You won't find another neighborhood with so much fun packed into such a small area as Fletcher Place.





There are James Beard-nominated restaurants on both sides of the street, and now you can get there without a car on the Red Line. Take advantage of these perfect early fall temps and take a walk around one of Indy's best little neighborhoods.





Written by Sarah Murrell









EAT









Rook

501 Virginia Ave #101





Named for the birds that sit on the power lines over Indonesian street food carts, this restaurant has evolved to become a pan-Asian dining destination that should be on the top of your list. You can't go wrong with lunch or dinner, though the dinner menu features a lot more one-off specials, and lunch is a lineup of classics with a daily rotating bahn mi that could feature anything from house-fermented sausage to fried grouper cheeks. Rook's bar specializes in gin-based cocktails, as well as a wine list that competes with some of the more expensive places in town.









Bluebeard

653 Virginia Ave





Bluebeard, oh Bluebeard, how we love you forever and ever. Chef Abbi Merriss is holding it down as strong as ever, and it remains one of our favorite places to go for a consistent top-notch dining experience. You could drop $20 on a quick lunch or $150 on a long dinner and both would be equally as memorable, which is why they've earned so many James Beard nominations. Every piece of decor has a great story to tell if you ask your server. #ProTip: Sundays are dollar oyster night.













General American Donut Company

827 S East St





General American Donut Company ushered in a new era of cool kid donuts in the Circle City. They bake 'em up fresh daily and sell 'em 'til they're gone, then they close the doors and turn off the lights. We'd recommend getting the PB&J or French Toast 'nuts, as both give you the impression (illusion?) that you're eating a "real" breakfast. We don't know who needs to hear this, but GADCo also delivers. Our burden is now yours to bear.









Bosphorus Istanbul Cafe

935 S East St





The 'hood's favorite Turkish restaurant has been around for a minute because it's beloved and always delicious. The dining room is always packed with Lilly employees tucking into a babaganoush lunch, and their menu has been offering vegetarian options way before the vegan movement made eating meatless cool. For our money, nothing beats a perfect meal here like finishing with a cup of Turkish coffee.









Repeal

630 Virginia Ave





The sister restaurant to 12.05 Distillery, Repeal started out specializing in historic recipes. They've evolved to include a lot more modern foods, and we're loving the new flavors. A high point is the Selfish Nachos, named, we assume, because you're not going to want to share them. Dinner is great, but Repeal stands out as a delicious lunch place if you're working downtown. We'd recommend popping in next door to see what the 12.05 boys are brewing.













Amelia's

653 Virginia Ave





Bluebeard's sister bakery was born from owner Tom Battista's search for really good, Italian-style sourdough. As the adage goes, if you want something baked right, you've gotta build the bakery yourself — and lucky for all of us. The slow-rising loaves come out of the oven craggy, crunchy, and full of big, gorgeous air holes. The preservative-free, all-natural bread is featured most famously on Goose the Market's sandwich board, and the bakery was named one of the best in the country by USA Today.









Milktooth

534 Virginia Ave





Consider this an invitation to go for the three-meal Fletcher Place dining experience. Milktooth is packed every weekend for a reason. You can wear jeans and bring your baby and get high-end flavors in the most relaxed dining room in the city. Make sure to save room for Zoe Taylor's mad-scientist-meets-pastry-whiz take on baked goods, which could be anything from a fudgy rye brownie to savory wild rice scones. Milktooth has won so many dang awards, we don't have room to list them, so check it out.









Chilly Water Brewing Co.

719 Virginia Ave #105





We could put Chilly Water in either the food or drink category, but we didn't want anyone to miss out on their killer panini lineup. They've won several golds at the Brewers Cup, and Blood on the Tracks, their blood orange sipper, is the orange soda/beer mix you've always dreamed of with almost none of the filling sugar. The music-themed brewpub is an ideal stop if you're taking a bike around the Cultural Trail.













Calvin Fletcher's Coffee Co.

647 Virginia Ave





CFCC is everything to everyone, by which we mean a no-frills cup of drip to go for some, and a place to work and hang with great food and artisanal coffee drinks for others. It's a true reflection of the diversity of Fletcher Place, drawing an ever-changing mix of artists, writers, community organizers and 9-to-5-ers alike. They've got your vegan milks and pastries, your lunch wraps and all your teas. And a skylight. And a patio. And just the nicest people behind the counter you'll ever meet.









Ember Urban Eatery

435 Virginia Ave





This restaurant greets you at the north end of the neighborhood like a figurehead on a ship, and inside you'll find friendly food and drinks for you and your kids. Ember's menu is a big one, but that also ups your chances that you'll find the perfect match for your current craving, from barbecue to salads. On a cold day, there's nothing better than an order of potato croquettes, which are panko-breaded mashed potato balls in finger food size.









Tortas Guicho Dominguez

641 Virginia Ave





Mexican food gets pushed into a narrow definition in America, but Tortas invites you to try a specialty of Mexico City. Tortas are hot, unpressed sandwiches, usually served out of carts or small shops, and they come topped with anything from thin-pounded pork chops to pineapple and hot dogs. TGD serves theirs with the traditional tomato and avocado on top, though feel free to customize. If we had to recommend, we're getting the Eva Mendez or the Luis Miguel, as their special tortas are named after Latinx celebrities.





DRINK









Tappers

501 Virginia Ave #102





Barcades have been a thing for a few years now, but Tappers remains one of two locally-owned and operated, totally free play locations in the city. It was crowdfunded, hand-painted, and then expanded when the place got almost too packed on weekends. It's just one of the most fun spots to get local beer and hang out with some friends. And while the bar doesn't provide food itself, they'd love for you to bring some takeout in and enjoy it with one of their ice-cold drafts or have your ClusterTruck driver pull up to the curb outside.









12.05 Distillery

636 Virginia Ave





You can look right into the distilling works of this tiny operation while you're eating at Repeal, and when you're done, you can stop in for a cocktail. 12.05 employs a unique hybrid system in which they can distill all spirits in a tiny footprint depending on how the liquor is routed through the pipes and columns. When it's time to age a spirit, they pump it down into the barrel room under the shop, accessible only through a trap door hatch in the tasting room. Depending on how busy it is, the guys might let you take a tour. For a great story, ask how co-owner Brad Colver lost his finger building the place.













Hotel Tango

702 Virginia Ave





In a building that used to be a carriage repair shop, you'll find the totally revamped tasting room that became a hit neighborhood bar. Production has been moved out of the bar to make room for more customers, and now you can get any cocktail you could dream of, from the savory to the tiki-fabulous. All of the spirits are available for purchase, and you should ask about the rotating small-batch spirit available only at the tasting room. If you've got a big party to host, check out their newly opened Foxhole.









The Dugout

621 Virginia Ave





The Dugout is another bar that could go in either the bar or restaurant category, because it's hard to beat their hearty pub menu (think fried cheese, side of ranch). And while the Dugout is famous for things transplanted from another time (PBR on draft! Fried bologna sandwiches!), they're hip to the trends with a good portion of the menu being veggie-friendly. On Saturdays and Sundays from 9 to 11 in the morning, you can get a utility breakfast buffet for the low price of $7.50 and eat eggs, bacon and Bs 'n' Gs to you heart's contentment.





GO









Red Line





The Red Line is open, and it's fantastic. Better yet, it runs directly down Virginia Avenue from downtown, so you can hop off at any stop and be steps away from one of these locations (one stop is nearly in Milktooth's parking lot). The Red Line is free all during the month of September, and after that you can buy passes in person, at the Transit Center, or through the MyKey app. Out-of-towners, leave the rental car at the airport and spend that cash on some of the best meals you'll eat in the state.









Pickled Pedaler





A less practical but much more fun way to explore the city is by the Fletcher Place-based pedal bars. Here's the deatl: you bring as much booze as you can fit on the Pedaler, crank your favorite music with full control of the Aux, and cruise between bars. Another useful #ProTip: the closer you sit to the front, the harder you'll have to pedal, and the pedal-less bench seat in the back is generally reserved for the bride/groom/birthday person.













Indy Cultural Trail





Thanks to the Cultural Trail, you can walk or bike between any of Indy's most vibrant cultural centers on a fully-lit, smooth and landscaped path. Runners should absolutely take advantage, especially visiting runners, as the trail not only takes you directly through the heart of Fletcher Place, but extends into Fountain Square and goes right past Cummins' gorgeous outdoor plaza. If you want a bigger bite of the Cultural Trail, they offer food tours in Fletcher Place, Mass Ave and Fountain Square, as well as a longer biking tour.









Pacers Bikeshare





Those big yellow beach cruisers are a glorious mode of transit without all the crashing of the scooters, and they don't require charging like their smaller two-wheeled counterparts. And they are maintained by employees of Pacers Bikeshare, not people shoving them in their cars every night. Perhaps best of all, they're heavy, highly visible, and a much better choice when you've got kids in tow as they're allowed on the Cultural Trail. Just an all-around safer bet.





LIVE









Mozzo Apartments

531 Virginia Ave





One of the first residential buildings to hit the revamped Virginia Avenue, The Mozzo is one of the most prime locations for gourmands looking to set up permanent shop in Fletcher Place. It's in the dead-center, so it's no more than a few hundred feet to Rook or Chilly Water at either end. The apartments are new builds as well, so all the appliances, heating and insulation are of the new millennium.









The Hinge

719 Virginia Ave





It's an apartment! It's a co-working space! It's The Hinge! If you're looking for a place that right in the middle of it, but where you can get down to work quickly, this is the place. It sits on top of Chilly Water, and it's across the street from Hotel Tango. Wake up, have coffee and a pastry at Calvin Fletcher's, work for a bit, take a break at Chilly Water, work some more, and cap it with a local cocktail at Hotel Tango. What more could you want from a balanced work and fun life?













Union Laundry Lofts

735 Lexington Ave





ULL is one of the most sought-after residential spots in the city. The trendy, airy lofts are available on about the same frequency as new popes, but that doesn't stop any of us from dreaming around here. Keep checking this page to see if they have any open units, and if they do, keep your dukes up because we're fighting everyone in here for a spot.









The Villaggio

435 Virginia Ave





If you really, really, really like the food at Ember, you could just live above it. This complex has the busy professional in mind, and has a gym and dentist office as just one of the many businesses sharing the first floor of the complex. It's also in spitting distance of Rook and Tappers, so you can still have fun even if you're really busy and don't get a lot of time off.









LOVE









The Idle





There are some things that sound strange and turn out transcendent, and The Idle is one of those things. Walk through a thicket and emerge to find a shaded viewing deck where you can sit and watch cars pass on the interstate. It's hard to overstate how strangely mesmerizing the experience is, or how beautiful the little micropark turned out in what might have been left to languish as the green-ish dregs of interstate spaghetti. It's representative of Fletcher Place: small, thoughtful, quirky and memorable.