Food & Drinks

In our weekly e-newsletter this past Tuesday, we noted that Kelties in Westfield has closed. That is not the case, though the owner intends to close in September if she does not sell the restaurant. This news means that diners who relish high-quality comfort food should make their way post haste to Westfield.

 

For three month this winter and spring, we followed father-and-son team Tom and Ed Battista as they faced the joys and tribulations of opening their new restaurant, Bluebeard, in Fletcher Place (at 653 Virginia Ave). It is a venture, however rewarding, not for the faint of heart. In IM's May 2012 “Made from Scratch” feature,

Looking for a 5-star margarita for your Cinco de Mayo sipping this Saturday? We’re not talking newfangled margaritas with fresh-squeezed guava juice or tequila aged for 20 years. We’re talking margaritas as big as your head, served up in giant bowls that could house a whole school of fish, rimmed with salt and big wedges of lime. For a margarita you can spend the whole night drinking—or split with the whole table—try one of these 5 big pours:   1. Mexican food lovers on the Westside know that Wednesday night is margarita pitcher night at Puerto Vallarta Mexican Restaurant and Cantina (5510 Lafayette Rd., 317-280-0676), but you can get one any night, and this one might just contend for the largest in town.   2. Served in a curvy tall glass that probably holds as much as the big glass bowls at other Mexican joints, the margarita at Los Chilaquiles (3712 Lafayette Rd., 317-293-1111) is definitely a looker, with plenty of chunks of lime. Some interesting dishes you don’t always find elsewhere, including great sopas, huevos rancheros, and the name sake chilaquiles, served with plenty of sour cream and queso fresco.   3. If you operate nearly a dozen (currently 11 and counting) restaurants in a single metro area, you have to be doing something right, and the margarita at El Rodeo is definitely the right size and a perfect quencher when you’re digging into a super spicy plate of shrimp diabla!   4. With several bright and cheery locations sprinkled around Central Indiana, as well as on the west and south sides of Indianapolis, El Meson Mexican Restaurant and Cantina may have one of the largest selections of combo platters in town—and salt-rimmed and frozen margaritas that won’t leave you wanting.   5. If you want some of Indy’s most authentic and beloved Mexican cuisine to go along with your margarita, stop in at El Sol de Tala (2444 E. Washington St., 317-636-1250), where the margaritas are some of the biggest around and almost as good as that guacamole the regulars rave about. Now in its 33rd year in business.   Bonus—Specials:   Get started early on some tasty and plentiful Cinco de Mayo specials at Adobo Grill (110 E. Washington St., 317-822-9990). Shrimp crepes, pan-seared Ahi tuna with a mango salad, and a chocolate sponge cake in the shape of a pyramid stuffed with plum mousse may just prove that May 5 is as much for dining as it is for tying one on.   Cinco de Mayo isn’t just one day at On the Border, which has been unveiling daily drink and dinner specials (including free meals for kids) for the 30 days leading up to the holiday.

Considering the electric lime and Pepto-Bismol pink walls, mounted taxidermy, indoor bocce ball court, and Mister Rogers and Merle Haggard portraits, we have a feeling the owners of at the soon-to-open The Tin Roof (36 S. Pennsylvania St., 317-224-0785) won’t be taking much of anything too seriously.

If you’re a salmon fan, you've probably recently seen the name Skuna Bay Salmon on a number of menus. We’ve seen it at The Oceanaire (30 S. Meridian St., 317-955-2277), The Local Eatery and Pub (14655 N. Gray Rd, Westfield, 317-218-3786), Kona Jack’s (9419 N. Meridian St., 317-843-1609), Harry & Izzy’s (153 S. Illinois St. 317-635-9594), and Goose the Market (2503 N. Delaware St., 317-924-4944).

Pot stickers stuffed with sweet-potato puree, corn, and ginger, and served with a fiery kimchee and sweet miso butter sauce at Mesh (725 Massachusetts Ave., 317-955-9600). It debuted last weekend as a special, but we're told that a similar dish should stick around for a while. The peppery wild boar with wild mushrooms from

Keystone at the Crossing continues to fill in in the gaps along its new restaurant row. You could chart a course with points of culinary interest along the way: Seasons 52, First Watch, Late Harvest Kitchen, the north-side Harry & Izzy’s outpost, and the recently opened Brewstone Beer Company, in the former Music Mill location. On June 7, diners will have one more place to refuel, post The Container Store. That's when Ocean Prime, an Ohio-based “modern American supper club,” opens its ninth location at 8555 N. River Road, on the eastern edge of The Fashion Mall.