april-2012

ON THE TOWN: INDIANAPOLIS, IN
STREET SCENE: THE RIPPLE EFFECT BY MATT GONZALES
The artsy and hip SoBro neighborhood is full of quirky restaurants, shops and bars.
SoBro—short for South Broad Ripple—has gradually evolved
from a dull thoroughfare between Downtown Indianapolis
and the city’s north side into a vibrant commercial district,
thanks to an infl ux of eclectic, adventurous business owners. It
may not be as expansive as the Manhattan neighborhood whose
name it mimics, but the diverse collection of restaurants, shops,
and drinking establishments that have cropped up here make
it Indy’s version of that bourgeois-bohemian hub. Best of all, its
village-like size makes it possible to hit up the hotspots along
N College Avenue in a single day. Here’s how:
UBER BOUTIQUE
1 Sure, you could bother with
the mall and look like everyone
else, or you could just hit Uber—a
shabby-chic, high-end boutique
with style to spare. Funky
light fixtures? Jonathan Adler
pottery? High-end, hip women’s
apparel from the likes of Ella
Moss and Velvet? Uber has it all.
uberboutique.blogspot.com
TWENTY TAP
2 A microbrewery movement
is afoot in Indiana, and there’s
no better place to sample the
cream of the crop than at Twenty
Tap, where 32 local and regional
craft beers are on tap and
rotated weekly. Noisy at night but
mellow during the day, you can
either belly up at the bar on the
restaurant’s south side or sit at
one of the spacious booths on
the family-friendly north side. Not
a beer drinker? The housemade
burgers make this place a worthy
stop for the hungry as well.
twentytap.com
NATIONAL MOTO+
3 CYCLE COMPANY
Too lazy for a simple ol’ bike
but not ready for a Harley?
Then these custom, motorassisted
bicycles are the ideal
compromise. Modeled after bikes
from the early 20th century board
track era—when wooden planks
lined banked, oval tracks—these
vintage machines are works of
art. You’ll be pining for one of
your own—with or without
an old-school side pod.
nationalmoto.com
5202
5164
5406
5206
5
4
7
3
6
4923
4907
5910
2
1
EAST 49TH STREET
APRIL 2012 77
NORTH COLLEGE AVENUE
KESSLER BLVD EAST DRIVE
GO MAGAZINE
LUNA MUSIC
4 Talk about a triple threat. In
this age of mp3s, mp4s, Spotify
and iTunes, Luna Music has smartly
diversified. Here, one of the city’s
best collections of CDs and vinyl is
complemented by quirky gifts, a
stellar selection of contemporary
books and a friendly vibe that flies
in the face of snobby record store
stereotypes. lunamusic.net
TASTE CAFÉ &
5 MARKETPLACE
Fluffy-egg omelets, deep-dish
stratas chock-full of veggies and a
menagerie of freshly baked goods
that rival a Parisian boulangerie round
out Indianapolis’ finest brunch menu
at this trendy-but-tasteful little
bistro. The queue to order can be
dauntingly long on weekends—just
another testament to this place’s
popularity—but the pro staff
makes it move quickly and the
delicious payoff is worth the wait.
tastecafeandmarketplace.com
THE SINKING SHIP
6 A tattoo covered staff and
clientele gives this place a hipster
vibe, though the atmosphere is wholly
welcoming. So are the drink specials,
like “40oz for $4” Tuesdays. If you
need a snack to soak up the booze
(and you probably will), the Sinking
Ship offers more than typical pub fare;
try the dukbokki, a traditional Korean
rice dish that will end your night with a
spicy kick. thesinkingship.com
7 RECESS
In Indianapolis, chef Greg
Hardesty is something of a
celebrity—a culinary wizard with a
long restaurant pedigree including
Elements and H2o Sushi. The recently
opened Recess is Hardesty’s piéce de
resistance. Hardesty regards Recess
as a playground (thus the name),
where he defies easy categorization
while dabbling in everything from
Southeast Asian cuisine to soul food.
recessindy.com