In April this year, I visited Indianapolis for the second time for a work conference. I was there for about five days, flying in on a Sunday morning and leaving on Thursday evening. Despite a full work schedule, I got to get out in the city and do a few things I didn’t have the chance to do my first time around, the highlight being a visit to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum.
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Stay
The conference placed me at the JW Marriott Indianapolis for my accommodations, which was great. The hotel was walking distance to downtown restaurants and attractions, and connected via skybridge to the convention center. It has restaurants and a grab and go outlet on the first floor, and a Starbucks conveniently located on the second floor near the entrance to the skybridge, so grabbing my morning coffee on the way to the convention center was a breeze. My room was cozy and had great views of the skyline.
See and Do
I had the whole afternoon to myself on the Sunday that I arrived, so I set out to visit the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum. The speedway is about a 15 minute ride outside of the downtown area in an enclave suburb called Speedway, and I was able to get there easily with a Lyft from the hotel. The Indy 500 is what Indianapolis is best known for. This iconic IndyCar race is hosted at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway every year on Memorial Day weekend. It’s been hosted every year since 1911, with the exception of the World War I and II years. The speedway is affectionately known as “The Brickyard,” a nod to its original brick surface of which you can still see a portion at the start and finish line. The museum operates tours of the track, but there were none on the schedule the day I went, so I just wandered through the museum. The museum provides a great overview of the speedway’s timeline and houses a plethora of historic racing automobiles. Even if you’ve never watched an Indy 500 in your life, it’s a cool way to get a feel for Indianapolis’s pride and joy.
The town of Speedway, Indiana also has its own little Main Street of shops and restaurants, which I wandered down after touring the speedway en route to a brewery.
The conference I was in Indy for hosted a welcome reception on opening night at Lucas Oil Stadium, the home of the Indianapolis Colts NFL team. The stadium, which opened in 2008 replacing the former RCA Dome, is an impressive stadium with a retractable roof and brick facade. We got to go down on the field as part of the event and had the option of attempting a field goal kick, though I didn’t participate. I didn’t need that embarrassment!
Eat and Drink
Prior to my last visit to Indy, a family friend had told me about a Philly-themed restaurant that friends of theirs operate in Indianapolis, and this time around I finally had the chance to visit. Hoagies and Hops is located in the Butler-Tarkington neighborhood to the north of downtown, another 10-15 minute Lyft ride from my hotel. It’s a happening spot in a quiet residential neighborhood, co-located with a taproom of Chilly Water Brewing Company, so that you can grab a sandwich and enjoy it with a craft brew. I ordered the “Philly Special” cheesesteak, which came loaded with sharp provolone, banana peppers, fried onion, tomatoes, house spicy sauce, and parmesan. It was absolutely delicious! I washed it down with a few Chilly Water Brews: Blood on the Tracks 7.4% blood orange IPA; Dark Side of the Munich, a malty 5.6% Munich Dunkel; and One Hop Wonder, a 6.9% floral and sweet American IPA.
The Slippery Noodle Inn was on my list as something I missed the last time I was in Indy, and the first night I tried to go it was closed for a private party, so I ended up wandering up South Meridian Street to see what else I could find. I landed on The District Tap, a craft beer gastropub in the heart of downtown. I learned on this trip that a pork tenderloin sandwich is an Indiana specialty, so I ordered The District Tap’s breaded tenderloin sandwich. It was massive and so tasty!
On my next night I finally got to visit the Slippery Noodle Inn. This is Indiana’s oldest continually operating bar, opened in 1850 as the Tremont House and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Today it’s a hotspot for live music, hosting an open blues jam every Wednesday and a full calendar of acts the rest of the week. I enjoyed their whiskey pepper cheeseburger, with housemade whiskey pepper marinade, an onion ring, and provolone cheese.
Naturally, I also made it a point of trying a few new breweries on this visit to Indianapolis. After the Speedway Museum, I hit Daredevil Brewing along Main Street in Speedway and tried their 4.2% Berliner RazzBlue blue raspberry sour and 7.2% Lift Off West Coast style IPA.
One evening after dinner, I hopped on over to Brew Link Downtown, the downtown outpost of a veteran-owned brewery based a little outside of Indy in Plainfield, Indiana. They had so many on the tap list that I wanted to try, so I ended up doing a flight that included:
- Just One S’more – a delicious 8.5% imperial stout with flavors of chocolate, marshmallow, and graham cracker
- Ivory Stout – my favorite of the flight, a 5.1% white stout with smooth coffee notes
- Stone Cold Hazy – a juicy citrusy 6.8% hazy IPA
- Spine Chiller Pineapple Tart Cherry Sour Ale – a sour 5% Berliner weisse style ale with lactose and pineapple
And it was a great spot to hang out and watch the Indiana Pacers clinch their playoff series in a nailbiter of a game!
On another night, I ventured over to Metazoa Brewing. This is an animal-friendly taproom, with a portion of proceeds from the beer going to animal and wildlife organizations. Who doesn’t love to drink for a good cause? I enjoyed a couple of pints out on the patio surrounded by dogs, trying their Trash Panda 5.3% golden ale made with coffee from locals Blue Mind Roasting; and Vampire Bat, a 6.5% blood orange IPA.
I had a great time visiting Indy again and feel like I was able to accomplish my Indianapolis bucket list this time around, though now I have some favorite spots that I would visit time and again if I happen to find myself back in Indy!
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