Food & Drinks

Sun King Wee Mac dark chocolate truffles at The Best Chocolate in Town (880 Massachusetts Ave., 317-294-2378). Those cute chocolate-covered almonds that look exactly like olives. Available at Simply Sweet Shoppe (30 N. Rangeline Rd., Carmel, 317-818-9866). Cheesy Potato C

It’s difficult to imagine a better setting for omelets and bellinis than Bloomington’s Cafe Django (116 N. Grant St., 812-335-1297), a charming boho bungalow just off of Kirkwood Avenue. While the regular lunch and dinner menus showcase an eclectic fusion of Asian, Mediterranean, and even Peruvian influences (owner Linda Eversoll hails from there), the breakfast menu relies more heavily on the traditional American morning fare typically found at upscale urban diners—with an accent. Along with such standards as smoked salmon, pancakes (with blueberries, chocolate chips, strawberries, or bananas), French toast, and a “House Breakfast” of two eggs, toast, potatoes, and bacon or sausage, for example, is a curried tofu scramble served with momos (steamed dumplings indigenous to the Himalayan region) on the side. A suggestion: Given a choice between the crispy “spicy potato wedges” and the mushier “Django potatoes,” go with the former. In any event, the tart Citrus Cocktail, a blend of lime and lemon juices served with bubbly, is a superb Sunday-morning thirst-quencher.

After four and a half years at 47 Boone Village Center in Zionsville, Patrick’s Kitchen & Drinks is getting a new address. But don’t worry—Patrick Mullen’s cozy restaurant is just moving around the corner, into the former Brick Street Inn spot. The slightly downsized menu will maintain its traditional comfort-food theme, Mullen says. “It will definitely be a little more focused on local and seasonal dishes that will change monthly."

Man does not live on meat alone. But since finding the offerings of the new meatery Smoking Goose (407 N. Dorman St., 317-638-MEAT) around town, we are determined to try. First came an elk pate, dense as a star (if stars were made of game meats), rich with spice, and rimmed with a thin layer of caul fat. It’s simultaneously sweet and luscious, and available at Vine & Table (313 E. Carmel Dr., Carmel, 317-817-9473). Then, from the Indy Winter Farmers Market, we took home a package of sliced, spicy capocollo—tender pork neck and shoulder, laden with chiles, paprika, black pepper, coriander, and probably some other magical stuff. We couldn’t stop eating it, despite the slow burn. There are numerous others we can’t wait to try; next up, heaven be praised, a sausage composed of duck, pear, and port.

Chicago Magazine got some great shots of Three Floyds brewery's 15th birthday bash in Munster. Check them out here.

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.

"I really feel like my personal mission in life is directly tied to the work that I do," Henderson says. "My job is to empower individuals and communities to grow well, eat well, live well, and be well."

Gorgeous beets of several varieties (the goldens get snapped up fast), ice cream from Lick, crepes from 3 Days in Paris, lettuces of every stripe, fresh eggs, sausages from Smoking Goose (alas, the bacon sold out early, save for the lamb variety), bright Brussels sprouts, bison steaks from Circle L Bison Farm and, oh goodness, just about everything else you might want to eat was on offer this weekend at the Indy Winter Farmers Market, enjoying its inaugural Saturday in the west wing of the City Market. The Star had some great photos of the bin action. But our favorite discovery of the week were the colorful and super-delicious breakfast boxes from Fermenti Artisan: local eggs, veggies, cheese (goat, from Capriole), and sausage griddled up hot, topped with bright Fermenti kraut, and served in a Chinese-food takeout container.