Food & Drinks

Seafood manicotti at Augustino’s Italian Restaurant (8028 S. Emerson Ave., 317-865-1099), densely filled tubes of crab and shrimp, tucked under a blanket of molten cheese. Tres Leches cake at Barcelona Tapas (201 N. Delaware St., 317-638-8272), submerged three times &h

Tomorrow night on the Food Network's Restaurant: Impossible reality show, Nora's very own Snooty Fox (1435 E. 86th St., 317-257-6033) gets its 15 minutes of fame as the subject of host Robert Irvine's revision. Restaurant owner Tim Queisser applied for the spot, having kept a worried eye on the restaurant's bottom line for the last couple of years—though a family-run restaurant that has survived 30 years could probably teach its own seminar on how to run a

Some al fresco tables announce themselves from the curb—little wrought iron two-tops arranged along the edges of parking lots and busy sidewalks. But some of the best outdoor tables in town are more hidden from view (and, in many cases, comfortably out of the baking sun’s direct line of fire). Want to sip wine in an urban garden that looks like something straight out of West Side Story (with strings of lights and Friday night movies, no less)? Reserve a courtyard table at Iozzo’s Garden of Italy just south of downtown. Have a hankering for skewered appetizers and umbrella drinks with a tiki essence? The fenced-in patio attached to Revolucion is your hallowed ground. Here, a few more of our favorite secluded places to get a little air with dinner.

A friendly hostess at Napoli Villa (758 Main St., Beech Grove,

By most measures, it was a typical spring Wednesday, cool with drizzle. But in the parking lot of Seasons 52, the latest high-profile franchise to populate the Fashion Mall, the buzz resembled a VIP gala. Orange pylons blocked the better portion of the parking spaces, and valets sprinted to fetch keys. Inside, nearly every seat in the place was taken. Clearly something special, some of-the-moment trend, had drawn out this many diners on such a dreary day.

Sitting at the granite-topped bar on the shaded waterfront patio at Chef JJ’s Back Yard (1040 Broad Ripple Ave., 317-602-3828). The heady, sinus-punch of Tamari Almonds, batch-roasted by SunRidge Farms and available through Green Bean D

In September, Indianapolis Colts Grille will open in the former Hoosier Park Racing and Casino’s off-track betting facility in Claypool Court. Rather than being the love child of some diehard Colts fan with a gourmand’s passion, the restaurant is owned by G.R.E.A.T Grille Group, a Florida-based company that runs other athlete-themed restaurants around the country, including Eddie George’s Sports Grille in Nashville, Tennessee; Jeff Conine’s Clubhouse

Kathy Jones, executive chef of Iozzo’s Garden of Italy (946 S. Meridian St., 317-252-3243) has purchased Country Mouse City Mouse, the line of locally made sauces, spreads, and dressings that are not only vegan-friendly but also gluten- and casein-free. Her plans are to expand the brand, which already includes products such as chimichurri pesto, pineapple-mango salsa, and