Ma Ma's Korean

MaMa’s Korean
8867 Pendleton Pike
Indianapolis, IN 46226
(317) 897-0808

Wow, I can't say I have Ever had Korean food before. Even though I enjoy new things, I cant say that I would ever try it again. I was highly unimpressed with the food. Not necessarily because it was bad but because I just didn't care for the taste. We joined a group of about 20 people and were the late arrivers.

Initial greeting was good, there wasn't any wait line. The drink selection was good and timing for the drink order was decent. As a side note: It's always hard for servers to be on the ball if there is a large group of customers.

There is a general appetizer served with every dinner. The meal selection is enormous with detailed descriptions of what it is that you are ordering. From what I've gathered, this is very close to authentic Korean food.

The amount of food that you get with your orders is enough for 2 people to eat a meal. There portions are Very LARGE, if you go here don't worry about not having enough to eat.

This is the most annoying part about the meal, the check took about 7 to 8 mins to pay. If there is something that i dislike most about a meal is is waiting to pay. As a general rule I don't really like to give away my money and waiting to do something that I don't really enjoy doing is very annoying. Had I not been with a large group of people I probably would have left without paying.

Overall the value for the money was good. I think that I could say that a little stronger had I enjoyed the meal. The general appetizers served with every meal are great. There is a combination of different item to taste.

New Day Meadery

New Day Meadery
Historic Fountain Square
1102 Prospect Street
Indianapolsi, IN 46203
888-MEADERY (888-632-3379)

Here is a quaint but modern tasting room located in Historic Downtown Fountain Square. As your walking down the side walk to get here you may be reminded of how people used to live in the city so many years ago. Where everything you needed was located in one city block and you didn't need to take your car everywhere you went. Your deli was on the corner, a dessert shop close to it, maybe a restaurant down the way a bit and a produce and flower shop somewhere in the mix.

The outside of this shop is beautiful. It has a wonderful glow about it in the rough of a portion of the city that is still trying to survive. There is seating enough here to have... say a baccalaureate party (which was going on when we were there) if you wanted to. There is a counter to stand and taste their mead and then a few table and chairs if you're with a small group.

Now if you have never had mead before, It is similar to wine but not quite the same. Wine is made made from grapes and the soul definition of mead is honey. Eh, some taste similar to wine and some are completely different.

From what I understand, all the fruit they purchase is local to Indiana along with the Honey they use to make the mead. Also they sell the honey in the store if you would like to take some home.

Bottles of mead range from about $12 to $22 and if you ever frequent wineries the you know the prices is comparable. If there was a mead I would recommend it would be the Plum Mead which is highly delectable and slightly intoxication with its sweet aroma and bold character. I think a bottle cost $16 and is well worth it. This 'meadery' gets an A+ for class, style, taste, presentation and hospitality. One more thing to keep in mind though when going to taste, there is a small fee of $5 for a full tasting which isn't by any means compared to the value you get from the mead and the explanations that come from the owners themselves. I do hope you decide to try!!

Panera Bread
5335 East Southport Road, Indianapolis, IN‎

(317) 881-3150‎

The initial presentation of this restaurant had nothing to do with the people that were greeting you and had everything to do with presenting itself as an excellent deli/pastry shop. All I remember from initially walking in is the beautiful assortment and presentation of the desserts and breads. My mouth starting watering for all the stunning pastry's

The Cashiers seemed nice, I didn't take any note of upselling or suggestively selling. No hints of the specials or what is particularly good. These things are particularly important in my eyes. It steers the guest to what makes this restaurant particularly good and makes the employees appear knowledgeable. Both key in having an exceptional restaurant.

Keep in mind there are no servers here. You walk in to a counter with an enormous menu and order what you want. You seat yourself and you put your own dishes next to a trash bin. The tables were clean when we went to seat ourselves. What is common a lot when you frequent 'self seating' restaurant is that the employees don't seem to make it to wipe off the tables consistently. I give this Panera bread an "A" though, we walked to where we wanted... the table was clean and all tables on our way there were as well.


The drinks are all self serve though with the exception of the specialty drinks. I ordered a strawberry smoothie which the manager brought out to me. Now I will say in comparison, I had a McDonalds strawberry banana smoothie 2 weeks ago, the Panera smoothie was completely exceptional.



The meal selection consist of gourmet style deli sandwiches, both hot and cold. Soups and salads are a large portion of their menu as well and deli pastries and fresh breads. I ordered a smoked turkey panini which I regretted after I saw my wifes Asiago roast beef. My tasted ...ok... BUT hers looked fabulous. I'm pretty sure she enjoyed it thoroughly though. Off the record, my wife usually orders the simple and I order the over the top extravagant dishes, well this day was a different story. A friend of our ordered a soup as well which came out looking extremely tasty. Most dishes it seemed were accompanied by a side of fresh baked bread or chips.


Dessert for us was a "Cobblestone" which the 3 of us could only describe as a mix between monkey bread, an apple fritter, bread pudding and 100% goodness. One of this 'muffins on steroids' could be divided in quarters and still be enough to enjoy. I do highly recommend this as a before OR after meal treat.

For feeding 3 adults lunch and a 2 yr old for $30, I would say that it was worth it given the relaxing atmosphere and the quality of food.

On the surface the cleanliness of the restaurant was pretty good. The staff seemed well dressed, presentable and they seemed as though they knew what good food safety was about. I chose to look a little deeper though.

The restrooms looked well kept, the daily routine of cleaning was done. Also, keep in mind that restrooms are hard to keep clean at times. One person can walk in, splash water on the floor, drop pieces of toilet paper on the floor, splatter the mirror with water, drip soap on the floor and then throw their paper towel on the floor. All from one guest, now for the next 30 minuets every guest after them will walk into that restroom and be disgusted because the bathrooms aren't kept up which means the kitchen MUST be a mess!! Wrong! One slob doesn't imply that the kitchen is a mess.... *sigh* (getting off my soap box not). The short run is that the bathrooms up keep was good. Everything was stocked, trash was a bit full but not over full. The mirror could be replaced because water has seeped behind the mounting and corroded it, But, overall pretty good. In the corners, around the floor tiles you could see a small build up of dust and dirt. This forms from not getting down on the floor, hands and knees, to scrub tile where the 'deck' brushes cant reach. The wood work around the seat and on the walls had not been cleaned in some time and the lights and light cords from the ceiling had about a 2 month (or more) accumulation of dust on them. Keep in mind I was looking for these things, not that I noticed them on the surface.

Overall value for the money was fair to good. It's a bit expensive but that is the target consumer. It's almost the McDonalds of the wealthier and more health conscientious. Not saying anything bad about the people who eat McDonalds ( my wife and I hit it up at least once a week) but we don't go to Panera because we know it's more expensive and it doesn't have a 'Value Menu' (how can you beat McChickens for $1 when your low on cash). Food was pretty good, the atmosphere was relaxing, as an added value they have free wi-fi and everyone was nice. I recommend going here for a good brunch, perhaps a special occasion, a business meeting or to read a book and/or study.

Buca Di Beppos

Buca Di Beppos
659 U.S. 31 North, Greenwood, IN‎ - (317) 884-2822‎

As we walked in there were 3 or 4 host there waiting to greet us. All was well here. One host left to 'get our table ready' which seemily took 3 to 4 mins and the table we sat at was literally a 5 second walk from the host stand. As we approach our table I expected that we would have a high chair for our 20month old. Kinda assuming that was what 'setting the table up' was for. Lone and behold, there wasn't enough room to put a high chair so we settled for a booster seat which makes our lives a little more difficult then they need to be.

Drink order wait was short. We ordered waters and my wife ordered a Peroni. The waters came timely but the beer never came. We kindly reminded our server after we were half done with our meals that we had never received it so it didn't end up on our bill.

The appetizer suggestion was there but it consisted of 'did you guys want to start with an appetizer' rather then 'would you like to start with our fried calamari or a cheesy garlic bread.!

The meal variety is enormous. A very large variety and for anyone who vaguely likes pasta or italian food, there is something here for you. The atmosphere is highly decorative and entertaining. The food is has always been good and if you order something that you don't like then they will get you something different with no hassle. The price of the meals are a little ridiculous but if you get your hands on one of their monthly $10 off voucher that come in the mail the prices aren't quite so bad.

My wife loves connolis. She really loves pistachio connolis but settles for their chocolate chip connolis because that is all they have and for reason that it's a connoli! Their not home made and not the greatest but by no means are they horrible.

At the end of the meal, of course I had to ask for the check. I kinda saw that one coming when our server failed to get the beer. Payment was quick an easy. I left a 10% tip which I think was a bit generous.

The restaurant seemed clean, I didn't notice anything. No dust, no blasphemous server acts. All was well.

Overall value for the money was hmmm... ok. I would call it a bit of a splurge. The price didn't, in our case, meet the level of service and we probably won't go back for another 6 months or more. They have individual meals that will sometimes feed 2 and family meals that will feed 3 and possibly 4. Individual meals vary from $7 to $13 and the family meals $15 to $30. Again, the atmosphere and decor is unique. I recommend visiting here at least once in your lifetime and if you have a group of 6 to 8 it's a great place to get 2 or 3 family meals and to try different dishes.

Our bill totalled $44 and with a $10 off voucher making the check $32 it wasn't too bad.
We ordered:
- a small bowl of alfredo dipping sauce for our bread ($3)
- Spicy Chicken Rigatoni/ not that spicy though ($19)
- Side of mild sausages and peppers ($9)
- and 2 Choc Chip Connoli's ($ 10)


On a 10 scale... I'll give a 6.5. Cost being the biggest downfall (not taking into account the $10 Voucher)

Italian Gardens

Yeah, The infamous Italian Garden of Washington St in Indianapolis! Service like always is not the forte but the pizza is marvelous. Not to mention there wine!! Oh yeah, $18 for a carafe of wine after kendo to enjoy with friends and family. For a small hole in the wall place it is Very popular.

The Volrath

The Volrath
118 E. Palmer St Indianapolis, IN 46225

Live Music



It was a Sunday night

Service: hmmm, a little slow. What is really expected from a bar though. One thing that I DO expect is that the bartender pays attention to who gets to the bar 1st, don't take care of 3 people that haven't been waiting for as long as you. That just kills your tip.

Food: NA, they only serve drinks

Drinks: Basic Bar choice, had local beers on tap and PBR bottles for $2.00

Atmosphere: Old venue new vibe. Acoustics for the band are horrible and parking is not the best either. Seats about 50 ppl

Value: WWwhoa, $6 jack and cokes and $4 Sun King taps; A little pricey if you ask me.

Overall: I like the small bar atmosphere and local band support of the venue but the drinks are overpriced with the $5 cover they charged. Too expensive of a night for me.

If you are looking of local bar that supports local taps and regional brews, not to mention local musicians, this might be worth checking out. They still have to grow into a music venue (the sound is swallowed into the ceiling). Lack of reconditioning may be to the historic refuge of the Fountain Square area... Good for a weeknight venture for a few brews and some sound. It's far and few on the South side. This isn't Boardripple, people!