Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2017 i Indianapolis Monthly

We spend a lot of time and effort each month telling you about what makes the Indianapolis area great. Research and demographics suggest you probably read the magazine for the skinny on a hip restaurant that just opened, or a fun neighborhood boutique, or to discover an object of desire you never knew you wanted before you saw it in these very pages. For example, the $56,000 La Cornue range featured on p. 25 is on my wish list, where it will remain—partially because I cannot pronounce “La Cornue” without sounding like a cow chewing bubblegum, but mainly because I have kids who want to go to college. While these things are exciting and worthy of your attention, they admitt edly reflect only a tiny fraction of what makes the…

Evan West’s profile of author Dan Wakefield went a long way with readers. “Loved this piece. Love Dan Wakefield. Love Going All the Way.” —LUTTRELL LEVINGSTON, via Facebook “Really appreciate this one. You answered so many of my questions about his return.” —AMY WIMMER SCHWARB, via Facebook “I usually don’t like it when reporters become part of the story, but this profile of Dan Wakefield is an instant classic.” —RAY BOOMHOWER, via Facebook “The long return home. The stuff of great stories. How anybody wouldn’t want such a wonderful man around is beyond me.” —JOHN RODONIS, via Facebook The IM Poll WHERE DOES DAN WAKEFIELD RANK ON THE LIST OF INDIANA WRITERS? Other content trending on IM’s website and social media accounts THE DISH Our popular dining blog, served up weekly. REALTY CHECK The…

“Dancing on my own” dress. $45. BluePeppermint Boutique, 8936 South St., Fishers, shopbluepeppermint.com LNA “Slash” tee. $99. Beauty & Grace, Carmel City Center, Carmel, shopbeautyandgrace.com “Smell the roses” shirt. $34. BluePeppermint Boutique Floral ruffle top. $44. Karisma, 859 Conner St., Noblesville, karismaboutiqueshop.com Top with lace-up back. $35. JenDaisy Boutique, 210 S. Emerson Ave., Greenwood, jendaisy.com Nicole Miller Artelier “Daffodil Rocky” top. $275. 8 Fifteen, 815 E. 65th St., 8fifteen.com Cinq à Sept “Noor” blouse. $375. Saks Fifth Avenue, The Fashion Mall, saksfifthavenue.com THE THREAD COMING SOON Fabletics, the athleisure brand founded by Kate Hudson, and skincare company Kiehl’s will open stores in The Fashion Mall (8702 Keystone Crossing) this spring. TRENDING Churchill1795 revives studio pottery with deliciously glazed dinnerware now available at Zesco (640 N. Capitol Ave.). NEW DIGS Reis-Nichols…

BUY IT St. Elle traveler, $5,600. 317- 410-7786, houseof5th.com TRUEN JAIMES, co-owner of House of 5th accessories, spent a full year in fashion school solely studying leather. Now, with everything from stitching techniques to heat imprinting in his repertoire, he’s the rare artisan well-versed in both hand and machine methods in leathercraft. His 42-piece collection sells online, and he makes custom pieces for loyal customers—like the woman who wanted a better version of her favorite, worn-out Topshop tote. To make shoulder bags, travelers, and keychains, Jaimes works with a raw Italian leather called vachetta, the same premium material Louis Vuitton and Coach use. He dyes all of it by hand with 18 original House of 5th hues. There’s no shortcut dip-dyeing here—a trusty sponge, a healthy number of latex gloves,…

ON MY FIRST VISIT TO Festiva, I overshot the front door by a few steps, not recognizing the plastic-wrapped entry—a modest lean-to hugging the sidewalk along East 16th Street—as a foodie’s taqueria born of restaurant royalty. The host popped his head out the door and directed me through the Visqueen. “Oh, is this where I want to be?” I asked, probably sounding like a confused grandma clutching her pocketbook a little too close. The packed tables lined up cafeteria-style in the enclosed patio brimmed with salty margarita glasses and metal trays strewn with taco innards, each chair draped with an actual fringed Mexican blanket for warmth. Garage doors opened onto a bustling bar framed in decorative cinder blocks, the focal point of this happy hole in the wall where the…

IF YOU’RE READING this, the world didn’t end. This past fall, a man in Danville assured me it would when I ran into him at the town library. He quoted from the book of Revelation, telling me we were living in the last days. I didn’t know the man well, but he seemed perfectly sincere, so on the off chance he was right, I thought it might be wise to put off a few things I had been planning to do when I believed my future was secure. But autumn and winter came and went, and here we are in spring, so it appears he was mistaken. Now I’m going to have to get with it and accomplish a few things. Back in October, my neighbor Brian, who sells flooring,…

“When spiderwebs unite, they can tie up a lion.” This Ethiopian proverb, shared at a neighborhood meeting Tom Lange attended in 2014, struck a nerve. At the time, Lange was contemplating leaving a 34-year career at Eli Lilly & Co. to tackle the poverty and unemployment plaguing his northwestside community. The proverb brought something into focus: To succeed, everything would come down to partnerships. The program that Lange subsequently got off the ground, Lion Catcher, works to bring services into the neighborhood rather than making residents already strapped for time and money go to them. For example, it teamed with Dynamo FC to teach soccer and social skills, like forgiveness and respect, to local kids. Dynamo pros bring the equipment, run the action, and think through the conversation starters. All…

JIM WALKER CAN BE hard to pin down. As the founder and CEO of Big Car Collaborative, he has helped initiate the First Friday gallery open house series in Fountain Square, Spark activity programming on Monument Circle, dozens of public art projects, and the Tube Factory space in Garfield Park. Walker doesn’t mind if the eclectic résumé leaves people wondering what exactly Big Car is. “It’s okay to be puzzled by something,” he says. “If everything is so easy for people to figure out all the time, it’s pretty boring.” Big Car started 12 years ago as an organization for artists, and since 2009, it has shifted to working with community leaders to connect neighborhoods through art. Last year, for example, Big Car planned the inaugural West Michigan Street Festival…

“To address the problem of abandoned homes, I’d create a cross between Habitat for Humanity and shop class. Teach people DIY skills by repairing a house and give them an incentive for purchasing their own fixer-upper.” — MEGAN FERNANDEZ, DIRECTOR OF EDITORIAL OPERATIONS “I’d propose a referendum to better fund IPS the way we just funded transit.” — DANIEL COMISKEY, DEPUTY EDITOR “I can’t be the only one who has noticed that many of Indy’s neighborhoods are buried in litter. Time to bring back the ‘Give a hoot! Don’t pollute!’ campaign, or an updated version, in schools.” — EVAN WEST, EXECUTIVE EDITOR “Let’s attract more teachers by redeveloping neglected downtown buildings into affordable housing for entry-level educators.” — JULIA SPALDING, DINING EDITOR…

Record Store Day For Indy music aficionados, no digital file on a smartphone can replace the feeling of holding a new vinyl album in their hands. This month, many of them will celebrate their holiest of holidays, Record Store Day, by flocking to their local music shops for new releases, special re-issues, and assorted goodies. Patrick Burtch, co-owner of Square Cat Vinyl, has lined up for the occasion almost every spring since it started nine years ago. “For a person who doesn’t hang out in their local shop regularly, it might be a little intimidating at first,” says Burtch. “But it’s a great introduction to the local music culture. ” SO WHAT SHOULD YOU EXPECT? As the name implies, Record Store Day is all about records … actual vinyl albums.…

SPANNING FROM one entrance to another, a two-story racetrack sends cars zooming through the atrium of the Indiana State Museum. Kids and their families travel from all over the state to compete in the annual Pinewood Derby here; several have been through this drill before. Flames, stripes, and Batman decals adorn the 101 handcrafted entries. As each car crosses the finish line, an official scoops it up and sends it back to the top of the track by way of toy blimp. Children and adults alike line the railings to watch closely as each round ensues. The final contests consist of the top 24 participants, until the last four cars and “Best In Show” take home awards. Pinewood Derby was meant not only to be a fun, familyfriendly community event,…

According to Indianapolis Museum of Art research, the public only spends about 5 percent of its leisure-time activity going to museums. So what’s the IMA to do? Attract the other 95 percent with flowers. For Spring Blooms: Celebration of Color (opening April 1), the museum planted 150,000 bulbs— roughly five times as many as it typically puts in the ground. Along with a new beer garden and exotic flora from across the globe, it’s a lot to take in. Here, a guide to what you’ll find: START ANYWHERE Museum visitors can’t miss the exhibit’s new floral borders dotting the grounds. From your first step out of the parking area—at the museum’s main entrance, at the beginning of the garden path, outside the Lilly House—flowers and plants are everywhere. FOLLOW THE…

FIRA BOUTIQUE 918 Broad Ripple Ave., 317-377-4773, firaboutique.com DON’T MISS In-store private shopping parties with discounted rates. I LET’S SAY, HYPOTHETICALLY, you had a business meeting, a casual lunch, and a cocktail party all in the same day. You’d find a sweet litt le get-up for each sett ing at Fira—and that’s not hypothetical. Fira is Swedish for “celebrate,” which is what you’ll want to do when you hear everything is under $100. The country-chic merch is on trend for spring with flowy floral dresses ($37 to $52), ripped-up skinnies ($69), and off-the-shoulder, bell-sleeve blouses ($40). Or try a pinstripe dress with a tulip hemline ($44) to bring some personal flair to that business meeting. In keeping with the rustic vibe, shoppers are greeted with an earthy aroma, wood ceiling…

HIDE It’s a neighborhod secret that Irvington United Methodist Church lets the public use its playground (1). Sheltered by trees, the secluded space for kids up to age 5 has a special don’t-tell-anyone quality. Oops. 30 N. Audubon Rd. NOSH If it feels like there’s suddenly a Lincoln Square Pancake House (2) on every corner, you’re not too far off. The locally owned, family-run chain has 12 Houses around Indiana, the latest at Washington and Audubon, a cozy spot with old neighborhood photos. There’s ample outdoor seating for enjoying your housemade corn cakes or red velvet French toast. 5648 E. Washington St., 317-377-4205, eatatlincolnsquare.com PORK OUT Farm-to-table shakes its pretenses at The Mug (3), a locavore diner. This location serves up Hoosier brews from Black Acre (Irvington) and Taxman (Bargersville),…

CHERRY KOMBUCHA Hidden Pond Farm, hiddenpondllc.com (available at Good Earth, Wildwood Market, Moody’s Market & Butcher) . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hidden Pond uses a continuous brewing method for its kombucha, mixing new tea in with the ongoing ferment, which can increase the microbial benefits. It’s a more mature taste—a favorite of many kombucha veterans but a challenge for newbies. SWEET BEET KRAUT Fermenti Artisan, fermentiartisan.com (available at Goose the Market, Whole Foods, Joe’s Butcher Shop) . . . . . . . . . . . . . Beets tend to dominate whatever dish they’re in, so the strong flavors of a fermented kraut add welcome balance. You taste the beets, but not to the exclusion of the cabbage and onions.…

Ermil Thompson, retired from a federal-government job, was walking in Haughville one day and took notice of an abandoned house that had once been a grocery store. Thompson, a talented cook, started making $4.50 dinners at home for neighborhood workers, and six years later, when she’d raised $60,000, she bought the house and opened a youth center there. Bill Stanczykiewicz, director of The Fund Raising School at IUPUI’s School of Philanthropy, tells her story as a classic example of Indy’s fertile landscape for effecting change, no matter one’s stature. “Ermil didn’t wait for permission,” he says. “She saw an opportunity, and she seized it.” As it turns out, Indy breeds Ermils. Stanczykiewicz cites a study that places us in the top tier of cities in willingness to help others. “You…

COMMUNITY REHAB JOHN HAY LIKES a flashy new idea as much as anyone, but not at the expense of community buy-in. Case in point: a linear park that didn’t make it off the drawing board in St. Clair Place, the heart of redevelopment for the group Hay directs, Near Eastside Area Renewal. An inner-city revival sparked by a seven-person murder in 2007 has turned the area around, decreasing vacancies and crime. Remodeled homes are listing for close to $300,000, and NEAR will cut the ribbon on its 100th renovation this year (a third of those homes must be rented to low-income families to ensure a mixed-income community). At one point, NEAR had acquired houses and vacant lots that lined up with one another across several blocks, and the visionaries thought…

What’s one valuable local resource for starting a passion project? “Creative Mornings Indy is a great initiative with a lot of smart, energetic people. The group attracts folks with an entrepreneurial spirit and an interest in making an impact.” David Forsell Keep Indianapolis Beautiful “For young professionals, IndyHub is an excellent gateway for discovering local grassroots organizations and nonprofits through their annual Indyvolved event [June 15].” Polina Osherov Pattern “City hall. I contacted the deputy mayor of neighborhoods, and those were the resources I used to get started with the Ten Point Coalition. We really got a lot of good advice.” Rev. Charles Harrison Ten Point Coalition “Purdue Extension has revamped its support for urban agriculture. Now there is even an Urban Ag certificate program, which provides extensive training and resources for starting…

Ready to bite the bullet and go after that check? Catherine Parker of Parker Grant Solutions has some tips for acing the application. Follow the rules. Requirements in great detail will be on the grant’s website. “There is no gray area in the world of grant writing,” Parker says. Don’t promise the world. Funders can tell when you’re exaggerating. Find the money. The Charitable Advisors weekly e-newsletter (charitableadvisors.com) lists grant opportunities. But it’s always a good idea to start local, like with these Indianapolis treasure chests: Nina Mason Pulliam Trust (ninapulliamtrust.org) Funds projects that help people in need, protect animals and nature, and enrich community life. Lilly Endowment (lillyendowment.org) Supports ideas that address human and social needs, central-city and neighborhood revitalization, lowincome housing, and arts and culture. Central Indiana Community…

For the complete interview, go to IndianapolisMonthly.com WHAT WAS LETTERMAN’S REPUTATION AMONG THE CULTURE EDITORS AT THE NEW YORK TIMES? Oh, he has always been a critic’s darling. As an interview subject, though, he had a reputation for being a little prickly. And in the last decade, he didn’t do many interviews at all—with the Times or anyone else. So when I started working on the book, I had no idea if he was even going to talk to me. I kept telling myself that was fine. And it made it a better book, because I reported around him like crazy. By the time he talked to me, I wasn’t on a fishing expedition. WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM YOUR REPORTING VISIT TO INDIANA? A ton. In some ways, that’s…

WHAT TO DO The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra’s 2nd Annual INfusion Music Festival will celebrate the connection between music and the environment with three special concerts and an event with some of Indianapolis’ leading environmental organizations. On May 17, the ISO hosts INfusion Talks, an evening of engaging short musical performances and presentations from a wide range of local businesses and nonprofits committed to environmental awareness and outreach. Speakers include Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Indiana Recycling Coalition, Hoosier Environmental Council, Earth Charter Indiana, IndyGo, Marian University, Indiana Forest Alliance, and IPL. On May 18, Time for Three will perform a cabaret-style concert in the Hilbert Circle Theatre lobby in addition to a concert at the Hi-Fi in Fountain Square on May 19. The fest ends back at the Hilbert on May 20…

DOWNTOWN INCLUDES Fletcher Place, Fountain Square, Mass Ave, Mile Square B’s Po Boy CAJUN Known for its po’ boys in crusty, airy bread from New Orleans, B’s brings laid-back bayou cooking to Fountain Square. The chicken- and-sausage gumbo comes laden with meat and green peppers in a rich stock filled with just the right amount of delayed heat. Loyalists take it easy on the savories to leave room for housemade beignets. Lunch and dinner daily. 1261 Shelby St., 317-916-5555, bpoboy.com Bazbeaux PIZZA As we watch some of Indy’s most celebrated restaurateurs open pie places all over town, we haven’t forgotten where we first found artichoke hearts and goat cheese on our ’za. Bazbeaux has changed little since 1986, when it opened in Broad Ripple, and it hasn’t really needed to.…

Connie Zeigler Freelance writer Connie Zeigler has admired Eleanor Roosevelt since she read a biography of the former first lady decades ago. But revisiting Mrs. Roosevelt for this month’s Backtrack (p. 20) reminded Zeigler how dynamic her subject was. “On just that one day in her life I covered, Eleanor visited a coal mine and gave a lecture on housing,” she says, “with a lot of activity in between.” Jason Zinoman New York Times comedy critic Jason Zinoman has interviewed a lot of famous people, but his chat with David Letterman for a new biography (excerpted on p. 68) gave the author a few butterflies in his stomach. “Mostly, I was worried about getting all my questions in the 60 minutes that had been allotted,” he says. “Letterman ended up…

Brush up on the chicken dance. You’ll stick out as a rookie if you flap when you should clap. Why the chicken dance? Because it’s a polka. Polkas originated in Czechoslovakia, not Poland. Shhh. Odd clothes and bright colors are optional but a plus. Owner David Andrichik will man the grill. Order the works: kielbasa with mustard and sauerkraut simmered in beer and brown sugar. Arrive early. The grill shuts down at 9 p.m., or when the kielbasa runs out. When the 30- year event veterans start dancing on the sidewalk, the coast is clear to polka al fresco. —CONNIE ZEIGLER…

Tip of the cap to Fira Boutique, new bastion affordable trends in Broad Ripple, p. 28.…

PICK TWO WORDS THAT DESCRIBE YOUR STYLE. Eclectic and cultured. I adopted this when I was at Columbia College Chicago, which is made up of artsy misfits. Nobody cared what you had on. DO YOU DRESS WITH A LOOK IN MIND? You might say it’s Africancentered, but it also might remind you of the ’90s, with the colors and the patterns. IS THERE A LOOK YOU FEEL IS YOUR BEST SELF-EXPRESSION? I love being comfortable, so I wear a lot of flowy, loose clothes. I love harem pants, boots, and flats. I wear a lot of copper, ankhs, and handmade African jewelry. WHERE DO YOU SCORE YOUR FAVORITE PIECES? If I’m not thrifting it, I’m making it, or someone else is making it for me. I also love Vintage Vogue…

NOSTALGIA DOSE A deer head reminds Lovell of growing up in the countryside near Pendleton. YOGA HAMMOCKS Lovell drilled into the concrete ceiling to suspend the hammocks using heavy-duty chains. STARGAZING Lovell and her 10 year-old son, Ian, pass the time watching stars on their ceiling with the help of a projector. HEADDRESS PRINT It’s a nod to Lovell’s Cherokee and Lakota Sioux heritage. ROCKING CHAIR “I used to sit in it next to a fireplace and read when I was a little girl,” she says. TIBETAN PRAYER FLAGS Traditionally used to bless the surrounding area. “I’m not Buddhist, but I like the idea,” Lovell says. PLANT “When I did a press-up handstand for the first time, my best friend bought me this straight-up-and-down cactus to inspire me to keep…

With Erin Kem in charge of the menu, Cannon Ball Brewing serves up a devil of an egg taco, p. 47.…

KRISTEN YORK has the heart of an artist and the moxie of a Long Island girl, a combination that served her well when she took over the kitchen at Thunderbird last year. The New York transplant (York’s family moved to Carmel when she was in junior high) studied printmaking at the Herron School of Art & Design, but climbed the culinary ladder on what she calls “the hardknock path.” That’s kitchen shorthand for stints at every position in an untold number of restaurants, honing the skills some chefs acquire at expensive culinary schools. “Industry friends said I should just spend about a year and a half at each place, learn what I can, and move on,” says York. She started working in restaurants when she was 16 and continued nonstop,…

Q+A AS A LIEUTENANT IN THE U.S. NAVY RESERVES, YOU LEFT THE MAYOR’S OFFICE FOR SEVEN MONTHS IN 2014 TO SERVE IN AFGHANISTAN. WHAT WAS THAT LIKE? Definitely a status shift from being mayor. I was a lieutenant, which is a prett y junior officer. But it was one of the most important responsibilities I had. I was a liaison officer, so I did a lot of intelligence work at headquarters. But honestly, the most important responsibility I had was when they needed an extra convoy to go out to Bagram and back, when I needed to drive my commander around Kabul. We did more than 100 trips outside the wire, and I would usually be the driver, or I’d be in the tactical command position in the SUV. Nothing…

A HUSBAND-AND-WIFE butcher team. A genre-mixing rapper. A worldrenowned golf-course designer. They may sound like they have little in common, but they blend seamlessly in No Mean City, a marketing campaign that has become something bigger. Through a print publication and a website with stories celebrating Indy’s quirky residents, neighborhoods, and attractions, the initiative aims to inspire more people to live in Marion County. No Mean City began with a challenge from former Mayor Greg Ballard, who noticed a disturbing trend. Although high-paying employers were drawing recruits to the area, many of those employees were shunning the city for the comfort of the suburbs and taking their tax dollars with them. Indy had plenty to offer, but too often, residents were shy about selling it. This project sought to peel…

With the local restaurant scene booming and national grocery chains popping up around the city, it might seem as though Indy residents have plenty of access to good food. Not so, according to a study by Walk Score, a Seattle-based company that promotes and rates walkability. It ranked Indianapolis the worst city in the country for “food deserts”—neighborhoods lacking adequate access to fresh food—with only 5 percent of the population able to walk to a grocery store within five minutes. A report from the Food Research & Action Center, a national anti-hunger organization, showed that 16 percent of households in the metropolitan area were unable to afford enough food in 2015. We asked a panel of nonprofit leaders what community organizations are doing to improve the availability of fresh, nutritious…

AS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR of Midtown Indianapolis, Michael McKillip is quick to dispel the notion that he is responsible for the fabulous new Tarkington Park at 39th and Illinois Streets. But it probably wouldn’t exist without him. When he became the nonprofit’s first full-time employee in 2012, Midtown had just begun researching how the sleepy green space might be reimagined. McKillip knew he wasn’t going to transform a huge swath of the city (some of which had a 33 percent vacancy rate) on his own. So he began calling every nearby institution that might have a stake in the project. The results of those efforts speak for themselves. Since Tarkington Park opened in January, the futuristic-looking playground has been mobbed with families. When the splash park fires up next month,…

TWO MONTHS aft er Jay Leno left The Tonight Show, David Lett erman said that he was retiring from the Late Show. “Once Jay left , I knew I had to get out,” he said. “I was already the old guy.” He made the announcement from his desk, in a discursive monologue that suggested the question of retirement had hung over him for several years. Lett erman explained that his answer had long been, “When this show stops being fun, I’ll retire 10 years later.” He then told a story about going fishing with his son, a pastime he had shared with his late father. On a recent excursion, Lett erman had spotted a bird and taken a photo of it, leading him to speculate about what kind of bird…

I’M SITTING ALONE in a booth at an empty Pizza Hut just south of the Paoli town square. It’s 1:30 p.m. The “Nazis” are 30 minutes late. The ones I’m waiting on, the members of the Traditionalist Worker Party, a nascent political organization trying to take root in the seat of Orange County, are indeed nationalists—white nationalists, in fact. They are also proud socialists. And yet I’ll come to learn that these National Socialists feel it is unfair and inaccurate to lump them in with history’s greatest villains. “We’re not trying to rehash the Germany of the 1930s,” TWP leader Matthew Heimbach later explains. “We are National Socialists in our own time, with our own symbols, with our own ideology, and our own solutions to the current problem.” Words clearly…

Good news. You don’t have to fly to Florida for a spring break full of adventure, relaxation, or fun. There are plenty of destinations only a car ride away, bursting with great food, entertainment, and lodging. Whether you head north, south, east, or west, discover the memorable vacations waiting just around the corner. NORTHEAST WHETHER YOU WANT TO GET OUT of town for the week or just a day or two, Indiana’s northeast corner has plenty to offer. The Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo opens for the season on April 22 and is a must-see for anyone traveling through Allen County. At this worldclass facility, families can explore wildlife along a jungle path, go down under in the Australian Adventure, and watch giraffes roam grassy hillsides. Not only has the zoo…

THIS MONTH I bid my 60s goodbye. Turning 70 feels ominous, no more the stuff of over-the-hill parties with RIP tombstones and black balloons. Now Father Time means business. When you reach a crossroads, you reflect, chronicle the events that made you who you are. What come to mind are the litt le things—because for most of us, there are no big things. We didn’t command a Broadway stage or win national office. We lived ordinary lives. My memories come back to me in flashes, without regard to chronology. The 1994 Northridge earthquake in California, and running out of a Santa Monica hotel—my husband clutching my hand by the fingertips, trying to get away. An air-raid drill at School 84, seated in the corridor, heads down, hands clasped behind our…