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Up DowntownSeptember 2014

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Food For Thought

When I was a kid, one of the more popular things for the adults to do was to have what was called a “progressive dinner.” The concept was that they got to see different friends’ homes, eat different dishes and that at the end of the day none of the hosts had to cook a whole meal, so Ellen would make appetisers, Jean would do salads, mom would make the main dish and vegetables, then they’d adjourn to Sonia’s for dessert and maybe an after-dinner Drambuie or cocktail.

I had not thought of that idea for ages, until an invite during Indy’s recent Devour Downtown plopped into my e-mail box from organiser Susan Decker inviting the media to do a downtown progressive dinner and sample Devour, which started with appetisers at Weber Grill (photo next page), went to mains at Morton’s Steakhouse (entree above) then finished with carry-out cheesecake at Capital Grille.

The evening was a lot of fun and interesting, plus we walked off a few calories going up and down Washington Street. But more than that it got me to thinking why don’t more of us do lunch or dinner that way? We all have favourite spots we like for this or that dish, but maybe not the whole dinner, so why not eat part here and part there? Given that idea here’s what this reviewer would do downtown, given the chance...

For dinner, I’d start at Santorini Greek Kitchen in Fountain Square. Nobody, but nobody does fried calamari the way Taki does. They also have some awesome Saganaki, which the menu says is “Our famous flaming cheese, made with kafelograviera; a tasty goat cheese. It is a pleasure to be seen, as well as, to be eaten, served with warm pita. Everyone yell opa!” They are not fibbing.

I’d also do my soup course at Santorini because they have a Greek soup called Avgolemeno, which is Greek egg Lemon Soup. The menu says “eggs, lemon juice, chicken, broth and orzo carefully combined to make this wonderfully refreshing soup, just like your grandma used to make, (especially if her name was yia yia).” I say “delicious” so save room for a bowl.

The salad course would be a really, really hard choice. I could stay at Santorini as their Greek salad is one of the best downtown (or anywhere). I do not have a clue what goes into their house-made Greek dressing, but whatever the secret ingredients, a large dose of love and caring make this something I keep wanting them to bottle and let me take home. The feta cheese topping is also a wonderful plus.

But as this is progressive, I also would very happily hop in my Jeep and go where we started on our Devour tour: Weber Grill — but not for anything grilled or cooked (though their shrimp appetiser on a skewer (at right) we got as part of the Devour tour


is wonderful), but for their Tomato & Onion Salad, which includes some awesome tomato slices, Kalamata Olives plus Blue Cheese all slathered with a White Balsamic Vinaigrette for the bargain price of $6. This one is really worth a special trip just for the salad. While you are there, do a Wisconsin Burger or some ribs (afterall they are known for what’s cooked not salads) but do start with the tomato salad!

Next, it’s on to the mains, and there we run into a lot of problems. Or to put it another way, we are spoilt for choice downtown these days. The choices depend greatly on what we want to shell out for the food, but they range from the all-you-can-eat meat glut (fixed price: $48.50 includes salad bar) over at Fogo De Chao on Washington Street (Ask for rare lamb chops and do not, whatever else you have, miss the “house special” done rare. It’s really to die for and puts Morton’s meat totally to shame — sorry Susan!) to Rock Bottom for a brew with one of their wonderful Chicken Fried Chicken meals (under $15).

In between let’s see: There’s a delightful corned beef over at Shapiro’s we’d never turn down, a chicken marsala we adore at Iaria’s, a fantastic lunch with a view, plus salad bar and all the peel & eat shrimp you can eat at Skyline Club (only open to the public for lunch during Devour weeks, but you can go for the evening dinner if you aren’t a member. Details: http://www.clubcorp.com/Clubs/Skyline-Club-Indianapolis) and if you like pizza for your main, Pearl Street and Bazbeaux have what I feel are downtown’s best though the former can get loud (really loud) during ballgames and the latter can tend to get pricy if you add too many ingredients. In my way of thinking if a pizza is going to run $25 or more, I’d prefer a real, sit-down meal, but that’s just me.

A word on the main dishes area from this reviewer, who is offering his — one man’s — opinion here: I personally find some of the “traditional” spots downtown, which get a lot of press and coverage elsewhere merely OK or, in some cases, frankly lousy and rarely if ever go there.

That’s why you don’t see St. Elmo’s, Eagle’s Nest or Oceanaire here much. I find the first too stodgy and the meat not near as good as Fogo; the second great for the view, but the food’s better at Skyline Club if you want to watch the sun set and the last two meals at Oceanaire were good, but lacked some of the polish the place had when it opened downtown on South Meridian Street and the service was somewhere between sloppy and discourteous.

See More Food On Page 10


More Food For Thought

It’s been a couple months so maybe we need to return as Oceanaire was always a fave but it seems to need a bit of a brush-up or maybe it was a bad day. Anyway, for what it costs, you can do better in my opinion.

By the way, to go with the main dishes, there are all sorts of choices in vegetables, potatoes and more out there, ranging from the famous mash we found bland at Morton’s to the wonderful choices at Fogo, where they offer a salad bar full of items which can double as veggies to their fried bananas and polenta which come complimentary with every meal — as does pão de queijo, which the website describes as “warm cheese bread” and at our house we call a bit of heaven.

In between there are the fries at Oceanaire, an apple slaw at Rock Bottom, the lemon potatoes Taki serves with his entrees at Santorini and let’s not forget the matzo ball soup and potato cakes (OK, OK not totally veggies, but where else to put them?) at Shapiro’s.

And that leads us to desserts. We’d be remiss if we didn’t say we are not the biggest fans of most cakes, but we do like pies a bit better. While we find it overpriced, Mass. Ave’s Flying Cupcake gets rave reviews from many friends, but if I’m going for that taste I’d rather spend some gas money and head up Allisonville Road to Taylor’s Bakery, where they have THE most wonderful assortment of cakes, pastries and more. It’s the go-to spot for birthdays at our house and if we weren’t dieting, we’d be in their parking lot a whole lot more often!

So for dessert? Well, a trip to MCL Cafeteria (closest to downtown is on the south side on South East Street) for any of their pies is memorable. I especially like the Sugar Pie they do there (it is, afterall the Indiana State Pie), but the others are equally good.

For Ice Cream there’s no comparison to SubZero (above right) in the 400 block of

Massachusetts Avenue where Laura and her crew turn dessert into a show. If you have not read our past rave reviews, let’s just say they let the customer choose a base, a flavouring, all sorts of mix-ins — literally from chocolate, raspberries and Reese Cups to bubble gum and M&Ms — then they flash freeze the whole thing with liquid nitrogen in a cloud of vapour that’s guaranteed to ooh and ahh.

There are hot fudge, waffle cones and all sorts of things to go along, and they now do floats and shakes, too, as well as (with advance notice) ice cream pies, so this is our totally top spot for dessert downtown, no matter how hard Capital Grille tries with their famous cheesecake and how much a lot of our friends rave and rave about the


desserts while watching the sun set at the Hyatt’s Eagles’ Nest.Of course if you want quieter, more relaxing cold treats to finish that meal, Pearings has nice coffees by Intelligensia and frozen confections over at Washington & Meridian and on the Circle let’s not forget South Bend Chocolate’s Cafe which offers a huge variety of diet-busters.

So that’s our progressive dinner...of course you could do a progressive lunch:

We’d not want to miss a chance to go to Soupremacy for their Chicken Velvet Soup and a smoked salmon on bagel or baguette or to Stars for a Vinny Italian coldcuts sandwich and a bowl of their fantastic Gaspacho (which is only available a few more weeks as it’s a Summer item on Wednesdays & Thursdays only at Stars) or make a stop at Punch for the best burgers downtown — I adore the Good Morning, complete with a fried egg, plus the burnt cheese one is also delish.

You could also have a Lucy or a Miss P over at the fantastic Ralph’s Great Divide or pop in at Labour District Cafe, if you can find it. This cafe (weekdays for breakfast & lunch only) is on the 2nd floor of the BMO Tower and definitely worth looking for.

After lunch, SubZero is open from 11 to 11 for dessert, and you also could even do lunch there as they serve (nitrogen-free) Hebrew National hot dogs on steamed buns and nachos with sauce, if you want to have a “complete meal”.

A progressive breakfast?

If you are awake for it (though they are open till 2 p.m.), First Watch has some awesome bacon & cheese pancakes over on Illinois Street and English Ivy’s does their Weekender Breakfast, complete with a steak & eggs option at 944 North Alabama Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. till 3 p.m.

Let’s not forget a bag or dozen box of Square Donuts (weekdays & Saturdays in the mornings till 1 p.m.) at 1 North Penn (And yes they really ARE square!) or Einstein’s just off the Circle on East Market, where the smoked salmon on an everything or sesame bagel score a lot of points with us, but get there early as they tend to run out of the best bagels from their huge choice before noontime.

Also at breakfast, Shapiro’s opens for lox omelettes, delicious hard rolls and some of the town’s finest (maybe only?) corned beef hash. You’ll find it filled most mornings with executives headed to downtown offices and a lot of travellers as Shapiro’s reputation (since 1905) has spread far and near.


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To audiences of the late 1890s, motion pictures must have appeared to be a new form of magic performance. Even today, filmmakers (one might argue, the best filmmakers) celebrate onscreen their fascination with early cinema’s power to entrance, hypnotise, and suspend disbelief.

Woody Allen has been obsessed with magic since his Brooklyn school days, when he impressed fellow students with feats of prestidigitation and card tricks. His obsession is apparent in films that deal with stage magicians, fortune tellers, and hypnotists (Oedipus Wrecks, Alice, The Curse of the Jade Scorpion, Scoop, You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger), or have magical elements melded into their plots (Stardust Memories, A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Midnight in Paris, To Rome With Love).

In fact, magic is rarely far from any Woody Allen film. He frequently finds ways to work the subject — directly or indirectly — into stories about faith (or lack thereof), personal ambition and particularly, romantic love. Magic takes centre stage in Allen’s latest film, aptly titled Magic in the Moonlight, which is set in Europe at the height of the jazzy 1920s.

Colin Firth plays Stanley Crawford, an English stage magician who performs in the guise of an oriental illusionist, Wei Ling Soo. Not only is Stanley an internationally renowned magician, he is also a debunker of “fake magic:” unmasking spiritualists, paranormal phonies, and pseudo-scientific quacks.

Persuaded by an old friend and fellow magician, Howard Burkan (Simon McBurney), Stanley travels to the French Riviera to expose a young and attractive American medium named Sophie Baker (Emma Stone).

Stanley believes that Sophie and her mother (played by Marcia Gay Harden) are charlatans who have been taking a wealthy American ex-pat family, the Catledges, for a ride. Instantly taken by the young woman, he cannot quite put his finger on her apparent ability to communicate with the family’s dead patriarch, or how she knows personal information about Stanley and his own family members.

Stanley is rude and condescending to Sophie, whom he considers uneducated and lower class. But as he spends more time with her, he becomes charmed by her guilelessness and seemingly authentic clairvoyant gifts. To complicate matters, it looks as though the object of his professional scorn is falling in love with him. What’s a smitten, middle-aged debunker to do?

Stanley fancies himself a man of science and logic who understands and accepts that magic is trickery, merely a performance. There is no real “magic” in the rational world. And yet, Sophie represents a world he has never believed in, a world in which phenomena defy explanation.

He is forced to contemplate the possibility that he may have been wrong in his beliefs hitherto; that there may be more to the world than his “what you see is what you get” philosophy has allowed. He is, in short, thrown for a loop emotionally, psychologically, and professionally.

Magic in the Moonlight is not classic Woody Allen. These days, Allen produces one good film out of every three he directs (and maybe a great film once every five or ten outings). He’s been on a roll of late. Both Blue Jasmine and Midnight in Paris did well financially and critically. Allen’s problem is that he makes a movie a year, come hell or high water. He’s an obsessive compulsive filmmaker: film is his addiction.

Allen has admitted that he enjoys the process of developing ideas and writing films much more than the act of filming itself. In Magic in the Moonlight, the quotidian routine of casting, choreographing and shooting the film rather shows.

Normally a meticulous crafter of language, Moonlight’s script feels a little hurried. Some of the dialogue appears laboured; parts sound improvised or a least filmed on the fly.

Old Woody Allen chestnuts creep in. When discussing the spiritual world with Sophie and Howard, Stanley quips: “the unseen world has always seemed like a good place to open a restaurant. Even spirits have to eat sometime.” It’s a joke that could have appeared in Without Feathers, a collection of Woody Allen material published in 1975. There is a good film inside Magic in the Moonlight trying to get out. But it probably needed more than a year from conception to release to tease it out. This is not to say the film is a total loss. While the plot is a little plodding, and the characters somewhat predictable, there is one unexpected twist near the end of the film which produces a visual gag as imaginative as any Allen has ever concocted.

The film is marred by a mixture of miscasting and sloppy characterisation. It’s no revelation to say that Allen has a fondness for (some might argue obsession with) May-December romances. Colin Firth and Emma Stone are mismatched not only because of the difference in their ages.

There is no real chemistry between them. In one of the film’s cleverest jokes, Firth (as Stanley) channels Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice to keep Sophie at emotional arm’s length. He is curt, cutting, and even cruel towards her while she is falling in love with him. That makes his “transformation” from logical scientist to romantic sap ring a little false.

And seeing the 54-year-old Firth kiss Stone — almost 30 years his junior — is not only a little hard to believe. It feels downright creepy.

Allen claimed he wrote 2010’s You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger because he was “interested in the concept of faith in something,” adding, “We need some delusions to keep us going. And the people who successfully delude themselves seem happier than the people who can’t.”

This interest also informs Magic in the Moonlight. The two worlds of scientific reason and religious (or pseudo-religious) faith clash in the meeting of Stanley and Sophie. While it is difficult to fully accept a successful merging of these two worlds, Allen clearly chooses harmless belief in something greater than what the eye can see over stone cold reason.

That “something” may be a supernatural power. Or it may simply be the inexplicable, inexorable, and utterly transformative power of love.

In Woody Allen’s movies, if not in real life, magic wins out over logic every time.


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Mass on Main

The Mass on Main Pop-up Store located at 110 West Main Street in Carmel is a collective of several Mass. Ave. Shops, led by Silver in the City (jewellery, gifts and home goods), Nurture (baby and toddler), Crimson Tate (modern quilter) and Handmade Promenade (a collective of 50 Indiana Makers). Best Chocolate in Town and Global Gifts will also have a presence at the shop set for a grand opening 13th September in Carmel.

The Store will be open 11-8 Wednesdays thru Saturdays and 11-5 Sundays. Store hours will extend during special events.

A group of Mass. Ave. Merchants ran a four-week pop-up shop in the same space during the 2013 holiday season.

The Carmel retail opportunity was presented to the shop owners by Keystone Property Management and Riley Area Development Corporation, the CDC for the Mass. Ave. neighbourhood, as a way to encourage small local businesses to grow beyond a single location.

“We are excited to have this opportunity to return to the Carmel Arts and Design District for a longer period this year. Already the response from our customers has been very welcoming and encouraging. People are excited to have a locally-owned gift shop on Main Street.” Kristin Kohn, Owner of Silver in the City said.

The Mass on Main pop-up shop does have an option to extend their lease at the end of the year. “We have not yet made a firm decision about whether to stay. We will make the most of this opportunity to get to know the community and better understand how our concept could become a more permanent one,” Kohn added.

Offerings include silver jewellery, modern fabrics and notions, handmade goods, baby and toddler clothing and gifts, home decor, books, and stationery, chocolate best sellers as well as sewing and crafting workshops.

Look For Café Nonna, featuring Italian Gelato

Also in September (this time the 15th) look for Café Nonna to open at 629 Virginia Ave. between downtown and Fountain Square.

Every time that David Page has travelled to Italy he looks forward

to the unforgettable delicious Italian Gelato. Page said there are amazing Gelato stands on every corner in Sicily. Gelato is a super rich, creamy, ice cream made with less air creating a richer taste.

Café Nonna will attempt to serve customers this same flavour

with traditional Italian Gelato…28 flavours of Gelato made using original recipes given to Page from family (his Cousin) and friends in Italy. The rich ice cream will be made using a Gelato Machine (Maestro) that also comes from Italy. Page will own the only one in the U.S.

Page, Owner of Primo Catering and Events has been in the Food

Business for 62 years as he and his two brothers each ran a produce stand with their Father in the City Market.

Café Nonna will be open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a

week to start and will close a bit earlier when the snow flies. The Café will seat 40-50 inside, using sofa and comfortable seating and ultimately will seat 20 outside

Page will also offer carry out Gelato in pints and quarts in all 28 flavours, such as Pistachio Sicilia, Raspberry Cheesecake, Vanilla Carmel, Biscotti and 24 more.

Two Openings Are Set In September


Tale Of Two Cities.... Is There A Clear Winner Here?It’s a really hackneyed expression, but this is a tale of two cities... and sadly in the case of Indianapolis our downtown (and the city as a whole) would seem to come out second in this two-horse race.

What brought on the comparison was my partner has been offered a position in Portland, Maine (city population, 66,214; metro 514,098) so we decided recently to head up that way and check out the city, the people, the atmosphere and the prices, as well as the possible job. Sadly, for we 20-plus year downtown Indianapolis (city population, 844,220; metro, 1.8 million) residents what we found was a booming, vibrant downtown, and a city, which puts ours to shame in a lot of areas — from things we can change: the arts and attitudes (gay marriage, taxes and self-expression) to things we can’t: a lovely seaside location, but a whole lot of Winter and snow just to name a couple.

So where to begin?

While partner Ivan did the interview and tried out a position in Portland, I was left to explore. And I tried to look at all aspects. Here are some observations:

—We looked at downtown condos in Portland and compared to the 1700-plus square foot one we have in downtown Indianapolis, the prices are steeper. That doesn’t mean there are no condos in the downtown area in Portland on the market somewhat comparable, but everything I visited was either miniscule (Can two people really live — never mind two cats — in under 900 square feet happily? We don’t think so!) or had other issues. One building a Realtor showed us did fit in our price range (under $400,000) but the condo was on four floors with steps between each, a kitchen one entered from the

street complete with 1966-style pine cabinets and it appeared the place had not been lived in for some time. Add to that this writer’s “advancing age” (I’m 64) and those steps which I could easily climb in 2014 concerned me as I hope whatever we buy to be the last house I will need till they take me to either a retirement home or away in a box.

I also did some apartment shopping and found some neat historic buildings (including the former early-1900s warehouse of a defunct Portland department store) converted into lofts and rentals. The old warehouse was a cool building but had all white walls inside and a rental office adamant that “absolutely no changes in paint colour are permitted.” We told them in Indianapolis even the large complex we used to reside in downtown allowed painting so long as either payment for return to white or a return to white walls by the tenant and an inspection upon leaving were done, but that fell on deaf ears. The outside was all charm — the inside well, it looked like a nursing home or medical facility. Yuk!Score one for Indianapolis. Great downtown residential choices and at pricing that beats Portland in most all cases for market rate or luxury living.

—We checked for amenities downtown and elsewhere. Indianapolis does have Circle Centre downtown and that includes Carson, Pirie, Scott & Co. at Washington and Meridian for a full-service department store. Sadly, we find ourselves going to Circle Centre less and less as more and more of the former unique shops have either closed or been replaced by what seems like an overage of shoe stores, national chains and other places selling the same thing we can find elsewhere and, sadly, as of this writing what appears to us to be a lot of vacant spots with signs stating “There’s Always Room For More Style...”

We are glad as downtowners to see some of those spots with signs saying this or that’s coming and happy the long, long vacant Nordstrom space is getting a make-over to house the daily paper, restaurants and more.

Portland’s downtown shopping is more diverse though. There is a small Renys. The firm, which calls their chain “a Maine Adventure” and of the downtown Portland store says on the website, “The 15th Renys store location opened in April of 2011. Remember when you could go downtown to your local department store and get everything you could possibly need? Well, the good old days are back, all at Renys low prices and excellent variety!” The problem is the store (to us) is a combination of great prices on really fine name brand clothing, mixed with touristy souvenirs and enough bits and bobs to be somewhere between a department store, a Kmart and a Big Lots. It’s nice, but no Carson’s or Ayres or Block’s!The downtown in Portland has a major strength in small shops. Many of them sell items for visitors (remember Maine is tourist country) but there are also downtown outlets of such practical things as Cabot Cheese.


Tale Of Two Cities.... Is There A Clear Winner Here?Their website really encapsulates the whole shopping area and notes:

“Nestled among the beautiful Victorian brick buildings of Portland’s Old Port shopping district, you’ll find an authentic taste of New England at the Cabot Farmers’ Annex. As you stroll along Commercial Street, taking in the view of Casco Bay, be sure to stop in at the Annex to shop a fine selection of Cabot products, like our new Farmers’ Legacy Collection of Cheeses and Maine crafts. While you’re here sample some of Cabot’s internationally award-winning cheeses, including the ‘World’s Best Cheddar’ and discover a broad selection of the many other delicious dairy products made on Cabot family farms across New York and New England. Delight in a variety of New England specialty foods to pair with Cabot cheeses for a truly American treat. Shop our collection of Maine-made crafts and bring home a unique souvenir from Portland’s quaint and serene Old Port...”

I can see myself — if we decide to move to Portland — buying a lot of my cheese, butter and other goodies from this shop.

There are also a lot of local stops — from Micucci’s Italian Grocery (same family for several generations and wonderful fresh pizza daily at lunchtime) to Two Cats Bakery (awesome lemon shortbread) and more. In downtown Portland shopping compares to a combination of Broad Ripple, Mass. Ave. and Fountain Square — all combined with brick streets, seaside restaurants and more.We’d call this one a tie, though unless Simon does something — and soon — to get Circle Centre back to what it was when we attended the grand opening in September 1995, this point will go east and not be coming back! Indy’s shopping is and was better, but don’t look over your shoulder, Portland’s gaining on us!

—But let’s talk necessities. Things like drugstores, mainline groceries and the like. Indianapolis’ downtown is home to two Marsh supermarkets and while we tried the classy new one on the west end of downtown, we remain fiercely loyal to Larry and his excellent crew at the original Lockerbie location. It might be familiarity, and it might be recognition, staff and knowing where things are...I don’t know, but we do, in any case, have two downtown mainline grocers and there are plans for a Whole Foods in part of the retail space about to start construction at the former home of Market Square Arena.Contrast that to Portland where they have three downtown grocers already: a block long version of the Northeast’s Hannaford chain (with an awesome seafood and deli which beats anything local, but Portland is on an ocean so fresh lobsters at $5.99 a pound didn’t come as a major shock) but along with Hannaford, the downtown of this surprising city also already has a Whole Foods and just a couple blocks away, a downtown Trader Joe’s. Here the latter is a long drive on 82nd or 86th Street though I always get mixed up with I leave the familiarity I so adore downtown!

The Portland downtown also sports a CVS on Congress Street and the pharmacy at Hannaford was equally impressive, so it appears all the “basics” one needs to actually live, not just be a tourist, not only exist in this city’s downtown, but with better variety and neater options than downtown Indianapolis. As downtown’s more compact, things are also closer together meaning feet or a bike will do nicely. Point clearly to Portland.

—Arts and culture, and let’s throw movies in this one. Both Indianapolis (UA Circle Centre 9) and Portland (Patriot/Nickelodeon Cinema 1-6) score well if you are into the latest films and like overpriced popcorn. Both cities also score well for classical music lovers, though (more in a second) Portland gets a lotta points with us for one thing Indianapolis lacks. Meanwhile the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra is one of the country’s finest and performs at Circle Theatre (1,781 seats) and in Summers at Conner Prairie, while the Portland Symphony (founded in 1923) packs ‘em in at their downtown venue.

To note from the symphony’s website, “Merrill Auditorium is a 1,900 seat performing arts facility located in the Arts District of downtown Portland...” Roughly the same size hall and did you note the term “Arts District”? There are a lot of options here — some of which beat Indianapolis and some of which lack the punch and cutting edge we see at places like Theatre on the Square and The Phoenix Theatre. Remember, though, 66,214 city folks versus our 844,220, so really no comparison. Point to Portland.

Oh, and that other thing I mentioned in passing and promised to get back to? Portland has W-Bach. A full-time commercial classical radio station. That’s right. Classical music with ads enough to make it pay 24/7. Compare that to Indianapolis where the only real spot to hear classical on the dial is on public WICR and now that they have taken an already fragmented format and changed it to be jazz from 12 to 12 and classical 12 to 12 (I never can remember if that’s midnight to noon for which so confusing as this mess is) but to top it off the other format is on HD radio meaning both play 24 hours here — IF you can find them and have the gear. Am I the only person in downtown, much less Marion County, with an HD radio at home and one in my Jeep just to get what classical radio’s out there?

Please Continue On Page 23


Portland Vs. Indianapolis: It’s A Tough Call


Looks, too, like the audience with the latest schedule mess at WICR is also voting with their feet as the new ratings showed the WICR format in steep decline. Maybe it’s because most don’t own HD radios or maybe it’s because most can’t figure out what’s on when. In any case, W-Bach takes this race with two or three points to Portland. The station remained on our car radio for the entire two weeks we “lived” there on our recent LSD (that stands for Look, See & Decide so don’t get too excited) trip recently.

Portland Vs. Indianapolis: It’s A Tough CallContinued From Page 21

—So what other things are out there to judge? On food and variety Portland wins hands down. So much so that it’s listed in the Travel + Leisure best U.S. Cities for “foodies”...a list which includes 37 cities and which has no sign anywhere of our badly over-chained town.

Though there are bright spots (and a lot) in both cities, we must admit between the plentiful lobster one can buy right off the boat for $5-$6 a pound (below, one of our victims) and the vast number of local eateries (Duck Fat, DiMillo’s and Eventide just to name three we tried) Portland’s plates did impress. That’s not to say we don’t love Iaria’s, Shapiro’s and Marco’s, as well as many others here at home, but all too-often even the best of the best locally (and this is our opinion, one which doesn’t care for what we feel is the badly over-rated St. Elmo) are parts of chains like Fogo, Rock Bottom and their ilk. When it comes to local food and gourmet food, Portland easily takes the point.

So what’s left?

—The traffic and ease of commuting point goes easily to Portland due to its sheer smaller size. They do seem (as does Indianapolis) to lack a really quality public transport system, but only the New Yorks, Torontos and Chicagos do so in car-crazed North America. We did ask some of the locals about commute times and “rush hours” and were greeted with stares and giggles, sometimes followed by “well, we do have a 15-minute slowdown a lot of days about 4.30 on I-295, if that counts!” In short, even with a metro area of over a half million, we never encountered a real traffic jam — rain or shine — in two weeks. Don’t try that here, unless you downtowners bike or walk to the office or work from home as we do.

—Other notes. While in Indianapolis you’ll have to do a lot of driving if you live downtown get to a full mall (one with more than a single department store and specialty spots like an Apple store, Williams-Sonoma and more). In Portland that drive is under 15 minutes from downtown as The Maine Mall is like a combination of Castleton Square, Greenwood Mall and The Fashion Mall all rolled into one then put on speed.

As a lady told me when a rainstorm had me walking in the mall one day, “if you hit all the nooks and crannies, once around is a mile.” And that doesn’t include the restaurants, Books-A-Million and more in the parking lot of this behemoth of a mall with anchor stores which include Macy’s, Bon-Ton (same owner as Carson’s here), Penny’s, Sears, Best Buy and Sports Authority. It’s pretty impressive and a true “destination mall” which has its own nearby developments (including a Nordstrom Rack) so not much is lacking.

At the same time, with its small shops, narrow streets and ocean views, it takes nothing away from Downtown Portland. Bravo — they make both work simultaneously!

The Maine town also has the standard discount stores, including a Sam’s and a BJ’s (similar style but different owners than Costco, which is not present there) and there are all the usual suspects of discounters and more, not to mention two huge outlet centres within an hour’s drive of downtown Portland — one including the famed LL Bean 24/7 store in Freeport and the other in Kittery to the south.

So is there a huge thing or two downtown Indianapolis has going for it along with those mentioned? Yes, and it’s sports for you fans. They do have a minor league baseball team (the Sea Dogs) in Portland, but no football or basketball. For those it’s 100 and a few miles in the car or on the train ride to Boston.

Also, there’s the one Indy advantage a lot of my Winter-hating friends mention immediately. While Indy has about 26 inches of snow in an average Winter (last year was a record at 55); in Portland that average number’s 62 inches.

As partner Ivan points out, Portland has what amounts to three and a half seasons, not Indianapolis’ four. While we have real, easy-to-identify seasons, in Portland it seems they have Winter, Spring, a sorta half Summer and a nice Autumn.

And we know that because we dropped into a bicycle shop in the area of downtown we’d like to live in and when the clerk showed me a bike and named a price he was quick to add, “well, you know that’s without a rack and you’ll need one on the back; like if you ride it to the store.”

I laughed and said if I needed a major shop I’d take my Jeep and otherwise “I’ll just throw on a backpack to get a bottle of milk or loaf of bread.” He looked astonished and said “but you’ll be sweating and uncomfortable with a backpack on days like today!” It was mid-July, the store was eight short blocks and the locals were whining about the humidity and heat. The thermometer read 81 degrees.

Will we move or stay?

Jury’s still out though that lobster is tempting, we love Winter and there’s a lot to explore in the Northeast (including Boston, a two-hour high-speed train ride from Portland). Of course we have friends, a business and more downtown here, love our “home town” of the last 24 years and have a lot to think about.

Verdict: Stay tuned, but if you ever get or can make the opportunity do visit Portland — the one in Maine, by the way not the one in Oregon. You’ll come back with stars in your eyes, lobster in your stomach and a huge smile on your face, guaranteed!


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Hackin’ The NetBy Ted Fleischaker / Up Down Town Publisher

“Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it...” A quote always attributed to Mark Twain, though according to www.quoteinvestigator.com it might have actually been written by a little-known editor at The Hartford Courant named Charles Dudley Warner. But regardless, it’s a well-known saying and gives me an opening to ask: where and how do you get your weather info? And do you trust the places you go? Really?

With a computer, tablet or smartphone, these days there are not a few, not a hundred, but literally thousands of places to turn for the local temperature, forecast and data. So where to go and why?

Well, for this weather-holic writer the first place I always turn is the national or government weather office in whatever country or territory where I am seeking the weather. I know this can be a bit tougher than just using my iPhone’s built in weather app (which I “stored” in some folder, can’t find and don’t miss) or WeatherBug or any of the others people wave at me if I dare ask the temperature, but why go elsewhere when in most (not all, but a lot) of cases, the forecast and temperatures are actually from the government employee working for the National Weather Service, Environment Canada, Britain’s Met Office or any of the myriad of other national forecasters? In other words, who wants or needs 2nd or 3rd hand info that may or may not be as reliable as what comes from the person who really knows his or her local climate?

So now that we have told you this little gem, how to find the forecast for Zurich, Switzerland, Hamilton, Bermuda or Ogunquit, Maine? Or, for that matter, Indianapolis or Louisville or Cincinnati?

Well, grab a pen (or open notes on your tablet or computer) and we will share some links. The best way is to use your browser of choice and point it to http://www.wmo.int/pages/members/members_en.html If that’s too much to type just go to www.wmo.int then from the menu bar on the left click on members, then national services.

However you arrive there, this is the full membership roster of the World Meteorological Association (WMO). I looked down the list and found almost every country listed, and over 90% of the listings are accompanied by live links, so just click and you’ll be transported by your browser to local weather services from literally almost every nation on the globe.

more realistic picture than I can on any of the national news channels.

But what about here — the U.S.A — home? Well for the U.S. forecasts I like the National Weather Service. Why them? Well, first we taxpeyers do pay for the service, so why not use what we buy? But in terms of total information, accuracy and immediate updates, nothing (and I mean nothing) can beat the National Weather Service. Their home page is www.weather.gov and there’s a clickable map where you can link to local forecasts or radar for any area. I keep a permanent bookmark at http://www.crh.noaa.gov/ind/ which is the Indianapolis home page, as well as one for the Indianapolis radar, but with directional arrows on the home page I can easily navigate to the weather offices for nearby cities or return to the main map and look at the hourly temperatures and more for anywhere.

Do keep in mind there are some limitations, including language. If you cannot speak some of the languages you will be challenged, but most of the sites seem to have maps and illustrations (think cloud sketches, suns and black clouds with lightning bolts for storms) so whether or not you have a talent for the local tongue, you should be able to navigate and get a forecast fairly easily.Also the WMO’s “official” languages are English & French (same as the UN) so a lot of the sites do offer some interpretation or an

easy way to get the info you are after. If you are travelling, keeping the WMO’s URL in your browser memory on the laptop, tablet or phone is a pretty great way to link to local forecasts, written by local meteorologists. It can also be a fun way to just see what’s going on somewhere and if there’s weather in the news (think hurricane, ice storm, flood or blizzard) there’s nothing like peeking at the local weather office’s remarks and forecasts. I find that often I get a lot

There are also a lot of specialist pages, some of which might be of interest. My two favourites are the Climate Prediction Centre’s home page at http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/forecasts/ and a link on the left menu bar from the main Indianapolis page (and each city has this so it’s not just here) called the “forecast discussion.”The former links to a set of long-range forecasts they update about 3 p.m. daily. That’s where you can see maps and read (sometimes quite technical, so the maps are best) discussions of what the national climate folks think is gonna happen in the next two weeks. There is also a spot in the text link which says how accurate the forecaster thinks he will be that day for the long range and why. On a recent day it read: “FORECAST CONFIDENCE FOR THE 8-14 DAY PERIOD IS: ABOUT AVERAGE, 3 OUT OF 5, DUE TO FAIRLY GOOD AGREEMENT AMONG THE ENSEMBLE MEAN SOLUTIONS AND SURFACE FORECAST TOOLS.” That tells me the person writing it is sorta sure he or she’s got it right, but not as much as if it were a “5”. I have seen everything from a “1” to “5” and as one might suspect the reasons vary, but it’s fun to get an insight into what they are thinking, then remembering to see if they got it right, wrong or in between.

The same is true of the local forecast discussion, which sometimes can be quite technical, such as this explanation of a recent day when the easy forecast was “mostly sunny with a high in the upper 70s”:

“ISSUED AT 941 AM EDT FRI AUG 15 2014. SURFACE ANALYSIS THIS MORNING SHOWS HIGH PRESSURE IN PLACE OVER INDIANA...WITH CLEAR SKIES IN PLACE ACROSS MUCH OF THE STATE. WATER VAPOR IMAGERY SHOWS QUICK NW IN PLACE ALOFT AND A FEW HIGH CLOUDS WERE FOUND ACROSS SW INDIANA WITHIN THIS FLOW. FORECAST SOUNDINGS REMAIN QUITE DRY AND CONVECTIVE TEMPS APPEAR UNREACHABLE. THUS WE WILL LOOK FOR MOSTLY SUNNY SKIES TODAY. GIVEN OUR 850MB TEMPS ONGOING TEMP FORECAST LOOKS ON THE MARK. OVERALL...ONGOING FORECAST HANDLES THIS WELL.”

Did you get all that? If not the page before has not only a simple worded forecast but our very own version of those picture forecasts (above) making the info as easy or technical as you’d like.

As far as others offering forecasts, WeatherBug is my next fave after the National Weather Service as I do like their local, local, local approach. Just don’t take all the numbers as gospel as while they can use my iPhone’s GPS to see where I am and give me the closest station to that spot, too often it’s a thermometer at a school or non-official location, so the reading may or may not be very accurate. I do love the app’s links to weather cameras and find it’s fun not only for seeing current weather, but views of cities, towns and attractions I have been to or plan to visit.

Have a great Fall, check out all the weather sites and pick your faves before the snow flies. Find the one(s) you like and set them up with alerts if you wish on your phone, pad and computer to be ready, because as sure as September is here, we’ll be looking for snow forecasts before too long, not to mention severe weather can happen at any time.


Other Points of Interest:1.) Drugstore / Chemist : CVS (2 locations)2.) BARcelona Tapas3.) 110 East Washington Condos / Adobo Grill4.) 501 On Madison Apartment Flats5.) 1 North Penn / Square Donuts6.) Punch Burger7.) JW Marriott Hotel8.) Cosmopolitan On The Canal9.) Carson Pirie Scott & Co.10.) Hoosier Park / Indiana Grand Winner’s Circle 11.) Stars Cafe12.) English Ivy's13.) Fogo De Chao Brazilian Steak House14.) Federal Express15.) Mass Ave. Toys, SubZero & Arts A Poppin’16.) All Star Tire & Auto17.) O'Malia Food Market & Fusek's Hardware18.) Soupremacy19.) TJ Maxx & The Block Apartments

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