Milktooth
Milktooth boasts creative and interesting food combinations with a decidedly hipster vibe. Their core menu has patrons lining up, but their rotating “at the moment menu” lets the chefs experiment with new tastes and experiences. I tried the Thai chicken wings with coconut curry rice. (seriously spicy and yummy). I paired it with a greenhorn matcha green tea (awesome) and finished with a blvk bear coffee with tart cherry syrup (distinctive).
Mesh on Mass
Mesh on Mass features large portions served with casual elegance. I particularly enjoyed how each of the dining areas had its own unique vibe.I had the applewood chicken salad, which was absolutely delicious! I loved the way that the applewood bacon blended with the spiced pecans. For a side, I satiated my savory with a portion of palms frittes (fries with truffle oil and parmesan Reggiano). Way too much food but my mouth thanked me.
Soupremacy
I got to experience Soupremacy while visiting Circle Square. I wasn’t expecting much from their small counter service but to say I was blown away is a serious understatement. My first choice, their signature chicken velvet soup, was already sold out for the day. Instead, I tried their Thai coconut soup and half of an endless summer salad. The flavors were sublime and I was stuffed with a simple soup and salad.
Public Greens
My friend, Ashley Hubbard, told us about her visit to Public Greens. She was thrilled by the plentiful vegan options. I was intrigued by healthy food that was being grown at the restaurant. Who would have imagined a farm-to-table cafeteria could be a thing? It’s also in David Letterman’s hometown of Broad Ripple, so that has to count for something.
Bluebeard
I wrote at length about Bluebeard’s fantastic breads and fresh ingredients in my Eagle Creek article. Long story short – “I had the Turkey Sandwich, with smoked turkey breast, guacamole, hard boiled egg, bleu cheese aioli, bacon, greens, tomato, and pullman bun. I now knew what all the commotion was about. Not only was the food quality of self-evident, it was truly delicious.”
My friend, Lisa Lubin, said it was one of her three reasons to visit Indianapolis. It was even covered in Bon Appetit. What is all of this fuss about? Fantastically fresh food served with style. You can’t go wrong with a mainstay for Indy Foodies like Bluebeards
St. Elmo Steakhouse
Melody and Taylor, a mother and daughter writing team I met at Bloghouse, raved about St Elmo Steakhouse. They said they went because it was ranked as one of the top 15 steak houses in America. They also told stories of perfectly grilled filets smothered with Bearnaise sauce. I am a sucker for a good Bearnaise so this sounded like a slice of heaven.
Taste of Havana
There is a saying – you get what you pay for. I like to get more than what I pay for. That’s what people are saying about Taste of Havana. A father, daughter team runs this distinctively Cuban eatery that looks like it could have been lifted straight out of Havana. The offer Cuban Lunch Bowls for 6.50 that have a daily rotation. Every day they offer their Lechon Asado “Roasted Pork” – “Slow roasted pork, marinated in our mojito, served with your choice of black or pinto beans and choice of seasoned yellow rice or white rice.” This sounds pretty dang good for $6.50. If you’re feeling particularly peaked, you could go for their 2’, 3 lb Croc Tail sandwich.
Rick’s Cafe Boatyard
Rick’s food is solid with a deep menu and plentiful portions. When I went, I didn’t make it past the appetizer. I shared baked goat cheese (fresh goat cheese rolled in crouton crumbs over marinara sauce with pistachio pesto french bread) and the barbecue pork nachos. What really sold me on Rick’s was sitting on the patio watching the Eagle Creek Reservoir. On a nice summer evening, this view can’t be beat.
Napolese Pizzeria
Napolese is a thin crust, hearth baked pizza made from the freshest, locally sourced ingredients. Keryn Means, my Bloghouse mentor, says it’s “Pizza gone awesome.” If you like pizza light on crust and heavy on flavor, Napolese might be for you.
Nine Lives Cat Cafe
When I read Ashley Hubbard’s tweet about a cat cafe in Indianapolis, I knew I had to go. I love cats and I LOVE visiting cat cafes. Nine Lives was a little different than the ones I have visited so far. They had the standard trope of a solid coffee house, but you paid for time and interaction with the cats separately. (hint, it’s worth the money!!). They also do a fabulous job of getting their cats adopted. I went two days after Ashley, and many of the cats she had seen had already been adopted. As David Letterman said – “If it weren’t for the coffee, I’d have no identifiable personality”. (cat cafe photos courtesy of Ashley Hubbard, @asoutherngypsy with permission)
More on Indianapolis Eateries
To read more about the fantastic food and drink scene in Indy check out some of these great articles from my fellow Bloghouse participants:
The Kittchen – What to do in Indianapolis
A Southern Gypsy – Vegan Indy
10 Miles Behind Me – The 10 Types of Travelers Who Should Visit Indianapolis
Misadventures With Andi – Idyllic Indianpolis
It’s Five Here – Indianapolis 10 Easy Steps
Archives of Adventure – Indulging in Indy
A Travelling Life – Eat and Drink in Indianapolis
Dangerous Business – Reasons to Visit Indianapolis
Traveling Spud – Fun Things to do in Indianapolis of a 20 Something
Globalphile – Indianapolis Indiana
Dabble in Travel – Your Trip Planner: Indianapolis
Ryan Erwin – Indianapolis Great Food Culture
Speck on the Globe – An Indianapolis Can’t Miss Weekend
What’s Cool About Indy
I think it’s important to challenge the Indiana farm boy stereotype that you see in all of the movies. How many times on TV have you seen the doe eyed white family drives their station wagon into New York City, only to have something go tragically wrong? These people are inevitably from a Midwest state that starts with a vowel (Indiana, Ohio, Iowa). From my experience in Indianapolis, this generalization is wrong.
The hip and cool vibe of Indianapolis surprised me. Public art was everywhere and people found ways to go outside from biking to boating to swinging from trees. The restaurants were filled with sharply dressed dudes eating savory foods and holding intelligent conversations. This piece wasn’t quite a full post on its own, but figure another “Top 10” list tacked on to eating should do it justice. After all, the food scene is a very front and center example of Indianapolis culture.
Indy is Super Bike Friendly
They have the Cultural Trail for an urban cycle adventure, the Monon Trail that heads all the way to Hamilton County and Fort Harrison State Park for a little hill climbing (even in Indiana). There are even about 80 miles of on road bike lanes so you can find your own way to explore Indy by.
Hospital Gardens
If you ask me, the three main problems with hospitals are the depressing environment, bad food, and too many sick people. Unfortunately, sick people have to go to the hospital, but Eskenazi Health Hospital in Indianapolis might have found the perfect solution for the solvable problems. The installed roof top gardens where the patients and staff can help grow fresh vegetables for the hospital kitchen. Learn more about it here or here.
Catacomb Tours
Indianapolis’ City Market was built upon the ruins of Tomlinson Hall. Beneath Whistler Plaza rests a maze of hidden passages with a long history. Catacomb tours are available on the 1st and the 3rd Saturday of the month
Kurt Vonnegut
Whether it’s the memorial library, tours of his childhood home or simply the biggest Vonnegut murals you have ever seen, Indianapolis remembers Kurt Vonnegut.
Canal Walk
You can take a canal tour through downtown! It’s like the Venice of the Midwest. You can rent a paddleboat or kayak. You can even take a straight up gondola ride. If boating isn’t your thing, you could always walk the path on either side of the canal.
Hip Cool Vibe
There was a young hip vibe in the city. When I went to Milktooth, I noticed the staff was completely tatted up but it wasn’t just one place. It was everywhere. Walking along the cultural trail felt the same as going through North Park or Pacific Beach in San Diego. The people were hip, fit and had a great sense of beard.
Boating on Eagle Creek
Indianapolis Rowing Center on Eagle Creek Reservoir- Eagle Creek features an Olympic-grade rowing course and offers everything from “learn to row” classes to competitions. It’s great to see people wanting to exercise on the water and not just float, fish and drink beer. You can rent kayaks or canoes and even take a full moon paddle.
Craft Beer Scene
In addition to a stellar farm to table remastering, (see above). Indy has also become quite talented in the craft beer department. Visit Indy has a list of 47 craft breweries on their site.
I really liked what Metazoa Beer had going on.. Drink Beer help animals is their tagline. From their site, this is what they are doing to help animals – “The brewery donates 5% of its profits to worthy organizations, so drink up! The tap room is pet friendly, of course, but those under 21 are not allowed. Seven house beers join a wide variety of seasonals to offer traditional ales as well as experimental brews.”
Ropes Courses
I love going to ropes courses to expand my comfort zone and have a little adventure. I got to see a cute old couple celebrate their 30th anniversary by swinging through the trees and a group of urban friends try their first taste of the outdoors. I also went to Hamilton County, just outside of Indianapolis, and went on the single hardest ropes course element I have ever tried. It says a lot about a town that not one but two ropes courses can thrive in the city.
Small Communities in the Big City
Indianapolis was a city before mechanized farming. Each little farm community had a town center. When the city grew up, these communities became part of the greater Indianapolis, but still retained their own identity. In all, there are 99 recognized communities in Indianapolis. The historical society recognizes several such as Central Court, Chatham Arch, Golden Hill, Herron-Morton Place, Lockerbie Square, Old Northside, and Oliver Johnson’s Woods. The old inter urban line created its own series of Streetcar Suburbs like Broad Ripple, Irvington, University Heights and Woodruff Place. In the commuter age, family centric communities are springing up outside of the outer belt like Hamilton County. The fact that you have a different feel and cultural identity to each of these areas is pretty dang cool to me.
Indy Wrap Up
Food, friends, and frolicking all go together and Indianapolis has them all covered with style. When you make it to Indy, take our advice and look for a little dining adventure. Keep your eyes open for the scene you’ll see along the way. You could find a little Norman Rockwell, farm to table vegan, a variety of craft breweries, or just chill with a yummy cup of coffee watching the world go by. Just have fun on the journey. To wrap up in the words of Mr. Letterman himself, “There’s not a man, woman or child on the face of the earth who doesn’t enjoy a tasty beverage.”
Haven’t been to Indianapolis is many years. After reading everything there is to do sounds like it might be time to make a trip back and do some exploring.
It will seem like a different city. They have been doing a lot of improvements over the years and it really shows
What an amazing sounding place to visit Indy sounds like, I would love to see the catacombs myself, there is something that always fascinates me about such places.
So much to do in Indy! Food is always one of the main draws for me whenever I travel and the food there definitely looked great!
We don’t live too far from there, so we will to make a day of this at some point. We live in the Chicago area and this looks like a lot of fun.
You definitely should. I had a great time in Indy. We have a series of posts on Indianapolis that covers the happenings in the city center along the Canal Walk, our day at Eagle Creek Reservoir and an overnight just up the road in Hamilton County. If you have any questions just ping us. We’ll be here.
I love trying different kinds of soup, what makes the chicken velvet? And the boating and treetop adventures look like so much fun! I’m impressed with how much there is to do in this city!
Chicken Velvet Soup is associated with Indianapolis because of the LS Ayres department store tea room. I think it’s called velvet because it’s a thick, cream based soup. I can imagine thickened cream with a little creme would resemble velvet when done correctly.
I fell for this city hard and I can’t wait to return to explore more! Thanks for including my post in your write-up!
You’re welcome. Thanks for being such a great travelling companion on the trip.
That turkey sandwich paired with avocado sounds like a delicious meal. I would love to recreate that recipe at home!!
I bet you could do a great job of it. I wonder if kids would like it packed on the first day of school?
I visited a cat cafe in Calgary the other day and absolutely loved it! It is nice to see there’s something similar in Indy. If I am there, I will definitely pop by and maybe bring home a furry friend with me! 😛
Go ahead and get two. They’ll need friends to play with and the look so cute when they cuddle together.
Well a trip to Indy would mean you wouldnt be hungry, thats for sure! It would be hard to choose what to enjoy food wise though. So many great options!!
Good thing they have all those bike paths so I can work of the extra calories 🙂
I’ve never heard of a rotating menu. I would LOVE that. Unless I found something I loved then I would be bummed when they changed haha
There is a thought in Feng Shui that transient moments are more powerful than permanent ones. The rotating menu just forces you to live in the present and accept change as inevitable. That being said, it would bum me out to have my favorite moved too.
What an amazing place to visit. It has so many options. I would like to try them all.
We did not have the possibility to visit Indianapolis yet, but it is definitely a place on our bucket list for one of our next US Road trips!
And actually after reading your post I am definitely hungry. It is really great to read about all these amazing cafes, restaurants (my favourites would be definitely St Elmo Steakhouse and Taste of Havana) etc. and the obviously cool vibes in that city. And exploring a city by bike sounds even like double fun!
What a beautiful place and what delicious looking food!!
You can go on a food tour here, planning it all on your own thanks to this very awesome list! Food is one of my favorite parts of going to a place! Thanks for sharing this!
I’m always happy to see when American cities come into their own. Happy to see this one is doing so well.
Sounds like it’s worth overdoing to me! We have to get to Indy, I keep saying it but haven’t just yet. You’ve convinced me it has a little bit of everything! Thanks for sharing.
How neat! I would love a trip to Indy. I’ve never been and this is all making me so hungry. The cat cafe would be right up my alley, too!
I also was left so surprised by how great Indy was – as you mentioned (thank you!), I found the vegan scene quite amazing and the cat cafe can take my money any day!
Dang, you Coleman’s sure know how to make a girl nostalgic. I’m missing Indy reading this post. And man all that foood has a girl HUNGRYYYY right about now! take me back!
This is a wonderful place to visit. The food is delicious and presentable, the sights is incredibly beautiful especially the canal walk and the boating on eagle creek. So many great options.!
I’ve never been to Indy or even nearby and it does sound a lot more interesting than the sterotype! The rotating menu sounds really cool too, as I always want to try new things!
Looks like you had more fun in Indy after we all left! Will forever love Bluebeard. I also love that there’s so much to come back and see, from Milktooth to boating on Eagle Creek. I sense an Indy reunion!
Wow these places all sound amazing. I think I need to check out the cat cafe.
That turkey sandwich tho!! Say whaaat!? I totally need that in my life, like yesterday!
Sign me up for Milktooth and St Elmo’s please! I havent had the chance to experience a cat cafe yet but hopefully soon… with allergy meds of course since Im allergic haha
I’m surprised to hear that Indy is one of the hottest food cities, how cool! The thai chicken wings at Milktooth sound super delicious and Taste of Havana’s Cuban lunch bowls sound yummy and affordable. Look forward to trying these out whenever I pass through Indy!
It really does sound like a great city with lots going on! I’ve never give it a thought to visit before, but this post has definitely changed my mind!
Next time I’m in Indiana I will have to check some of the places out. Since we don’t have a kitty anymore, I could really go for a kitty cuddle and a coffee.
ahhh, sorry to hear about your kitty. It’s always a shame to loose your fur baby.
Thanks for all the good information that you put out here. I would love trying all of those different places out. Aside from the craft beers, I love anything food. And, as a Casablanca fan, I hope that Rick’s Cafe is Casablanca themed. I’d have to visit.
Of all the gin joints you had to walk into this one… It’s actually boat house theme. It looks like a miniature version of Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego. Funny that you mention Casablanca. I never made that connection before.
I’ve never been to Indianapolis, but you never know where life’s journey will lead. If my husband and I are ever lucky enough to go, I know we’ll have barbecue pork nachos at Rick’s Cafe (for him) and thin-crust pizza at Naples Pizzaria (for her) x
That sounds like a winning combination there.
When I think of Indy, I automatically think of cars but it looks as if there is so much more there to offer. I have been to USA a lot but never to Indiana, it sounds like there is a lot going on there and some of those food options looks super yummy. That turkey sandwich has definitely made me hungry now and I think I should make some breaky 🙂
Indianapolis is near Chicago. It might be interesting to swing down to see the car racing and what the American countryside looks like. There are also Amish around if you want to visit the horse and buggy sect.
I love that they are bike friendly. Perfect for a budget traveler! Are there bike rental shops around?
There are some goo d bike shops. There are bike shares in both Indianapolis and Hamilton County . There are also specialty shops where you can rent a higher performance bike if you want to get some mileage in.
didn’t know there was so much to do and lots of places to hang out here. bookmarked this for future reference 🙂
A cat cafe!! My friend Bill lives in Japan, and cat cafes are a regular part of his life there. I think it’s such a wonderful idea — I’d be at Nine Lives today if I were in Indy! I’ve enjoyed your whole series of articles on Indianapolis — I’ve certainly learned a lot about a city I wasn’t familiar with — and I see all kinds of things I’d enjoy doing. Thanks for putting Indy on my travel map!
Some day, when our fur babies are gone, we are going to have to visit a lot of cat cafes to catch up on missed snuggle time. I wonder if they cats will get to know you. I can tell they know the workers well.
Must admit to not being a huge movie watcher so didn’t have any real preconceived ideas about the midwest states. Loving the look of Indianapolis, especially the culture trail and the craft beer opportunities. Seems like the world over is getting in on craft beer but I’m perfectly ok with that.
You can never go wrong with a good craft beer.
I’ve never been to Indianapolis before. It looks like there’s a good amount of things to do. Bluebeard looks like a place I would love to eat at.
The Thai coconut curry rice is one of our favorite Thailand cuisines but Thai chicken wings are new, sounds delicious. Pizzas are always a top choice so the Napolese Pizzas will definitely be on the list for a try. And cat cafe we would love to visit it and cuddle some furry balls.
Wow! To be honest, I’ve never thought of Indianapolis as a destination, but you make a lot of good arguments for going. The food and activities all sound amazing.
What a fun post! I’ve actually never heard of Indy being a popular food destination, but it sounds like they’re a force to be reckoned with! I’d love to try Taste of Havana. Sounds really interesting!
It looks like one of the cool places on earth. I really liked the vibe of the city. The food scene is super good too. I personally love NAPOLESE PIZZA. I would love to visit Indianapolis someday.
Oh so many delicious places to indulge. I’ve never been to Indy before but now I’m rethinking my next travel plans. I can’t roll past a good pun so you’ll most likely find me at Soupremecy!
Never really thought of Indianapolis as a tourist/travel destination but surprisingly there is so much to do there! I would so want to boat in the Eagle creek!
Indianapolis has never been on my radar because I didn’t realise how much there was to do and eat there. Public Greens sounds like it’s right up my alley and the hubby would love that cat cafe. This is such an informative guide. Thanks for sharing
So many interesting places I would not expect! I would definitely love to explore the hidden passages of the Catacomb tour! Also, as always give me something hipster to catch my eye – the Milktooth place looks pretty interesting and coconut curry rice sound delicious!