Indianapolis Recommendations March 9-11th

Pork Tenderloin, but I wouldn't suggest that.

If you want a taste of St Elmo's, the bar upstairs (1933 Lounge) would be my pic. Goose the Market north of downtown is a great meat/cheese place with unique dishes and a good setup to eat/drink downstairs.

I'd have a meal at Yats downtown before you leave.

Very close to your hotel is Tavern on South. I've only been there once, but it was decent enough and had a variety of local taps.

 

A bucket of mussels and fries at brugge. Pretty tasty stuff for the area and the beer is great to go with it. Veta is the current sour they have on tap and it's hard to beat in town. Cant wait for Outliers to open up so Ted can start making more barrel aged stuff again.

 

If you have enough people, the Brew Bus will do a custom tour for you, rather than their regular itinerary, with pickup and drop off at your hotel. Total price will vary depending on mileage and time, and then you have to divide per person. Capacity is fourteen, I believe. Great way to avoid having to drive, although it may be comparable to just getting a limo if you don't have that many people.

And it's "St. Elmo", with no possessive 's'.

 

buddy of mine is in town next week....we might go to St. Elmo's for dinner.....just because of this thread

 

Personally I'm a huge fan of St. Elmo's. Shrimp Cocktail is to die for

 

944 other posts where I thought we could be tight bros, but this is the straw that broke the camel's back. You are apparently not as fat and bearded as the rest of us, and by "us" I mean "me" (because in reality I wouldn't hang out with any of you rubes...well, actually I already have in a several cases, but I'm drawing a goddamn line in the sand here! Bear with me!). The breaded tenderloin is sacred.

The "Hoosier"/Indiana breaded tenderloin (...and Iowan, but who really gives a damn about Iowa? Slipknot? No care ever.) is a local tour de force of caloric worth. Several good examples exist in Indy and I would say that the better the breaded tenderloin, the inverse is true of the beer list. So, indeed, maybe skip the tenderloin quest. It's not haute cuisine. For anyone interested in my rant that has no idea what the living hell I'm prattling on about, check this out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pork_tenderloin_sandwich

As to the OP's question, a couple great examples of dining in the Circle City would be Black Market (at the end of Mass Ave) or Bluebeard (right before Ft. Square)...many others, St. Elmo's is a "classic" for sure and gets the most press. A recently-opened restaurant downtown that's got my interest piqued and has some of my friends raving is Cerulean. I'll add that both Black Market and Bluebeard have plenty of good beer available. The others, I'm not sure.

 

Is there a way to down-vote comments on the Beer Advocate?

 

OP, you can grab a tenderloin at the Mug-n-Bun drive-in on West 10th St.

 

It's also "Kroger" and "Meijer", but I sometimes seem, to, be, fight,ing, a losing battle on that one, t,o,o.

 

used to enjoy rolling up to that spot when i was younger, ordering fried apple sticks that would inevitably burn my mouth.

 

I used to hit up M&B all the time. Fried cheese balls and gallon jugs of soda FTW.

 

For this former hoosier a great pork tenderloin washed down with an equally great local craft brew would = awesome. Sounds like a solid business plan. Someone make this happen.

 

Cant emphasize it enough: FLAT 12

 

I'll be the usual homer to throw my suggestion in for Triton Brewery. Great beers that are only on tap at the brewery including one of their most popular BJava Brown that will be on when you come through. Amazing people and a chance to check out some of the local food trucks. Not too far away from Bier Brewery which is another must hit while you're in town.

 

Disclaimer: Dave has no affililiation with Triton, other than the fact that he lives there.

 

If downtown, make sure you hit MacNivans on Mass Ave. They just added another 20 taps to an already great tap list and the food is killer too. Had Zombie Dust in there a couple weeks ago, although you are always guaranteed some great choices.

 

I spend the vast majority of my beer dollars and other dollars on Mass Ave honestly.

You can usually find me on a Saturday or Sunday morning at Chatam Tap drinking great beer and watching the EPL. There is nothing like a nice pint of something good at 7 AM on a Sunday.

Ball and Biscuit (great cocktails, but 6 good taps)
MacNivens
Front Page, I eat there for lunch often and have a beer
Old Point Tavern - great beer list and killer nachos
Bru Bruger - not my favorite, but respectable. Lots of good taps, but the burgers are crazy overpriced
The Rathskeller - German theme, but great beer list and very cool atmosphere
Ralston's - 20-30 taps and good food
Chatam Tap next door
Mass Ave Pub - the hidden little gem on Mass Ave
Black Market -delicious food and a great bar, but the most expensive on this list. Reservations recommended


If I'm not on Mass Ave I'm usually in Fountain Square

Siam Square - the pairing of an Alpha King or Gumballhead with a bowl of spicy curry is hard to beat
La Margarita - top notch Mexican food with a stellar beer list. The guy that owns the place is a real beer geek
Red Lion Grog house - Good food and good beer list
New Day Meadery - Don't miss out on this place. They made me love meads. Try and Magpie breakfast if you go
Fountain Square Brewing Company - I love what they are doing. One of the best pils made anywhere and their high gravity stuff is really tasty
B's Po Boy's - tasty creole style food with a small, but very respectable tap list

I hope you enjoy our city. Indy gets a bad rap in "fly over" Indiana, but I've lived many places across the US. I grew up a Navy brat, and have lived elsewhere for work, but I love Indy.

 

Really good "bar" food. Used to eat lunch there once a week.

 

well since no one has said Bluebeard in the food discussion, I'll go ahead and do that....also I second the Black Acre and Bier recommendations....