Serendipity Martini Bar and Restaurant

Transcription

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
After Dark
A Guide to Bloomington’s
Bars & Clubs
Serendipity
Martini Bar and Restaurant
B-Town’s Fabulous
New Showplace
Comedy Attic • Crazy Horse Food & Drink Emporium
Eagle Pointe Golf Resort • Hoosier Bar & Grill
Kilroy’s Bar N’ Grill • Kilroy’s Sports Bar
Max’s Place • Video Saloon • Yogi’s Grill & Bar
By Anne Kendall
Eagle Point Golf Resort
No tee time necessary for a trip to Eagle
Pointe Golf Resort—even folks who never
pick up a nine-iron are filling up the restaurant and bar at night. From its perch on
the wooded hills overlooking Lake Monroe,
Eagle Pointe is drawing a diverse crowd of
vacationers and locals who love the food
and service.
“That’s what we’re most proud of,” says
Sales Director Jacob King. “We consistently
receive compliments on our food—from our
featured prime rib and pasta to the simple
things like broccoli, corn, and potatoes.”
Those veggies are steamed to perfection
thanks to Executive Chef Jim Cushing.
He expertly delivers down-home comfort
food while continuing to adapt to industry trends. Occasional help comes from
Chef Tony Ruf, who draws on his Korean
heritage to explore ethnic cuisine, fusion
dishes, and other more exotic offerings.
While Cushing perfects pasta, Ruf creates
specially ordered Spanish tapas, gourmet
pizzas, and Asian inspired dishes.
With so much talent in the kitchen,
Eagle Pointe has become known for their
catering flexibility—families, companies,
churches, and other groups hold parties
here in the updated clubhouse. In Talons
Restaurant, roomy black leather booths
and mahogany tables are even more
inviting next to a floor-to-ceiling limestone
fireplace. Dishes that have received rave
reviews at catered parties and events, including coconut shrimp, mango salsa, and
Chicago-style pizza, are making their way
onto the everyday menu. A few steps away,
the more casual Clubhouse Bar features
a 900-gallon freshwater aquarium and a
relaxed vibe.
One plus of holding a meeting or party
at Eagle Pointe is that everyone can stay
overnight at the resort. The highlight of the
winter schedule is, of course, New Year’s
Eve. The festivities will feature a formal,
plated meal in Talons Restaurant and an
after-party at the Eagle’s Nest, the resort’s
main banquet facility, and music from Jeff
Day’s band, Someday. Reservations are
currently being taken, and are highly recommended.
12 Bloom | December 2010/January 2011
Outside Talons Restaurant, a
4,300-square-foot
covered Terrace
comes alive from
mid-May through
Labor Day weekend.
Live entertainment
gets the party going
in a scenic open-air
environment. Expect
classic rock that
pulls people out of
their seats and onto
the dance floor.
“We’re the place
to be,” says King.
“Downtown is just
not as vibrant in the summer months…
Down here, we’ve got the lake, the
vacationers, the poolside cabana bar,
the friendly service. It’s been the best
summer spot in Bloomington… Now
we’re providing the party in the winter.”
Winter hours: 11 am-8 pm Sunday-Monday, 11 am-9 pm Tuesday-Saturday.
2250 E. Pointe Rd., 824-4040,
www.eaglepointe.com
December 2010/January 2011 | Bloom 15
Crazy Horse
The nightlife on East Kirkwood is famously rowdy. But go a few blocks to
West Kirkwood and you’ll find a scene that is much more comfortable.
“We prefer a more casual, relaxed atmosphere,” says Ron Stanhouse,
owner of Crazy Horse Food & Drink Emporium. “You sit in a comfortable
booth, have a martini or bite to eat, and talk to the people you came with.
Better yet, that sandwich or appetizer was handmade and not from a box.”
The Crazy Horse opened in 1981 in an historic building that had been
home to various saloons and restaurants since its construction in the
1890s. Stanhouse took it over in 1987 but hasn’t messed with the Crazy
Horse success. “We don’t feel we’ve changed a lot,” he says. “We try
to focus on what’s important, which is good food and good service in a
friendly, comfortable space.”
The good food includes longtime favorites Ultimate Nachos, big
and meaty Chicken Wings, and Spinach Artichoke Dip. Then there are
sandwiches and entrées like handmade, breaded Tenderloin and Chicken
Fingers, beer-battered Fish and Chips, and Cajun Chicken Pasta.
Billed as “Bloomington’s Beer Authority,” Crazy Horse’s selection of 80
beers has evolved, as well—domestics, imports, and high-quality microbrews, including from locals Upland and Bloomington Brewing Company.
While the food menu and the beer list are constantly changing, the
process and surroundings won’t. “Our strategy from the first day has remained the same,” says Stanhouse. “Offer better food and drink products
consistently and comfortably. It’s been working well for a two generations
of customers in Bloomington.”
Hours: 11 am-3 am Monday-Saturday, noon-3 am Sunday
214 W. Kirkwood, 336-8877, www.crazyhorseindiana.com
Hoosier Bar & Grill
When you’re at the Hoosier Bar & Grill, no
question what to order: “The best beerbattered breaded tenderloin sandwich
you’ve ever had the pleasure of devouring,”
says owner Lorna May. It’s the most popular item on the menu. Hands down.
“People who have moved out of the
area come back for it,” says May. “There’s
a little old lady from Oregon—every time
she visits her sister here, she comes for our
tenderloin. They’re huge, they’re thick, and
the breading rocks.”
Since May’s takeover a little over a year
ago, there have been numerous changes,
including lots of new TVs (there are now
13), fresh carpeting, four refurbished pool
tables, and a downloadable jukebox—pay
a buck to add any song you want.
There’s also a huge dance floor, which
fills up late on the weekends. Friday nights
are ruled by a DJ or karaoke, while Saturday nights feature live music. There’s free
poker on Sunday nights starting at 6 pm,
and free pool on Mondays and Tuesdays.
“Our crowd varies,” says May. “During the week, it’s a sports-watching local
crowd—people stopping
by for lunch or grabbing a
drink after work. Late on
Friday and Saturday nights,
that’s when we get more of
the younger kids—the party,
dancing crowd.”
Hoosier Bar & Grill has a
Bloomington address—just
five minutes away from IU
Memorial Stadium on State
Road 46—but it falls outside
city limits and has remained
a smoker-friendly environment. If smoke bothers you,
you may want to stick to the
“family” side. The main bar
area and party room may get smoky at
times, despite an “awesome smoke-eating
system,” says May. If you’re allergic, she
recommends one of the “many wonderful
venues within Bloomington city limits.”
Otherwise, get the party started at
Hoosier Bar & Grill, whether it’s for music
and dancing on weekends, Monday Night
Football, or Wii Wednesday nights. Tues-
days from 5 to 8 pm, they offer free buffalo
wings, served hot, mild, plain, or with BBQ
sauce, with a drink purchase. Any night can
be a special night, May says. “It’s 4,000
square feet of fun, sports, and laughter.”
Hours: 11 am-3 am daily (smoke-free family side
11 am-9 pm daily)
4645 W. Richland Plaza, 935-6333,
www.hoosierbarandgrill.com
Photos by Shannon Zahnle
“Happy accidents.”
“The accidental discovery of something
good or beneficial.”
Definitions like that are how Serendipity
got its name. The martini bar and restaurant
opened a few months ago on something of
a whim. Tariq Khan, a software engineer for
decades, found himself in Bloomington and
got into the real estate business. When an
intriguing building—decrepit, but with lots of
potential—became available at the corner of
4th and College, he and his fiancée, Tammy
Schoch, did a little dreaming.
“We thought, ‘We have parties at
home,’” says Khan. “The building came
along, and we talked about how maybe we
should try this.”
One reason the couple was inspired to
start Serendipity was the feeling that when
their relatives and friends visited town, there
was no late-night place to go. “We didn’t
have a nice place for people who are out of
school, especially after 11 pm,” says Khan.
“We are not a restaurant. We are not a bar—
at least, not the kinds of bars that were here.
We have tapped into a different niche.”
Khan says General Manager Mike Oransky has played a pivotal role in the popularity
of Serendipity’s martinis. The most popular potable is the City of God, made with
acai-blueberry vodka and pink lemonade,
garnished with fresh blueberries. The Petite
Fleur mingles of-the-moment St. Germain
liqueur with gin and Domain de Canto,
finished with a sprig of dill. Chocolate
martinis, always a favorite, include dark
and white versions, each trimmed with a
strawberry.
Wine and beer are also available, and
there’s much more to come. “We have a
beautiful wine cellar,” says Khan. “We’re really going into wine with a lot of gusto now.”
With its martini-bar reputation, Serendipity’s food menu—created by Khan and
Schoch—often comes as a surprise. The
most-asked-for dish? Sliders. If you’re
thinking White Castle, start from scratch. No
ground beef here—these little burgers are
made from top-notch steak, then seasoned
with a garlic herb-cheese butter and topped
with cheddar or provolone, served au jus.
Add caramelized onion or sautéed mushrooms for an extra buck. “It melts in your
mouth,” says Khan.
The food and drink menus both go well
with the free, live, local music Thursday
through Saturday nights, including acoustic,
vocal, and light jazz. “Our goal,” says Khan,
“is to provide a platform for as many local
artists in town as possible.”
Serendipity’s menu has evolved much
like its history. And its name? As soon as
Schoch uttered it, it was a winner. “I said,
‘You took the word right out of my mouth,’”
says Khan. “The meaning and the sound
just clicked. It really was serendipity.”
Hours: 3:30 pm-11 pm Monday-Thursday, 3:30
pm-1 am Friday-Saturday
201 S. College, 330-6688,
www.serendipitymartini.com
Max’s Place
The “Max” of Max’s Place was a Rottweiler who belonged to the place’s original
owner. After years of changes—a name
update from Max’s Pizza, new ownership, a
move from near Lake Monroe to the center
of town, and now a brand-new space on
the north side of the downtown Square—
Max has remained as the honorary namesake, but the self-portrait by managing
partner Travers Marks’ father, Maurice, has
become “the icon, the one-eyed jester” of
it all.
Don’t be fooled by the gleaming new
hardwoods, beautiful curly-maple bar, or
newly upscale menu offerings of the restaurant’s latest incarnation. “Max’s Place is a
place for everybody,” says Marks. “We’ve
made this place look really nice, but we still
want people to feel comfortable. It doesn’t
matter whether you’re a student or a local.
Come in your work clothes if you want, or
dress to the nines if you want.”
The all-inclusive vibe of the place fits with
its longtime specialty: pizza. Does anyone,
anywhere, not like it? “You travel around the
globe, and you find pizza everywhere,” says
Marks. “That’s the kind of attitude we want
here.”
Max’s Place takes its pies seriously,
turning out traditional thincrust, New York-style pizza in
a 650-degree brick oven. “It
comes out the way pizza is supposed to be,” says Marks.
Now that Max’s Place has
moved to new digs on West 6th
Street, much more spacious
than the restaurant’s former
home on West 7th, they’re
expanding the food menu.
Expect some interesting salads, plus panini
sandwiches and occasional pasta specials. Goat cheese and prosciutto join the
already lengthy list of pizza toppings, and
buffalo meat will debut on the menu. There
will still be plenty for vegans; all dough and
croutons fit the bill, and homemade vegan
cheese and marinara sauce are available
upon request.
The new bar’s 13 taps will veer toward
quality, local brews; bestsellers in the past
have included Upland Wheat Ale and Arrogant Bastard ales.
The restaurant is now open seven days
a week, and live, local music will remain
on the calendar, only now the place is a
drum-free zone until at least 10 pm to better accommodate dinner conversation. The
exception is Sunday, which will host special
events—charity fundraisers, kids’ shows,
whatever Marks is in the mood for.
Expect live music Wednesday through
Saturday, including the popular Wednesday
open mic mike night. The longtime focus on
local music will stay in place, with favorite
returning acts such as the dub-reggae band
Coyaba, eclectic Waldemere Revival, and
Marks’s own band, Zion Crossroads, for
which he says he coined the musical genre
“dreadneck”—“somewhere between reggae, rock ’n roll, and hillbilly,” he says.
A true original, like Max’s Place itself.
Hours: 11:30 am until “when we feel like it,” says
Marks (expect that to be around 1 or 2 am on
the weekends, 11 pm other days). 108 W. 6th St.,
336-5169, www.maxsplace.info
Kilroy’s
From an early age, Linda Prall,
owner of Kilroy’s on Kirkwood,
Kilroy’s Sports Bar, Smokin’ Jacks
Rib Shack and KRC Catering, has
been an entrepreneur. Her keen
sense for smart business opportunities and marketing techniques
has paved the way for her success in Bloomington. Many of her
businesses have become iconic
experiences for Indiana University students, and the buildings
themselves a part of the scenery
in Bloomington.
The Early Years
In September 1970, business
student Linda Prall was walking
back from class with her neighbor and saw a woman tack up
a For Rent sign on a building at
the intersection of Atwater and
Woodlawn. “We decided we
needed some practical business
experience to go along with our
IU School of Business degrees,”
Prall said.
So the two neighbors ventured
together and opened up a 24-hour
hamburger and egg joint that they
named the Hour House. The Hour
House had a successful run, and in 1975
Prall found out that she was losing the lease
on the building and started looking for a new
establishment. She found the Kilroy’s on
Kirkwood location and the rest is history.
Kilroy’s on Kirkwood to KRC
A combination of great location and a
legend rooted in the 1940’s culture and
World War II lore are two reasons Linda
Prall’s businesses are flourishing.
Legend has it that rivet inspector James
Kilroy marked “Kilroy was here” on all of the
rivets he inspected, instead of hashing a
chalk mark as most of the other inspectors
did. Kilroy wanted to make sure that he received credit for his day’s inspections since
he was paid per piece. GIs started noticing
that the scribbled phrase was appearing on
more and more of the machinery that was
being produced and started assuming that
meant the ship and machinery was safe and
protected from the enemy. GIs later adopted
the phrase and tagged it across Europe,
Asia, and Africa.
small-town prices to Bloomington residents.
In 1975 Linda Prall embraced the legend
and adopted the name for Kilroy’s on Kirkwood, to create a sense of longevity and
history with potential customers.
History repeated itself when Prall opened
a second Kilroy’s location, Kilroy’s Sports
Bar on North Walnut, in 1991.
Kilroy’s Sports Bar had difficulty establishing a food following, so Prall bought a
local barbeque restaurant, The Rib Cage, in
2001, renamed it Smokin’ Jack’s Rib Shack,
and served its barbeque out of Sports.
Within a year, Smokin’ Jack’s outgrew its
space in Kilroy’s Sports Bar and relocated
to West 17th Street. “At that time we started
catering casual functions like tailgates, family
reunions, and picnics,” Prall said.
In the summer of 2006, the space at
3rd and College became available and Prall
expanded her catering business to include a
banquet hall and upscale catering services.
Today, KRC Catering offers big-city style and
Present Day
From her single venture in 1970 as a
business student at IU, Linda Prall and her
family now own four successful businesses
in Bloomington — Kilroy’s on Kirkwood, Kilroy’s Sports, Smokin’ Jacks Rib Shack, and
KRC Catering. Between the four businesses, Prall employs 250 people, 70 full-time
and 180 part-time employees. Employees
receive health insurance and 401k plans.
All employees are encouraged to give back
to the community and participate in local
philanthropies.
“We raise between $40,000 and $50,000
for charity every year,” Prall says. Most of
the efforts are focused around local children’s causes like IU Dance Marathon and
Jill’s House.
With their community ties and successful
business, it is safe to say, “Kilroy was here”
and will continue to be for years to come.
Comedy Attic
In little over two years, The Comedy Attic (formerly The Funny Bone) has
made quite a name for itself nationally and locally. The headline is quite
simple: The comedians are firstrate. From Bob & Tom favorites Tim Wilson
and Heywood Banks to superstars Maria Bamford, Brian Posehn, and
Doug Benson, the club has piqued B-town’s interest. But it’s the atmosphere, local talent, and great staff that keep the crowds coming back.
Owner Jared Thompson, a Goshen native who grew up in other states,
moved to Bloomington in 2003, where his wife Dayna attended grad
school. “She had three choices of where to go, and we are IU basketball fans,” says Thompson. When his job moved to Fishers, he quit. “We
wondered what void we could fill in Bloomington,” he says. “Comedy was
the first thing we thought of, and within five minutes we were researching
it online.”
The Comedy Attic’s very nature sets it apart from other Bloomington
nightlife. Some of the crowd shows up every single week; others wander
in on a first date or a lark. “No one thought a comedy club would be successful in Bloomington,” Thompson says. “And they were probably right,”
he adds with a laugh. “But we’ve gained a reputation for being the best
comedy club in the Midwest.”
Dayna works full-time elsewhere, so Jared runs the place on pure energy—and passion. The couple recently had their first child—a son, Max,
who stays in the green room all the shows. “He’s either going to be the
next Mitch Hedburg, or hate comedy altogether,” jokes Thompson.
Hours: Live shows 8 pm Thursday, 8 pm and 10:30 pm Friday and Saturday. Open Mic Night every other Wednesday at 8 pm.
4th Street and South Walnut, 336-LAFF, www.comedyattic.com
Yogi’s Grill & Bar
If you’ve lived in Bloomington for any length of time, you know about
Yogi’s Grill & Bar, a mainstay on the western edge of the IU campus since
1992. A late-night draw among students, it also fills up with IU staff, a business crowd, and construction workers for lunch, dinner, and cocktails. Its
also a popular venue before and after IU games. With walls of hi-def TVs
and classic pub grub, it has long been a favorite for catching the big game.
What you may not know is just how seriously they take that beer.
Chris Karl, co-owner and “head beer nerd,” is a Certified Cicerone—the
hops-and-barley version of a wine sommelier. Only about 140 people in
the country have passed the rigorous testing of the program, run by the
president of the Craft Beer Institute. Karl’s beer IQ ensures choice picks
not available to every corner bar. Take the 54-proof Samuel Adams Utopias
for $265; the three 24-ounce bottles sold out within a month.
With 47 taps and 75 bottled choices of craft, import, and domestic
brews, plus 11 Certified Beer Servers on staff, Yogi’s is creating some
serious beer connoisseurs. When a new brew arrives, Karl announces it on
Facebook in the afternoon, and the kegs are usually gone within a day or
two. Coming this winter: traditional favorite Upland Winter Warmer, along
with something new, Great Divide’s Espresso Oak Aged Yeti.
The biggest-selling beers are still Bud & Bud Light. But the limitedrelease brews are attracting more attention, says Chris. “People are
discovering it and coming to us for it.”
Hours: 11 am-1 am Monday-Thursday, 11 am-2 am Friday-Saturday,
noon-1 am Sunday.
519 E. 10th St., 323-9644, www.yogis.com

Serendipity Martini Bar and Restaurant

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