City: Indianapolis, IN

Category: Restaurants

Telephone: (317) 824-1231

Address: 1464 W. 86th St.

Description: Opened in Dec 2002, Oakley’s has been winning awards and devoted diners. Bon Appetit’s 2004 restaurant issue named it “one of the hottest restaurants from coast to coast.” Using fresh ingredients, chef and owner Steven Oakley creates dishes that are pleasing to the palate and the eye. Savor the lobster waffle as a starter—a basil waffle, lobster, zucchini sauce, mustard cream, and crispy leeks. The wild mushroom soup also is a tasty choice with caramelized onions, wild mushrooms, and herb truffle cream. An unusual entree is the pork loin with root beer barbecue glaze, sweet corn polenta, onion marmalade, bok choy, and spicy corn nuts. Oakley’s offers several seating choices: a table, booth, or banquette in the dining room, on the covered outside patio, or at the “kitchen table,” where you get a clear view of the artists in the kitchen preparing the meals. A nice wine list is available.