Best of Indy: Amateur Racetrack

For a town built on racing, Indy has been noticeably lean on racetracks. Short of the Fastimes go-karting facility near Castleton, where can the amateur go to express his inner Foyt?
Two women share a milkshake at a classic diner.

Causing A Scene

Do it for the ’gram.
1214-bikeshare

Best of Indy: City Life

Featuring the best Twitter follow, zipline, tech seminar, new IMS track tradition, ice skating, and more

Leisure

Lecture Series IndyTalks, a new series of discussions designed to spark civic dialogue and share big ideas, offers a cool alternative to sleepy auditoriums. At one of this year’s events, presenters talked simultaneously about arts and globalization while their microphones were turned up or down based on audience votes. indytalks.wordpress.com
Mall Boutique, Indianapolis Monthly, December 2011

SHOPPING

Same name, same brands, yet somehow an exciting, fresh vibe—just one more reason to love Uber, an independent decor-and-clothing shop that opened a Carmel location this fall. The polished, gallery-like arrangement of Danish furniture, Jonathan Adler objects, and cool-again leather fanny packs is pioneering the emerging shopping scene at City Center and setting the bar stylishly high. 31 W. City Center Dr., Carmel, 564-5638
Indiana Design

The Hottest Hoosier Design

For those who insist on great design, behold 17 impeccable objects—from gallery-quality furniture to a revolutionary bike pump—that come from the minds and hands of Hoosiers.

Pat McAfee's Top 10 Tweets of the Year

“I think people who decorate 4 Christmas be4 Thanksgiving hate America.”
Nouveau Fried Chicken, Indianapolis Monthly, December 2011

FOOD + DRINK

Mixing a fine pre-Prohibition cocktail takes work, sending the vested bartenders at The Libertine into a dance of controlled fury. Belly up and behold the routine: demolishing ice, scaling the wall of cubbies to reach a bottle of Fernet-Branca, whipping liqueur from jigger to glass, carving a wispy orange rind—all while keeping their ties clean. Finally, something to make us look up from our iPhones. 38 E. Washington St., 631-3333
New Home Store, Indianapolis Monthly, December 2011

HOME

Design BloggerLove a canary-yellow lacquered side table? Then you’ll love Matt Heincker, an up-and-coming interior designer who blogs several times a week on trends...
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No. 4 — Room Four

Other scaled-down epicurean spots include Northside Social (6525 N. College Ave., 253-0111, northsidesocial.com), which prepares its mac ’n’cheese with bacon, pancetta, and prosciutto > Taste Cafe (5164 N. College Ave., 925-2233, tastecafeandmarketplace.com) serves approachable gourmet > Oakleys Bistro (1464 W. 86th St., 824-1231, oakleysbistro.com) keeps us entertained with upscale versions of (shrimp) corndogs and (goat cheese and fig marmalade) pizza.