Photographs courtesy of Bluebeard, collage by Brittany Dexter
Among the cafés and watering holes of the Fountain Fletcher District’s walkable restaurant row just southeast of downtown Indianapolis, Bluebeard quietly stands out as its prototype for casual fine dining. Multiple James Beard Foundation nominations and plenty of national hype from the likes of Bon Appetit and The New York Times back up that claim, so it’s no surprise that a table at the no-reservation spot (which takes its name from native son Kurt Vonnegut’s 1987 novel) is one of the hottest tickets in town.
What makes Bluebeard worth its waitlist is a hyper-seasonal menu that takes as many cues from fine Italian trattorias as it does from the kitchens of doting grandmas with well-stocked Hoosier larders. The small plates include essential starters such as grilled bread with a flight of butters; feathery house-fried potato chips with French onion dip; oysters on the half shell; and a grilled octopus tentacle with tahini yogurt, roasted carrots, and puffed rice.
New chef Alan Sternberg fills in the rest of the lineup with carb-centric decadence in the form of short rib–filled cappellacci, tiny gnocchi in basil pesto cream with chopped burrata and pistachios, and a classic beef-and-pork Bolognese that has a loyal following of its own.
Bluebeard, 653 Virginia Ave., Indianapolis, (317) 686-1580
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