The Feed: Scratch Truck, Indy’s James Beard Semifinalists, and More

This Week’s Trends in Indy Dining
» Just in case we needed another reason to spend money at Scratch Truck—the perennially popular food truck is now serving dinner in Irvington, at its first pop-up restaurant (130 S. Audubon Rd., 317-721-3613). The menu includes many of the crowd-pleasers off the mobile kitchen’s menu, like the Scratch Burger with bacon marmalade, the poutine with housemade chicken gravy, and the barbecue-chicken cone. The eatery is open Wednesday-Saturday from 5 to 9 p.m.

» It’s an exciting time in Indy’s dining scene, and the James Beard Foundation seems to agree. Last week, the foundation announced its first round of semifinalists, which included a handful of local restaurateurs and chefs. We rounded up the dishes we recommend from the Hoosier semifinalists.

» Unless you’ve been living under a rock—or gave up shopping for Lent—you know that Circle Centre has seen better times. California Pizza Kitchen (49 W. Maryland St.) recently joined the list of closed restaurants and shops. Thankfully, Pittsburgh-based sandwich shop Primanti Bros. is expected to open in the vacant space this fall. Nada (11 W. Maryland St.), a contemporary Mexican eatery, will also spark some dining traffic at the mall when it opens next Wednesday.

» After nearly nine years in business, the New England–themed menu at Barking Dog Cafe (115 E. 49th St.) will no longer be served. The restaurant announced its closing today, stating that its landlords aren’t renewing its lease of the building.