» Local chef Steve Oakley of Oakleys Bistro is taking on Bobby Flay on the May 18 episode of the long-running Food Network show Beat Bobby Flay. Details are under wraps for now, but we know Oakley will appear on the show with actress Helene York, Southern chef Bobby Hansen, Alex Guarnaschelli of Chopped fame, and, of course, Flay himself.
» The Flying Cupcake owner Kate Bova Drury is set to open her eighth store. According to the Indianapolis Business Journal, Drury has plans for The Lemon Bar (95 E. Pine St., Zionsville). This new concept for the cupcake maven will serve an American bistro menu of soups, salads, and sandwiches, along with desserts and a wine-and-champagne bar. (Champagne slushies are in the works!) Expect a mid-summer opening.
» It’s a mac and cheese world, and we just live in it. After drawing big crowds in Indianapolis and Bloomington, R.J. Wall is taking Return of the Mac to Hamilton County on June 3. More than 20 restaurants will serve samples of this cheesy dish-of-the-moment at Federal Hill Commons (175 Logan St., Noblesville) for $25 (free for ages 6 and under).
» Get ready to watch The Big Lebowski while surrounded by a sea of Dudes during Indianapolis City Market’s Movies at the Market event on April 20. White Russians and Indiana craft beer will flow at this event, done in partnership with Big Car Collaborative & Sparket, Public House Cinema, and Tomlinson Tap Room. The movie starts at 8 p.m. Come early to watch “The Dude” look-alike contest at 7:30. Tickets are $10.
» The fourth annual Patachou Foundation Speakers Forum Fundraiser is on April 27 at The Toby, inside the Indianapolis Museum of Art (4000 Michigan Rd., 317-923-1331). Jessamyn Waldman Rodriguez, founder and CEO of Hot Bread Kitchen, a bakery and bakers-in-training program for low-income women in East Harlem, is the featured speaker. Tickets are $50, and $200 will get you entrance to the event, plus a dinner immediately following at Cafe Patachou (4901 N. Pennsylvania St., 317-925-2823). The Patachou Foundation provides meals and education to food-insecure children in Indianapolis.
» If you haven’t had a chance to eat at Stella (608 Massachusetts Ave., 317-685-2550), the new Southern European restaurant in the space formerly occupied by Pizzology, chef Neal Brown is hosting a fundraiser there for Garfield Park Farmer’s Market on April 23. Tickets are $65, with a menu that incorporates market vendors’ goods into dishes created by Brown (Stella, Pizzology, Libertine, Ukiyo), Ally Benedyk (Love Handle), Zachariah Rohn (Batch No. 2), and George Turkette (Turchetti’s Salumeria).
» Bloomberg Business News declared that wine coolers are back, and recommended that skeptics give local product Garden Party Botanical Hard Soda a try. Garden Party was created by Erin Edds in Indianapolis, and recently won an Innovation of the Year award from Beverage Industry Magazine. It’s available in two flavors (Ruby and Violet), and can be found in local liquor stores and select Target and Whole Foods locations.
» ‘Tis the season for ramps! This elusive member of the allium family (with siblings like onions, leeks, and garlic), is found only in the spring, and Indy has a mad case of ramp fever. Anything with a short growing season gets the attention of chefs, which is why you’ll find them in everything right now, from salads to pizzas, and even in a ramp-and-pea compound butter on pastry chef Zoe Taylor’s cheese biscuits at Milktooth. Get your ramp fix now. They’ll be gone soon.
» The iconic Red Key Tavern (5171 N. College Ave., 317-283-4601) is celebrating its 66th anniversary with a Bier Brewery collaboration. Red 66 is a red ale canned beer, available for a limited time only at the tavern, and at Bier Brewery taproom.
