Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2015 i Indianapolis Monthly

BUZZWORTHY Crossfire The February cover story on firearms (“Under the Gun”) triggered a lot of commentary, not all of it friendly. “Thank you for publishing ‘Under the Gun.’ Very brave considering your audience, but that audience needs to read this.” Aaron Pierce (@amp3188), via Twitter “Extraordinary coverage of violence. Although I’m puzzled by features of wealthy white gun owners vs. drugs, economic disparity as a larger issue.” Jeremy Hatch (@naptownjeremy), via Twitter “I’ve read several of the articles in ‘Under the Gun.’ Very biased and borderline straight out lies.” Jeremy Watkins, via Facebook “This is an attack on our right to bear arms. I always liked your magazine, but I will never buy another issue.” Jay Ruch, via email THE IM POLL WE ASKED READERS ... HOW WOULD YOU RATE INDIANA’S GUN…

BIG CITY FARMS WHERE Two sites—one next to Midland Arts & Antiques downtown, the other near 52nd Street and Michigan Road. ROOTS Big City supplies Bluebeard, Milktooth, Recess, Napolese, R Bistro, and Wildwood Market. CSA 22-week program, June through October, $575. FARM STAND Saturdays, 10 a.m.–noon, starting in May at the downtown location. PICKS Greens, root vegetables, cucumbers, squash, and beans. INFO bigcityfarmsindy.com CENTER FOR URBAN ECOLOGY (CUE) FARM AT BUTLER UNIVERSITY WHERE Near the Butler athletic fields— go west on 52nd Street behind the campus and look for signs. ROOTS Student interns and volunteers tend a sub-acre plot that produces an assortment of vegetables. CSA Yes, but people have been on the waiting list for several years. FARM STAND Thursdays, 4–6 p.m., starting in June. PICKS Cut flowers, sweet…

Some visitors to downtown men’s store Righno pop by just to pet London, the resident French bulldog, who has a bed behind the counter. But Righno’s edgy goods compete for their attention. Owner Corey Bee started as an online retailer in 2012 and last fall opened his small shop—the newest in a surge of menswear boutiques across the city—as the first tenant in a revived retail strip at 11th Street and College Avenue. (R2GO, a food-market offshoot of R Bistro, has also staked out a spot there.) Like its brethren, Righno sports a minimalist DIY interior. But the goods have a younger, brasher edge. Among the casual wear and sporty-sleek shoes that aren’t the same-old, there’s a T-shirt covered in mugshots, a Unicorn Puke candle, and skivvies made with actual…

I RECENTLY TOOK a test on Facebook to find out what my vocation should be, and was informed I should be a writer or spiritual leader. It was nice having my careers confirmed, but I wish I had taken the test when I was 18 and fretting about what to do. The test asked me what my favorite book was, and I picked the Bible. I think that’s why it said I should be a spiritual leader. The Bible isn’t really my favorite book, but it was one of only four choices, and I hadn’t read the other three. I suspect a lot of people say the Bible is their favorite book because it makes them sound virtuous. If, in 1938, we had asked the Germans what their favorite book…

Fans of restaurateur Craig Baker long expected his second Indianapolis effort to be the Monon Trail’s Bent Rail Brewery. But nine months before Bent Rail debuted, Baker surprised local foodies last spring by quietly reviving the ground floor of downtown’s historic Ambassador Building with Plow & Anchor. Baker’s crew stripped the dark shading off the windows and truncated the bar to make this a light and airy place with just enough hand-me-down furniture and repurposed wood to be on trend. It hasn’t been quiet since. Convincing departed Bluebeard chef John Adams to return from his stint in Louisville was the year’s staffing coup. While Adams has moved on to host supper clubs, his imprint is seen in an uncompromisingly seasonal menu with maritime influences and international accents, from South America…

As a more-casual addendum to SoBro’s pan-American stunner Delicia, La Mulita packs a lot of moxie into its laminated-card menu of bar snacks and sharable baskets (all garnished with tufts of cilantro and slivered radishes). Nibbles like chimichurri sliders, chicken mole tamales, and fully loaded steak-and-egg chilaquiles bring to mind the freshest portable fare from a south-ofthe-border street vendor, with a chef ’s refined inspiration—like the bacon-wrapped Mexicano Dog, which wears pico de gallo, guacamole, chipotle mayo, and caramelized onion. La Mulita’s owners imagined this open room, walled in corrugated metal and concrete block, as the working-class model of exotic bar fare, the kind of place you might visit after working in the yard all day. Climb onto a red-vinyl stool at the bar and have some fish tacos and…

Any of the sweet-natured, knit-capped staffers at this tiny alley-side joint will take a deep breath and explain that Ezra’s serves a dairy-free, processed sugar–free, GMO-free, gluten-free, organic, local, raw, “bee-gan” menu. That’s a lot of qualifiers, but the Broad Ripple newcomer proves that clean eating and good eating can share the same plate. The open kitchen bustles with whirring juicers and workers who, when not sharing herbal remedies, are elbow-deep in bowls of kale, massaging the greens with organic local honey— or slicing up portions of deceptively tart Key lime pie. Owner Audrey Barron is pioneering new territory in Indy, boldly adding the newest and healthiest ingredients—like fermented veggies and bee pollen—to her dishes without sacrificing flavor. Her recipe for Basil Alfredo Pasta with “meat balls” tastes as robust…

After a handful of delays, we wondered if Martha Hoover’s charmer would ever come to fruition. Then again, we know better than to doubt Hoover, queen of the Patachou empire and trailblazer of Indy’s locally sourced dining movement. Like everything else she’s opened around town (Cafe Patachou, Napolese, and Petite Chou), Public Greens is a runaway success— just take a look at the winding line and jam-packed tables next time you’re jogging past on the Monon. From its mission to give all profits back to the Patachou Foundation (which provides meals to underprivileged children in the IPS system) to the playful seasonal menu—dare we say it?—Public Greens might even be Hoover’s most evolved concept to date. The restaurant’s window-fringed dining room highlights slate-black tables, bench seating, wooden stools, and blown-up…

Wylie Truck Wyliepalooza Ice Cream Emporium brings a touch of whimsy to the summertime tradition of running out to the curb with a handful of change. This refurbished Snap-On truck delivers bubble teas and its extra creamy “super premium” ice cream (in flavors such as Fat Elvis and Zanzibar Chocolate) to festivals and special events like downtown’s Georgia Street clustertruck evenings. 537-2100, wyliepalooza.com Mile Square Coffee Roastery Hot, pour-over coffee is worth the wait, especially when the chatty barista working the window at this Indy-themed truck helps pass the time by giving the spiel on this local smallbatch, specialty coffee roaster. Even better, pastries are selected to pair with the daily pour’s flavor profile. 296-8181, milesquarecoffee.com Brozinni Mobile Pizzeria Fans of this flashy food truck’s home base, a southside restaurant…

By any measure, Oliver Luck is the likeable poster boy for the positive opportunities offered by college athletics. He starred at West Virginia University as a quarterback, and though Luck played in the NFL, his football career remains a blip on a resume that includes a law degree, time spent as an executive in two professional sporting leagues, a run at Congress, and, most recently, a stint as a trustee and an athletic director. Perhaps not coincidentally, Luck’s arrival in Indianapolis for a high-profile position with the NCAA comes at a time when the very definition of the ideals that defined him—student-athlete—is in flux, and the mere mention of his employer prompts cynicism. Luck, father of Colts star Andrew, seems like a breath of fresh air after years of lawsuits…

most people are familiar with the stereotypical facelift, where the patient goes in with a tired appearance and comes out looking shocked. These traditional procedures relied on lifting and redraping the skin, leaving the patient with wide eyes, a fixed smile and cheeks that barely moved. Local cosmetic surgeons know the look—it’s one that frightens potential patients. “So many people come in and say to me, ‘I don’t want to look like [insert celebrity name here],” says Michael Sadove, M.D., a partner at Meridian Plastic Surgeons and former professor of surgery at the Indiana University School of Medicine. Fear not. Cosmetic-surgery techniques continue to evolve, giving peopleof-a-certain-age new options for battling the signs of time. Surgical procedures are more refined and individual, with subtle modifications preferred over major overhauls. If…

ON MY HUSBAND’S BIRTHDAY, we ate at Milktooth for the first time. I say “the first time” because all it took was one meal at the garage-turned-diner for us to add it to our rotation of favorite brunch spots. Crunchy, sweet tea–glazed chicken nestled up with a biscuit and gravy that did my Southern soul good. Ham and melted Gruyere atop a fluffy cornmeal pancake. Sweet-potato doughnuts, nuggets of sugary goodness that momentarily caused my heart to stop—then rejoice. It’s no wonder that IM’s dining editors chose the recent Fletcher Place arrival as one of this year’s best new restaurants (p. 62). Starting any business is tough, but a dining venture seems extra tricky—a portion of your product gets dumped onto the scrap heap at the end of each night.…

SPEED READ Roaming models. Daily runway shows. Classy hats. All of L.S. Ayres’s nostalgic touchstones are represented in the Indiana History Center’s latest attraction, You Are There: That Ayres Look. Here’s why the show, open now, feels so pulled together. 1 You Are There installations use how-is-that-possible technology to immerse visitors in a specific moment in time. To enter the exhibit, guests walk through a vintage photograph that appears to hang in midair. (It’s a nifty trick: The image is projected onto microscopic drops of water.) For this version, beyond the misty “fog screen” sits a space featuring display cases full of Ayres outfits from 1959 (part of a long-running ad campaign called “That Ayres Look”) and much more. 2 That Ayres Look is the 11th You Are There exhibit…

Old stuff , new ropes. You like sunshine, but vendors hate rain, so indoor markets tend to attract more sellers than al fresco ones. The popular Indie Arts & Vintage Marketplace holds its last indoor event of the winter season April 19 at the Ritz Charles in Carmel. / For the best selection, arrive at opening time. / But if you’re looking for a rock-bottom price, stay until close. / Bargain; don’t insult. / Walk counterclockwise through the market. Most people do the opposite. / BYO tape measure. And a bag. / You’ll want wheels—preferably a market cart, but a wagon will work. / Chat with vendors. They may not have what you want but know who does. / The snack: Slider Station food truck. / That space blocked off…

MY LOOK When yoga instructor Tiffany Muñoz tired of her workout wardrobe, she created a line of tops called DharmaTees. Sold at The Yoga Studio locations, the designs are meant to breathe some positivity into the world. WHAT’S YOUR TANK’S PHRASE “RAISE YOUR VIBRATION” MEAN? It means raise your connection to yourself and those around you. In yoga, “om” is believed to be the sound of the universe—a mantra or a vibration. By chanting it, we are symbolically and physically turning into that sound and acknowledging our connection to the universe and all living beings. HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE NAME DHARMATEES? “Dharma” means purpose, so for me it’s about trying to find my own purpose. I finally found it with this line of tops. A lot of…

MUSIC 4/10–11 ALL BEETHOVEN The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra brings home the Beethoven at Hilbert Circle Theatre with an evening dedicated to the classical giant. Visiting pianist Alice Sara Ott (pictured) will solo. indianapolissymphony.org 4/17 NEIL DIAMOND One of the most popular singer-song-writers of ... well, ever will visit Bankers Life Fieldhouse. livenation.com 4/18 RECORD STORE DAY It’s the Hi-Fi holiday of the year, so make some room in your vinyl collection for a few new local releases. Indy CD & Vinyl, Luna Music, and others will host a day of live music and beer. recordstoreday.com 4/18 CHICK COREA AND HERBIE HANCOCK Chick and Herbie have been tickling the ivories and redefining jazz for the last 50 years—with 34 Grammys to show for it. The two will perform together at the…

A FEW DOZEN NEIGHBORS gathered at the Bethlehem Lutheran Church on 52nd Street one night this winter, and though the Good Book might discourage it, they were there to throw stones. In a well-worn lounge, a series of petitioners pitched the Meridian-Kessler Land Use Committee on their various projects. A representative of Napolese pizzeria requested the committee’s blessing for a three-way liquor license, currently prohibited in that area (approved). The owner of Fine Estate Rugs pleaded his case for a retail shop in the old library building at 42nd Street and Broadway Avenue (still under discussion). But the evening’s main event was a remodeling project by Litz & Eaton Investments, the most successful of a group of builders that have been reshaping the historic neighborhood in recent years. Co-owner Brad…

Get It to Go: This handy pull-out list (plus food porn!) lets you track the year’s Best New Restaurants. With such a varied and promising crop of new restaurants, a few once-omnipresent trends have been swept away like the crumbs of so many red-velvet cupcakes. Meanwhile, tasty new food groups—from kimchi to rib jam—have made their way to the plate. As we bid a fond farewell to yesterday’s specials (bacon, it’s been fun), we welcome just as many ingenious new ideas. » OUT « Bacon for Bacon’s Sake Don’t call it dead, but bacon has recently had to prove itself a team player in dishes such as a breakfast-inspired apple salad or a pork-belly taco with greens, onion, and garlic at Thunderbird. The Garden Table’s BMT sandwich doesn’t even come…

BEST NEW RESTAURANTS AT A GLANCE Ezra’s Enlightened Cafe 6516 Ferguson St., 255-3972, ezrasenlightenedcafe.com The Garden Table 908 E. Westfield Blvd., 737-2531, thegardentable.com Georgia Reese’s 3454 W. 86th St., 876-3454, georgiareeses.com La Mulita 5215 N. College Ave., 925-0677, lamulitaindy.com Milktooth 534 Virginia Ave., 986-5131, milktoothindy.com The North End 1250 E. 86th St., 614-7427, thenorthendbbq.com Plow & Anchor 43 E. 9th St., 964-0538, plowandanchor.com Public Greens 900 E. 64th St., 964-0865, publicgreensurbankitchen.com Revery 299 W. Main St., Greenwood, 215-4164, reverygreenwood.com Salty Cowboy 55 E. Oak St., Zionsville, 344-0926, saltycowboytequileria.com Spoke & Steele 123 S. Illinois St., 737-1616, spokeandsteele.com Thunderbird 1127 Shelby St., 974-9580, thunderbirdindy.com Tinker Street 402 E. 16th St., 925-5000, tinkerstreetindy.com Tropicalisimo 7862 Michigan Rd., 672-3549 Union 50 620 N. East St., 610-0234, union-50.com…

With its soaring side entry and modern union-hall aesthetic, Union 50 has become the coolest place to eat (and be seen eating) in town. The sturdy, cinderblock Trowel Trades building on East Street lays the foundation for the chef ’s polished blue-collar menu of ribsticking fare. There’s the expected poutine varieties, including a chilaquiles take strewn with brisket, crema, and hunks of avocado, but the simple hand-cut fries cooked up in various styles, ranging from duck fat–and-rosemary to Manchego-and-bacon, stand out. Fall-off-thebone chicken wings basted in sesame-soy glaze are another must-order, as are the tender slabs of kimchi-infused meatloaf swiped with tangy Thai ketchup, a spicy-sweet spin on Mom’s traditional version. The seared duck breast’s rich, smoky overtones play up a bed of sweet-potato hash and tangy jalapeño-blackberry marmalade, typical…

A lot has changed in the decade since Peter George left the restaurant business. A generation of innovative chefs and restaurateurs (many of whom got their start in one of George’s enterprises) helped refine a culinary scene that the godfather of chef-driven restaurants once dominated with his trio of eateries (Peter’s, Chops, Bistro 936). But this year, the savvy entrepreneur staged a comeback, partnering with former Puccini’s Smiling Teeth co-owner Tom Main to open a vegetarian-friendly fusion spot in the relative food desert of Herron-Morton, creating a vibe as fun-loving as it is fine-tuned. The mere 36 main dining room seats almost guarantee you will share elbow space with a stranger—or perhaps Main or George themselves, squeezing in to help you navigate Braedon Kellner’s evolving menu of global small plates.…

A sleek, street-level restaurant was part of the big reveal when boutique hotel Le Meridien opened in the luxurious digs formerly occupied by downtown’s historic Canterbury Hotel. The decor, subdued yet striking, features muted earth tones dramatically lit. The menu is playful in a post-molecular way, pairing fried anchovies with shishitos, boldly serving pork-belly corndogs with gourmet dipping sauces, and placing seared crispy bass atop charred-corn pudding and Brussels-sprout leaves. Chef Tyson Peterson put his focus on “authentic food and drink sourced and influenced from the best of Indiana’s craft vendors and purveyors,” an idea as intoxicating as the cocktail list, which includes barrel-aged picks straight from the cask and a manly concoction of coffee-infused rum, Pisa liqueur, and Xocolatl mole bitters called Bugattis Road Kill. 123 S. Illinois St.,…

Has Indy’s dining scene outgrown its borders such that duck-fat hash browns and foie gras with apricot salt have arrived in Greenwood? Thankfully, yes. At Revery, the well-traveled, Michelin-starred duo of Mark Heinrichs and Danny Salgado—who met at Chicago’s The Signature Room and later landed executive-chef jobs at Mesh on Mass—are putting their fearless spin on culinary-school classics with comforting appeal: cured and smoked pigs’ tails fried and doused in General Tso’s sauce, soft-boiled eggs crisped in a panko crust atop a Caesar salad. That their first collaboration—an exposed-brick and barn-wood–clad shrine to all things au courant in restaurant fashion—is packed most nights testifies to southside sophisticates who can recognize a good thing and are happy downing lamb-neck Bolognese and veal meatloaf by the plateful. Even local epicureans who rarely…

Tucked into a strip mall off of 86th Street and Michigan Road, Georgia Reese’s doesn’t pretend it’s pushing the envelope. Former Colts linebacker and owner Gary Brackett and chef Bridget Brown instead simply focus on what they know best: soul food that families can relish around the dinner table. The menu emphasizes traditional comfort fare with a playful Southern twang, like a shareable plate of rib tips basted in a tangy orange–Coca Cola sauce. Sandwich options range from Cajun-style po’ boys to the Big 58 (a nod to Brackett’s jersey number), a beef patty with bacon, pimiento cheese, spicy mayo, lettuce, tomato, and an over-easy egg. Well-charred St. Louis–style ribs and a bone-in pork chop swiped with peach-barbecue glaze stand as safe bets, but don’t be afraid to try riskier…

A VETERAN’S ADVICE Ed Rudisell Restaurateur with ownership in Siam Square, Black Market, Rook, and Thunderbird What traits do you look for in a potential employee? 1. Personality “It doesn’t matter how knowledgeable or skilled someone is. If I have to prompt them to give more than one-word answers in an interview, I’m pretty sure it’s not a good fi t.” 2. Smiles “I can train people to taste wine or describe our food, but I can’t train someone to be friendly, as hard as I try.” 3. Passion “We look for people who are curious about the job and who are always wanting to learn.” 4. Humility “I want the people who work with me to be willing to admit what they don’t know. If someone on the waitstaff…

FOODIE INDY’S MOST AUTHORITATIVE RESTAURANT GUIDE THIS SUMMER, Plainfield’s Chateau Thomas Winery will again host its Friday-night Music on the Veranda outdoor concert series—a favorite food-and-drink event for the lawn-chair crowd. But if you walk into the winery itself, there’s a good chance “the doctor” will be in. Sitting in his cluttered office—its walls festooned with awards, family photos, and a sign reading “Master of the Bordeaux”—Dr. Charles Thomas explains that the secret to a long life is wine. For him, it all started in the early 1970s, when Thomas—at the time a practicing obstetrician and gynecologist—found himself increasingly infatuated with wine. “At first, I was just making homemade wine in my basement,” he says. “But then I became interested in all aspects of wine, such as how it is…

INCLUDES Chatham Arch, 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 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 as big as a catcher’s mitt, topped with sweet bacon marmalade; and half a chicken roasted to a juicy, rosy hue and plated with succotash and a little tin pan of sweet corn “milk” for dipping. The sides—such as macaroni-and-cheese 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.,…

INCLUDES Broad Ripple, Castleton, Fortville, Geist, Keystone at the Crossing, Meridian-Kessler, Nora, SoBro 10-01 Food & Drink MODERN COMFORT Opened in the summer of 2011, this stylish Broad Ripple restaurant renovation with a spacious patio promised “Midwestern comfort food with a culinary twist” and delivers with winners like a superlative scallop appetizer, a succulent steak sandwich, and perhaps the moistest, most flavorful fried chicken in town. Lunch and dinner Tues.–Sun., brunch Sun. 1001 Broad Ripple Ave., 253-1001. 317 Burger BURGERS The four-cheese–gilded 317 and a big, gloppy monster topped with grilled pineapple, jalapeño, bacon, Swiss, and barbecue sauce called None the Wiser headline the red-meat options at this casually streamlined Broad Ripple spot that features an attached bar largely intact since the address’s former Ambrosia days. The DIY options abound,…

INCLUDES Franklin, Greenwood, Homecroft, Mooresville, Southport Augustino’s ITALIAN Old World ambience makes guests feel at home in this respected southside establishment that turns out dishes like a hearty lasagna carni and a heartwarmingly traditional rendition of spaghetti and meatballs. Lunch Mon.–Fri., dinner Mon.–Sat. 8028 S. Emerson Ave., 865-1099. The Blind Pig PIZZA Located in the heart of old Greenwood, this (very) relaxed pizza joint draws a dedicated clientele of regulars for live music and nightly beer-quaffing. The menu offers all of the predictable sandwiches and a host of fried appetizers, but the main attraction here is a panstyle pie topped with gobs of cheese. A flaky, buttery crust with a crispy edge of charred cheese around the perimeter puts this pizza a slice above typical bar fare. Breakfast, lunch, and…

INCLUDES Brownsburg, Plainfield, Speedway Al Basha MIDDLE EASTERN See North Suburban listing for description. 910 W. 10th St., 672-7695. Barbecue and Bourbon on Main BARBECUE Slow-smoked meats and plenty of good Kentucky whiskey feel at home in the honky-tonk environs of this fun-loving haunt in downtown Speedway (yes, there is such a place). Launched by the owner of a Memphis-style catering business, the colorful joint focuses on spice-rubbed pork ribs, brisket, and pulled meats that arrive at the table sauceless. (Squirt bottles of housemade liquid fire allow for DIY seasoning.) Sides are mostly starchy and clearly made from scratch. Don’t miss the fried cabbage loaded with bits of pork. Lunch and dinner Mon.–Sat. 1414 Main St., Speedway, 241-6940. Black Swan Brewpub GASTROPUB Brewer D.J. McCallister’s handcrafted IPAs, stouts, and seasonal…

MICHAEL RUBINO For our November issue, senior editor Michael Rubino sat down with Colts superstar Andrew Luck. This month, he interviewed Luck’s father, Oliver—a big shot in his own right (“The Old College Try,” p. 78). The former West Virginia athletic director and onetime NFL player recently was named the NCAA’s No. 2 man. “I think it’s safe to say that Andrew’s the better quarterback,” Rubino says. “But from what I’ve been able to gather, there’s not a better guy than Oliver to take on the challenges facing the NCAA.” KRISTEN FUHS WELLS As a kid, freelance writer Kristen Fuhs Wells was fascinated by time travel. “Credit goes to the show Quantum Leap,” she says, “which also inspired my love of history.” This month, Wells got to explore a little…

Foley, a Pulitzer Prize–winning photojournalist and Marian University assistant professor, spent more than 34 years working in Middle East conflict areas, such as Anwar Sadat’s Egypt. Through July 19, Art Meets News at the Indiana State Museum zooms in on Foley’s vast body of work. IM: YOU’VE BEEN TO A LOT OF DICEY PLACES. WERE YOU EVER INJURED? I had nerve damage in my wrists, from when I was tied up with wire by Syrian soldiers in Lebanon. That was in 1983. [The damage] is better now. I also had a number of experiences when I was beaten up, had a gun to my head, and was told I was going to die. IM: WHAT HAS CHANGED? There were rules in those days. People didn’t just cut off other people’s…

Before Patachou flourished into an empire, Christina Pippen pulled late nights designing menus and graphics for the restaurant’s two locations. Seventeen years and eight eateries later, she has risen from freelancer to brand manager. When Pippen isn’t finessing the company’s image with owner Martha Hoover, she unwinds in this Wes Anderson–inspired retreat.…

Since your win on TV, have you made it back to Potbelly on Monument Circle, where you used to play? I haven’t been in to play, but when I sang for the Circle of Lights, I ate there with my family. Favorite menu item? Well, I’m vegetarian, so that limits my options. But the Mediterranean sandwich is great. What do your three kids think of Dad singing up there onstage? They’re young enough that they don’t realize it’s out of the ordinary. It has provided some great opportunities for them, though. They visited L.A. to see some filming of the show, and they got to spend a couple of weeks in New York when I was in the Broadway show Pippin. How did it feel to wrap up your first…

Chefs Night Off Thunderbird’s chef de cuisine Andrew Whitmoyer and slow-food enthusiast RJ Wall (also the bar manager at Fountain Square’s Hi-Fi concert venue) co-founded this pirate prix fixe meal that has showcased some of the most highly regarded chefs in town. The lineup for February’s $100 anniversary dinner read like a roster of local top chefs, with food prepared by Adam Ditter (Bluebeard), Matt Robey (Plow & Anchor), Jonathan Brooks (Milktooth), Seth Julian (Goose the Market), Omar Guzman (Cobblestone Grille), Erin Till (Neal Brown Hospitality Group), and Peter Schmutte (Cerulean). chefsnightoffi ndy.com Thunderbird Dinner and a Movie Once a month, the Fountain Square restaurant and bar hosts a movie paired with a corresponding multi-course prix fixe meal designed by the chef. (The same Andrew Whitmoyer mentioned above has had…

SOUND BITES CONCEPT West Coast brunch SEATS 50 OWNERS Greg Harden, Jessie Kelley, and Sarah Simon CHEF Ian Rossman PEDIGREE Rossman comes from Tulip Noir and trained under Top Chef breakfast king Dale Levitski in Chicago. TRY IT IF YOU LIKE Eggshell Bistro Shrimp Cocktail face—the cringe made every night at St. Elmo—has some company now. It’s called “Fire Cider Shot face,” and it comes courtesy of a stringent purifier served by the swig at The Garden Table. The $2 ramekin of cayenne-spiked vinegar is supposed to “get your organs going,” according to one perky staffer. What she means is the concoction will send your stomach into shock and your face into spasms, but that’s a small price to pay for knowing what it feels like to be Gwyneth Paltrow…

A VETERAN’S ADVICE Jim Settle Owner, Red Key Tavern How do you make your Manhattan? “It’s just a bourbon pour with some sweet vermouth and a dash of bitters, topped with a cherry. We make a lot of Maker’s Mark Manhattans here. It’s a very simple drink. It doesn’t take us a lot of time, that’s for sure.” Are there any variations? “My dad [Russ Settle, who ran the College Avenue bar for 59 years] never made a Manhattan with bitters. I don’t, as a rule, put bitters in a Manhattan for someone who has been drinking them here for years.” Does it come in a fancy glass? “I will tell you that our sign is actually a Manhattan glass. A lot of people will say it’s a martini glass.…

Belkis Rodriguez’s pan-Caribbean kitchen offers the kinds of carnivorous, carbohydrate-rich comfort foods she grew up eating and loving in her native Dominican Republic. Add to that Friday karaoke and Sunday-night salsa lessons, and you’ve got a colorfully appointed restaurant that functions as much as a cultural center as a place to get rib-sticking pork chops or melt-in-your-mouth flank steak with yucca or rice and beans. Latin-food fans can linger over the eye-popping appetizer platter of salami and Longaniza sausage served on a mound of fried chicken bites, plantains, shrimp, and mozzarella sticks. The Puerto Rican mofongo, a signature Caribbean dish, includes a hefty mound of mashed plantains with crispy bits of chicken skin, drenched in a savory gravy and garnished with stalks of fried spaghetti. A recently expanded menu includes…

The Cake Bake Shop Looking like something out of a storybook, this Broad Ripple patisserie peddles lavish, bodice-ripping treats like the five-layered Marie Antoinette Caramel Cake, featuring tiers soaked with bourbon-vanilla syrup, and an Inside Out German Chocolate Cake filled with toasted nuts and coconut and iced in Belgian chocolate ganache. 6515 Carrollton Ave., 257-2253, thecakebakeshop.com General American Donut Company We worried about the uber trendiness of this Fletcher Place doughnut shop that plays cartoons on the wall and serves Portland’s Stumptown Coffee. But even if doughnuts are the new cupcake, GADCO is no gimmick. Each variety, from the gooey Black Raspberry Key Lime to the rolled oats–topped Hippie Cake, is made from scratch—fresh, sweet, and totally habitforming. 827 S. East St., 964-0744, generalamericandonutco.com Bites by Confectioneiress This Zionsville bakeshop…

A VETERAN’S ADVICE Glenn Ware Server, St. Elmo Steak House What’s the protocol for waiting on celebrities? “You try your best to be invisible. You try your best to be a fly on the wall. Because they’re not there for you; they already know all eyes are on them. Just try to be a silent observer and hopefully you come away with a good story. St. Elmo is an institution. Because of its reputation, all I have to do is not mess it up. We treat everybody the same when they come through the door. Whether it’s Adam Sandler or some guy toasting his fifth anniversary with his wife, people are visiting us to celebrate something. That’s the thing we consider always. We can only mess up someone’s evening by…

Of all the stylish gastropubs in town, none ties mixology and the culinary arts together with as much ease as Fountain Square watering hole Thunderbird. Fringed with brick walls, dangling Edison bulbs, and an artfully deconstructed piano, patrons kick back in the knotty wooden booths to sip on one of the cocktails cleverly created and named by veteran ’tender Roger Gross (formerly of Las Vegas’s Vesper Bar at the Cosmopolitan resort). The Worst Behavior, a complex bourbon-infused sipper brightened by the sweetness of Lustau Cream Sherry and honey, shows off Gross’s mastery of top-shelf bourbon, while the Gorilla Grog’s mingling of rum, coffee liqueur, coconut cream, pineapple, and egg reveals his playful side. But the standing-room-only crowd isn’t just there for the cocktails. Consulting chef Carlos Salazar and chef de…

Out of all of the restaurants in this year’s freshman class, none hit the mark better than this buzzing breakfast-and-brunch spot in the awakening foodie destination of Fletcher Place. In a space that looks like an Urban Outfitters catalog come to life—a counter with chrome stools, an old baker’s table rutted and seasoned with use, a shelf stocked with cookbooks and trinkets, tables made from rough-hewn slabs of timber that the owner himself varnished and finished—Jonathan and Ashley Brooks present a constantly revolving roster of classic comfort dishes that have sipped from the hipster fountain of youth. Blink and you might miss some of the Brookses’ star plates, like savory fried-bologna okonomiyaki, pistachio twice-baked croissants, hanger-steak carne asada, or sweet-tea fried chicken perched atop a mound of biscuits and duck-neck…

RECIPE GANYON’S SALAD MAKES 4 SERVINGS INGREDIENTS Dressing: 2 hard-boiled eggs 1 tablespoon fresh basil, chiffonade 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon dry mustard ½ teaspoon black pepper 3 cloves of garlic, minced ¼ cup red-wine vinegar 1 squeeze of a lemon ¾ cup olive oil Salad: 4 cups chopped romaine lettuce ½ cup radishes ½ red onion Croutons DIRECTIONS 1. Chop and smash the eggs into small bits. Combine the eggs and basil. Set aside. 2. In a separate bowl, stir together the remaining dressing ingredients, except for the olive oil. Slowly pour that mixture into the bowl containing the eggs and basil. 3. Whisk the ingredients together. Then slowly add the olive oil and continue to whisk the dressing ingredients together until combined. 4. Chop the veggies. Make sure…

INCLUDES Carmel, Fishers, Noblesville, Westfield, Zionsville Al Basha Mediterranean Restaurant & Grocery MIDDLE EASTERN This colorful Mediterranean-meets– Middle East restaurant offers a wide array of staples such as tasty gyros and tender grilled beef and chicken shawarma, available for dinner or at a Monday–Friday lunchtime buffet (or on weekdays at its downtown location near IUPUI). A distinctly Mediterranean influence is seen in the tahini-rich hummus, earthy cracked-wheat kibbeh, and succulent lamb and ground-meat kebabs served on generous platters of rice and green beans. Be sure to browse the wellpriced, often hard-to-find grocery offerings. Lunch and dinner daily. 11321 Village Square Ln., Fishers, 537-7871. Apezza PIZZA/SANDWICHES Former burger whiz and longtime restaurateur Steve Wechter turns out madefrom-scratch crust and toppings at this Geist-area pizzeria. Specialty pies such as the “Meat Lovers”…

INCLUDES College Park, Eagle Creek, Lafayette Square, Traders Point Abyssinia ETHIOPIAN This humble spot—where diners use a spongy sour flatbread known as injera in lieu of utensils—provides a thorough introduction to Ethiopian cuisine. Aficionados of East African food will be impressed by the seasoning of the stewed lamb, beef, spicy chicken, greens, lentils, and chickpeas. Try a stuffed meat or lentil sambusa pastry while you wait for your entrees. Lunch and dinner daily. 5352 W. 38th St., 299-0608. Amalfi Ristorante Italiano ITALIAN Pasta receives the white-tablecloth treatment from the DiRosa family at this longtime favorite. Regulars get giddy when the server brings layered chicken lasagna Genovese to the table, but even the housemade soups and mac ’n’ cheese are worthy of the intimate setting. Lunch Mon.–Fri., dinner Mon.–Sat. 1351 W.…

BEFORE I RETIRED from full-time work, two years ago this month, I grew accustomed to friends and colleagues asking, “What are you going to do?” Frankly, I had no idea. I knew what I was leaving, just not what lay ahead. I took comfort in the advice of a professional woman I respect, who said I need not retire to something; I could just be proud of what I accomplished. I did that, and now it’s time to move on. I spent 35 years in the workforce, starting with a first-grade teaching gig. I was 21, the perfect age to assemble bulletin boards, yank off snow boots, and convince 6-yearold boys that reading was fun. I loved the kids and was grateful for the $6,800 (!) annual salary, but I…