Indiana jonesin'

From the Chicago Sun Times.....

Indiana jonesin'
(http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/travel/376447,CST-NWS-indy0509.article)

May 9, 2007

BY LORI RACKL [email protected]
I don't know the first thing about motor racing, and I'm not in any hurry to change that.

But even I got goosebumps as my tour bus rounded Turn 1 on the 2.5-mile oval lap at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where the 91st Indy 500 will rev up Memorial Day weekend.

Seeing those towering grandstands and that strip of bricks kissed by some of the world's best drivers . . . Learning that an Indy car can cover the length of a football field in under a second . . . it was all, well, so much cooler than I expected.

The same goes for Indianapolis.

The city's unflattering nicknames -- Nap Town, Indiana No Place -- long kept me from making the roughly three-hour drive. In my mind, this was a sleepy, somewhat grim town populated by the likes of that unsmiling couple portrayed in Grant Wood's "American Gothic."

I could say two plus two equals five, and I'd still be less wrong than I was about Indy.

Whether your idea of a good time is sports or the symphony, the country's 12th largest city doesn't disappoint (unless you're still bitter about the Super Bowl). Here are a few reasons why:

• Live blues at the Slippery Noodle Inn, which claims to be Indiana's oldest bar.

• Miles of scenic walkway hugging the canal in White River State Park. Gondola rides from May-Sept. They even sing in Italian.

• Funky boutiques and coffeehouses in Broad Ripple.

• The world's largest children's museum, where kids can dig for fossils and $1 gets you a few spins on an antique carousel.

• Minor league baseball at the classic Victory Field.

• A highly acclaimed orchestra that's one of the few in the country to perform year-round.

• The sleek, inviting (and as of this year, free) Indianapolis Museum of Art, which includes a cool thrift shop on the manicured grounds.

I felt like ordering a big slice of humble pie as I sat on my barstool surrounded by friendly Hoosiers in the candle-lit Chatterbox Jazz Club, a shabby-chic music venue on Massachusetts Avenue.

This formerly run-down section of the city, better known as "Mass Ave," has reinvented itself as a vibrant cultural corridor filled with theaters, galleries, restaurants and outdoor public art.

Mass Ave is walkable from downtown's impressive Monument Circle, where you'll find Indy's swankiest hotels, such as the Conrad and the Canterbury.

The city's most unusual digs are a few blocks away in Union Station, home of the massive Crowne Plaza Hotel. Twenty-six of the rooms are tastefully refurbished Pullman train cars from the 1920s. These Pullmans no longer ride the rails, but the station is still in use -- something I was reminded of as my bed gently jiggled like Jello when trains rumbled by.

Indianapolis' downtown dining scene leans heavily towards the chain gang: think Hard Rock Cafe and Hooters. An exception is St. Elmo Steak House, where carnivores have been feasting on 14-ounce filets since 1902. (These days, that cut of meat will set you back $42.95.)

I figured there was no way St. Elmo could live up to its considerable hype, and I was in for another ancient eatery coasting on its reputation. But my steak-and-martini-combo could have easily held its own against Chicago's finest chop houses. My eyes still water when I think of St. Elmo's signature dish: shrimp cocktail with a sauce fiery enough to clear the stuffiest of sinuses.

Once again, Indy happily proved me wrong.