Eating & Drinking in Indianapolis

This joint is about as swank a bar you'll find in all of Indiana. It's got a stellar martini and cigar selection as well as a true lounge vibe. There's usually jazz on the weekends (with a $5-$10 cover charge). And you won't have to worry about any obnoxious rednecks or loud sports fans here. It's romantic and dare I say, sexy. It can be a bit pretentious, but in a town not known for it's sophistication, that's kind of welcomed.

One of, if the best, dive bar in Indy. It's dirty. It's grimy. It's super laid back. And best of all, it's super cheap. Folks from just about every sect of society hang out at this place; punks, goths, businessmen, old man drunks, you name it. Which means it's a great place for people watching. They also have Busch Light cans and one of the best jukeboxes in town.

For starters, the owners of this joint are great people who really take care of their customers. Gotta love a place that respects its clientele. This upscale dive, as I like to refer to it, has only one TV, and it's usually just showing old movies. The music's always good and the menu is pretty adventurous for a bar. There's always a unique character or two in the joint entertaining everybody. A must visit if you're in Indy even for a night.

This bar is named after a local basketball legend Bobby Plump, who hit the the final shot of the 1954 Indiana High School Basketball State Championship game, sending the tiny school from Milan to a state title. Milan was the last small school to win the state title the state switched to a class system. Aside from the history, it's a pretty decent sports bar. It gets loud and a little obnoxious, but it's one of my favorite places in town to catch a game with some friends.

I just love the name of this place. It's not much on aeshetics, but it does have just about every bar sports game you can imagine (darts, pool, etc.) And it's not a total sports bar sausage fest. You can actually sit and enjoy a decent conversation with somebody here, at least on the weeknights. It does get pretty busy on Fridays and Saturdays.

Definitely one of the top restaurants in Indy doing some really high quality stuff. The ambiance is solid (you don't feel like you're in Indiana) and the service, at least when I was there, was impeccable. I wasn't super impressed with the wine list, but our entrees were solid.

Some people say this is some of the best Indian food in the entire midwest. That's a bold statement, cause I've eaten a at a lot of different Indian joints. But I have to say, it's pretty damn good. The Chicken Tikka Masala was as good as any I've had anywhere. The prices are fair (especially the lunch buffet, which is under $6) and the service is standard for Indian joints. It's usually pretty slow, so no worries about having to get there at an odd time.

This is one of the nicer restaurants in Indy that isn't overly pricey and trying to hard to be like a place in Chicago or New York. It's got rooftop dining, which is a blast in the summer (with some great downtown views). The buiding it's in is one of my favorite structures in all of Inday (it's called the Oxygen Building, which was recently rehabbed).