restaurant

Posted in: Sunday Ads Sunday Ads: Be a Secret Agent and Win the Jackpot!

Business: Burger Chef Systems Date of Ad: April 6, 1966 Location: 1300 West 16th Street, and across the nation Years of Operation: 1958-1996 Notable: Over a dozen years before the Happy Meal, local fast food...

5 Comments

Posted in: At Your Leisure At Your Leisure: On Tour

The La Tour dining room in all of its swanky seventies glory. (Image: eBay) Valentine’s Day has come and gone. Many a couple enjoyed a romantic dinner downtown on the holiday of love. Wonder what...

8 Comments

Posted in: At Your Leisure At Your Leisure: Hamming it Up

Indy natives believe that Shapiro’s is the first, last and only name in delicatessen dining. First timers may walk away disappointed, however, if they are craving a certain Hoosier-beloved ham sandwich. No Kosher deli worth its salt would...

4 Comments

Posted in: At Your Leisure At Your Leisure: Snack Time

An unfortunate truth about downtown Indianapolis streetscapes is the “missing teeth” in what was once a picture-perfect urban smile. Suburbanization took its toll, particularly in the once-bustling retail districts. One stretch that remained noticeably neglected, even after...

10 Comments

Posted in: At Your Leisure At Your Leisure: Indy’s Once Favorite Pasta

Shorter and colder days, increase cravings for comfort food. And comfort food means everybody’s favorite carb group: pasta dishes. Unfortunately, Indy doesn’t have ethnically named enclaves like other culture-rich cities. No “Little Italy,” “Little Tokyo,”...

1 Comments

Posted in: At Your Leisure At Your Leisure: Relaxing at Fireside

Indianapolis is a ‘meat and potatoes’ type of town. That tends to happen when you’re located some 600 miles from the nearest coastline. That’s why it’s not too hard to see why many of the...

2 Comments

Posted in: At Your Leisure At Your Leisure: A Lost Oasis

Sometimes you just can’t stop “progress.” As the sprawl of Indianapolis spreads further past the boundaries of Marion County, small, independent communities are being gobbled up, their identities lost. Today, t appears that this phenomenon...

3 Comments

Posted in: At Your Leisure At Your Leisure: A Night on the Circle

Monument Circle is always a pleasant place to take a stroll on a summer evening. The center of the city is always bustling with people enjoying the picturesque surroundings. Despite the great location, there isn’t...

5 Comments

Posted in: At Your Leisure At Your Leisure: Saint vs. Saint

Even those who know little about Indianapolis are likely familiar with that “saintly” steakhouse on Illinois Street that has been serving up massive chops and fiery shrimp cocktails since 1902. Today there is no shortage...

4 Comments

Posted in: At Your Leisure At Your Leisure: Beware of the Witch

This 1960s-era postcard promises a country style meal served by the Sloan family. (Image: Amazon) A once-popular way to make your business stand out from the competition was to build a structure to look like...

1 Comments

Posted in: At Your Leisure At Your Leisure: Inn the Huddle

The interior of a Huddle restaurant awaiting eager diners. (Image: Evan Finch) A twenty-four hour restaurant tends to bring out some of the more interesting examples of mankind, especially in the wee hours of the morning....

15 Comments

Posted in: At Your Leisure At Your Leisure: An Evening in Merry England

A postcard showing the Sheffield Inn. The single story section was a later addition as a large house stood in its place the year the inn opened. At some point this structure was replaced with...

2 Comments

Posted in: At Your Leisure At Your Leisure: Pardon my French

Not many would picture fine French dining at a roadside motel as this ad from the 1960s boasted. (Image: Indiana State Library) When Indy residents head out of the city on State Road 67 towards Vincennes,...

7 Comments

Posted in: At Your Leisure At Your Leisure: Summertime Cruisin’

Happy May 1st! As spring heads into summer, we start thinking of how to take advantage of the warm weather. Some sixty years ago, area teenagers participated in a deeply-rooted cruising culture as way to...

3 Comments

Posted in: At Your Leisure At Your Leisure: Rebirth Along Tinker Street

The neighborhoods bordering Sixteenth and Meridian Streets are some of the next “in” places to be. Much like Massachusetts Avenue a decade ago and Fountain Square more recently, years of reinvestment in housing is paying...

7 Comments

Posted in: At Your Leisure At Your Leisure: Scenes from an Italian Restaurant

A promotional magazine ad from the late 1950s. (Image: Indiana State Library) Valentine’s Day is tomorrow, and for many romance is, literally, on the menu. Few things set the mood more than a candle-lit dinner...

11 Comments

Posted in: At Your Leisure At Your Leisure: Key West Shrimp House

The view driving down South Madison Avenue would never be mistaken for being particularly scenic. Acres of post-war housing yielded to many discount stores, payday loan outlets, and used car dealerships, and then, of course,...

20 Comments

Posted in: At Your Leisure At Your Leisure: Jackets Required

1930s postcard showing the interior that became the King Cole. (Image: eBay) Do you have a special occasion coming up or just want to impress a first date? What would be your go-to destination? For...

13 Comments

Posted in: At Your Leisure At Your Leisure: Rubbing Elbows with Indy’s Elite at The Marott Hotel

An early postcard showing the Marott Hotel and Meridian Street Bridge. (Image: eBay) Today’s visitors to the Circle City have a wide array of lodging options when looking for a place to spend the night....

5 Comments

Posted in: At Your Leisure At Your Leisure: Rene’s French Restaurant

What comes to mind when you think of French cuisine? Could it be an elegant dining room with tables draped in white adorned with intricate place settings? Perhaps an image of meals served with loaves of...

11 Comments

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