localeateryandpub.com/menu/

Rosie's Place http://rosiesplace.net

gringo tacos fifth floor downtown Indianapolis

Harry and Izzy's http://www.harryandizzys.com/menu/indianapolis-airport/ steak, whisky, and coleslaw/what's not to like?

Oh Christopher Gordon thanks for this, I've missed you.

Here is my rundown of the first LTH forum indianapolis road trip! As idiotic as they come, I forgot my DSLR, so I had to resort to cell phone pictures the entire time... sorry.


Farm Fresh Eggs

The first stop on our Indy tour was the farm where I always pick up eggs between Chicago and Indy. It’s a family farm in Sheridan, IN with probably 30 or 40 chickens which have plenty of room to forage. It’s a leave-your-money-in-a-jar honors system type of establishment, but if you’re lucky enough to catch one of the family you’d be treated to some real Hoosier hospitality. During this stop, we were given a tour to visit the chickens, their electricity-free log cabin built by hand, and met a couple very friendly dogs. We heard, sadly, that we just missed their annual fall party where they cook a cauldron of chili over a wood fire in an antique crock, to which anyone who purchases eggs is invited (if you see the note taped to the egg fridge).

You can pick from green, brown, white, and pullets. Pullet eggs are only $1.50/dzn, regular ones are $3.





Jamaican Style Jerk.

What more can be said than I’ve already said above? I can say that by the end people were fighting over the jerk sauce, that is after I heard someone asking “would it be weird if I drank some of this plain?”. As for the an off flavor that DaBeef mentioned, it is certainly unique compared to any others I’ve tried, very heavy on the thyme, but I wouldn’t call it off.

The meats were all spot on. They were out of oxtail, so we settled for an order of jerk pork chops. Even though I have never had a poorly cooked piece of meat here, I was still skeptical of a pork chop (and I really wanted the oxtail!). Also, chops do tend to be quite dry when not cooked properly. Not this one, it was incredibly moist, and perhaps my favorite piece of meat from the trip!

Pictured below is curry chicken, jerk pork chops, and smoked ribs, served with beans and rice, and plantains.
















Kolache Factory

This one was the first off schedule stop of the trip. Considering my wife’s Czech heritage, and the fact that I never see Kolache in Chicago (other than when Teresa makes them), we had to pop in to czech them out. This is one location of a franchise, with a few locations throughout the midwest, and a handful in Texas. There was a huge mix of Czech and Texas style Kolache (sometimes called Klobasnek https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klobasnek). The restaurant was really busy, with long lines, so I can’t blame them for heating them up in the microwave, but that was a deal breaker for about half of our crew. I do agree they would have been much prefered heated in a toaster oven, but it was not a deal breaker for me. They weren’t as good as homemade, but that is typically the case. I would recommend eating them at room temp instead microwave, but also it should be noted, it is more of a take-out type item (think doughnuts) where you can heat them up any way you want, or not at all. I liked them, and if you’re interested in trying a Kolache, it’s a lot easier to pop in here rather than travel to Texas or Czech Republic.




















Fountain Square

Fountain Square is one of the hippest areas in Indy, complete with a brewery, a meadery, a few cocktail bars, and various types of hip restaurants. It has come a long way since my punk band was playing shows at the rundown duckpin bowling alley. We made a few non-food stops in the area. Hey, we gotta do something in between meals, right?
















Asian Snack

I’m glad we had the willpower to keep to only drinks rather than eats in Fountain Square, because as expected Asian Snack ended up being quite a blowout meal. For a meal with a dozen unique, prepared to order dishes, including homemade noodles, and handmade Jianbing crepes, you’d expect the bill to come out to more than $16 pp after a generous tip. This place remains, as described above, my favorite restaurant of the year by a HUGE margin. I’m dreaming of my next visit (friday after thanksgiving!)

Here is one anecdote which should show how friendly the owner is. Considering we were in a grocery store, I feigned ignorance and asked if we could bring in some beers to drink with our meal (there are no such thing as BYOB restaurants in Indy). She looked around and with a finger to her mouth saying “shhh” she was nodding yes and then smiled. A few beers definitely added to the street food feel of the meal. After inquiring if the alcohol I tasted in one of the dishes was baiju, she went back and brought us out a plastic cup of baiju to pass around the table. Awesome place. Once again the awesomeness of the people matches the awesomeness of the food!



Jianbing (Chinese crepe street food, filled with spicy sauce and fry-bread)


Jianbing (Chinese crepe street food, filled with spicy sauce and fry-bread)


Jianbing (Chinese crepe street food, filled with spicy sauce and fry-bread)


Jianbing (Chinese crepe street food, filled with spicy sauce and fry-bread)


Jianbing (Chinese crepe street food, filled with spicy sauce and fry-bread)


Spicy Chicken, Geleshan Style


Pork Pancake


Tofu Casserole


Cumin Lamb


Fried String Beans with Garlic Sauce


Chicken with Spiced Salt - This was anything but as simple as it sounds. It was the dish with the baiju in it, and included many ingredients, like sprouts and offal.


Chicken with Spiced Salt


Chicken with Spiced Salt


Niu Rou Mein with homemade noodles.


Niu Rou Mein with homemade noodles.


Spicy Crispy Intestine


Chicken Feet


Chicken Feet


Sliced Beef


Sliced Pig Ear


The Group


Slumber party at my mom’s house.

That’s right, we had a slumber party. After a game of Yanachek and more than a few beers, we retired for the night.




One World Market

What I intended to be a quick, light breakfast got out of control once everyone saw the menu. I had only eaten here a few times prior, but this time we had an Indy local (LTHer tylerjwatkins) to guide us. Like I said above, the sushi and sashimi isn’t going meet the quality of something you’d find at a high end establishment, but I will say it is a good step above the average sushi joint. But the joy of it is that you can grab yourself a couple $5 packages of fresh sushi grade fish and some salmon roe, and have them prepare a tray like the stuff seen below for under $15. But if you stop at sushi, I think you’re missing the point of One World Market, it is not a sushi joint and never claimed to be. They are a grocery store with a very ambitious snack counter, and they’re serving up cheap eats prepared very well. Is it the best Japanese food you’ll ever have? Probably not. Is it one of the best values for Japanese food? Almost certainly!



































Conner Prairie

Another non-food stop, which MHL summed up pretty succinctly, was Conner Prairie. This was a place where anyone growing up in central indiana would remember going on field trips during elementary school. On the surface it seems a bit cheesy, but these actors are taking this fake town pretty seriously, never breaking character. All of the actors were actually doing their “jobs”, i.e. the blacksmith was actually heating metal and creating various tools and such for the town to use. The historically accurate carpet in the original William Conner home was made from spinning wool and using the period accurate loom to weave the carpets.

As a young child, I recall needing my parents permission to watch a pig slaughtered and gutted right on the yard. It only turned one 4th grader vegetarian. They cook and eat everything on site using historically accurate tools and ovens. It was a lot of fun, probably even more fun as an adult than it was as a child. We engaged in a bit of unintentional LARPing in an attempt to try to get the innkeeper to serve us some whiskey by forging a doctor’s note demanding some whiskey immediately for our “ailments”. It didn’t work.


The first brick house built in Indiana, William Conner's house.


TylerJWatkins dipping a candle.













Before we left Conner Prarie, we couldn’t pass up a ride in one of the world’s largest helium balloons. For $15 you get to ride to about 350 feet in the air! It was a great way to view the fall foliage.













Bombay Bazaar

Bombay Bazaar was as excellent as always. We ordered a sort of best-of, so there is not much more that I haven’t said before. The lamb chops were a different cut, a smaller size, but they compensated by serving more. I preferred the ones I had on previous visits, but apparently they were still excellent, because they were devoured and everyone wanted to place another order. I failed to get a picture of all the food, but here is some of it.




Queema Naan


Chili Paneer


Lamb Champ


Malai Kofta


Palack Gosht


Pawn Shop Pub

We were stuffed, and pretty ready to hit that 3 hour ride home, however Bernard revealed last minute that he had never had a pork tenderloin, so we had one more stop to make. I have had many Tenderloins all over Indy, and the one at Pawn Shop Pub is as good as any. It is pounded, breaded, and fried to order, as respectable tenderloin should be. Our waitress was ridiculously accommodating considering the only food we ordered was a single tenderloin for 6 people. Talk about hospitality, she brought us each our own water, plate, silverware and napkin, and even offered to cut it up into 6 portions for us in the back (we declined). She was eager to learn what Bernard thought of his first tenderloin, which I believe he loved. We each ordered a $3 bloody mary then headed home.


Pork Tenderloin Sandwich with a side of fresh (never frozen) fried mushrooms.


Here are some of the variations you can order.

I'm so glad we finally made this trip happen, it was a great time and thanks to everyone for joining! [/b]

Jamaican Style Jerk
3355 N Keystone Ave, Indianapolis, IN 46218

Kolache Factory
9650 Allisonville Rd, Indianapolis, IN 46250

Asian Snack
3605 Commercial Dr, Indianapolis, IN 46222

One World Market
8466 Castleton Corner Dr, Indianapolis, IN 46250

Conner Prarie
13400 Allisonville Rd, Fishers, IN 46038

Bombay Bazaar
7247 Fishers Landing Dr, Fishers, IN 46038

Pawn Shop Pub
2222 East 54th St, Indianapolis, IN 46220

Between this report and DaBeef's (and my recollection from now long past trips), I feel like I could now survive for a week or more in Indy . . . great report and I'm sad I couldn't make it, though I'm just a little scared by the two guys in pilgrim hats. What horror movie is that from?

laikom wrote:I’m glad we had the willpower to keep to only drinks rather than eats in Fountain Square, because as expected Asian Snack ended up being quite a blowout meal. For a meal with a dozen unique, prepared to order dishes, including homemade noodles, and handmade Jianbing crepes, you’d expect the bill to come out to more than $16 pp after a generous tip. This place remains, as described above, my favorite restaurant of the year by a HUGE margin. I’m dreaming of my next visit (friday after thanksgiving!)

Hi Laikom, thanks for the Indy writeups and especially this bit about Asian Snack. I go to Saraga Grocery almost every time I'm back in Indy and I've been pretty curious about the place but I've never had the time to stop in. Those jianbing look just like the ones I had in Beijing, I wonder if they'll do a rou bing if I ask nicely?

Still gotta try that Pakistani grocery cafe you told me about too. I plan to go back for Christmas and tackle that place with an Indian friend of mine.

eating while walking wrote:"
Those jianbing look just like the ones I had in Beijing, I wonder if they'll do a rou bing if I ask nicely?

They are so nice and excited about making this food that I'm absolutely certain they would. It may require speaking in Mandarin, some really good charades, or simple pulling up a few cell phone pics.

BR wrote:Between this report and DaBeef's (and my recollection from now long past trips), I feel like I could now survive for a week or more in Indy . . . great report and I'm sad I couldn't make it, though I'm just a little scared by the two guys in pilgrim hats. What horror movie is that from?

Ha ha. I had a similar thought.

Laikom et al - great trip. Thanks for sharing!

Pawn Shop Pub! They make(or made) a great beer cheese soup. Not listed on current menu. A storied soup passed down through a couple restaurant kitchens.

Pawn Shop Pub http://www.viewmenu.com/pawn-shop-pub/menu?ref=google

Christopher Gordon wrote:Pawn Shop Pub! They make(or made) a great beer cheese soup. Not listed on current menu. A storied soup passed down through a couple restaurant kitchens.

Pawn Shop Pub http://www.viewmenu.com/pawn-shop-pub/menu?ref=google

Awesome, glad to hear you're a fan! The beer cheese soup has been mentioned as a special during my visits but I have not ordered it. I will correct that error next visit. If you are a regular in the area, maybe you'd know of another favorite of mine. A stone's throw from Pawn Shop is Keystone Sports Review which also has a great tenderloin, great chicken wings, and also fries up fresh mushrooms to order. If anyone wants to try a bang-bang of two tenderloins with a side of freshly fried mushrooms, this would be a good one! Is it just me, or is it hard to find a place that fries up fresh mushrooms anywhere in Chicago?

Keystone Sports Review
5602 N Keystone Ave, Indianapolis, IN 46220

laikom wrote:Bombay Bazaar was as excellent as always. We ordered a sort of best-of, so there is not much more that I haven’t said before. The lamb chops were a different cut, a smaller size, but they compensated by serving more. I preferred the ones I had on previous visits, but apparently they were still excellent, because they were devoured and everyone wanted to place another order. I failed to get a picture of all the food, but here is some of it.

You weren't kidding about Bombay Bazaar. I finally made it back to Indy to see some friends this weekend, and I 100% agree that this little cafe tucked into a dingy mini mart offers some of the best Pakistani food I've ever eaten in my life. No scratch that, this was one of the best MEALS I've eaten, of any kind. My friends are from Hyderabad and Delhi, so while they are not Pakistani they know the good stuff when they taste it. "Amazing", "euphoric", were words that were thrown around at our table.

Garlic naan - perfect mixture of shattering crispness on the surface and tender, pull apart inner crumb.


Chicken Boti - big chunks of chicken breast meat in a paprika-heavy marinade. I don't know how they get the white meat to stay so juicy and still pull off such a charred, savory crust.


Chicken Biryani - I would call this the equal of the biryani at Khan BBQ i.e. the best of the best. Bombay Bazaar's version is perhaps a little greasier and spicier. I've eaten biryani in Hyderabad which is the local specialty there, and while it was very good Bombay Bazaar's is better.


Lamb Chop - imagine a fatty lamb chop slathered in spices and then broiled so the melting fat and spice rub mix together to form this amazingly flavorful crust surrounding juicy meat cooked to medium. I'm salivating at my desk just thinking about it. The meat itself I would describe as more of a mutton chop with a stronger intrinsic flavor than your typical steakhouse lamb chop. That tinge of pungency was perfect with the fiery spice crust.


Not pictured: Chicken 65 which was the only non-excellent dish. It was "merely" good as opposed to amazing.

Man, if a little shack like Bombay Bazaar that barely has a kitchen can put out food that tastes this good, why can't real restaurants do the same?

Well, IMO Indy has finally turned a corner. Had dinner at a new place Pioneer in Fountain Square. It's an amalgam of Italian, Swiss and Austrian - call it Alpine I guess. But we went with 6 people and ordered practically everything on the menu and the chef nailed every dish. Particular standouts were the house made sausages, perfect. The wine selections are great too, the Gruner Veltliner we had matched very nicely.

Pretty big space, so that makes the menu direction really brave - I haven't seen a restaurant feature this cuisine anywhere else in the US (although Next is slotting it for 2016). Takes guts to think he can make this fly in Indy, but the chef has a really confident hand. Great meal, bravo

Pioneer was one of Chef Neal Brown's rec's to me on my last trip to Indianapolis. We didn't get to it, and asking around, the restaurant sounded very new, very hush-hush. Glad to hear about your experience.

Indy has definitely turned a corner. I've been spending time there for work in fits and starts for many years, and used to visit frequently when my parents were there in the early 90's for my dad's job. Tough place back then to be a single kid looking for a good drink and some fun. Nowadays, it is generally a very vibrant place. I'm happy to see the "rustbelt" as one of the best places to eat and drink in the US. Not just Chicago, but Indy, Louisville, Milwaukee, Cincy, and I'd add Cleveland, Pittsburgh and of course Detroit if I can claim "rustbelt" towns on the border with the East. I'd rather eat in those towns than just about any cluster of cities in the US right now. Which is pretty damn amazing.

That said, I was in Circle City a few weeks ago. It was mid-week and you could hear a pin drop at even some of the town's best-known downtown spots (Oceanaire and the bar upsatirs at St. Elmo's, for example). Kept walking past both. Much the same can be said for the big lux hotels built for things like the Super Bowl and NCAAs, but pretty darn empty when some big event isn't in town. I know those are "tourist places," but the reality seems to be that the city and its restaurants depend very much on conventions, sporting events, and other magnets -- much more so than larger towns, but also some towns of similar size and geography that have become food-centric destinations (Louisville comes to mind). Indy can definitely have the same kind of scene. It's a bit more spread out, which is a challenge. But the locals seem to be behind their chefs, brewers etc. And not just the new stuff. Working Man's friend and John's Stew have been packed at lunch with local regulars on the same days that downtown was abandoned at night. I hope local interest is enough to keep these great new places afloat, at least until Indy shows up on some travel magazine lists a food destination (and who knows, maybe it has).

JeffB wrote:Indy has definitely turned a corner. I've been spending time there for work in fits and starts for many years, and used to visit frequently when my parents were there in the early 90's for my dad's job. Tough place back then to be a single kid looking for a good drink and some fun. Nowadays, it is generally a very vibrant place. I'm happy to see the "rustbelt" as one of the best places to eat and drink in the US. Not just Chicago, but Indy, Louisville, Milwaukee, Cincy, and I'd add Cleveland, Pittsburgh and of course Detroit if I can claim "rustbelt" towns on the border with the East. I'd rather eat in those towns than just about any cluster of cities in the US right now. Which is pretty damn amazing.

That said, I was in Circle City a few weeks ago. It was mid-week and you could hear a pin drop at even some of the town's best-known downtown spots (Oceanaire and the bar upsatirs at St. Elmo's, for example). Kept walking past both. Much the same can be said for the big lux hotels built for things like the Super Bowl and NCAAs, but pretty darn empty when some big event isn't in town. I know those are "tourist places," but the reality seems to be that the city and its restaurants depend very much on conventions, sporting events, and other magnets -- much more so than larger towns, but also some towns of similar size and geography that have become food-centric destinations (Louisville comes to mind). Indy can definitely have the same kind of scene. It's a bit more spread out, which is a challenge. But the locals seem to be behind their chefs, brewers etc. And not just the new stuff. Working Man's friend and John's Stew have been packed at lunch with local regulars on the same days that downtown was abandoned at night. I hope local interest is enough to keep these great new places afloat, at least until Indy shows up on some travel magazine lists a food destination (and who knows, maybe it has).

That's a good summation Jeff, not bad for a FIB!

I've lived here since 2008, and coming from such a great restaurant city like Chicago it's unfair to compare cause you're punching down so much. But what's been frustrating me living here is comparing it to let's say Louisville - whose metro area is half the size of Indy, and their restaurants in general have been a whole echelon above. My main beef was that most places in Indy deliberately aimed for mediocrity, looking for the lowest common denominator to get some butts in the seats (you can put St Elmo's and Oceanaire squarely in that category).

Seems like that mindset is changing finally, places are taking more chances now and reaching higher. You can probably thank Milktooth for that, they've put together a fever dream of a menu and gotten away with it - it's an hour+ wait for a table on weekends. I doubt that investors would put up the $$ for a concept like Pioneer unless you can point to Milktooth's success as precedent. So we'll see, slowly but surely...

Oh, I don't know if I've mentioned it here before but B's Po Boys in Fountain Square also deserves some superlatives. They fly the bread in fresh each day from Leidenheimer Baking Co in New Orleans, along with the fresh gulf shrimp and oysters. How a place this modest can do this and turn a profit at these prices who knows, I've been to NO a dozen times but this is awesome stuff and stands up to any po boy you'll get down there (btw don't bother with Yats, that stuff is wretched)