Indianapolis Recommendations March 9-11th

Ill be heading down there myself for bulls v pacers on 3/3. Do to time restrictions, what one place would you hit up for a bit of literal pregaming? It looked like flat12 was the best option to me based on location, but any other ideas? Its a sunday eve.

 

Was St. Elmo the place that was on a recent episode of Parks and Rec? If Ron Swanson eats there it's gotta be great.

 

That was St. Elmo. It is blasphemy, but I much prefer Mo's to St. Elmo. You can't go wrong at either place but the dry aged ribeye at Mo's is a thing of beauty.

 

Where is the best place to stay for someone who will be walking everywhere?

 

Flat 12 closes at 4 on Sundays. Your best bet is the better beer bars. Scotty's is close to bankers life, and they have their own beer on tap and probably 20 others. Pearl street pizza is across the street and has many good local taps. A quick cab ride to mass ave and you can the places I've mentioned above. You could walk it, but if its cold that walk sucks.

I also have to plug the Ram. Andrew is doing the lords work over there with barrels. He has to have corporate beer on, but he gets to play with 4 or 5 taps that are his creation. Those are always fantastic.

 

Conrad. Ball out of control.

Lots of hotels downtown though. Pick one close to the convention center and you are fine. Indy is easily walkable in the DT area. You would need to cab it though to College ave (20 tap) on your way to broadripple.

 

I'm appreciating much of the advice in this thread, but I'd like opinions on a couple other things. For Valentine's Day, my wife set up a one-night trip from Chicago. We have about a 200-mile radius to work with, and I've decided Indy is likely the destination (we've already done a WI-based brewery weekend and hit everything we could on our way to/from Grand Rapids and Ann Arbor). There seems to be some quality beer-related attractions, but I don't want the entire trip to be about beer. Our goal is to spend a night away from our 5-month old and relive our life before we had the baby. We will not have the baby with us.

My questions are three:
1) Where are a few places to go for upscale dining ($100-150 per person, not including beverages)?
2) What else is there to do in Indy? Looking for suggestions for a late Friday night or late Saturday morning/early afternoon (this would be not be beer-related).
3) If you could go to one beer place, what would it be? Think of it this way: if someone offered you free transportation and 10 free drinks, where would you go?

We plan on getting there mid/late-afternoon on a Friday and will leave approximately 24 hours later. We will have a car and cabs will be our alternate if parking or inebriation will be a problem. We aren't on a budget so cost should be commensurate with experience. We will likely stay downtown, as this appears to be our best bet for nicer hotels. We aren't opposed to cozy B&Bs, though.

 

1. St. Elmo's is the best one to try. Great food and a chance to always see someone famous. 2. Walking around downtown is pretty cool. The Riverwalk is great 3. 20 ta. Great food and a great taplist​

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20 Tap for sure would be the one place I would go for beer if I had to pick only one place....

 

St. Elmo is definitely an Indianapolis staple, and they DO have great food, but I'd also recommend Recess in South Broad Ripple (menu changes every night, runs about $50-60 a person), Cerulean near downtown (attached to The Alexander, and will run you probably $40-80 a person, depending), and Bluebeard (near Fountain Square, roughly the same cost as Cerulean). All three chefs are really well-respected in Indianapolis, and they all make amazing food. (You can rack up a bill of $100-150 a person without drinks if you're trying, but I think you'd have to work at it, IMO.)

But like I said, nothing wrong with St. Elmo.

As for nightlife downtown, there are a couple of nice liquor bars: The Ball & Biscuit and The Libertine. The Indianapolis Museum of Art is nice and (depending on weather) they have a great area called 100 Acres that's nice to walk around. The Museum is also free, or so it was last time I was there. The area by the canal (the riverwalk, mentioned above) is nice as well. There may be some good plays going on at the Indy Repertory Theater or The Phoenix Theater, if you're into that.

And 20 Tap.

 

And when you're downtown, please walk on the "Cultural Trail" so we can justify its ungodly price tag.

 

Chef JJ's Back Yard has some great food, if your schedule matches up with available classes/events.
Eagle's Nest? Never been there.

 

The head chef at the Libertine just became a finalist for a James Beard award. Do not sleep on their food either. I have to agree with recess, it really is awesome

 

The Oceanaire is spectacular if you like seafood and it isn't too far from many of the drinking attractions.

 

The Ocenaire is good (but spendy) but the beer selection SUCKS.

 

Great Cocktails there though. Food right by there at Late Harvest Kitchen is spectacular as well. Jason the bartender there will make some really cool beer cocktails

 

If you enjoy sushi, H20 sushi in broad ripple is absolutely amazing. I second Recess, Bluebeard, and Libertine. As far as other activities, the art museum is very nice. I have heard good things about the NCAA museum and headquarters as well

 

I think bluebeard and recess are doing great things. Take her to bluebeard and a walk on the canal and you will be in pound town before you know it.