Indianapolis eats

My husband and I are going to Indy in a couple of weeks to see a concert (any Morrissey fans out there in forumland??) We are probably going to have dinner first and I was wondering if anyone has recommendations close to The Murat Center for a pre-concert dinner?? We love ethnic, but are open to any and all suggestions.

Thanks in advance!!!

Here's a Morrissey fan! I knew he was coming to Indy, but haven't yet examined ticket options.

I don't have a restaurant recommendation. The German place near the Murat is good, but not as good as people tend to think. Some good beers there. We always end up going to Broad Ripple first for beers and food at Broad Ripple Brewing or Brugge Brasserie (sometimes both) before making the short drive back downtown.

We dined at the Oceanaire Seafood Room when we were last there and had a nice meal.

St. Elmo's is an excellent place for steak. Beware of their cocktail sauce, it carries quite a wallop.

We dined at the Oceanaire Seafood Room when we were last there and had a nice meal.

I was recently told about Oceanaire during a conversation about 'good' crab cakes. I'm shooting up to Indy in a few weeks. I think I'll give them a try.

I wasn't wild about the steak at St. Elmo's-I thought it was not quite as good as Ruth's Chris. The shrimp cocktail however, is no joke. The shrimp are buried under a pile of freshly grated horseradish, with just enough tomato product to bind it into a sauce of sorts. Apparently, the idea is to not actually eat the sauce, but just let it's flavor and intensity permeate the shrimp, kind of like a flash marinade. Being a gung ho eater with no fear of copious amonuts of wasabi or capsicum, I balanced a good 2 tablespoons of the hellish mixture on top a perfectly cooked U-8 and bit off about half of it. I've accidentally caught a dose of pepper spray before, and this was far more painful. It was a good 3 or 4 minutes before I could speak again. After about ten minutes of recovery, I was able to finish the rest of my appetizer, after carefully scraping all of the sauce off of the shrimp.

I got engaged at Oceanaire Seafood Room in Indy last October. The service and food was excellent and it is within walking distance of all of the downtown attractions. Definitely worth a try.

Took daughter to Murat Center last year, then DH and I dined at Elements. It was outstanding!
Funny story, Clay...and quite true!

i've alway's liked Shapiro's Deli & Cafeteria
http://www.shapiros.com/

I'd also recommend Brugge Brasserie. As much as I've liked Broad Ripple Brewpub over the years--and still do--Brugge is on my short list for favorite restaurants in the world.

http://www.bruggebrasserie.com

If you want to stay down by the Murat, I'd go to Aesop's Table, which is right there at Massachusetts Avenue. We produced a show up there last summer and spent several happy meals there.

If you go to http://www.intakeweekly.com and search their restaurant section, they have a pretty good overview of places in the area. Indianapolis Magazine's current issue also features the "best places to eat" as their cover story this month. Some of the selections are a little odd, but I'd agree with most of their choices. (The readers' poll chose P. F. Changs as the best Chinese in town, which--while I like Changs--is clearly not true. But that was the readers...)

Okay after consulting the forum I took my wife to St. Elmos and had what was the best steak of my life perfectly cooked Medium and wonderful flavor and huge 24 ounces of carnal bliss. I am not a seafood person but the wife had the shrimp cocktail and I had some of the sauce with club crackers, and it was awesome with a good kick. I have always praised Mortons here but this absolutely blew them away. I would drive there just to eat again. A tip from our server was to put some of the cocktail sauce in the navy bean soup and man was he right. Also the side to get is the cheesey redskin potato mash. All in all an amazing dinner and I can't wait to go back and yes I ate it all.

I'll also be headed up to Indy for the Morrissey concert. It should be a great concert. I'm not sure if I will have any time to check out these dining suggestions, but after reading a few suggestions I might have to find a way.

I actually have 2 extra tickets (10th row) that I would sell below face value. If anyone is interested just send me a message.

I'll also be headed up to Indy for the Morrissey concert. It should be a great concert. I'm not sure if I will have any time to check out these dining suggestions, but after reading a few suggestions I might have to find a way.

I actually have 2 extra tickets (10th row) that I would sell below face value. If anyone is interested just send me a message.

Wow!....A Morrissey fan that eats Meat? I thought that It's Murder

Thanks for that tip about Brugge Brasserie, David L. I'm going to make a special pilgrimage just for that alone.

There are a number of places on Massachusetts Ave which I believe is close to the Murat Center. I would suggest either Scholars Inn or R Bistro. If you looking for a quicker bite, there are several other sandwich/pizza places. There's also a Greek place on a corner but I can't come up with the name.