Indy: Speed Eating Our Way Through

My blog has become a great excuse to eat more food than I ever thought possible.  These days when I’m dining out with friends we all agree that an extra appetizer or dessert is a necessity, because it’s difficult to write about a restaurant when you only try one or two things on the menu.
Last weekend we visited our daughter at Indiana University.  We made the trip with friends who have a son at IU.  We took an early flight and spent a few hours exploring Indianapolis before heading to campus.  Let me rephrase that.  We spent a few hours exploring the food in Indianapolis before heading to campus.  It was somewhat of a feeding frenzy, all in the interest of blogging of course.

 

I’ve been through Indianapolis countless times.  I have never found much of interest in the city but some local folks told me about a street called Massachusetts Avenue that was worth exploring.  A few galleries, boutiques, and restaurants was all I needed to hear about and our destination was clear.
Our outing began with a visit to The Best Chocolate in Town.  The array of truffle flavors was overwhelming.  It was difficult to choose but we settled on chocolate malt, caramel apple, strawberry cheesecake, cranberry orange…You get the idea.

We walked for a few blocks. I found myself ahead of the group when I discovered one of the most appealing cupcake shops I have ever seen, The Flying Cupcake Bakery.  I am never one to resist cupcakes.  I decided to sample a few different flavors.  I delighted in my purchase of pumpkin spice, strawberry, and salted caramel cupcakes.   My husband and friends caught up with me and chastised me for not buying the blueberry cream cupcake.  They were right.  What was I thinking?  These are darn good cupcakes.  Not too sweet and moist.  They are right up there with my very favorites and worth a visit if you’re in Indy.

A few moments later my friend reappeared with a grin on his face.  He had seen a line forming down the street a block ahead.  People were lining up for what appeared to be food.  Our lunch reservation was minutes away but if there was a line, it had to be good.  Yats is a small place (hence the line) featuring Cajun and Creole food.  The spinach and mushroom etoufee and the caramelized corn and onion etoufee had to be sampled.  So we settled in for a quick pre-lunch lunch.  It was every bit as delicious as we expected it to be.
Lunch at R Bistrofollowed.  The menu features fresh local ingredients with plenty of vegetarian options.  It was difficult to make a decision.  I settled on a Thai salad with tofu and peanut dressing.  I am not usually a big tofu fan but the server made it sound appealing and she used the word “flavorful” which always attracts my attention.  She was right. The tofu was outstanding.  My husband loved his roasted butternut squash and baked ricotta panini.  My friends were more than satisfied with their autumn salad with grapes, figs and goat cheese, and cornbread crusted chili pie.

The sticky toffee pudding with whipped cream called out to us.  I would have resisted.  Really.  But everyone else felt that the blog wouldn’t be complete without it.  So I sacrificed my sanity and we shared the rich dessert.  They were right.  I can now say with confidence that our meal at R Bistro was completely satisfying and delicious.

I have never been to the Indianapolis 500 Motor Speedway.  However,  I can say that I am now familiar with racing in Indianapolis. I wonder if there is a Hall of Fame for speed eating?

The Best Chocolate in Town, 880 Massachusetts Avenue, Indianapolis
My rating (on a 1-5 scale): 3.5

The Flying Cupcake Bakery, 715 Massachusetts Avenue, Indianapolis
My rating (on a 1-5 scale):  4.5
Yats, 659 Massachusetts Avenue, Indianapolis

R Bistro, 888 Massachusetts Avenue, Indianapolis
My rating (on a 1-5 scale):  4.2