Lunch and Dinner in Indianapolis

[ImageGirl]

I'm travelling with my husband to Indianapolis weekend of April 12. Any suggestions for interesting places for lunch and dinner? We're from Toronto and don't get a lot of good Mexican/Mexican-inspired food here, so suggestions in this area would be especially welcome. We're also interested more in really high-quality ingredients than being in a place "to be seen," so anything Mexican, eclectic and/or just really good and "local" could be on our list. Please advise--and thanks!

[elustaz]

So far, my favorite Mexican food in town is at El Puerto de San Blas, on Lafayette Road off of 38th Street. They have a buffet there that you should totally ignore, because you should order one of their fresh and freshly made seafood dishes. Really good fish and shrimp tacos, enchiladas, etc. Not fancy, not a place "to be seen" by the beautiful people, and not expensive, either. It's an unpretentious gem.

[FutureChefAdam]

If you're in the mood for some steak you absolutely have to visit St. Elmo Steakhouse.

This place is an Indy classic and has some of the best shrimp cocktail I've ever eaten.

[nsxtasy]

What part of town will you be staying and/or spending time in, and what day(s) of the week?

Downtown near the circle, the Oceanaire has great seafood (lunch Mon-Fri, dinner 7 days) www.theoceanaire.com And Adobo Grill has very good creative Mexican fare (lunch Mon-Fri, dinner 7 days). www.adobogrill.com

In the Mass Ave area just northeast of downtown, R Bistro is great for contemporary American (lunch Tue-Fri, dinner Wed-Sat). www.rbistro.com

About five miles north of downtown is the Broad Ripple area, and there are several good places in and around there, including Recess (dinner only Tue-Sat) www.recessindy.com and Meridian (lunch Mon-Sat, dinner 7 days). www.meridianonmeridian.com

Another five miles north of Broad Ripple is Oakley's Bistro, on 86th Street, which serves contemporary American food, the best food I've had in Indy (lunch and dinner, Tue-Sat). www.oakleysbistro.com

[ImageGirl]

We will be right downtown, so these all look like great options--I'll post when we get back and let you know how we fared (pun intended!)--thanks so much!

[HoosierFoodie]

If you are right downtown, I'd throw Libertine into the mix. Also on Mass Ave. Black Market and Mesh. Great place for a food & pub crawl. R Bistro is probably my favorite in the city. Recess in Broadripple would be, by far, my favorite in that area.

[ImageGirl]

Great! Thanks and will post our favs when we return!