So.. What's Indy like?...

[vitamink]

I'd avoid the downtown mall on a saturday night. During the week and any time before 5pm is fine. Some of the best food downtown has already been mentioned but Safron Cafe on Ftwayne ave is amazing if you're willing to step outside the meat and potatoes comfort zone.

 

[tom1025]

Spaghetti Factory is an over rated IMO. If you like italian food I would recommend Iaria's Italin Restaurant.

For steak I would recommend Bynums Steakhouse. IMO just as good as Ruth Chris but half the cost.

 

[Colinb913]

Your future wife will thanks me. Coach. Tiffany. ect.

My future wife may thank you, but will my current wallet?

 

[pwoller]

My future wife may thank you, but will my current wallet?

No it will not. And I cant think of a good gun store in the area either.

 

[bigus_D]

If you are gonna go up to the keystone mall, then have mama Carollas for Italian dinner on your way back. Great little broad ripple favorite.

 

[danielocean03]

I'd avoid the downtown mall on a saturday night. During the week and any time before 5pm is fine. Some of the best food downtown has already been mentioned but Safron Cafe on Ftwayne ave is amazing if you're willing to step outside the meat and potatoes comfort zone.

This is great advice.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Downtown restaurants:

14 West

Bosphorus Istanbul Cafe

Dunaway's

Mikado (the box dinners are cool and sushi too)

Fogo (red meat fest)

Acapulco Joe's (Indy tradition)

Saffron (I love it, but may not be for everyone)

Broad Ripple:

Any, throw a dart, you'll do well.

 

[Hoosier8]

There is also the Arts and Theater district on Massachusetts Ave but if you are staying at the Marriott, there is always the Zoo, a couple of Museums, and the Imax theater within walking distance. For a snack there is a Fridays in the Marriott. Fairly close with some very good pub food is the Bourbon Street Distillery, reasonably priced and they have some great BBQ. It is about a block off the Canal.

Bourbon Street Distillery | Indianapolis Cajun Creole Restaurant & Distillery

After hours a place to hit for live Blues is The Slippery Noodle.

Slippery Noodle Inn - Home

 

[PistolBob]

If you come to Indy for the weekend and do not eat at St. Elmo's you have missed the opportunity of a lifetime...at least until your next trip. St. Elmo is semi-casual dining, incredible steaks and shrimp cocktails. It's one of my favorite places to eat in the whole world. Another place to not miss is Iaria's over on College Ave. They have some of the best Italian food in town, stay away from Milano Inn unless you really love Chef Boy Ardee and canned macaroni.

Stuff to do: NCAA Hall of Champions, Children's Museum is incredible but not really geared for adults, the civil war museum in the basement of the Circle Monument, the World War monument, Indiana State Museum, Tour Lucas Oil Stadium, take a carriage ride....

 

[churchmouse]

Your staying DT so you have to eat at St Elmos!

^^^^^^^^^^^^^This^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Best Filet Minion I have ever eaten and I have eaten at a lot of places all over the US of A.

Do the Mall during the day. Not fun at night of late.

 

[cagilber]

This is great advice.

I would also vote to avoid the mall downtown at all costs. It's full of hood rats in the evenings and the stores really aren't that great anymore. If you are going to travel all this way take the additional 20 minutes or so and go up to the Keystone Fashion Mall or the Castleton Mall.

 

[steve666]

St. Elmo's has been the top steakhouse in Indy for decades. Great steaks and their shrimp cocktail has been mentioned on The Best Thing I Ever Ate on Food Network.
I would also suggest The Eagle's Nest, the rotating restaurant on the top of the Hyatt. The food is only okay, but the view is super.

 

[flightsimmer]

You might take a few minutes and stop by the finest indoor shooting range in Indiana at Beech Grove Firearms and Range located at 5:00 on the I-465 dial. All of the info is here, BGF Range

 

[Hoosier8]

Funny, I have lived here since 83 and now live downtown and have yet to eat at St. Elmo's. Expensive and what they are known for is not necessarily the shrimp in the shrimp cocktail but for how hot the cocktail sauce is. I love shrimp, but shrimp is shrimp.

 

[rockhopper46038]

Nothing wrong with the restaurants mentioned so far, but with the exception of St. Elmo's, only Kirk has touched on the fabulous independent (non-chain) restaurants that would be my choice were I planning a weekend trip to Indy.

Other top choices:
Bluebeard - Irvington/Fountain Square. 4 or 5 minutes from the JW in a artsy, eclectic neighborhood with several small music venues, other restaurants and some really nice cocktail bars (most notably for me Imbibe, La Revolucion, Brass Ring)
The Libertine - great drinks, made the right way. Small plate dinner choices. A few blocks from the JW.
Ball and Biscuit - more drinks than food, but night cocktail spot. Mass Avenue District, 4-5 minutes from JW.
MacNivans - Scottish Pub. Traditional Scottish food, great beer and whiskey selection. Mass Ave.
BARcelona - Tapas. Downtown.
Ralph's Great Divide - A little but of a dive, but really good food. Not fancy, but a nice experience. Piano player on the weekend. Around the corner from Sun King Brewery.
Smoking Goose Meatery - Yep, I said meatery! Cured meats of every description! Irvington, about same distance as Fountain Square, in roughly the same direction. Next door to Flat12 brewery.
King David Dogs - Best hot dog you've ever had. Downtown.
Brugge - Belgian food, Broadripple. Good beer, duck fat fried frites.
Flatwater - Broadripple. Great beer selection, along the canal.

I'm leaving out tons, but you get the idea.

Stuff to do?
Breweries:
Sun King
Flat12
Fountain Square Brewing
Three Wise Men
Triton
Daredevil
Rick Bottom
Ram
Bier Brewery
Black Acre
I should know the rest, but that's a start, if you like craft beer.

Everyone should walk the canal and see all the monuments. If at night, be armed just in case, but I haven't had any trouble.

Music venues (small clubs):
White Rabbit
Radio Radio
Melody Inn
Slippery Noodle - Blues, bigger than the others.


Hope you have fun!

 

[mrproc1]

Dang... reading this makes me want to leave my 5 mile radius of a Avon/Brownsburg and head downtown more offen. (Just for the food of course)

 

[Tdcompton]

How about a hibachi grill? We love sushi, but we want to go to a hibachi grill up there, so are there any that serve sushi as well?

fujiyama on the south side serves both and the recent remodel makes for a nice experience.. Chefs are friendly and entertaining.. Highly recommend it!!!!!!

 

[ashby koss]

If you have the dough on hand. Fogo De Chao is spectacular

 

[10Forward]

I would also vote to avoid the mall downtown at all costs. It's full of hood rats in the evenings and the stores really aren't that great anymore. If you are going to travel all this way take the additional 20 minutes or so and go up to the Keystone Fashion Mall or the Castleton Mall.

I dunno about Castleton Square...my family and I were up there for the first time in two or three years a couple of Saturdays ago, and some of the types of people I saw there were definitely different than my last visit. Not for the better, either.

 

[vitamink]

Downtown restaurants:

14 West

Bosphorus Istanbul Cafe

Dunaway's

Mikado (the box dinners are cool and sushi too)

Fogo (red meat fest)

Acapulco Joe's (Indy tradition)

Saffron (I love it, but may not be for everyone)

Broad Ripple:

Any, throw a dart, you'll do well.

Shoot I thought i was the only person on the planet that liked bosphorus. The owner there wants to go out shooting sometime.

Acapulco joes has amazing breakfast, just have a toilet close.

Nothing wrong with the restaurants mentioned so far, but with the exception of St. Elmo's, only Kirk has touched on the fabulous independent (non-chain) restaurants that would be my choice were I planning a weekend trip to Indy.

Other top choices:
Bluebeard - Irvington/Fountain Square. 4 or 5 minutes from the JW in a artsy, eclectic neighborhood with several small music venues, other restaurants and some really nice cocktail bars (most notably for me Imbibe, La Revolucion, Brass Ring)
The Libertine - great drinks, made the right way. Small plate dinner choices. A few blocks from the JW.
Ball and Biscuit - more drinks than food, but night cocktail spot. Mass Avenue District, 4-5 minutes from JW.
MacNivans - Scottish Pub. Traditional Scottish food, great beer and whiskey selection. Mass Ave.
BARcelona - Tapas. Downtown.
Ralph's Great Divide - A little but of a dive, but really good food. Not fancy, but a nice experience. Piano player on the weekend. Around the corner from Sun King Brewery.
Smoking Goose Meatery - Yep, I said meatery! Cured meats of every description! Irvington, about same distance as Fountain Square, in roughly the same direction. Next door to Flat12 brewery.
King David Dogs - Best hot dog you've ever had. Downtown.
Brugge - Belgian food, Broadripple. Good beer, duck fat fried frites.
Flatwater - Broadripple. Great beer selection, along the canal.

I'm leaving out tons, but you get the idea.

Stuff to do?
Breweries:
Sun King
Flat12
Fountain Square Brewing
Three Wise Men
Triton
Daredevil
Rick Bottom
Ram
Bier Brewery
Black Acre
I should know the rest, but that's a start, if you like craft beer.

Everyone should walk the canal and see all the monuments. If at night, be armed just in case, but I haven't had any trouble.

Music venues (small clubs):
White Rabbit
Radio Radio
Melody Inn
Slippery Noodle - Blues, bigger than the others.


Hope you have fun!

I wouldn't recommend anyone go to irvington for a visit to indy until they've exhausted other avenues on previous trips. Irvington is a good area with good food, surrounded by complete ****. Dead center they have a plasma center where you can get $20 for donating plasma. This attracts the crap area to the nice area. $20.00 can conveniently purchase you a rock of cocaine which you can get in the parking lot. Your rock of cocaine will set you up for an hour or so before you need another. Unfortunately you can't donate any more plasma so you'll have to go with the barter system with the local unlicensed street pharmacist. You then will have to break into houses or cars to amass a bunch of loot to trade for your medication.

True police story from irvington:
A slim and attractive officer friend of mine was complaining about the new Arrestee Processing Center that had just opened. He was diligently patrolling the irvington area and saw a man of crackish stature crawling through the window of a 1/2million dollar home. The home belonged to the mayors aid or something. Luckily the man had stuff in his pockets so he could be charged with burglary, theft, criminal mischief, and in a search incident to arrest, possession of paraphernalia (crack pipe...shocker) This chiseled and delicious officer took the man to the APC and did his report. Later on that night he went back to the area as it gets hit hard with burglaries. The officer notices, 1 house down from the burglarized house, a crackish man half in and half out of a window. It was the same guy.