Ever been to Downtown Indy?

[mgreven]

Hey there all! There's no real Indianapolis forum on UP that I could find so I wondered if any fellow Grand Rapidians have any suggestions on what to visit when I go next week. We're staying downtown.

Hopefully this is cool in the coffeehouse even though it's WAY off Grand Rapids topic.

Hey...this is my 200th post...whooohooo!

[Nitro]

Hey there all! There's no real Indianapolis forum on UP that I could find so I wondered if any fellow Grand Rapidians have any suggestions on what to visit when I go next week. We're staying downtown.

Hopefully this is cool in the coffeehouse even though it's WAY off Grand Rapids topic.

Hey...this is my 200th post...whooohooo!

Ha, a lot of help this is going to be. There is a tower commemorating something in downtown Indy. You can take an elevator to the top and look over the city. Nice view as I remember. If memory serves it might be called Monument Circle.

Take a drive out to Speedway and check out the track. There is a museum on the grounds if you're into cars.

[WOT]

Indy is my hometown (actually from Speedway).

Dinner - Downtown Indy is FANTASTIC. I was just discussing it yesterday and I would rate it as a step above GR and a step below Chicago You will have a great time!

If you let me know what kind of atmosphere you are shooting for, I can narrow it for you. But, here are some can't miss eateries DT Indy

1. Palamino Club - very trendy

2. St. Elmo's - by far Indy's place to be and be seen

3. Rock Bottom Cafe

4. Hard Rock Cafe - Natl Chain

5. Ruth's Chris - think of our CHOP House

6. Shula's - Think Louis Benton

7. California Pizza Kitchen inside Circle Center Mall

Hope this helps

[civitas]

Indy is my hometown (actually from Speedway).

Dinner - Downtown Indy is FANTASTIC. I was just discussing it yesterday and I would rate it as a step above GR and a step below Chicago You will have a great time!

If you let me know what kind of atmosphere you are shooting for, I can narrow it for you. But, here are some can't miss eateries DT Indy

1. Palamino Club - very trendy

2. St. Elmo's - by far Indy's place to be and be seen

3. Rock Bottom Cafe

4. Hard Rock Cafe - Natl Chain

5. Ruth's Chris - think of our CHOP House

6. Shula's - Think Louis Benton

7. California Pizza Kitchen inside Circle Center Mall

Hope this helps

I was there a few weeks ago for the first time. Get photos of the civil war monument in the square. It is huge! I had lunch at a brewpub a block or two from the monument. I ask locals where to eat and I've never been disappointed.

[AlexPKeaton]

The Slippery Noodle Inn.

Indianapolis is a nice city. I was pleasantly surprised the one time I've been there.

-nb

[GRDadof3]

Indy is my hometown (actually from Speedway).

Dinner - Downtown Indy is FANTASTIC. I was just discussing it yesterday and I would rate it as a step above GR and a step below Chicago You will have a great time!

If you let me know what kind of atmosphere you are shooting for, I can narrow it for you. But, here are some can't miss eateries DT Indy

1. Palamino Club - very trendy

2. St. Elmo's - by far Indy's place to be and be seen

3. Rock Bottom Cafe

4. Hard Rock Cafe - Natl Chain

5. Ruth's Chris - think of our CHOP House

6. Shula's - Think Louis Benton

7. California Pizza Kitchen inside Circle Center Mall

Hope this helps

FWIW: Ruth's Chris is also a National Chain. I think Chop House is better personally, compared to Ruth's Chris in Chicago.

[civitas]

FWIW: Ruth's Chris is also a National Chain. I think Chop House is better personally, compared to Ruth's Chris in Chicago.

If you don't mind chains, McCormick and Schmicks has a restaurant in DT Indy and is one of the best seafood restaurants in the country.

[GRDadof3]

I've heard that if you approach someone who looks local (you can usually tell), and ask them where are the best places to go, you'll get a much better response than asking us. (sorry, private joke mgreven)

[Veloise]

Ha, a lot of help this is going to be. There is a tower commemorating something in downtown Indy. You can take an elevator to the top and look over the city. Nice view as I remember. If memory serves it might be called Monument Circle.

Take a drive out to Speedway and check out the track. There is a museum on the grounds if you're into cars.

Monument Circle is a soldiers & sailors type of 19thC monument. Many huge marble allegorical and military figures (it might be a fountain, too). Quite interesting to look at and to walk around. On Sundays there's an ad hoc DT promenade with dozens of people wandering around, enjoying the benches and vistas.

If you like eclectic 'hoods and districts, Rocky Ripple and Broad Ripple are worth checking out. (Some ice cream chain really needs to pick up on those names.)

Central Indiana Bicycle Assn has a huge membership and a lively club, with rides most days in many parts of the city. The surrounding countryside is really pretty.

Eagle's Nest is a municipal park with hilly terrain and nice big trees.

[GR1]

The Indianapolis Museum of Art, I visited the museum last spring right after it opened (and they've opened more floors since then!), it was amazing! If you do go, make sure you check out the Lilly House and Gardens, they were my favorite part.

[Prankster]

Indy is my hometown (actually from Speedway).

Dinner - Downtown Indy is FANTASTIC. I was just discussing it yesterday and I would rate it as a step above GR and a step below Chicago You will have a great time!

If you let me know what kind of atmosphere you are shooting for, I can narrow it for you. But, here are some can't miss eateries DT Indy

1. Palamino Club - very trendy

2. St. Elmo's - by far Indy's place to be and be seen

3. Rock Bottom Cafe

4. Hard Rock Cafe - Natl Chain

5. Ruth's Chris - think of our CHOP House

6. Shula's - Think Louis Benton

7. California Pizza Kitchen inside Circle Center Mall

Hope this helps

FWIW, all of these are national chains, except for St. Elmo's. For one of the best views of the city, try the Eagle's Nest at the top of the Hyatt Regency. It is a revolving restaurant.

[GRGridGirl]

FWIW, all of these are national chains, except for St. Elmo's. For one of the best views of the city, try the Eagle's Nest at the top of the Hyatt Regency. It is a revolving restaurant.

Wow, is he going to Downtown, Indy or is he going to Anywhere, USA???

Sorry WOT, but since chains dominate your list, I'll have to say GR tops your Indy....

[twoshort]

If you don't mind chains, McCormick and Schmicks has a restaurant in DT Indy and is one of the best seafood restaurants in the country.

Ate at the one near Somerset... highly recommended.

[GR8scott]

Wow, is he going to Downtown, Indy or is he going to Anywhere, USA???

Sorry WOT, but since chains dominate your list, I'll have to say GR tops your Indy....

umm have you ever been to downtown Indy? It definatly tops GR because its on a much larger scale and has everything.

I've been there several times including about 2 weeks ago. My second cousin had a wedding reception at a really cool place just SE of downtown, I dont know what its called but its an old converted theater and has several levels including a "duck bowling" ally and a rooftop bar that overlooks the downtown skyline.

definatly not a chain, cant say much for the food since it was mass made for the reception but it was a really cool place.

[MisterMike]

Seems like nobody around the forum REALLY knows Indianapols. Here's some ideas from a 6 year resident who married into an Indianapolis family. Stay in a downtown hotel. You can walk to everything. The Indianapolis Zoo and White River Gardens are very cool. Check out Monument Circle and its fountains. Stroll along the canal, see the Indiana State Museum, NCAA Hall of Champions, Scottish Rite Cathedral, Indian Museums downtown and Lockerbie Squaire with the James Whitcomb Riley Museum. Victory Field is a beautiful baseball stadium with a view over center field of the downtown skyline. Great place to catch a game. Shopping is superb in the City Centre and it is probably connected by skywalk to your hotel. Don't go to chain restaurants, you can go to those anytime and Indy has some really unique one of a kind places. St. Elmo's is an institution, a must see. It is an "old school" steakhouse in the best sense of the term. I know people who fly from GR to Indy to get one of St. Elmo's steaks. And try the shrimp cocktail (it is almost literally "to die for"). If you like an excellent pizza (I grew up in Chicago, so pizza has to be excellent) go to Iaria's, 317 S. College Avenue. Take a quick cab. The crust is like a pastry and the sauce right out of Mama Iaria's recipe book (www.iariasrestaurant.com). Mexican? Acapulco Joe's (345 Illinois, 3 blocks N of downtown) has had lines outside it's doors for lunch for 20 years. It's another Indy icon. The Hyatt Regency has a rotating restaurant called The Eagles Nest's that offers terrific views of the city, but I don't know how the food is. There's Rock n' Roll in Broadripple, art galleries, The Indianapolis Museum of Art and it's grounds, the City Market, the symphony in the restored Hilbert Circle Theatre and lots more. Spend a long weekend and enjoy. Indianapolis will keep you busy.

[jayblogger]

I head to Indy every year for the F1 races at the Brickyard and feel like I've just scratched the surface of that town. There's a lot to do. This year, we caught a show at the Jazz Kitchen. It's a small club just south of Broad Ripple. I spend too much time at the track and not enough downtown and other places when I'm there. I need to make a trip when there is no race in town just to check out all the ideas mentioned here.

[mgreven]

Seems like nobody around the forum REALLY knows Indianapols. Here's some ideas from a 6 year resident who married into an Indianapolis family. Stay in a downtown hotel. You can walk to everything.

Thanks everyone! Just got back and had a good time. Thought I'd share my thoughts good and bad. Mister Mike, your suggestions were great...except for the 100 degree heat. We didn't do much walking because of it. Despite all the discussion around here about skywalks, we sure loved them on this trip. We stayed at the Omni, great hotel (but a lousy pool...) and were able to walk around using the mall to stay cool. There were a ton of chains around there which was kind of disappointing. Even though St. Elmos was tempting, we did Palamino's and enjoyed ourselves. Great dinner and good service. We checked out a lot of places...the Eagle's Nest looked pretty dated up there, so we decided against that. We checked out Jillian's, it was really dead but we bowled a game just to cool off (didn't they once propose one of those for GR?) Obviously, Indy is much bigger than GR and had a lot more stuff, but I felt (from what I could tell) GR has more local and "hip" restaurants and bars. A lot of the local places there looked pretty old and dated. Couldn't tell much about foot traffic because of the heat, but everywhere seemed pretty quiet inside and out (it was a Tuesday and Wednesday after all) The canal was cool (I couldn't help but think about our talk about canals as part of the Riverfront development (if the city doesn't mess it up). The canal was strange though, it seemed very new and very suburban...all the apartments looked like they were regular surburb apartments. Also, I expected restaurants and shops along it, but I didn't see much.

One other aside, they had a TON of parking garages downtown. They were all pretty ugly and old, BUT they ALL had ground floor retail! I wonder if there's an ordinance or something. Definately helped minimize the impact of the multitude of garages.

The state park and zoo looked cool, but we didn't want to walk around. Stopped to look at the speedway on the way out (not a racing fan) but, WOW, that place was MASSIVE! I had no idea how mammoth it is. I think I'll watch part of the race on sunday just because I'm amazed that the place seats 400,000+!

Thanks for the input from you all...look forward to the chance to go back sometime and explore a little more (in better temperatures!!!)

[Prankster]

We checked out Jillian's, it was really dead but we bowled a game just to cool off (didn't they once propose one of those for GR?)

Rockford construction was going to sign them up for the empty lot where Tall House is now proposed to be built.