Restaurants in Avon

Within the confines of the converted church and gospel hall, Euphoria mixes and mingles fresh, seasonal ingredients to construct creative, modern American appetizers and entrees. Peruse the sophisticated menu before nibbling on an appetizer of phyllo-wrapped goat cheese accented by a fennel, pear, red onion, and chestnut salad ($10). The succulent entreetainment includes seared lamb loin, which serenades taste buds with the help of a backing band of parsnips, golden beets, capers, and yellow curry spaetzle ($30). Pan-roasted monkfish shares plate space with demi-glazed mushrooms, golden raisins, and celery salad ($24), and a Gunthorp Farms maple-bourbon-glazed pork chop makes its table travels attended by an entourage of fall squash, grilled knob onions, and sycophantic yes-men ($28). Euphoria also offers a lighter bar menu and a rotating roster of cheeses, both ideal for snack-samplers looking to make a mouth-friendly match with a selection from the extensive list of wines.

Don't dismiss this comfort food cookery based on its location in the back of a filling station—the menu is packed with palate-pleasing selections. Raising 10 children on the south side of Indianapolis and working 30 years in St. Francis Hospital's cafeteria helped Maxine's namesake owner master her famed recipes and has also rendered her thoroughly immune to "guff." The signature dish pairs golden waffles with fried chicken and a generous dollop of whipped butter, giving diners the best of both worlds. Soul-food staples (crunchy cornbread, collard greens, fried green tomatoes) round out the menu.

Born in Calabria, Italy, in 1888, Santora “Fred” Iozzo immigrated to New York City at the age of 17, hoping to create a new life for himself and the family he planned to build. After working on railroad lines in Massachusetts and Ohio, Fred landed in Indianapolis and quickly established an empire of grocery stores throughout the city. The economic onslaught of the Great Depression proved to be too much for this empire, though, and shop after shop began to close. Fred decided to begin anew yet again, founding a restaurant in 1930, naming it Iozzo’s Garden of Italy, and heading up operations until its unfortunate closure in 1940.

Along with her husband, Greg, Katie Harris decided to honor the memory of her great-grandfather Fred by reopening the restaurant in 2009. The reimagined establishment incorporates a few modern touches, but it mainly draws inspiration from traditional Italian culture. The chefs form meatballs by hand and make everything from alfredo to bolognese sauces in-house. At the same time, they embrace a slightly more modern approach by offering whole-wheat and gluten-free pastas, throwing in menu curveballs such as maple-bourbon pork, and serving holographic chicken piccata. Their culinary diligence earned them a Best of Metromix award in 2011.

With its rustic brickwork, wooden floorboards, and Tuscan-yellow walls, the eatery’s dining room exudes a rustic charm, and the pendant lamps and linen-draped tables add small touches of contemporary refinement. Outdoors, the courtyard area echoes the Old-World ambiance, recreating the feel of an Italian alleyway complete with a faux street lamp and cobblestone walkway.

Whether you get your burger stuffed with cheese or stuffed with burger and topped with cheese, Brickhouse's skilled artisans will treat your burger patty with the tender care most reserve for pet pigs and dollies. Brickhouse Burger Company serves up beefy bites amidst four 100-inch projection televisions that fill the air with the buzz of sports and the soothing voices of sports pundits. Whether you dig the energy of the clubhouse seating area or prefer the quiet of Brickhouse’s separate dining area, a menu of meals will pique your hunger tooth and activate dormant burger glands at the base of your skull so that your jaw unhinges a little.

Mazatlan is a family restaurant that specializes in traditional recipes presented within a warmly welcoming environment free of rogue cannon fire or aluminum space bats. Spicy and mild-minded palates alike can mull over a full menu of savory standards such as custom-cooked steak or chicken fajitas ($11.75), as well as off-the-beaten-path treats such as seafood enchiladas with fish, crabmeat, and shrimp atop a bed of rice, guacamole, and pico de gallo ($8.99). Mazatlan's more straight-up specialties include the pineapple chicken grill topped with tomatoes, red onions, pineapple slices, and avocado ($10.75). And for anyone who has ever been tempted to order a taco that contained only more tacos, the fajita burrito ($8.99) might be the closest thing to living out the dream of foods wrapped within foods wrapped within foods. Once you've built up a solid mouth-fire, put it out with a signature 27-ounce Mazatlan Margarita (Tequila Cazadores, triple sec, sweet and sour mix, Red Bull, and Grand Marnier, $9.15) and some fried ice cream ($4.25).

N'awlins Creole Café is authentic to the cuisine and culture of the Big Easy, right down to the zydeco band living inside the soda machine. The restaurant ships in all its seafood from New Orleans, giving customers the freshest catches from the baitsmiths of the bayou. Menu items include several 6-inch po' boy sandwiches, including the classic shrimp po' boy ($9) and an alligator sausage variety, as well as traditional Crescent City jambalaya ($9) with chicken and hot, smoked sausage. Seafood plates (with one side, French bread, and house or potato salad) include a dozen fried shrimp or oysters ($13), and a trio seafood platter ($14) contains the tasty troika of shrimp, oysters, and catfish. Indecisive fleur-de-lis fanatics can opt for N'awlins Creole Café's sampler platter ($12), featuring jambalaya, red beans, rice, and the choice between gumbo, crawfish étouffée or shrimp étouffée.