Indianapolis Food for Visitors (bakery, road, visit)

[kayanne]

Shapiro's Deli (Indy and Carmel locations), Papa Joe Jr's (Avon), Capital Grille (downtown, a chain but excellent steaks in my experience).

[indybail]

Dawson's on Main Street in Speedway is a traditional stop for Indianapolis 500 fans.

[A2DAC1985]

Originally Posted by Toxic Toast

...This place is on west 10th street. Mug-n-Bun

Best donuts in the city are at Long's Bakery, which is just east of the Speedway at 16th and Tremont.

You have your pick of the litter of bland chains if you cross into nearby Avon. The best food in Indianapolis is not on the west side.

The best root beer and doughnuts are on the Westside.


Don't sell Indy short in doughnuts and root beer.

Mug N' Bun and Long's are fantastic.

When I used to work in Indy my boss used to joke about landing on 16th Street just to get some doughnuts.

[A2DAC1985]

Originally Posted by domergurl

People rave about this place:

Working Man's Friend - West - Indianapolis | Urbanspoon

I used to live 5 minutes walking (NOT DRIVING) from there. Regretfully I haven't been there yet.

[Todd_96]

Long's dougnuts!
Puccini's Pizza on the Northside.

[indy18]

There are a ton of great restaurants all over the city. What kind of food do you want? How much are you willing to spin? I second those who recommend Long's. That's a must.

[lwen333]

Found this the other day:
[mod]link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed[/mod]

Seems pretty accurate to me. Would love some Bazbeaux's Pizza right now.

[bertrandandjules]

The restaurant scene in Indianapolis really seems to have improved in the last 5 years or so. Prior to that, Indy was notorious for being a test market and having an unusually high proportion of national chains. Many of the chains are still there, but lots of local mom-and-pops have started springing up in key neighborhoods.

And in some cases, the locals are putting the chains out of business. Witness the fact with the (now fading) froyo craze: Orange Leaf closed its location on S. Delaware, while it appears the Mass Ave location won't open up. Meanwhile, local Yogulatte still does solid business, and Pearings downtown has expanded far beyond just the yogurt offerings.

[Toxic Toast]

Originally Posted by lwen333

Found this the other day:
Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

Seems pretty accurate to me. Would love some Bazbeaux's Pizza right now.

I am kind of surprised to see one of these internet lists show up and actually list some good places instead of those that are just popular. La Parada is far and away my favorite place for Mexican food. Red Lion has very good pub food. I still, though, don't get Bazbeaux. Has to be the most over-hyped place I have ever been.

[Midwest1960]

Originally Posted by Toxic Toast

I am kind of surprised to see one of these internet lists show up and actually list some good places instead of those that are just popular. La Parada is far and away my favorite place for Mexican food. Red Lion has very good pub food. I still, though, don't get Bazbeaux. Has to be the most over-hyped place I have ever been.

I've eaten as Bazbeaux a few times, that was in the late 80s/early 90s.
Back in those days, Bazbeaux was pretty cutting edge with their pizzas/toppings, compared to what
most people though about when they thought of pizza.
I bet this place seemed pretty far out at the time for average Joes, but really reached out to the segment of food adventurers and built a cult following.
To be honest, I thought their pizza was pretty good, but for me, wasn't all that memorable.