Restaurants in Michigan City

The epicurean alchemists at India House, winner of Chicago magazine's Best Indian Buffet designation, draw inspiration from the cuisine of Bombay and Delhi as well as Indian street fare and homestyle tandoori cooking. The menu's more than 250 items please vegetarian and meat-eating palates alike with curries, kebabs, and grilled saris that utilize the flavors of fresh cilantro, chilies, and coconut. A reviewer for the Chicago Tribune praises the restaurant’s “incredibly tender tandoori chicken,” and Chicago magazine says that the fiery "Hyderabadi-style mahi-mahi … is a must." Midday lunchers can dig into a buffet whose myriad options beget multiple trips and consultation with a pack of tarot cards before deciding which delicious curries should be ladled over naan and rice.

India House's traditional tandoor oven emulates northern-Indian kitchens, expelling steaming Indian fare featured by Fodor's for its gently spiced dishes and extensive menu of both meaty and vegetarian eats. Courteous servers welcome appetites with the deep-fried shrimp fritter or vegetarian samosas stuffed with fluffy seasoned potatoes and peas undetectable by most princesses. Charcoal elevates temperatures inside the tandoor oven to scorching levels, blasting searing currents through a mixed-grill entree of jumbo prawns, organic chicken, and lamb kebab. The vegetarian navrattan korma's spicy cream bubbles up around freshly plucked veggies before chefs speckle it with nuts.

The epicurean alchemists at India House, winner of Chicago magazine's Best Indian Buffet designation, draw inspiration from the cuisine of Bombay and Delhi as well as Indian street fare and homestyle tandoori cooking. The menu's more than 250 items please vegetarian and meat-eating palates alike with curries, kebabs, and grilled saris that utilize the flavors of fresh cilantro, chilies, and coconut. A reviewer for the Chicago Tribune praises the restaurant’s “incredibly tender tandoori chicken,” and Chicago magazine says that the fiery "Hyderabadi-style mahi-mahi … is a must." Midday lunchers can dig into a buffet whose myriad options beget multiple trips and consultation with a pack of tarot cards before deciding which delicious curries should be ladled over naan and rice.

On November 16, 1955, Alfonso Tornabene arrived in Stickney, Illinois, half a world from his native Sicily. Though his location had changed, the synapses firing in his brain still carried the inkling of an idea––a recipe for a traditional Sicilian pizza. After several decades perfecting the preparation, he passed the recipe onto his daughter Mary, who by proxy brought it to the menu at Villa Nova Pizza.

Specializing in Chicago-style thin crust tossed with Alfonso's Sicilian methods, Villa Nova hand-tosses gooey specialty pizzas festooned with pesto and garlic, available by the pie or slice. Eclipsing the shackles of mere dough, skilled chefs also populate tables with hearty sandwiches and traditional pasta such as manicotti and potato gnocchi in marinara or vodka sauce. After the meal, guests can wrap up a mini cannoli and head to nearby Lake Michigan for walk along the water, or measure its depth by sewing several hundred mini cannolis together end to end.

El Amigo Mexicano understands that cravings for tacos, burritos, or chorizo can strike at any time. That’s why the restaurant fills its menu with breakfast selections alongside lunch and dinner options and stays open late. The eatery greets early risers with eggs scrambled with chorizo, smothered in red sauce, or delicately cocooned inside a tortilla. Lunch and dinner options sate cravings with burritos topped with melted cheese or gordita pockets filled with beans, avocado, and the diner’s choice of meat. Combination and à la carte options adjust platings to appeal to light or hearty appetites.

At Ed Debevic's, every house burger, hot dog, and diner entree shares a not-so-secret ingredient: sass. The servers welcome guests to the vintage venue with tongue-in-cheek remarks and paper deli hats, seating them next to vibrant examples of what Centerstage calls "smart-aleck decor": fake autographs, old-timey ads, and signs that carry proverbs such as "Eat Now…Pay Waiter." The mischievously retro tone is cultivated in homage to one of the owner's favorite restaurants, Lill's Homesick Diner. Back in the '50s and '60s, Lill acquainted Ed with the classic flavors of comfort food cooked from scratch, showcasing the spirited moxie that made her a standout in the short-order world.

Ed chose to emulate both her classic cooking and feistiness at his own diner. Many of his menu items are housemade, including the meatloaf, mashed potatoes, the desserts, and the blue-cheese sauce on top of the Ed's Blue Moon burger. Milk shakes and malts pair well with a variety of hot dogs and sandwiches, especially when counterbalancing the effects of Atomic Mix: a blend of diced jalapeños, onions, and tomatoes that garnishes certain plates. The staff stays in comically impudent character throughout these meals. And every now and then, the servers pause to put on countertop dance numbers that are almost as exciting as the time your grandpa turned the lazy Susan into a zoetrope.