Lunch Between Indianapolis Airport And Lucas Oil Stadium

[jrichman]

Hi All,

I will be arriving in INDY this Saturday for the Final Four (Go Butler!)....

Our flight gets in mid afternoon and we want to grab some lunch before we head over to Lucas Oil Stadium. since the city will be crazy we were thinking of getting some food in between the airport and Lucas Oil Stadium. Any and all suggestions will be helpful.

Thanks!

[rlibkind]

It's not inbetween the two points, and it will undoubtedly be busy, but the line moves quickly and the food is worth it: Shapiro's Deli, 808 S. Meridian, right off the same I-70 exit you'd take for the stadium.

[IndyRob]

Unless someone can come up with a neighborhood gem, this stretch of I-70 is not exactly a fertile plain of gastronomy (mostly industrial). Downtown would be better. Or, get something at the Airport itself (will take you all of two minutes to decide whether there's something that appeals to you). The better parts of the airport area are to the west - which is the wrong way.

Downtown shouldn't be too bad - especially if you stray a little bit from the immediate vicinity of Lucas Oil Stadium. Shapiros, as suggested, would be good. Acapulco Joe's (Mexican-American) (365 North Illinois Street) is also a local favorite.

But my wife tells me that BW3 downtown (Buffalo Wild Wings - 7 East Washington Street) is the temporary Butler headquarters - if you want to seek crazy.

Le Peep (301 N Illinois) might be good too if you're in a brunchy mood.

But if you can manage 20 minutes of walking around time downtown, you should be able to find something agreeable. There's a Brazilian steakhouse. The Oceanaire Seafood Room. Brewpubs, etc.

[jrichman]

Any thoughts on eating in the Fountain Square area? Will it be easy to get into a restaurant saturday afternoon at say 3PM - is this close to downtown?

Thanks!

[nsxtasy]

Any thoughts on eating in the Fountain Square area? Will it be easy to get into a restaurant saturday afternoon at say 3PM - is this close to downtown?

Fountain Square is a little over a mile southeast of downtown Indianapolis, and about a mile and a half east of Lucas Oil Stadium.

Because mid-afternoon on a Saturday is an off hour at almost any restaurant, you shouldn't have any concern about a restaurant being full. Your main concern will be whether or not a restaurant is open at that hour, as many restaurants are not. Check website hours or call.

As I replied on another board, you can dine in downtown Indianapolis and walk to and from the stadium...

The ride from the airport is short (under 15 minutes) and there isn't much along the way. However, there are a lot of places to eat in downtown Indianapolis within walking distance of the stadium. So park the car downtown once, then go eat before the event. Stick to places south of Monument Circle (rather than places along Mass Ave or 10th/11th St) to keep them within a reasonable walk of the stadium. The Circle Centre is an indoor mall in that vicinity, and there are numerous restaurants there; they also have an inexpensive underground parking garage ( www.circle-centre.com ). The best places are on the same block as Circle Centre but with entrances on the street. My favorite is the Oceanaire ( www.theoceanaire.com ), widely acclaimed as the best seafood restaurant in Indy; I've also enjoyed Palomino ( www.palomino.com ) and 14 West ( www.14west.indy.com - warning, their chef recently departed).

Edited April 5, 2010 by nsxtasy (log)