The Gallery Pastry Shop
Make some pretty and delicious things. Eat them. Go to bed happy.
Can’t hang like you used to? Consider trading in half-price martini nights for macaron-making classes. That’s just one of the courses the European-inspired eatery offers; others include croissants, pies and tarts, and breads. Most take place at 6 p.m. (some start at 4 p.m.) and are three hours long, so you’ll be home at a reasonable hour. The classes, led by the shop’s co-owners, are $75 each, which includes a glass of wine—though beer and additional glasses of wine are available for purchase should you decide to kick the night up a notch. Have a group ready to go, but don’t see any classes available? With enough advance notice, the shop will accommodate you. And trust us, once you’ve tasted Gallery pastries, you’ll be kicking down the door for them to let you in. 1101 E. 54th St., 317-820-5526, gallerypastryshop.com
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Sun King Fishers Tap Room
As close as a suburban strip mall (but too cool to be located in one … even though it is).
“If the mountain will not come to Muhammad, then Muhammad must go to the mountain.” In the case of Sun King Brewing, that used to be true—until Indy’s downtown-centric craft-beer giant expanded into Fishers in the summer of 2015 with a 6,000-square-foot tap room/small-batch production facility. While the brewer’s sprawling, kid-free College Avenue campus has long been a destination for hop heads—particularly during de facto happy-hour tastings/growler fills on Fridays—the new outpost sweetens the deal by being a family-friendly space and a lab/test kitchen for new brews. (The house lineup—Sunlight, Wee Mac, and Osiris—is available, too.) So, while this latest outpost might mean fewer appearances for suburbanites at Friday fetes downtown, it’s nice to know you don’t have to leave everything behind when you move to the provinces.
7848 E. 96th St., Fishers, 317-436-1926, sunkingbrewing.com
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Paint-and-Sip Parties
Get artsy with a glass of wine in your hand.
So you’re no Van Gogh. After a couple of vinos, who can tell the difference? Maybe that’s why studios with painting classes that serve wine and cocktails are springing up around the city faster than college students can slap Starry Night prints on their dorm-room walls. Paint Cellar in Carmel, for one, offers private parties where you can wield a brush on a wood pallet or a wine glass—gather all your best drinking buddies for that one. For a different crowd, Mimosa and a Masterpiece hosts “Single Mingle” on Mass Ave the last Friday of every month. There’s only one requirement: Bring one of your most attractive bachelor or bachelorette friends to paint, drink, and schmooze. And Carmel’s Painting with a Twist offers Valentine’s Couples painting nights February 11 to 14, where you each decorate a canvas for one combined painting. Drink up and get in touch with your artistic muse. paint-cellar.com, mimosa-masterpiece.com, paintingwithatwist.com
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