Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2016 i Indianapolis Monthly

Sure, the Indiana State Fair can sometimes seem like a compendium of Hoosier cliches. Deep-fried red velvet Oreos do our fatt est-state ranking no favors. Farmers in overalls drive John Deeres in the evening parade. The Fair gives out awards for best cobs of corn. But something about seeing the midway lit up beneath the purples and pinks of a midsummer sunset makes my heart swell—a feeling not tempered by those odes to Hoosierdom but enhanced by them. I hope you’ll forgive me, then, for the fact we have more than one story on the event in this issue, including a look at the economics of raising a prize pig (p. 15). My dream, on the other hand, is to win a blue ribbon in the culinary arts, the one…

When it comes to letterpress artists, Jill Broadhacker of Jilly Jack Designs is the cream of the crop. She uses a 100-year-old press and follows the original process, even optional steps such as hand-mixing custom ink colors before stamping the illustrations onto cotton paper. The resulting prints feature vivid hues that pop off the page, like her playful ice cream– themed designs ($30). Browse them on Etsy—or at her Carmel workshop for more behind-thescenes scoop. 254 1st Ave. SW, Carmel, 414-5055, jillyjackdesignsllc.com…

Megan Bailey, Fashion Mall Marketing Director WHO DESIGNED THAT TOTE? I decided to have it customized, so I came up with 300 different things that are meaningful to me, whether it was the date my parents got married or the year I was born. I have a friend—a graffiti artist—who did the base tie-dye effect and larger elements, while I wrote in the other touches. YOUR OFFICE IS AT THE FASHION MALL. WHAT STORES DO YOU BROWSE ON YOUR LUNCH BREAK? I gravitate toward Tory Burch and Free People. I can always find a one-of-a-kind piece. ANY SHOPPING ADVICE? Just buy it and then try it on at home. If you don’t like it, bring it back. I always want to see it with things I already have. ARE YOU…

Trend To hack this seller’s market, many are turning to social media—Facebook’s neighborhood and local affinity groups, in particular—to get a jump on fast-moving listings in coveted locations. That’s how Whitney Rubush sold her threebedroom, two-bathroom bungalow in Canterbury. She posted a description of the home on the Indy Midtown Swaperoo Facebook page, hoping to test the waters, and was inundated by messages from interested buyers. After the second showing, Rubush received an offer for her full asking price without ever having to list the property. Midcentury-modern gems are known to show up on the public group page Avriel Shull, Artist and Master Designer. The owners of one of Shull’s Thornhurst properties (pictured) recently used the page to advertise the home for sale and set up viewings. Realtors, too, often…

Cheers GENERALLY SPEAKING, word of a new taproom ’tis but a scratch on the surface of Central Indiana’s ever-deepening craft-beer scene. But on the bricklined streets of sleepy suburbia, news of Noble Order Brewing Company pouring its medievalthemed brews i In a spot fit for John Cleese’s Black Knight from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the Richmond, Indiana, brewer has delighted packed houses at its first-ever off -brewery outpost with a strong lineup of 18 or so standards, specialties, and seasonals. With plenty to try, a flight of 4-ounce pours ($2 per) might be a newcomer’s best bet, but visitors won’t go wrong with Furst-Blood Orange Wheat. The German-style beer is mild and a bit earthy, and finishes with a tart citrus pop. For those who like beer for…

REAL-DEAL RAMEN was clearly the culinary trend local diners were pining for, because recent att empts to fill the void have ranged from clever chefs riff -ing on curry- or jalapeño-spiked fusion versions to a new Japanese-owned noodle bar (Ramen Ray) opening to unprecedented lines. Such was our hunger for arguably the world’s most satisfying soup. The latest contender for ramen authenticity, Kizuki Ramen and Izakaya, opened a Carmel shop in April, only its second location east of the Rockies. A hit when it arrived in the Seatt le burbs in 2012 and in Portland last year, Kizuki wears a sometimes clunky corporate polish—as in American staff shouting Japanese salutations when diners enter and leave. But the chain’s meticulous, multistep approach to ramen will have aficionados ranking it among Indy’s…

IT’S THE KIND OF STORY Gary Welsh would have loved. A prominent local political blogger turns up dead in a stairwell, a gun lying next to his lifeless body. Police quickly rule his demise a suicide, ignoring evidence that the victim’s obsessive reporting and conspiracy theories had earned him powerful enemies. Several blogs link the deceased to a recent news item about Texas senator Ted Cruz’s father and his connections to Lee Harvey Oswald. Naturally, the CIA-funded mainstream media dismiss any notion of a cover-up. Had Welsh not been the person lying in that stairwell in early May, his blog Advance Indiana would have covered the death as relentlessly as it had exposed local corruption and heralded bizarre conspiracy theories since its inception in 2005. At its best, the site…

UNTIL GRANT COUNTY natives Barry and Joanie Howard opened this bona fide beerand-supper spot last year, the main reason to pull off State Road 26 into Fairmount was to place a lipstick kiss on James Dean’s grave. Still, the relative dearth of craftbrews and elevated casual eats means you may have to wait in line with eager locals who start arriving as soon as this dinner-only gastropub opens. Plenty of light wood and rustic touches make a comfy backdrop to the ambitious menu of executive chef Kevin Grider, an Ivy Tech Community College grad who worked his way up the line at Carmel’s Bridgewater Club before moving on to dress up the elegant burgers and steaks at Grains & Grill that he brands, old-school style, with the restaurant logo. Grider…

GAS CITY IS EXACTLY what it sounds like—it’s where you might pull off I-69 to get fuel on your way to Fort Wayne, or to make a final pit stop before arriving at nearby Taylor University. But just across the street from the filling station at exit 259, a towering Union Jack sign with a big, red arrow beckons passersby into a quaint British pub known as Payne’s. Yorkshire, England native Stephen Payne opened the eclectic restaurant in 2005, and its funky-cozy, stripedwall dining room has been charming patrons ever since. The food is just as comforting, with a handful of grilled cheese and soup pairings, like the buttery, crispy bacon-and-brie melt served alongside potato-and-onion soup teeming with veggies from the on-site organic garden. Traditional British dishes are served with…

IF YOU THINK the only dining options in the seat of Tippecanoe County are the fast food joints off I-65 between Indy and Chicago, or the student-centered locales near the Purdue campus, you’re in for a surprise. On a tree-lined street in downtown Lafayett e, across the Wabash River from the busy university, you’ll find Restauration, a warm, casual spot from the team behind La Scala, a popular Italian restaurant a few blocks away. Yes, the ubiquitous farm-to-table label applies, but less out of adherence to trendy expectations and more to meet family needs. Owners Kirsten and Francisco Serrano, who have a daughter with celiac disease, longed for a place where every ingredient could be accounted for and special dietary needs could be met without sacrificing flavor. That means no…

“CINCINNATI IS A BEAUTIFUL CITY; cheerful, thriving, and animated. I have not often seen a place that commends itself so favorably and pleasantly to a stranger at first glance,” declared Charles Dickens in his 1842 travelogue, American Notes. And while the Queen City has changed a bit in 174 years, it still manages to retain much of its congeniality. Nowhere is this felt more keenly than in its food stands and dining establishments— ground zero being Findlay Market (1801 Race St., 513-665-4839, findlaymarket.org) in historic Overthe-Rhine. Wandering amid the bustling outdoor stands, curious cooks will delight in heirloom produce at Madison’s, highbrow kitchen gadgets at Artichoke, Lebanese olive oils and Valbresso feta at Dean’s Mediterranean Imports, and local, on-tap kombucha from Fab Ferments available at DIRT, the market’s in-house business…

Chef’s Pick Regina Mehallick R2GO Destination Almost Home Restaurant & Swizzle Stick Bar, Greencastle “It’s all about the desserts. Peach crumble pie, blackberry pie. Great crust. I was blown away.” 17 W. Franklin St., Greencastle, 765-653-5788, almosthome restaurant.com L ONG BEFORE its June opening, The Golden had a loyal following. Att ribute that to co-owner Aaron Butt s, whose James Beard Award nomination at Roanoke’s Joseph Decuis made him a bit of a folk hero in these parts—and beyond. But this sleekly furnished, highceilinged culinary showroom with huge windows framing the town’s hip new downtown scene is no one-man show. And Butt s’s collaboration with his sommelier wife, Carmen McGee, and former Joseph Decuis sous chef Sean Richardson is the least of it. The bright exposed kitchen at the back…

DOWNTOWN INCLUDES Fletcher Place, Fountain Square, Mass Ave, Mile Square 1913 Restaurant UPSCALE COMFORT Farm-table standards get a glossy do-over at this hotel restaurant tucked just off of the polished marble lobby of the Omni Severin. The dining room, all dark lacquer and leathery browns, feels a bit stuffy, but diners easily warm up to a menu that includes a root beer–cured pork chop topped with bacon marmalade, and half a chicken roasted to a juicy, rosy hue and plated with succotash and a little pan of sweet-corn “milk” for dipping. The sides—such as macaroni-andcheese pie and sauteed brussels sprouts—get passed around the table, and vintage cocktails come courtesy of skilled mixologists. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily. 40 W. Jackson Pl., 634-6664, omnihotels.com/hotels/indianapolis sev erin/dining/1913-restaurant B’s Po Boy CAJUN Known…

BELLARMINE UNIVERSITY Explore the world. Start within. At Bellarmine University, educational success is made attainable with the help of dedicated faculty and advisors. All students are able to sign up for the courses they need to complete their majors, guaranteeing graduation within four years. Bellarmine is a consistent presence on lists of top colleges, including U.S. News & World Report, Forbes and The Princeton Review. The university is home to faculty scholars who are passionate about teaching—and you’ll get to know them well, thanks to a 12:1 student-to-faculty ratio. This world-class learning environment is centered on a growing campus just five miles from downtown Louisville, home of top corporations, small businesses and innovative non-profits. A few blocks from campus, the quirky Highlands neighborhood is a bohemian wonderland that has it…

Five years ago, seven people died and dozens were injured when a wind gust caused stage rigging to fall on an Indiana State Fair concert crowd. IM’s chronicle of the accident (“The Collapse,” August 2012) included an account from Shannon Raddin, whose leg was injured, and whose daughter Jade struggled with cognitive function from the head trauma she sustained. Now, their outlook has improved. Raddin won two Ohio state cycling championships last year, and Jade enrolled at Cincinnati’s School for Creative and Performing Arts. “I feel so thankful for the blessings,” says Raddin. “I try not to call it a ‘journey of recovery’ anymore. I call it our ‘journey back to greatness.’”…

High on the Hog At the Indiana State Fair swine show, if you want to fill your piggy bank, you need to shell out some bacon. Show Pigs MORE ANIMALS, LESS PITBULL. This year, the Fair is doubling down on its farm component, reserving the Coliseum for livestock only and jettisoning big-name concerts (though plenty of free shows abound, in case you’re into Night Ranger). The Fair is “the premier event of the summer for the show-pig industry,” says Bret Vickrey, who has run Vickrey Show Pigs in Warren for more than 15 years. And it’s getting back to its core agricultural values. THE 7,530 PIG ENTRIES ARE SPLIT INTO TWO SHOWS. That’s the Open Competition and the 4-H Show, which is geared toward the younger set. BUT WILL THEY…

THE THREAD NOW OPEN Junkyard Goddess Eco Boutique in SoBro (1051 E. 54th St.), selling its homegrown line of milk paint and upcycled antique furniture. HOT PRODUCT L.A. brand BedStu’s collection of men’s worn-leather loafers and sneakers walk out the door quickly at Nora Boutique Love Your Body (1724 E. 86th St.). COMING SOON Martha’s Vineyard–based necktie and clothing retailer Vineyard Vines opens at The Fashion Mall this month. If you spend a lot of time on the golf course—or a sailboat—this preppy, all-American shop is for you. Get the Hot List of great buys in local boutiques every Wednesday at Indianapolis Monthly.com…

THE PRICE OF THE Silca SuperPista Ultimate bike pump isn’t missing a decimal point—it really does cost $450. And the Indianapolis outfit that creates the highperformance tool—one cyclists use before every ride—is selling thousands of them. Some customers have ordered two, just to put one of the refined objects on display. Silca was started in Italy nearly a century ago. Josh Poertner bought the company in 2013, moved production to Indy, and upgraded its signature bike pump. The former technical director for Zipp Speed Weaponry, a local manufacturer of high-end bike wheels, Poertner had built his career on convincing athletes of the benefits of impeccably designed products. “Our strength is finding those litt le details that no one else is looking for because they think the current products are good…

Flavor of the Month The first thing you should know about ground cherries, also referred to as husk cherries, is that they aren’t cherries at all. A member of the tomatillo family, they’re tart and sweet when eaten raw straight from the husk, and develop a rich, caramel-like flavor when baked into pies, cobblers, or jams. Legend has it that the “ground” prefix developed because they fall to the ground from the bush when they’re ripe and ready to eat. Local chefs hold this unique fruit in high regard come summer, the only time of the year they can source them. At Tinker Street, ground cherries have garnished the housemade paw paw ice cream and appeared in preserved form as a sour pickle. Public Greens uses them in heavy rotation,…

GOOD STORIES HAVE HOOKS, SOMETHING THAT GRABS A READER OR AUDIENCE AND PULLS THEM THROUGH. WHAT HOOKED YOU ON DOING ATTUCKS: THE SCHOOL THAT OPENED A CITY? When I started this project in 2005, I was with The Indianapolis Star and wanted to do a big project on the 50th anniversary of the 1955 basketball team—the first all-black team to win a state championship. I went over to the Att ucks museum and met with the curator, a man named Dr. Gilbert Taylor, a graduate of 1955. He couldn’t have been nicer or more helpful, but he made it extremely clear to me that there was a lot more to this school than basketball. I mean, extremely clear. Not long after that, we held a town hall meeting as part…

DROP INTO THIS sleek brewery in a former VFW post on the banks of the St. Joe River in South Bend, and you will likely hear a question you might not expect in the home of Touchdown Jesus: “Would you like to see the vegan menu?” But the unexpected is exactly what owners Sean Meehan and Andy Walton have been brewing up since they purchased the historic building in early 2013. Their funky beer list ranges from the Wampus Monster Double IPA highlighting hints of gooseberry and lychee to the coff ee-toned Peggy Lee Brown Porter. And while you can pair these pours with such fresh, healthconscious dishes as cashew pad Thai, a couscous-and-tofu salad with cherries, and the “Vurger” concocted from sticky rice and edamame, there are plenty of…

EXPOSED-BRICK WALLS and an original vaulted tin ceiling lend an urban feel to this tiny Northern Indiana restaurant. Co-owner and executive chef Kelly Jae Graff dishes out trendy plates to match, from wickedly fluffy corn-and-crab beignets to smoldering yellowfin tuna atop a wasabi-cream seaweed salad. The self-taught Graff seems to find inspiration from every great culinary region, creating a diverse menu where Asian spring rolls and lamb meatballs share the table in the tapas-style setup. A melt-in-your-mouth, 9-ounce filet perched atop crisp shiitake mushrooms and smothered in truffle butter masquerades as a dish you’re only supposed to nibble, and the crisp Korean-fried Brussels sprouts and cauliflower are nearly the size of your head. You will want to try them all, and you should. Just unbutton the top of your jeans…

PANGEA KITCHEN is meant to function as a (very, very) litt le Eataly, Mario Batali’s indoor culinary market. Customers line up for counter service, watch as their Pinot is poured, then claim a table and wait for servers to bring their orders. Owner Randy Hobson spent 25 years wining and dining clients around the globe for Evansville’s Berry Plastics—and became a world-class foodie along the way. He convinced a pizzaiolo he spott ed on LinkedIn to relocate from Dallas to Evansville. Then he found a local pastry chef willing to study gelatomaking. And when he met Wanphen McDonald, a Thai woman living nearby with two culinary degrees, he couldn’t resist giving her a section of the counter and a rotisserie. Now you understand how Pangea came about its curious model:…

INSIDE A RESTORED 1870s Greek Revival Italianate building on the edge of downtown Bloomington, Topo’s 403 looks like a posh townhouse full of floor-to-ceiling silk drapes, striking Art Deco accents, and splashes of blue. This lavish ambience sets the scene for the upscale Mediterranean menu prepared by chef Doug Petersen. The former toque of Bloomington favorite Grazie Italiano was brought on last year for his skills with seafood—and he shows them off in plates like the grilled octopus, a tangle of tentacles sizzled in olive oil and dressed in a simple white wine–lemon sauce, and in the beloved shrimp and feta, the tangy, whipped spread dotted with pepperoncini that pack just enough kick. The kitchen also pays tribute to the classic dishes that owner Stephanie Topolgus grew up with, like…

These highlights from IM’s October 2013 Destination Dining story have kept deliciously. Here’s what we said then. Seviche, a Latin Restaurant Louisville, Kentucky “Think empanadas filled with Kentucky bison; a 24-hour pork belly served with local greens and sorghum.” 1538 Bardstown Rd., Louisville, Kentucky, 502-473-8560, sevicherestaurant.com Crystal and Jules Madison “Costa Rican New York strip steak bathes in a kicky marinade for three days.” 709 W. Main St., Madison, 812-274-1077, crystalandjules.com TW Fable Bluff ton “Towering, meaty crab cakes with chile-lime aioli alone may justify the mileage.” 2330 E. 250 N, Bluff ton, 260-353-1360, twfable.com Valley Valparaiso “Young servers dressed in jeans and country plaids bring out appetizer plates of tiny black-bean hummus tacos.” 55 Franklin St., Valparaiso, 219-531-8888, eatvalley.com Octave Grill Chesterton “This shrine to sandwiches is breaking new…

Gen Con will be held at the Indiana Convention Center August 4 to 7.…

FEW EXPERIENCES are more cringeworthy than watching old people make fools of themselves. Now that I am on the other side of young, I have learned this phenomenon is more difficult to avoid than one might imagine. Just because you feel youthful doesn’t mean you look that way, especially to those who are. Let’s start with language. It is not okay to imitate teenagers, even if you have googled today’s cool words and expressions. By doing so myself, I have learned, for example, that PAP means “post a picture,” and TBR is “to be rude.” Including these abbreviations in a text makes you appear to be trying too hard—like laughing at a joke you don’t understand. I may now know that “dope” means good, not stupid, and that “deadass” means…

Terry Kirts Growing up in a farm town of 300 people, contributing editor Terry Kirts got used to traveling an hour or more to his family’s favorite diners in western Indiana. So he wasn’t daunted by the miles he logged hunting down culinary gems for “Forks in the Road” (p. 59). “There seems to be no shortage of quality food around the state,” he says. “And you get a slice of Indiana history along the way.” Julia Spalding In sixth grade, dining editor Julia Spalding was the tallest girl in class, so it just made sense to play basketball. “I didn’t make a basket all year,” she recalls. The next time she found herself on the court, it was with Fever star Tamika Catchings (“Last Shot,” p. 72). “She plays…

If you tried every dish, you’d consume seven pounds of food. That’s too much. Balance proteins and veggies. On this day only, it’s okay to eat a brownie before a Kobe burger. Must-visit: Gunthorp Farms and Joseph Decuis. For shade: the Historic Pumphouse. For scenery: the terraced steps overlooking White River. Hold onto your fork unless you’re okay with a giant carbon footprint. Water can be hard to come by. Buy an extra bottle. This is hands-free territory. No clutch purses. Instagrammers, clean your camera-phone lenses.…

HOPELESS BUT OPTIMISTIC BY DOUGLAS A. WISSING One of the state’s most intrepid combat reporters, Wissing went to Afghanistan for a third time in 2013, expecting to watch the war wind down. Instead, he found a place still rife with conflict. In this follow-up to his 2012 book Funding the Enemy, the Bloomingtonian gives readers a view of both the perils and the many examples of money being wasted in a country where even something as seemingly benign as digging wells has devastating consequences. RISE THE DARK BY MICHAEL KORYTA A man is searching for his wife’s killer in Florida, a woman has been kidnapped in Montana, and domestic terrorists are threatening the western U.S. power grid. Over the course of this fast-moving thriller, those crimes intersect in what promises…

ENDEAVOR 846 S. Rangeline Rd., Carmel, 993-3112 DON’T MISS Monthly Ladies’ Night shopping events with hors d’oeuvres, drinks, discounts, and guest vendors. GLITZY CHANDELIERS, a plankwood accent wall, and industrialpipe clothing racks—Endeavor fits right in with the high-end women’s boutiques at Carmel City Center. Then you start flipping over the price tags—$15 … $24 … $76— that’s right, nothing at the luxe shopping plaza’s latest store costs over $100. Along with being budget friendly, Melissa Butrum’s shop inside the Nash building is plus-size friendly. Ladies who wear XL to 3XL can sift through the same floral maxi dresses and tunic-style frocks with crochet accents as shoppers in the XS to L range. Though Endeavor is teeming with casual styles, like slouchy tanks and off -the-shoulder tops, you can also pull…

WANT TO BUY IT? ADDRESS 290 Breakwater Dr., Fishers LIST PRICE $2,499,999 FOR SALE BY OWNER Laura Troiano, 590-0865 A $2.5 MILLION HOUSE BUDGET must carry an extravagant checklist, with “originality” right at the top. One lavish mansion ticks that box in exotic fashion. Double-decker arches frame the great room, covered with an intricate, handpainted seven-color mosaic replicating a Moroccan design. The adjacent dining room feels equally bold with antiqued-glass mirrors, chartreuse walls, and upholstered built-in china cabinets. Upstairs in a den, wide stripes of red, orange, and fuschia on the walls and sloped ceiling make the room feel tented, just as owner Laura Troiano envisioned. A daybed is built into the corner, and the door features a carved-wood inset. The next occupants should have to walk across hot sand…

Loin King There’s nothing delicate about eating a breaded tenderloin, a sandwich so proportionately out of whack that it makes no sense as a hand-held meal. This version at Greenfield farm-to-curb restaurant The Mug (with an Irvington location coming soon) features pork raised locally at Tyner Pond Farm, hand-sliced, tenderized, breaded in a flour-based buttermilk coating, and fried in a house oil that incorporates lard, the secret weapon for its impressive crispiness. Order it “Mug Style” with crunchy local cabbage and house-pickled jalapeños, then eat like nobody’s looking.…

WHENEVER I ASK Hoosiers what they like about this state, they often say they enjoy living in a place that has four seasons. I’m growing less fond of Indiana winters, but I do love spring, summer, and fall. Spring for the flowers, fall for the colors, and summer for the Indiana State Fair, which might be the best thing conceived by mortals. I’ve att ended every year since I turned 16 and got my driver’s license. I even worked there one summer, selling milkshakes and grilled cheese sandwiches at the Dairy Barn next to the grandstand. Prior to that, I was lactoseintolerant. But I drank so many milkshakes, I was healed of that affliction, in the same way a man who regularly jumps in a lake eventually overcomes his fear…

FROM THE OUTSIDE, Brooklyn and the Butcher looks like any other historic brick building. But walk through the entrance, and this new restaurant in an old hotel is all urban luxe. First stop: a check-in desk held over from the hotel days, complete with the original wooden mailbox divider on the wall. The host grabs the key assigned to your table and walks you to a dining space that glows with white marble and high-back booths of soft, gray leather. Chef Robert Temple oversees a menu designed for meat lovers who want a more relaxed version of an old-school steakhouse, so consider starting with Korean barbecue baby back ribs, prepared with kimchi and apricot-basil vinegar, a house favorite. Pair it with the warm ricott a and toasted crostini, and you…

IF A FARM-TO-FORK restaurant named for a Potawatomi harvest rite and owned by a family that operates its own 50-acre bison ranch isn’t enough for you to make the drive up U.S. 31 to Mishawaka, then the restaurant’s signature dish might get you to gas up the car. Corndance Tavern’s playfully carnivorous Sword of John Adams—an actual blade—displays a panoply of grilled meats: steak, chicken, sausages, prawns, depending on the day. The presentation arrives on an outsized wooden stand loaded with steakhouse sides. Owners George and Tammy Pesek use plenty of their own bison in appetizers, burgers, and a delectable meatloaf with a bourbon cream sauce. Other local meats and produce abound on a menu peppered with just enough daring dishes (buttermilk-fried alligator, Peruvian ham hock) to draw in foodies.…

SUNBURNT PATRONS, damp swimsuits, sandy floors, and— seared Indiana duck breast atop potato pancakes and sauteed kale, finished with spiced duck au jus and roasted applecranberry chutney? Bartlett’s Gourmet Grill & Tavern may look humble, perpetually crowded with tourists and locals gritty from their day on the shores of Lake Michigan. But the surprisingly elegant dishes are anything but. Grilled cheese gets dressed up with heirloom tomatoes, avocado, and smoked local bacon. Crisp pork belly and pickled mustard seeds top the deviled eggs. And andouille-sausage corndogs feature spicy-sweet links fried in creamy corn batter, accompanied by a honey mustard–and–ale dipping sauce. Wash it down with one of the regional craft beers on offer. If you prefer a good, old-fashioned burger after a day on the beach, no worries. Bartlett’s also…

SOMETIMES, WHEN EATING at a small-town restaurant with a big-city bill of fare, you can forget that you are surrounded by farmland and Americana. That is not the case at Broadway House Bistro—especially if the host seats you on the glassed-in front porch with a sweeping view of the Gibson County seat’s main drag. Chef Brynn Blankenberger grew up here. When she moved back home in 2012, after att ending culinary school in Louisville and working front-of-the-house jobs there and in Cincinnati, she lucked into a prime location (a former lighting showroom) for her dream restaurant. “I wanted to keep it homey but more upscale,” says the chef, whose repertoire ranges from an 8-ounce steak frites slathered in garlic butter, to a bacon-wrapped pork loin with mango chutney and cream-cheese…

IT’S ONE THING to open an Indonesian restaurant in a small town. It’s another to succeed. Mayasari Indonesian Grill’s staying power in Greensburg—it opened four years ago with namesake owner Maya Eff endi, a native of the Southeast Asian archipelago and a Purdue grad, in the kitchen—speaks volumes about the quality of the food and the warmth of the experience. Eff endi’s husband, Rick Mays, and their daughters preside over the homey dining room while she sends out big plates of noodle dishes, curries, and satays. Spices, sauces, and an affinity for ground meat distinguish the region’s canon from more familiar Asian cuisines. Get your first taste from the mango tea (chunks of the fruit sink to the bott om) and an appetizer sampler that includes rissole, a fried hunk…

THERE IS NO DENYING HAMILTON COUNTY is an enviable place to live. It has the best of both worlds, offering the size and space of suburban homes, the convenience of bustling city centers, and the freedom of rural towns. Here, you’ll find a trove of opportunities to live, learn, and play in the communities that sit just north of Indianapolis. Hamilton County is home to growing, thriving neighborhoods. Its population of 310,000 has been rising steadily, up nearly 13 percent since 2010. Each city or town has its own special character, with residents and visitors alike enjoying everything the county has to offer, from an open-air Symphony on the Prairie in Fishers to an impromptu shopping spree to quaffing a cold one at a local brewery. LIVING HERE. F.C. TUCKER…

IN 1970, AMERICAN WOMEN WORKING IN SCIENCE, TECH, ENGINEERING, AND MATH—OR STEM FOR SHORT—WERE RARE. They made up only seven percent of people employed in those fields. Over the next two decades that number steadily increased, reaching 23 percent by 1990, but then the growth stalled. In 2011, women represented only 26 percent of those working in STEM. Although females account for over half of the workforce nationwide and earn more undergraduate and graduate degrees than their male counterparts, men continue to dominate the classrooms and fields of science, technology, engineering, and math. It’s a complicated problem with nuanced facets, and it doesn’t have a simple solution. But there are universities working hard to change the way women are perceived in STEM. ACCORDING TO JENNIFER GROH, PH.D., associate director of…