Food & Drinks

Tinker Street's wine expert talks vino.

Lead server Chad Hosier is leaving R Bistro (888 Massachusetts Ave., 423-0312) for Chicago and a job at The Girl & the Goat ... Zing at the Canal has closed ...The old-school New Orleans cocktails such as the St. Charles, the Vieux Carre, and the Rossignac have disappeared from t

It’s one thing to open an Indonesian restaurant in a small town. It’s another to succeed. Mayasari Indonesian Grill’s staying power in Greensburg speaks volumes about the quality of the food and the warmth of the experience.

Where to find the coveted Mexican goat stew around Indy.

Make sure to catch the showstopping dessert at Nesso.

When Zing, the small-plates-then-big-plates eatery on Indiana Avenue, closed last May, we knew it wouldn’t be long before someone came along to snatch up this historic, two-story gem of a restaurant location. But we were surprised to hear it would soon be the second outpost of Avon strip-mall Cajun eatery Nawlins Creole Cafe. Hopefully they could do the big, flashier space justice. So when we saw an open sign lit up in the window after the John Waters event at the Madame Walker Saturday night, we dashed across West Street to try it out.

Including the rich, custardy French toast at Dufour’s in Irvington.

Indy bars and restaurants that go above and beyond to make us feel at home.

Five things we’re craving right now.

Based on the lines forming at Coke Freestyle machines around the city, you’d think the bright-red boxes were dispensing gold coins instead of Orange Diet Coke and Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper. The touch-screen design lets you choose from 22 drinks and then add a flavor, resulting in new sodas like Grape Mello Yello, Raspberry Lime Hi-C, and Heidi Klum’s choice—not to mention a test of patience while the person in front of you tries in vain to create a Freestyle suicide. The machine holds inkjet printer cartridges of flavorings—not syrups—that add up to more than 100 choices and so much time gleefully considering your options that your food might get cold. Called "the Ferrari of coke machines" (because the case was conceived by a company that designs Ferraris), the Freestyle is charming local soda swillers at Firehouse Subs, Pita Pits, Burger Kings, Moe’s Southwest Grills, and the Pei Wei at Glendale. Just do everyone a favor and figure out what you want to drink before you go out.