1. Mudbugs Cajun Café (Carmel)
Mudbugs delights in all the traditional Cajun food: red beans and rice, gumbo, jambalaya, po’boys, etc. Their interior gives off Mardi Gras vibes and the people working there are quite friendly. Tuesday nights they offer all you can eat gumbo, and on Wednesdays you can get ½ an order of their amazing beignets for free with an entrée purchase. Another draw is that they even get gator every once in awhile.
2. Jamaican Reggae Grill (Carmel)
Just a short drive from Mudbugs is Jamaican Reggae Grill. This restaurant has a small menu that has all kinds of incredible food on it. Jamaican jerk chicken is very delicious, and this place offers it in quarters, wings, or on a sandwich. They also have curried chicken and goat. Another staple in the Jamaican culture are their patties, which is bread on the outside that is stuffed with either chicken or beef along with curry and other seasonings. The final suggestion to try there would be their fried plantains.
3. Milktooth (Indy)
Milktooth is a breakfast/lunch spot in Indy that is all about crazy flavor combinations. You don’t go here for regular pancakes or waffles; you come here for strawberry dutch baby pancakes with lemon curd and sourdough pearl sugar waffle with honey corn butter, cherry compote, and a graham cracker crumble. Many breakfast items are turned on their heads in a way that has thrilled critics and regular folks alike. Expect portion sizes to be smaller here and no substitutions.
4. Harry and Bud’s (Terre Haute)
This may be the most unique restaurant in Indiana. First of all, their hours aren’t fixed. If the light is on outside, they’re open…that’s it. It has no signage and no advertising anywhere…it looks like an abandoned barbershop from the outside. There also isn’t a menu. Sounds sketchy, right? Well, people who have dined here can’t help but give 5-star reviews on Yelp, Tripadvisor, and Facebook. Apparently, once you go in, the chef talks to you about your likes and dislikes (and allergies), then creates something for you based on your preferences. They are also reservations only, with parties going between 6-12 people. Reviewers highlight the quantity and quality, as well as the cost: $50 a person for an experience like this.
5. Caplinger’s Fresh Catch (3 Indy area locations)
This place is a seafood lover’s dream. The amount of variety here is astounding. They operate as both a restaurant and a market, so you’ll have people coming to sit down and eat and others to just pick up an order of king crab legs. You can get oysters, crab, lobster, all kinds of fish, shrimp…the list goes on! Portion sizes are very generous and the prices are fair for what you get. The staff is helpful despite dealing with many customers, and the ambiance is fun. The also make the bread for their sandwiches themselves. They’re actually ranked #1 for all of Indy for Quick Bites to eat and #8 out of over 2,000 restaurants overall in Indy.
6. Turkuaz Café (Bloomington)
Turkish food is something not often found in Indiana, so finding a place that serves up such great Turkish dishes is a real gem. Bosphorous in Indy in good too, but here you can pick whether you want to sit at a table or on the floor on rugs and pillows in a raised front section. People who come here rave about the Turkish coffee, pide, lentil soup, and more, but I was won over by the lamb chops and whatever the bread was that was served with it. Reviewers also point out the friendliness of the chef/owner, which is not something you see often in reviews.
7. Lucky Indian Cuisine (Kokomo)
This restaurant is relatively new to Kokomo, but it is getting stellar reviews online. Even though not many folks have reviewed it yet, it has perfect 5-star ratings on both Yelp and TripAdvisor, which is not an easy feat. People are talking about the great food, great smells, great ambiance, and great service. They also advertise a $12 lunch buffet, which according to pictures offers a great variety of food. If you have never tried Indian food, it isn’t all spicy; I can’t do spicy and LOVE certain Indian dishes and naan bread. Give it a try!
8. Junk Ditch Brewing Company (Fort Wayne)
Junk Ditch stands out for the same reason that Milktooth does: interesting flavor combinations. For example, instead of a regular burger on their lunch menu, they have a burger that has Wagyu beef. Another great example is that their biscuits and gravy come with lime and scallions, or how their waffle in the chicken and waffles is a sweet potato waffle that comes with orange, maple, and parsley. Their menu is relatively small compared to a lot of these other restaurants (except Jamaican Reggae Grill), but that is because they’re also a microbrewery and have a lot of beer options as well. Because of the quality of their ingredients, one should also prepare for a more expensive meal, though not one that will break the bank.
9. The Eagle (Indy)
I had the best fried chicken in my life at this restaurant. They flaunt how good their fried chicken is with an over-sized picture on their website and by having it as the first item on their menu. They serve it in quarters, halves, and whole chickens, and it’s incredible. The restaurant serves other Southern dishes, but if you’re coming here and not getting something with chicken, you’re doing it wrong. The sides are phenomenal too, which include cornbread with maple butter, sweet potato casserole, brown sugar bacon, mac and cheese with breadcrumbs, and more. It’s fun atmosphere inside, but it can get loud.
10. Das Dutchmen Essenhaus (Middlebury)
This Amish style restaurant serves food 3 different ways: buffet, family style, or by menu order. The have a buffet to go with each meal of the day that offers everything you could want. Typical menu items are broasted (or fried) chicken, beef and noodles, fish, pot roast, and meatloaf. Their breakfast buffet is $10 while lunch and dinner go up to $13.50 and $15 respectively. They also have around 30 types of pies to pick from, many of which show up on the buffets. What is even better is that there is a bakery on the premises as well, which is highly praised by people who have been here. Folks also have plenty of good things to say about the service.
