The Essential Guide to Living Well in Indianapolis, Or, Trailhead's Hometown Favorites

This post is about Indianapolis. I left my native city for the upper left-hand corner of the country a little over a year ago. Exploring a new place is fun, but inside information is good. Though India-no-place is perhaps not everyone’s destination of choice, it abuts one of the fastest-growing counties in the U.S. (Hamilton County, sigh.) There are, in fact, people moving to Indianapolis, and not just away. So, to all those who have googled themselves onto this page, my intent is to provide you some of the information I would want if I were moving into a new area. And I mean that quite literally – this post is about my favorite places in the city, and may therefore bear little relation to what you are interested in. But if luck would have it that we have similar preferences, read on.

I moved away from the city in 1993, and went south to Florida, and then to North Carolina. I returned in the late 90’s to take a job as a newly minted litigator at a large Indiana law firm. I left again in the fall of 2004 for the Pacific Northwest. I’ve found some jewels in my new home – a French Provincial restaurant here, a riverfront seafood place there, and a Chinese garden with a teahouse just over yonder. But a holiday visit to Indianapolis reminded me of all the places I enjoy there. And so, this post is born. There is very little here on the east or south sides, because I never spent much time there. Most of the places I include here are north, west, or central.

I ask my Hoosier readers – acquainted or new – to include their favorites in the comments section if they are not present in my post. A caveat: please avoid chain stores and restaurants. (Any new resident of the city can do an internet search to find out where the Outback Steakhouse is, God help them.) I will probably update this post as places I’ve forgotten about occur to me or I pull up suggestions from the comments section. Where I’ve not been able to include links, I try to provide an address. If there’s a link, check it out for locations or directions.

I think it goes without saying that this post is solely about my favorite spots, I make no representations about what your experience will be like at any of these places, and I’m not affiliated with any of them in any way.

Restaurants, Multiple Locations:

Bazbeaux, Broad Ripple and Mass Ave (downtown): Gourmet pizza. Their vegetarian pizzas are deeply satisfying. Though I don’t know if they still offer this service, I was once able to order pizza dough to go. We did this for parties occasionally. They have a good whole wheat crust, too.

Yats: Cajun-creole food. As my father-in-law would say, it’s so good it’ll make your tongue beat your brains out for more. The succotash sends me into paroxysms of orgasmic joy. There are always at least a couple of vegetarian options on the daily menu. As of my last visit (12/2005), they didn’t accept credit cards, so have cash.

Puccini’s Smiling Teeth: Clearwater (Keystone), Geist, North Willow. Good Italian food. Puccini’s also has a hearty dinner salad – a rarity anywhere – with always fresh greens, bell pepper, tomatoes, black olives, onions and shredded mozzarella cheese.

Café Patachou: One of my favorite breakfasts. It’s usually a long wait if you sleep in, but there’s coffee available at the counter while you’re waiting to be seated. I like the granola, but my most frequent dining companions love the omelettes of the day.

Shapiro’s: An authentic delicatessen. I’ve been going to Shapiro’s since I was knee high to a grasshopper (this was a Bloggerdad favorite too). I used to love the German Potato Salad and the sandwiches. Even though I’m vegetarian now, I can still find things to eat here. And their desserts are stellar.

Le Peep: A reliable breakfast favorite, Le Peep could be called a chain restaurant, but it’s not ubiquitous enough to be excluded here. Their granola-crusted French toast is shockingly, wonderfully decadent. But just plain eggs and peasant potatoes are worth a trip as well.

Restaurants, Broad Ripple area and surrounding environs:

Mama Carolla’s Old Italian, 1031 E. 54th Street: Great Italian in a vintage house. Long waits, so go early.

Shalimar: Indian food. Their biryanis rock.

Broad Ripple Brew Pub, 840 E. 56th: The Brew Pub has a lot of vegetarian options, including an awesome vegetarian sloppy joe. Though I’m not a beer fan myself, my beer-loving companions advise me that there are plenty of good selections here.

Restaurants, Northside:

Salvatore’s, 1268 W. 86th Street: Good Italian.

Chang Fu, 3905 W. 96th Street, #400: Small Chinese place in a strip mall north of I-465 off Michigan Road. Great lo mein and vegetarian egg rolls.

Hollyhock Hill: Downhome Midwestern comfort food in an older house off Meridian Street, served family style.

Restaurants, Downtown:

India Garden, 143 N. Illinois Street: India Garden has a reasonably-priced lunch buffet every day. The buffet was running about $7 at my last visit. The nav rattan curry is delish. (I believe there is also a Broad Ripple location, but I’ve never eaten there.)

Elbow Room Pub & Deli, 605 N. Pennsylvania Street: The veggie burritos are tasty and substantial, and the atmosphere cozy.

Ameer, 222 E. Market Street (in the City Market): Tasty middle-eastern food. The green beans, cauliflower and potatoes over jasmine rice is my favorite.

McNiven’s, 339 Massachusetts Avenue: Scottish-American restaurant, owned and operated by my sister’s ex-boyfriend. Want real haggis? Go here. They also have standard American fare for the faint-hearted. See the Citysearch entry for McNiven’s here.

Bertolini’s Authentic Trattoria: Circle Center Mall. Back when I worked for the firm and it was part of my job to squire prospective associates on interview lunches, this was one of my favorite spots. Good Italian food, and the atmosphere is uppity enough for business lunches. Try the rosemary flatbread.

Dunaway’s: I made a bet once with my supervising partner at the firm. Winner had to take the other – and our secretary and paralegal – to lunch at Dunaway’s. I won. And am I ever glad I did. The food here is fantastic.

The Oceanaire Seafood Room: I don’t consider this a chain restaurant, even though it has locations in a few other cities. The seafood here is expensive, fresh and impeccably prepared. The crab cakes are sublime. I don’t have the words. Just go.

Stars Sandwich Market, 116 N. Delaware Street: Many different kinds of sandwiches, all made daily and very good. I like the asian noodle salad, too.

South Bend Chocolate Company, on the circle: This isn’t really a restaurant. But on a blustery, ugly winter day, stop in for a hot chocolate. Oh. My. God. These people know how to do hot chocolate. It’s as thick and creamy as you can get without just drinking pure melted chocolate.

Miscellaneous Establishments I enjoyed or found useful:

Deb’s Produce, 2030 E. 52nd Street: This is a seasonal produce market, and one of my favorite places in Indy. No sooner do you walk under the tent covering than one of the employees is slicing off a piece of fresh cantaloupe, or carving up a pear and feeding you the slices. When I was pregnant, I developed a relentless craving for fresh fruit. I could blow $50 a week at Deb’s, especially on hot days.

Once Upon a Child: There are several of these stores in Indy, all of which buy and sell gently used children’s clothing and toys. A great resource.

Rusted Moon Outfitters: A local outfitter and good alternative to big box outdoor stores, Rusted Moon is located in Broad Ripple, right off the Monon Trail.

Good Earth Natural Food Co.: If it’s natural, vegetarian, or otherwise ethical, it’s here.

Global Gifts, 1468 W. 86th St.: Volunteer-run store featuring fair trade items from artisans around the world. Read the Indianapolis greenmap project entry here.