Southern Indiana Living SeptOct 2013

Opposite page, clockwise from top left:
Visitors of downtown New Albany are greeted by a giant fork in
the road.
DP Updogs serves gourmet hotdogs and ice cream in a classic
circa-1958 10-seat Valentine diner.
Roger Baylor behind the bar at the The New Albanian’s Bank
Street Brew house. Baylor is a co-owner of the New Albanian
Brewing Company and has been since 1992. He is also a certifed
beer judge, and a regarded connoisseur of beer.
Bank Street Brewhouse prides itself in its locavore options.
Story // Jenna Esarey &
Kathy Melvin
Photos // Jenna Esarey
&Loren Haverstock
If anyone wonders how committed New Albany is to its
growing restaurant scene, they need only take a walk past
the sculpture located at the corner of East Market and State
Streets.
“Fork in the Road” summarizes the situation perfectly. The
gigantic fork impaled in a wedge of bright yellow cheese is
symbolic of the food revolution occurring in downtown New
Albany.
At a time when many downtowns are struggling to survive,
New Albany’s is experiencing a culinary renaissance. Some
have dubbed the area “Little Brooklyn,” after the popular gentrifed
borough of New York City.
In a small but steady transformation a number of new, independent
restaurants have opened in the last four years, evidence
of the growing revitalization.
The transformation has been partially fueled by the creation
of the Riverfront District, which allows the city to sell liquor
licenses, normally very difcult to procure, for $1,000.
The licenses are carefully allocated to avoid a massive infux
of bars. For example, Toast on Market uses its license to sell
mimosas with their breakfast options.
Toast opened its Indiana location a few years ago after operating
successfully on Louisville’s Market Street for a number
of years.
The popular breakfast and lunch spot serves up everything
from bread pudding pancakes to gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches
with house-made tomato soup.
The business has met with public approval and guests willingly
wait for a table during the busiest hours.
Opening in 2009, the frst Indiana location of the popular
Wick’s Pizza is enjoying similar success at its State Street location
one of New Albany’s historic buildings.
After completing renovations the business opened its doors,
ofering its famous pizza and a not-too-rowdy bar scene. Families
happily dine on the frst foor, while the upstairs features a
bar and stage for live performances.
Another popular spot, the Bank Street Brewhouse, is the
downtown ofshoot of the New Albanian Brewing Company.
Starting its life as Rich O’s Public House on New Albany’s
north side, owner Roger Baylor envisioned a new restaurant
in the slowly reviving downtown which he could use to steer
people away from, “the typical slavish allegiance to mass-market
American beer.”
The restaurant opened in 2009 and is a popular gathering
spot with a menu ofering modern American cuisine with a
locavore emphasis accompanied by house beers, locally made
wines and selected small batch spirits in a casual, friendly and
contemporary atmosphere.
The menu features locally sourced items from 3-D Valley
Beef in Greenville,
Fiedler Farms Pork in
Rome, Grateful Greens
in Clarksville, Capriole
Farms in Greenville,
Russell Veggies in Floyd
County, and Moonkist
Gardens in Lanesville.
Baylor’s beer business
continues to fourish
as well. The New
Albanian Brewing Company
currently ships
draft beer and 22-oz
bomber bottles for distribution
in Louisville/
Jeferson County, “non
dry” areas of Kentucky,
and the entire state of
Indiana. This year they
“I don’t know where
you can go and see
such an amazing
collection of
restaurants within
one block ...
Visitors want to
eat where the locals
eat and they never
go away
disappointed.”
-Jim Keith, Floyd-Clark
County Tourism and
Convention Bureau
executive director
moved into markets in Ohio and Florida. Local best sellers include
Community Dark, Hoptimist and Black and Bluegrass, a
spicy Belgian ale.
Opening in 2012, The Exchange Pub + Kitchen is thriving at
its location on West Main Street, just across from the YMCA.
New Albany native Ian Hall moved his gastropub from its
previous location on Grant Line Road because he was attracted
to the up and coming Riverfront District.
Like Baylor, Hall uses local ingredients as much as possible.
It features 3-D Valley Beef and purchases bread from a Louisville
bakery.
New plans for The Exchange include café seating outside the
restaurant and a little nod to history. The restaurant is located
in the historic Shrader Stables Building and Hall plans to create
unique experiences for the second foor space, including a
pop-up-restaurant, a restaurant within a restaurant, with special
rotating cuisine.
Looking for a quick bite? DP Updogs serves up hot dogs and
ice cream treats in a tiny, 10-seat diner at the corner of E. Main
and Bank Streets.
The eatery took over when the iconic Little Chef closed its
doors in December 2012. The New Albany landmark had operated
in that spot 24 hours a day since 1958
Mike and Connie Scott leased the building and began transforming
it unto DP Updogs. They cleaned up the original stainless
steel fxtures and reupholstered the stools.
The prefabricated diner was manufactured in Wichita, Kan.,
by Valentine Manufacturing, Inc. and shipped as a complete
unit to the site where it was simply dropped on the lot.
The Kansas Historical Society maintains a list of existing
Valentine diners, of which on six remain in Indiana — only
three of which are open for business.
The diner serves lunch, focusing on hot dogs. Many of the
items on the menu are named after dogs the family has owned.
The Cocoa Dog, named for “the best dog we ever had,” according
to Mike Scott, features meat chili, cheddar cheese and
onions.
Guests are also free to create their own unique hot dogs on
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