Restaurants in Plainfield

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.

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.

Red Lion Grog House blends British and American traditions with a trouser-stretching menu of bangers, beef, and english curries amid elegant décor. Diners settle at sleek tables lit by tasteful, glowing sconces as they prepare to devour pub classics that include blanket bangers nestled into a puff-pastry duvet on a four-poster bed of hand-cut chips and garlic-dijon aioli ($10.49). Meanwhile, the explosive stuffed portobello crams its delectable gunpowder of garlic and herbs into a musket-size mushroom, tamped down with mozzarella wadding ($12.49). Traditionalists might tuck into a lancashire hot pot, a braised chuck roast slow-roasted with onion and carrots ($11.99), and vegetarians can sup on a black-bean burger touched with chipotle and topped with swiss and cucumber ($8.49). This freewheeling speakeasy plays host to a number of weekly events, with trivia contests Tuesday and Thursday, open-mic night every Wednesday, and gentlemanly harrumphing lessons on demand.

Agio's executive chef Joseph Heidenreich concocts a Mediterranean-infused menu of fresh Italian fare that's impeccably paired with sophisticated sips from the restaurant's extensive wine list and served in an intimate, romantic setting. Complement an order of baked goat cheese in a tomato-basil puree served with flatbread ($8.95) with an earthy Italian red wine, or couple a vegetable pizza topped with basil pesto, mushrooms, roasted peppers, and gorgonzola ($10.95) with a crisp Italian white. Agio's moroccan paella serves up a succulent selection of fresh seafood, chicken, sausage, and saffron rice ($22.95), and the grilled pork loin arrives tableside sporting a dapper fez and a balsamic glaze ($19.95). The meatball is in the patron's court with the spaghetti, as it can be customized with a choice of sauce, protein, and other tasty toppings ($8.95–$15.95).

Vito's has been serving up simple, finely prepared Italian eats to the Indianapolis community for 21 years. A bountiful menu snuffs burgeoning stomach grumbles with appetizers such as stuffed mushrooms filled with cheese and seasoned spinach, brushed down with garlic butter, and baked to bubbling ($6.95). Pasta coated in Vito's house-made, spicy vodka sauce is a standby for even the pickiest eaters ($11.95), and chicken marsala swiftly solves poultry cravings with chicken breast sautéed in marsala sauce and served with mushrooms over angel-hair pasta ($15.95). A variety of traditional and specialty pizzas are ideal for sharing with a big group, gobbling alone in the dark, or illustrating percentages at your next board meeting ($7.95–$16.95). Wash dishes down with a classy glass or gem-encrusted goblet of vino.

Owner and chef Mike Atherton draws upon 35 years of culinary experience and one huge Weber charcoal grill to ignite menus of burgers and pizzas that have found their way into the Indianapolis Star. After nestling flame-kissed meats between homemade buns and slathering them with flourishes—such as bourbon and made-from-scratch hot sauce and poppy seed dressing—chefs pronounce them ready to explore the roomy restaurant's wide-open spaces and wood-paneled bar. Local craft beers mingle with Sunday afternoon's sporting events, which are televised on wall-mounted big-screen TVs and then reenacted by former child stars.