Chicago to Louisville
February 25, 2009 7:03 PM Subscribe
Are there any fun places to stop between Chicago and Louisville? We'll be making the drive on a Sunday. Restaurant ideas are also appreciated.
It's not the world's most exciting drive. Especially the bit between Chicago and Indianapolis. Unless you're a huge Purdue fan and wish to check out West Lafayette. Between Indianapolis and Louisville there's Columbus and Seymour.
If you've got a few hours to waste in Indianapolis you can visit the Indianapolis Museum of Art. It's a pretty great museum if you like art.
Really though, the most exciting thing you'll experience on the actual drive is going over the bridge from Indiana to Kentucky. Louisville can be fun once you're there, though! There's plenty of sight-seeing stuffs.
I have no advice to offer you on restaurants but will mention that there's a 24 hour Starbucks, convenience stores, gas stations off of Exit 99 on 65 in case you are on the road at odd hours. (Exit 99 off 65 is just south of Indianapolis.)
posted by fluffy battle kitten at 7:41 PM on February 25, 2009
If you've got a few hours to waste in Indianapolis you can visit the Indianapolis Museum of Art. It's a pretty great museum if you like art.
Really though, the most exciting thing you'll experience on the actual drive is going over the bridge from Indiana to Kentucky. Louisville can be fun once you're there, though! There's plenty of sight-seeing stuffs.
I have no advice to offer you on restaurants but will mention that there's a 24 hour Starbucks, convenience stores, gas stations off of Exit 99 on 65 in case you are on the road at odd hours. (Exit 99 off 65 is just south of Indianapolis.)
posted by fluffy battle kitten at 7:41 PM on February 25, 2009
Stop by Indianapolis and take a ride around Major Taylor Velodrome.
They rent bikes there for a few dollars and it'll wake you up from a boring drive.
posted by Confess, Fletch at 7:50 PM on February 25, 2009
They rent bikes there for a few dollars and it'll wake you up from a boring drive.
posted by Confess, Fletch at 7:50 PM on February 25, 2009
It's not a great drive, but it is a quick one. Three suggestions, all food related:
Fair Oaks Farms, in Fair Oaks, IN, just outside Lafayette. Great homemade cheese and ice cream. I think they have some kid-oriented dairy tours too.
Shapiro's Deli in Indianapolis. (I know... Indianapolis is probably the last place you expected to find decent mishmosh soup.)
David Allen Chocolate in Lebanon. (No coffee, sadly, but there's a Starbucks on the other side of the Interstate.)
posted by j-dawg at 9:14 PM on February 25, 2009
Fair Oaks Farms, in Fair Oaks, IN, just outside Lafayette. Great homemade cheese and ice cream. I think they have some kid-oriented dairy tours too.
Shapiro's Deli in Indianapolis. (I know... Indianapolis is probably the last place you expected to find decent mishmosh soup.)
David Allen Chocolate in Lebanon. (No coffee, sadly, but there's a Starbucks on the other side of the Interstate.)
posted by j-dawg at 9:14 PM on February 25, 2009
The Indianapolis Art Center would be good. Take the East 38th St. exit off of I-65, then go North onto College ave. It's at 820 E 67th St., off of College Ave. You'd go pass the Art museum on 38th St. this way. They usually have a couple exhibits and lots of student art around the building. You can watch the glass blowers through the door if there's a class in session.
There's a sculpture garden behind the building. My favorites are the 2 biggest ones. One looks like a building made of branches that grew out of the ground. The other is a storage shed size house that bends over into an arrow shape. You can walk into it. If you walk to the back of the park, there's a nice deck with benches that overlook White River.
You can go to Broadripple for lunch. It's the area east of College Ave. on Broadripple Ave. (also called 62th St.) extending up towards the Art Center. There's lots of places to eat in the area from upscale to Subway. The places that come to mind are India Garden on Broadripple Ave., the Broad Ripple Brewpub on E. 65th St. and Union Jacks but I know there's more. There's a Cajun place at 54th and College called Yats that's suppose to be cheap and good but I haven't tried it yet. Broadripple also has lots of little shops that are fun to look through. It's a fun section of town to walk around and explore (depending on temperature).
posted by stray thoughts at 11:20 PM on February 25, 2009
There's a sculpture garden behind the building. My favorites are the 2 biggest ones. One looks like a building made of branches that grew out of the ground. The other is a storage shed size house that bends over into an arrow shape. You can walk into it. If you walk to the back of the park, there's a nice deck with benches that overlook White River.
You can go to Broadripple for lunch. It's the area east of College Ave. on Broadripple Ave. (also called 62th St.) extending up towards the Art Center. There's lots of places to eat in the area from upscale to Subway. The places that come to mind are India Garden on Broadripple Ave., the Broad Ripple Brewpub on E. 65th St. and Union Jacks but I know there's more. There's a Cajun place at 54th and College called Yats that's suppose to be cheap and good but I haven't tried it yet. Broadripple also has lots of little shops that are fun to look through. It's a fun section of town to walk around and explore (depending on temperature).
posted by stray thoughts at 11:20 PM on February 25, 2009
Oh, I forgot Bazbeaux Pizza on 811 E. Westfield Blvd, North of Broadripple Ave. You can get all the more exotic toppings there if you like your pizza to have a little more variety than the standard stuff.
posted by stray thoughts at 12:20 AM on February 26, 2009
posted by stray thoughts at 12:20 AM on February 26, 2009
Wow, all my favorite cheap Indianapolis eateries (at least those open on Sunday) have already been mentioned: Yats, Bazbeaux, Shapiro's. All three have multiple locations. If you're looking for something a bit more upscale, let me know.
If you have kids, the Children's Museum of Indianapolis is the largest in the world. Heck, even if you don't have kids it's still worth a visit. Don't miss the gorgeous carousel on the top floor.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 5:25 AM on February 26, 2009
If you have kids, the Children's Museum of Indianapolis is the largest in the world. Heck, even if you don't have kids it's still worth a visit. Don't miss the gorgeous carousel on the top floor.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 5:25 AM on February 26, 2009
Indianapolis Museum of Art
And, definitely, Bazbeaux.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:11 AM on February 26, 2009
And, definitely, Bazbeaux.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:11 AM on February 26, 2009
Asaka on 82nd St. in Castleton. Best. Sushi. Ever.
posted by ydontusteponit at 8:54 AM on February 26, 2009
posted by ydontusteponit at 8:54 AM on February 26, 2009
That's a long, foodless drive through northern Indiana made bearable by the prospect of eating fabulous south Indian food at Udupi Cafe in north Indy off 38th Street. The restaurant is in an offputting, nondescript mall at the end of an uninviting corridor. They run a cheap, plentiful, fantastic, go-back-for-more-and-then-too-much buffet. The Indian grocery store behind it is well worth plundering for snacks for the rest of the trip. Call them to make sure they're open Sundays.
(For what it's worth, I think the children's museum is an over-rated opportunity to drop a lot of cash on not a lot of entertainment and a ton of crap food. Me and my kids have run screaming from that place twice, vowing to only read Shakespeare and Rosemary Sutcliffe for entertainment and go on a raw food diet to expel the toxins. Others disagree.)
posted by firstdrop at 9:33 AM on February 26, 2009
(For what it's worth, I think the children's museum is an over-rated opportunity to drop a lot of cash on not a lot of entertainment and a ton of crap food. Me and my kids have run screaming from that place twice, vowing to only read Shakespeare and Rosemary Sutcliffe for entertainment and go on a raw food diet to expel the toxins. Others disagree.)
posted by firstdrop at 9:33 AM on February 26, 2009
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posted by Dick Paris at 7:25 PM on February 25, 2009