Photograph by Tony Valainis
A couple new Indy spots are in bloom. One sign of a vigorous business is the addition of services and hours, so I’m excited to see internal expansions for two spots opened within the last year. Speedway dining/market destination Borage (1609 N. Lynhurst Dr., 317-734-3958) is bumping their open time up as of January 21 to 7 a.m. every day but Monday (when they’re closed). Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday they close at 2 p.m.; Thursday through Saturday the party won’t end until 9 p.m. They’re also launching happy hour this weekend, with food and drink specials on Friday from 5 to 9 p.m. and Saturday from noon to 9 p.m.
Heading south, Garfield Park–area gathering place Parkside Public House (2602 Shelby St., 317-868-4511) expanded their brunch hours this week, scooting their open time on Wednesday through Sunday to 9 a.m. Closing is 9 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday, with a 10 p.m. shutdown on Friday and Saturday.
Noblesville is having a moment. Residents of the charming northern burg might bridle at this, as they’ve been in on the news for years—but the pace of cool restaurant openings in the city continues to pick up, making the town more attractive than ever. To prove my point, two more spots announced moves to the area this week:
151 N. Eighth St. in Noblesville was the home of Bolden’s Dry Cleaners for 63 years, but WRTV reports a new era for the site: King Jugg Brewing will spend $4 million on a new outpost at the address as a tenant of the Noblesville Redevelopment Commission. Expect a 3,077-square-foot outdoor dining area, public art, and a kids’ play area. Opening date is TBD.
Jaclyn Chadburn and Kelly Klein will bring a third location of their Twisters Soda Bar to Noblesville this spring. Current reports that the business, which serves up sweet NA drinks such as the Fall Creek Water (Dr. Pepper, coconut, vanilla, and coconut cream), will launch at 1007 S. 10th St. in March. Chadburn, who lives in Pendleton, says they picked Noblesville for their latest spot because “it still has some of that small-town feel in the downtown area.”
This one is a heartbreaker. Porter Books and Bread, a terrific little breakfast and lunch spot tucked away in Fort Benjamin Harrison, announced on Instagram that it will shut down at month’s end. Co-owner Will Worley says, “Corporate interests and regional chains are choking out mom and pop shops all over the country,” with his spot’s closure being just one of the casualties. “This isn’t the appropriate time or place for an ideological rant about the cognitive dissonance in the #SupportLocal but also ‘where’s my f**king frappucino’ in-the-same-breath crowd,” Worley says, but—given the nasty emails I received for suggesting last week that dining at a locally owned restaurant was preferable to hitting a Qdoba—maybe it is. Pay your last respects to Worley’s business at 5719 Lawton Loop E. Dr. (317-388-5046) by January 31.
When getting my mammogram last week, I noticed the TV in the waiting room was playing a nonstop loop of Food Network series Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. According to the receptionist, “There’s something about that show that seems to calm everyone down”—a welcome respite in an anxiety-inducing place. When I go in next year, maybe I’ll catch a glimpse of downtown lunch spot Subito (34 N. Delaware St., 317-220-8211), which will be featured on a sandwich-focused episode of the series on Friday at 9 p.m. ET. (BTS photos, including shots of staff with host Guy Fieri, are already up on Facebook.)
I’m looking for Indy’s worst tables. Any restaurant owner will tell you the addition or loss of a single table can make or break a business’ bank account. That’s why I was so entranced by this report from WANE’s Sierra Tufts on how Fort Wayne standby Klemm’s on Wells has embraced its “worst table.” As a person who eats out for a living, I have spent more time at various restaurants’ bad tables—seats where you’re constantly bumped, crowded, blasted with frigid air, or unhappily privy to the, um, privy—than I can track. And yet, I cannot begrudge our local businesses any seats, so I am stealing a page from Sierra’s book and seeking out the city’s worst tables for—and I am serious about this—a sincere salute and celebration. Send your nominations (and photos, if you have them!) to ebatey@indianapolismonthly.com; feel free to append a DeuxMoi-style “anon pls” if you want me to keep your name on the QT.
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