Finding Flavor in the Heartland

The Rise of Indianapolis as a Foodie Destination

This story originally appeared as the cover story in our October 2024 print issue. This version has been slightly altered for the web. Story by Brian Garrido, author of Eater’s 38 Essential Indianapolis Restaurants. 

Kurt Vonnegut wrote in his 1979 novel Jailbird, “You can’t just eat good food. You’ve got to talk about it, too.” I understand that.

I knew I hit the Hoosier jackpot when I met Filipino-born, Indy-raised Chef Carlos Alvarez, who made meatloaf and roasted salmon for his friends as a teenager. Good food deserves to be talked about, and there’s no shortage of greatness in the Indianapolis food scene—although the city’s reputation is only now gaining ground. It’s not all steak and potatoes, a Midwest trope.

My partner and I moved from Los Angeles to Indianapolis six months before the pandemic. In the five years since relocating, we have dined at what Indy considers its best.

Over the last few years, we’ve been spoiled with the exceptional seafood feast at the recently shuttered The Trap, slathered in Chef Oya Woodruff’s famed “buttah” sauce. Milktooth is famed for its biscuits and brunch, but their key lime hand pie hangs in my memory with visions of a crimped buttery dough and tangy citrus. Martha Hoover’s Napolese has hosted many a date night over artisanal pizzas and hearty Italian reds.

We supped at Vida under Chef Thomas Melvin with fabled wine and food pairings. At Harry & Izzy’s, we imbibed at the fabled round bar before heading to the legendary St. Elmo Steak House for their signature rib eye. Chef Tyler Shortt, who has been at Tinker Street’s stove since 2019, has made the meals for practically every special moment in our lives these past five years. And the list of legends continues to grow.

INDY’S EVOLVING DINING SCENE

Hoosiers are ravenous for the latest in food and drink.

“I have seen the food scene in Indy grow and evolve,” said FOX 59 feature reporter Sherman Burdette. “The appetite for the Indy food scene is thriving. Just look at the number of independently owned or locally owned franchises popping up.”

A new eatery opens daily, and diners rejoice. According to the National Restaurant Association’s 2024 annual report, the food service industry will top $1 trillion in sales for the first time. In the Hoosier State, restaurants are the third largest employer with 10% of the workforce, contributing $2.04 million to our overall economy.

Earlier this year, Food & Wine magazine included Indy as one of the nation’s top baking cities, a title we’re earning with every fresh loaf.

After a three-year wait, celebrity chefs Josh Kline and Zoe Taylor opened their highly anticipated café and marketplace, Borage, in Speedway. Taylor’s doughy prowess featured on the covers of national magazines with her past work at Milktooth. She may have assisted in promoting the current wheat wave of bakeries opening in the city, alongside the likes of Amanda Gibson’s Indy Dough, Chatham-Arch’s Leviathan Bakery, and Hawaiian-style Mochi Joy Doughnuts.

A GROWING FUTURE FOR INDIANAPOLIS FOOD

More and more chefs are taking root in Indianapolis. In January, Corey Fuller opened Cunningham Restaurant Group’s lavish Commission Row. Nicholas Gattone recently celebrated the first anniversary of his Zionsville restaurant, Good Omen. Meanwhile the wife-and-husband team of Rachel Firestone and Samir Mohammad relocated 9th Street Bistro to Central Indiana for new opportunities.

“When we first moved from Denver to Noblesville, we weren’t sure that the community would support the vision for our restaurant: an ever-changing menu inspired by cuisines from all over the world made with seasonal, local produce,” said Firestone, who directs the front while Mohammad helms the back of the house.

Mohammad added, “We’ve found it easier to create relationships with local farmers and been pleasantly surprised by the support. We anticipate other restaurateurs will flock to the area.”

SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW

The 75-year-old institution Bar-B-Q Heaven continues to smoke some of the finest ribs and meats on this side of the Ohio River. Owner Ronald Jones famously got his start at age 11 with only a turned-over milk crate, some wood and 75 cents from his grandmother.

Since 1894, Indy’s oldest restaurant, The Rathskeller, has served German-inspired cuisine next to Midwest steaks, featuring a biergarten with an international and domestic beer menu.

While classics stayed the course, culinary launchpads proliferated. The city has made room for three food halls in just a few years.

On the west side, The AMP supports minority- and female focused businesses. Headquartered in a corporate-like building with repurposed shipping containers as cooking kiosks, The AMP houses Mambo Cheesesteak Grill alongside baking legend Cindy Hawkins’s Circle City Treats, Butler’s Pizza, and a restaurant incubator for people of color called Melon Kitchen. Canal Walk vegan burger joint Burgeezy started at Melon Kitchen before moving downtown.

The 12-acre, $300 million Bottleworks District restored a crumbling Coca-Cola bottling plant in 2020, providing new locations in The Garage for popular regional brands like Broad Ripple’s Lick ice cream, Clancy’s Hamburgers out of Noblesville and cocktails via Brown County–based Hard Truth Distillery.

And just outside the 465 loop, Fishers Test Kitchen launched The Yard at Fishers District in the same year that Bottleworks opened its Garage. More restaurant incubator than food hall, the space allowed “Top Chef” season 11 winner Kelsey Murphy to launch her fast-casual experience, and Chef Carlos Salazar to test Lil Dumplings before relocating to The Garage, among others.

GLOBAL KITCHEN STARS 

In November, the world’s largest competitive food event will become another pillar of the Circle City’s culinary landscape: The World Food Championships is relocating to Indianapolis from its home in Dallas. 

Media and Events Coordinator for Culinary Crossroads Jolene Ketzenberger said, “It seems appropriate that the competition should be in Indy since, after all, this is where champions are crowned, and the World Food Championships is the biggest food sport event in the world.”

Billed as the Super Bowl for chefs, the five-day tournament takes place at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, where more than 300 teams from nearly 40 countries will compete for a shared purse of $450,000 and the World Food Champion title. 

Though the competition will draw global attention, the world will be learning what Hoosiers already know: Indianapolis food and drink is on the rise. The rest of Vonnegut’s quote says, “You’ve got to talk about it to somebody who understands that kind of food.” We sit at the Crossroads of America, where everyone is talking.