January 30th - Bella Vita downtown

So I went to a new to me place this week. Bella Vita on Geist opened a location downtown at Circle Center. It used to be one of my favorite restaurants downtown - Bertolini's. So I was really excited that a new Italian place opened there. And I wasn't disappointed. We decided to try it out during Devour Downtown, and I'm glad we did! The food was really good but definitely pricier on normal occasions than I would like to pay. Also, the service is less than stellar. It seemed like they were all kind of stuck on themselves, and stuck up. But don't get me wrong, their food was really good. I got raviolis (of course!), and we got the crab and lobster flatbread appetizer. So definitely try to get down there this week, and get a good deal on some really nice and fancy Italian food!

January 21st - Fat Dan's Chicago-Style Deli

Ever since DynoJax closed down a few months ago, my heart was aching for a good Chicago Dog. Our friends were talking about Fat Dan's Chicago-Style Deli in Broad Ripple, but every time we tried to go for lunch, they hadn't opened yet. Lucky for us, we went for dinner last night. And it was really a great experience. The place is decked out with Cubs stuff, and the menu is full of tasty Chicago-style delicacies like Italian beef sandwiches, and Vienna Beef hot dogs. I, of course, had to have my fav - a Chicago dog without sport peppers. It was amazing! They even used the great poppyseed covered buns that are a Chicago dog requirement! Brian tried their wings and said they were full of flavor, with just a bit of spice. Not overpowering, but definitely delicious. The other really cool thing was that Fat Dan himself helped us. Don't let his name fool you, he's not fat at all. But he makes some mean Chicago food! He was really friendly, explaining how they stay open for the bar crowds into the wee hours, and sometimes he doesnt make it in to open for lunch as early as he would like. Especially since he just opened in September and doesn't really have too many employees. Completely understandable in my book! I will definitely be back! Next time, I may go for his brisket, or a Payton's Grilled Cheese. Who knows? But I definitely know I'll be back and try as many of Fat Dan's Chicago-style menu items as I can!

January 17th - Sapporo

If you want a local alternative to the Japanese mega-chain with the blue roof, you should head to Sapporo in Castleton. They do all kinds of fun little tricks and games while they're cooking the food in front of you. And they also have a better variety of veggies (think broccoli and carrots added in with the onions, mushrooms, zucchini and sprouts of the mega chain). There is also an amazingly huge coi pond with a bridge in the restaurant. It definitely adds to the at home Japanese style. Also, their sushi is very good. And they run sushi specials regularly. Definitely one of our family favorites!

January 16th - Brockway Pub

One of my favorite Irish pubs in the city closed its doors just before Christmas. Which really stunk for me, since my favorite local / Celtic band had gigs booked there throughout the month of January. Anyway, when I heard another local Irish pub had booked Mother Grove to play on Saturday the 16th, I knew I had to be there. Plus, it was my girl Erin's birthday. What better way to celebrate than with good music, good friends and a good pint?
We all headed over to Brockway Pub in Carmel, and honestly, we were not disappointed. Although we just got some appetizer-like bar food, it was actually pretty tasty! Their Dublin Pub chips are really good. Almost as good as the Dublin Pub's chips in Dayton, Ohio! We ended up watching the Colts win the first round of the play-offs, while listening to great music! It really was a good time. I hope Brockway books them to play more often! I would love that place to be my new weekend hang out!

January 14th - Fireside Grill

On January 14th, we went to a "new to us" restuarant to met some friends. So we went to this nice little place on the Southside called the Fireside Brewhouse. It has an upscale bar feel to it, kind of like the RAM or a super nice Scotty's. They have a pretty extensive bar menu (I ordered a Beamish, and it was heaven. You can't find that in very many places!) The food was VERY tasty! We all ordered something different. Between the four of us, we got to have very different flavors. We had the kickin' chicken (Chicken breast crispy fried or blackened. Topped with onion straws, jalapeno jack cheese and chipotle-mayonnaise*), the Fireside Classic burger with Velveeta cheese!, the parmesan crusted tilapia, and I had the fireside chop salad. My salad was just how I like it, covered in bleu cheese crumbles with a steak on top! All of our food was very very good. And it was the perfect atmosphere to hang out and catch up with friends! It would also be a pretty good date location.

* Description taken from the Fireside Brewhouse website

January 13th - Midday Deli

I apologize for my gap in blogs. I was on vacation in Vegas! But trust me, I had to pay for it today. Not only am I exausted from all the excitement and late night travel, but I was completely swamped at work today. So much so, I didn't get a chance to run out and pick up lunch until 2:30! Lucky for me, Midday Deli was still open. It is a very cute little deli near Park 100, tucked behind the Squealers. Anyway, they make the best soups, and they make them fresh every morning! They also have the freshest fixin's for salads and sandwiches. Today, I wasn't feeling soup, so I ordered a delicious turkey sandwich. I know, boring. But I changed it up with lettuce, cucumbers, and sprouts! I don't know about you, but I always think my food tastes healthier with sprouts. If you aren't in the middle of a health kick but want something delicious, you can have a reuben, chicken, tuna or egg salad, or even grilled cheese! Some days they have a grilled cheese and tomato soup combo as their daily specials. Love this place! Everything tastes so good, and the employees are super friendly. A little warning, though. They're only open for lunch 11-2:30 Monday through Friday.

January 9th - Claude and Annies, Taylor's Bakery

We recently received a $10 gift certificate to Claude and Annie's in Fishers. Man, their fried chicken is AMAZING! The breading is incredibly delicious, and it came with a baked potato and broccoli. It used to be seperated into a bar and a restaurant. Now they have combined it together. Which I am not a fan. The bar allows smoking after 9pm, and it really smells up the whole place. I do not like to smell smoke while I'm eating. Keeping the bar seperate would definitely help that out.
But based on the food and the friendly service, I will still come back. I'll just be sure to go for lunch instead of dinner!

After lunch, we stopped by Taylor's Bakery on the way home. Taylor's is definitely an Indianapolis staple. They make any kind of baked treat you can imagine: donuts, cookies, cupcakes, wedding cakes, coffee cake, brownies, baklava, candy corn, peppermint bark, and the list can continue. They're really good at what they do. So good, in fact, they opened a second location in Fishers.

January 8th - Taj of India

Part of my resolution is to visit somewhere I have never visited once a week. Well, not only did I try a new-to-me restaurant, but I also explored a type of food that I've never eaten before - Indian food! I've always had a preconceived notion on what Indian food would taste like, but I finally decided to try it out for sure. Our lovely friends invited us to meet them at Taj of India, in Castleton, and I was excited to expand my culinary horizons.
We walked in and ordered. Brian and I shared a paneer pakora appetizer, and the chicken mahkani entree with garlic naan. It was actually really pretty good! I was impressed at how interesting and tasty the food was! The chickpea batter on the cheese was very unique. I expected something heavy and hummus tasting, but instead it was a very light batter. The chicken makhani was really tasty, and I could've eaten the garlic naan all day long! Also, I was happy to see the best indicator of good ethnic food - there were Indian people eating there too! I would definitely recommend this place! Thanks to Caroline and Trent for introducing us to this place!

January 7th - WB Pizza

So it was so snowy today that I got stuck on the side of the road in my neighborhood. So my hubby was good to me and picked up WB Pizza. He even got half of it with mushrooms for me! I think WB Pizza is really really good. They put lots of cheesey goodness on it. And they braid the crust! So its pretty and delicious!

January 6th - Peak Performance Fitness

I know a lot of people are looking to lose weight and get healthy in 2010. And although it may seem like I'm going in the opposite direction going out to eat all the time, but I'm keeping on track. I've been working off those holiday lbs at Peak Performance Fitness on 62nd and Binford. It really reminds me of Average Joe's Gym from Dodgeball. Its a family owned gym, full of all the necessary things for getting into shape: tons of cardio machines including elliptical machines, treadmills, bikes, rowing machines and stair steppers. They also have all the weight lifting machines and free weights you could want, including a special area only for women so us shy gym gals don't have to worry about being oggled by the "meat heads". =D There are a few of those there too, but trust me, they're mostly too busy getting bigger to say anything to anyone else. But when they do, they're really nice. Everyone is! Especially the trainers and the teachers. They have all kinds of fun classes: yoga, pilates, spinning, and Zumba! I haven't had the guts to try Zumba yet, but I really want to some day. Maybe thats the "new thing" I'll try next week! And, if you need them, they also have childcare and tanning. Can you tell I really like it there? We've been members since October, and we're really glad we joined there. There are all kinds of "Globo-gyms" nearby, but we want to stick with our own little "Average Joe's"!

January 5th - Gyro Stop

I work at Park 100, and there is a little, family owned lunch spot that I had to try out. So I went to the Gyro Stop, and I was definitely suprised. It is, by all intents and purposes, a small, family owned shop. The only employees are the owners, a husband and wife team. Although their lunches aren't as fresh as a pita chain I love, the flavors are incredible. I got the #6 lunch combo, the chicken gyro wrap with a side of hummus. It was the best hummus I've had in a LONG time. The chicken was full of Mediteranean flavors, and the lettuce was topped with delicious tsaziki sauce. It was definitely worth the $7 and change I paid. I will definitely have to visit this place again!

Anyone know of any other delicious local lunch spots on the Northwest side of Indianapolis that I should try?

January 4th - Inner Peace Yoga Studio

On January 4th, I didn't go to any local restaurants. But I did go to yoga class at Inner Peace Yoga Studio. I really like their yoga classes. They teach you difficult positions without making you feel stupid, and they really try to make sure you "get" everything they're trying to teach: the asanas AND the mental and spiritual side of yoga as well. I really feel both relaxed and energized when leaving class. And for someone with very little patience like me, thats something special.

Anyway, come check them out! They have 6 week sessions for $90, and the new session starts January 11th. And if you're a new customer, I'm pretty sure they're running a special. So call them up and find out!

January 3rd

January 3rd, I did not get to patronize any local places. On the 3rd, we were lucky enough to have my parents treat us to lunch and dinner. However, not at any local places. Maybe next time.

January 2nd - Boogie Burger, SweeTies

January 2nd, I worked my part time job at Easley Winery (another great family owned and operated business in this city!), so I just made a quick bite for lunch before heading downtown. However, after work, we went to one of my absolute FAVORITE little places in the city - Boogie Burger in Broad Ripple. I swear to you, they have the best burgers in the city. Everything tastes so fresh, and they really make an amazing burger. I usually get the Blue Moon - a burger topped with lots and lots of bleu cheese. YUM! Brian usually gets the BBQ cheeseburger. Although sometimes we order King David hotdogs, too. (King David is an Indianapolis hotdog company that has a location downtown. Haven't been there yet because they're only open for lunch during the week. But one of these days this year, I'm going to get a King David dog from the source! They're AWESOME!) Anyway, sorry for the tangent. Back to Boogie. This trip was no different. Got my Blue Moon, but also got their delicious garlic fries. Oh man, those are so good! Be careful not to eat them on a first date or something, because they literally have straight garlic cloves and parsley on these fries.

After dinner, I needed something sweet, so my husband took me over to SweeTies on Broad Ripple Ave. They have everything a sweet tooth like me could want! They have fresh baked cookies, HUGE brownies, and any imaginable cupcake flavor you could dream up. I got an oatmeal cookie, and a cotton candy cupcake! The oatmeal had a little too much nutmeg in it or something (I'm not a huge fan of nutmeg), but the cupcake was amazing! Light and airy, just like cotton candy should be! Especially mixed into a cupcake. You should definitely try SweeTies out yourself!

Both places are A+ establishments in Broad Ripple! You should try them out!

January 1st - Cinema Grill

On New Years Day, my husband and I went to Scotty's Brewhouse for lunch. I know you Indiana folk are saying "Thats not a local place! Its a chain!" Well, it is, but keep in mind that it is currently an Indiana only chain. But since they do have 4 locations (and planning on opening more) you are right, I'll move on to dinner.

We had dinner on New Years Day at the lovely, charming, city jewel known as Cinema Grill. We watched "The Blind Side" had cheese pizza and chicken fingers, and got to watch an amazing movie while eating tasty food at this local, one of a kind, "dinner and a movie" place. Love it!

The Resolution

So... After a rough economic 2009 in Indianapolis, I realized too many of my favorite local businesses closed their doors this year. It made me think. Could I have done something to save these businesses? If I would've patronized this place more frequently, could I have helped them succeed? This brought about my resolution for 2010 - and the purpose of this blog. My goal is to frequent local businesses almost exclusively this year. I want to do my part to help these businesses stay open. Therefore, I resolve that in 2010, I will do my part by patronizing local restaurants, bars, stores, etc, and I will visit a new business every week. I will keep a record of it on this blog. You all can help me stay on track, and can help me with reviews and critiques of the places I visit. And I'm always up for suggestions on new jewels in this city that I may not know.

Thanks, guys! And happy 2010!