The reality is, I find very little to write about.   The only notable newcomer is Bluebeard, which is outstanding.  Otherwise, the good restaurants that I have talked about in the last 4 years are still great.   The bad restaurants – well, most of them are closed.

I refuse to get excited about another mid priced chain making flat bread.  Has anyone really had a flat bread they like?!  Come to think of it, I don’t like anything that is flat.

Flat bread, Flat Chuck (Indy people get this), Flat Chests…  Well – not so fast, I like Flat 12 Bierwerks, which is a nice segue way – people in Indianapolis actually know how to make beer.

About five years ago, Upland Dragonfly IPA was the state beer.  Now, we have Flat12, Sun King, Triton, Fountain Square, BierBrewery and plenty more than I am forgetting.   I would like to think that all of them will survive, but time will tell.   For my money, you just can’t beat Flat12 and the seasonal beers at Upland.

Honestly, I am probably more excited about beer than food lately.  Check out www.hoosierbeergeek.com for more info on local beer.  They do a great job and my pal Jake writes for them.

I had some grand ole times this year:

*Bourbon Trail in Kentucky.   A stop at Wild Turkey and Buffalo Trace with a rowdy bunch of mother f-ers.  Louisville is a great city with really good food.   I feel like we are behind them.   As an IU fan, I hate losing to anything from Kentucky.   Unacceptable.

*This meal at Bluebeard.

*Any barbecue in Kansas City.

*Smoking Goose Meats.  Unbelievable.  I lost a $20 bet with a guy in line there this summer, ask me about it sometime and I will tell the story.

*Raskia in Washington DC made me really want a Indian restaurant here that is not based around Chicken Tikki Masala.

*Brad Gates Catering at City Market.  They know how to cook.

*At an upscale dinner party, someone found out I wrote this blog and said “you are much more sophisticated in real life.”   Ha, ha.

*The best burrito that I have EVER had is still here in Indy.

*The Pizza Fan blog is great.  Holy shit this guys eats a ton of pizza.

*Seeing the Steepwater Band at the Rathskellar.

*I proposed, she said yes.

Disappointments: 

Eddie Merlots has a cookbook out now.  I picked it up and found out they pair their prime steaks with frozen spinach and frozen potatoes.  However, the French Onion is still the finest that I have had.

*Food Trucks.   Sorry.   Scratchtruck is excellent, Spice Box is good and that is where the story ends.  The Upland/Scratchtruck combo on Thursday night is awesome, but I just can’t find a truck that I love.  I desperately want to see them thrive.

*Service at a ton of places.  It is a lost art.

*Kilroy’s Pizza.  I love your breadsticks, but your pizza dough is some of the worst that I have ever had.  (See above service comment as well).

*Fast Food:   McDonald’s pushes out the Cheddar Bacon Onion, Hardee’s puts pork on a burger, Domino’s tries to rip off Pizza Hut and that is about it.

*Hot Dog places.  Stop, just stop.   I can get one at Costco for $1.50 with a drink.  Game over.

*The people that have expense accounts and default to steakhouses.

Continued…..

I am in the middle of writing some posts and catching up with things.   I would like to promise that I will blog a ton more, but we will see.   Sometimes I like just eating without trying to pick the whole process apart.   Just enjoying the company I am with and realizing that at the end of the day, if you like it, you don’t need a long lists of reasons or to be able to site the delicate preparation of local ingredients and tell an elaborate story around it.

I went to the 12 Chefs of Christmas on Saturday and part of me thinks that I should cover it for the blog.   This tends to lead to to the same crossroads that have slowed my writing.   Option 1:  Take pictures and detailed notes about the food.  Option 2: Drink a ton of beer, meet new people, chow down and tell dirty jokes.  You see the dilemma?

Happiest of Holidays from all of us here!

Cheers,

-wibia

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So, when I was watching the news this morning and saw that Fox59 is putting together a deal this week starting this Thursday, January 12th, as part of their weekly “Be Our Guest” promotion (think Groupon-like), I knew I had to make mention of it on the site to drive traffic to Black Diamond.

Quite simply, you can buy a $50 gift certificate for Black Diamond for $25 starting at 7:53 a.m. by visiting this link.  The deal includes two $25 gift certificates.  The certificates expire within six months and there’s only 200 of them available, so you’ve got to buy them and use them quick!

So, if you want to grab a deal the best barbecue that I’ve had in the city of Indianapolis, make sure you visit the Fox59 site starting tomorrow and snatch up one of the deals.

-IndianapolisEater

It’s that time again!  Starting this Monday, January 9th and running through January 22nd, Indianapolis’ annual winter celebration of downtown restaurants is returning once again.

If you are unfamiliar with Devour Downtown, several downtown restaurants band together to offer special menu items, special/discounted pricing, etc. in order to attract business to their establishments.  The only catch is that you have to order from that specific Devour Downtown menu (They’ve even added a mobile website this year as well in order to make it easier for you to access info on your phone as well.  Isn’t technology great?!) in order to get that special pricing.  If you don’t, well, it’s just like any other visit to the establishment.  FYI, some of these establishments are offering special lunch menus, so you can check those out as well.

If it seems like it is at a different time this year, well, that’s because it is!  It’s usually held a bit later in the winter, but they are doing it early this year due to the fact that there’s this sort of a big game that’s brings all sorts of festivities with it in the first week of February that is going to clog up downtown.

We’ve reviewed several of the restaurants that are participating, so if you have any questions or are curious about a particular establishment, feel free to check out our Review Archive for a little advance scouting.

Devour Downtown Winterfest ends on January 22nd, so make sure you get there between the 9th and the 22nd if you want the experience.

-IndianapolisEater

Smorgie.com is a new website focusing on restaurant lists similar to Urbanspoon and Yelp.  On the site, you can check out local restaurants and add them to a recommendations list to share with your friends and/or the general public, if you so choose.  It’s backed by Gannett (publisher of the Indianapolis Star and USA Today, among others), so it has some solid financial backing

I did a phone survey and online survey for them last week to help them out (their site is currently in beta testing), but I think they have a decent idea for a product here.  If you want to check out the site, start your own list or contribute content, feel free to go to www.smorgie.com or click on the banner just below.

Thanks again for reading and we’ll have a new review in the morning!

-IndianapolisEater

Smorgie.com – Make and Share lists of Yummy
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I took a four day trip to San Francisco that will be scattered posts in the next few weeks. I had a lot of good meals, a few bad ones, but a good time overall.

Thanks for all the e-mails/comments and recommendations.  I find that this blog is a two way street of entertainment, I write reviews and I receive funny comments and e-mails from our readers and therefore I am entertained as well.

Local Link Love:

I really enjoy reading other blogs and here are a few that I am adding to the blog roll to the right.

Indianapolis Restaurant Scene:  Erin’s long standing blog is a great resource for dining in Indianapolis and I would highly recommend adding her to your reader.

Amateur Mixologist:  Probably wins my award for new favorite blog.  Barry knows his craft and is an excellent writer.  A must read if you like to unwind the day with a cocktail.

One Gastro Gnome:  I was informed that putting someone on your blog roll and taking them off is “bitchy.” If there is one thing that I am not, it is “bitchy.”  Therefore, One Gastro Gnome is back on this list.  Now, don’t get me wrong…I think that Chuck’s post about me (without naming me) is bush league, however… gasp…I enjoy his blog and appreciate his subject matter and usually agree with his opinion on food and have learned a thing or two about wine.

Indy Grub Review:  New to the scene and a good casual read.  They cover fast food, local restaurants and some products.  I like the fact that they write whatever they want to write about and try to have some fun in the meantime. Sounds familiar…

Tuesday Night Takeover:  I am not sure what they are taking over, but they seem to be a fun group.   Local Indy food reviews.

I think that is it.

Cheers,
-wibia

Come back soon as we are going to find out “What Pizza Chain has the best hot wings?”  We will continue to find the right balance between chain restaurants and our local Indianapolis food scene.

If this is your first time visiting, thanks for stopping by.

The Link:  So Good Blog.

-WIBIA

Indy Eater is a long time friend.  As a former 350 pounder and Beer Belly Champion (true story), this guy knows how to eat.  A single guy with a strong emphasis on casual dining, fast food, and getting trashed, we welcome his posts to the blog.  He might not be able to give you an in depth review on microbrews of Portland, Oregon, but he will tell you about a good happy hour to throw back 14 Coors Lights and where to hook up.

Welcome to the show my friend.

-WIBIA