Restaurants in Greenwood

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.

For years, the almighty sandwich has protected innumerable forks and knives from boiling-hot dishwashers, and Ricci's vast menu honors this tradition with a host of bread-busting deli sandwiches (starting at $4.79), including meaty mainstays such as corned beef, turkey, and roast beef. Geometrical gourmets can also indulge affinities for circular comestibles with a half-pound burger ($7.99) or fulfill sensitive sides with the tenderloin ($7.99), which is available breaded, grilled, or encased in bronze.

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).

Long tables and dark-wooden paneling help create a cozy ambience in Edelweiss Restaurant’s beer-hall-style dining room, which allows German-American Klub members and visitors alike to revel in Bavarian culture and community. The chefs embrace tradition by grilling bratwurst, knackwurst, and kielbasa over an open flame, hand-cutting servings of pork schnitzel, and marinating the sauerbraten’s beef for three days before slow-roasting it over a volcano. The bartenders serve German-American Klub members beers from the ever-rotating selection, which includes imported German brews by Warsteiner and Spaten, among others. Amid the buzz of spirited conversations, live entertainment, including a harpist on Friday evenings, amuses guests.