Things to do in Indy? (Indianapolis, Muncie: coupons, live, price)

[Ivory Lee Spurlock]

Originally Posted by Humboldt1

That is being very kind. I grew up eating Pizza King, location is still busy to this day. The chopped pepperoni is interesting but the frozen dough they use not so much.

Our small town had such a lack of Italian food that we had our spaghetti dinners before cross country sectional at Pizza King.

I love deep dish from Giordanos but actually really like Arnies, which is not high-end but is pretty tasty, at least the one in West Lafayette. Peoqod in Lincoln Park is pretty good too.

Gino's East has really good thin crust.

Some people prefer thin crust and some like deep dish nothing wrong with that, but Pizza King is not my favorite (sister in law in Laporte loves Pizza King btw -still don't get it).

Not high end but I love cheesy bread from little Caesars and the artisan pizzas from Dominos are not bad for Super Bowl party.

Pizza King is okay at best but sometimes the only option in towns like Spiceland. Noble Romans is another Indiana chain (do they still exist?) that was average at best.

Whenever we are in Muncie we never leave Muncie until we go to Pizza King. I think anybody whoever moved away from Muncie misses Pizza King more than any other restraunt in Muncie and when they go back to visit, they go to PK before they leave town again. Pretty much guarantee that. Noble Romans came to Muncie right before I left and I don't think I ever had a pizza from there.

I tried to reply to your pm but couldn't figure out how to do it, so thats why im replying here. I didnt want u to think i was ignoring your pm.

Is Spiceland in Henry County? Seems I may have some family in Spiceland. Cant say for sure. I'll have to ask my mom about that.

[IndyCons]

You may want to check the age limits for some of the recommendations - I know specifically Tinker Street is 21+ because we tried to take our newborn with us Monday. If you can swing an adults only dinner, however, Tinker is worth it as well as Black Market. Also check out Bluebeard - $1 raw oysters on Sunday is a steal and they have so many options to choose from for shared plates. Also in the same neighborhood is Milktooth, arguably the most popular (based on media attention) restaurant in the city. It's one of the few places that lives up to the hype - I've never had anything bad there. And for a quick breakfast option, Rocket 88 donuts down the street from Milktooth uses local fruits and other ingredients (Smoking Goose bacon, etc.).

Pizzology gets our vote for downtown pizza - it's reasonably priced and the toppings are mainly local and nothing too out of the ordinary so kids generally find something they like. The chopped salad is also one of my favorites. Bazbeaux is ok, but like someone said, the downtown location seems a little off from the others.

Punch Burger is a good quick bite to eat - locally raised meats and a large burger menu. My niece loves the tater tots.

Whatever you do, don't let anyone tell you Scotty's is a great local restaurant. Yes, it's local, but the food is crappy Sysco food and the service hasn't ever been good.

Goose the Market is a favorite for a quick lunch - sandwiches vary by day but are always tasty and you can pick up a bag of locally made chips and a cheese/meat plate to round it out. I think sandwiches are in the $8 range but again, most of the meat is local and it's about the only true butcher shop we have downtown.

If you are here during the week, City Market has some decent options as well - The Pantry at Brad Gates uses local meat, cheese and produce and the club is amazing. Wednesday is fried chicken day and it's worth it to get there early. There's also the farmers market on Wednesday AM and you can pick up some prepared food items.

[missik999]

Originally Posted by Humboldt1

That is being very kind. I grew up eating Pizza King, location is still busy to this day. The chopped pepperoni is interesting but the frozen dough they use not so much.

Our small town had such a lack of Italian food that we had our spaghetti dinners before cross country sectional at Pizza King.

I love deep dish from Giordanos but actually really like Arnies, which is not high-end but is pretty tasty, at least the one in West Lafayette. Peoqod in Lincoln Park is pretty good too.

Gino's East has really good thin crust.

Some people prefer thin crust and some like deep dish nothing wrong with that, but Pizza King is not my favorite (sister in law in Laporte loves Pizza King btw -still don't get it).

Not high end but I love cheesy bread from little Caesars and the artisan pizzas from Dominos are not bad for Super Bowl party.

Pizza King is okay at best but sometimes the only option in towns like Spiceland. Noble Romans is another Indiana chain (do they still exist?) that was average at best.

Lou Malnati's is my favorite Chicago pizza. Love Gino's East too. I have always wanted to try Peoqod but every time I am there I end up at Lou's.

Noble Romans used to be a really good pizza but now you mostly see it in gas stations and convenience stores. I was working in a small town in southern Indiana for a week and the only "restaurant" option was a BP station that had Noble Romans personal pan pizzas and breadsticks under a heat lamp.

I haven't found any pizza in Indy that is as good as the many pizza options in Chicago. Now we have two Giordano's locations so that is good but would love to have a Lou Malnati or Gino's East.

[bellakin123]

Originally Posted by grmasterb

Giordano's is a Chicago chain that I think is much larger than Uno. If you're downtown, try Napolese. A lot of folks love Bazbeaux; I'm just OK with it.

We passed by the Fashion Mall on our way back from one of the locations where my daughter had to compete and saw Napolese. Hands down, one of THE BEST pizzas we've ever eaten and coming from a very picky Italian New Yorker, that speaks volumes about the quality. They have an excellent wine list and we thought they were very reasonable. Loved the décor and staff. Kinda reminded me of the hipster places at home


Thank you SOOOO much for recommending it! We actually had it twice lol

[bellakin123]

Thank you all for all your great suggestions! I know everyone's tastes/preferences are different but I do appreciate them all


We were very surprised by how many Italian restaurants we found in Indy, though some were chains. We ate at a Buca di Peppo down in FL and it was ok. We're more into restaurants like Osteria Pronto when it comes to dining out for Italian.


We also stumbled on to the Weber Grill and had a late lunch there. Very reasonable and super friendly staff. When a burger is dripping down my arm, I know it's good lol...the food really was great--you won't leave hungry.


We did hit some chains because a 15 yr old does want fast food from time to time. We don't have Steak N Shake here so we gave it a go and she loved it.


The New Yorker in me was itching for some good old delis and I found a few Shapiro's. I was in heaven. Enormous portions and extremely reasonable. The bagels were just "meh" but I needed my fix lol


We also found some great places in Fountain Square. Smokehouse on Shelby was soooooooo good!!!


Thanks to everyone who recommended entertainment. The Zoo, Cultural Trail and museums were so much fun, even in the 90+ degree weather lol. My favorite is probably the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians & Western Art.

[MortonR]

Glad you liked most of what you experienced.

Buca deBeppo is hardly what I would consider "Italian". For that matter, we refer to it as "hillbilly Italian" as it's really pretty plain for traditional Italian food....

RM

[bellakin123]

Originally Posted by MortonR

Glad you liked most of what you experienced.

Buca deBeppo is hardly what I would consider "Italian". For that matter, we refer to it as "hillbilly Italian" as it's really pretty plain for traditional Italian food....

RM

I don't consider it "Italian" either. I was just surprised by how many locations we saw in the Indy area. The only reason we ate there in Florida was because other people chose it to meet for dinner. For me, it's the same level as Olive Garden lol. I also found it interesting that on the side of their buildings there's a big ol' sign that says, "Immigrant Italian Dinners"

[ischyros]

Originally Posted by McdonaldIndy

Glad you had a great time are you thinking of moving here now?

I don't think this was a trip to scout out potential places to move.

[grmasterb]

Originally Posted by ischyros

I don't think this was a trip to scout out potential places to move.

So? Everyone should want to live in world-class Indianapolis, the greatest city in the world!!

[MortonR]

Originally Posted by bellakin123

I don't consider it "Italian" either. I was just surprised by how many locations we saw in the Indy area. The only reason we ate there in Florida was because other people chose it to meet for dinner. For me, it's the same level as Olive Garden lol. I also found it interesting that on the side of their buildings there's a big ol' sign that says, "Immigrant Italian Dinners"

Something you may not be aware of since you're not from or familiar with the area is that the demographics of Indianapolis are such that it is considered the ideal place to market a mid-priced sit down restaurant. That's why you see so many places like Buca, Chilis, Red Lobster, Olive Garden, etc.

It's apparently what the locals like, so the big restaurant chains pretty much go nuts here. For what it's worth, Buca is not doing well elsewhere.

Smaller specialty drive-through places like Culver's die a quick and ugly death.

And locally owned "mom and pop" places are scarce compared to most major metropolitan areas. That's one thing that really sucks about Indy.

RM