Restaurants in Shively

Situated across from Indiana's former state capitol building, within walking distance of many unique shops, antique malls, and historic sites, Magdalena's is the perfect spot to relax and unwind while sampling savory café fare and sipping delicious java drinks. Comprised of both a full-service eatery and coffeehouse, Magdalena's boasts an extensive lunch, dinner, and drink menu. Warm up taste engines with grilled portabella mushrooms, marinated in pesto, olive oil, and garlic and topped with caramelized onions, sun-dried tomatoes, and melted swiss ($8.99). Once primed, try one of Magdalena's signature sandwiches and burgers, such as the cranberry walnut chicken salad croissant ($8.99) or the Minnesota melt, a grilled burger buried in a sautéed avalanche of onion, monterey-jack cheese, and sliced jalapenos ($7.99). Dig incisor shovels into the prime-rib pasta with asparagus ($16.99), or get stuck in the greenatational pull of an herbivore-friendly dish, such as the creamy vegetable lasagna ($12.99). Arid maws can find aqueous reprive at Magdalena's Café on the Square, a coffeehouse serving up freshly brewed coffee, espresso, and specialty drinks made from 100% locally roasted Arabica coffee beans. Grab a hot, iced, or frozen brew and settle in at one of the café's cozy leather sofas, or pod-people watch on the outdoor patio, which overlooks the town square.

Every day at all of El Nopal’s locations, cooks whip up fresh batches of salsa, chips, and beans. The sauces and sides accent chicken or beef chimichangas, handmade tamales, and nachos smothered in cheese. All El Nopal locations offer complimentary chips and salsa with every meal, and some locations have outdoor seating areas. Performances by live bands at select locations serve as a pleasant distraction from meals, unlike a judge with highfalutin ideas about not eating in court.

Cooks at Home Run Burgers & Fries' four locations grill up 100% Black Angus beef patties and twice-cooked, hand-cut fries made from idaho potatoes, with a dedication to classic flavor that earned the eatery the Best 2012 Burger award on the Louisville A List. For edibles other than the eponymous burger and fries, the cooks dunk beer-battered onion rings in bubbling fryers alongside baskets brimming with hand-breaded north atlantic cod, as well as chicken strips for the kids' menu or building poultry scale replicas of a Lincoln Log cabin. Bakery buns hug quarter-pound patties cooked to order with a choice of 26 different complimentary toppings, including sauteed mushrooms, grilled onions, and roasted red peppers..

At The PBJ Shop, inner-child-appeasing chefs craft 15 restaurant-quality updates of the treasured schoolyard snack on white or wheat bread. The toasted cheesy PB bagel satiates morning munchies with generous smatterings of cream cheese and Jif peanut butter, and the Banana Split sandwich distances itself from its ice-cream roots by stuffing bananas, chocolate syrup, and loads of legal paperwork between two sturdy slices of bread. Creative customers may craft culinary concoctions of their own by building a drizzling a standard sandwich with one of six fruity jams and sprinkling its surface with any of 10 additional toppings ($0.75 each), such as crisp strips of bacon or piquant yet flavorful raisins. Upon request, chefs can also trim away crusts so patrons won’t have to chew through white bread’s traditional bulletproof plating. Servings of salty chips and a thirst-quenching drink round out the brown-bag-lunch package.

The White Oak's menu of creative southern-inspired cuisine features farm-fresh ingredients from local producers, making sustainable eating attainable even after your Chia Pet goes bald. For lunch, whet your palate with an order of mushroom and roast-cauliflower gratin with shallots, sweet peppers, and herbed breadcrumbs ($7) or a local-cheese plate ($11) before making your way to a plate of “Louisville” fried chicken (locally raised and organic, $12), a cast-iron-cooked burger (all-natural KY-raised beef, $10), or a vegetarian cassoulet of country beans (parmesan-corn-bread topping, greens, and stewed green tomatoes, $8). Dinner delights in small bites such as sweet-potato frites served with sweet and spicy apricot ketchup and a Caribbean cream sauce ($5) and butternut-squash flan accented with parmesan cream and apple butter ($6). With taste buds tickled and teased, treat them to a stuffed-vegetable platter (fresh seasonal veggies stuffed with cheese and breadcrumbs, $12), seared duck breast (confit leg and KY-sorghum glaze, $20), or stuffed pork loin (smoked bacon, apples, homemade cheddar stuffing, and apple butter, $16). All sandwiches and entrees are served with your choice of two sides.

Dooley's specializes in bagel-based edibles and a heaping schmear of friendly service. Head over to the Breckenridge location and consult the menu, which features numerous options for breakfast and lunch. Bagels are baked fresh daily and come in all the traditional varieties, as well as adventurous flavors such as blueberry, apple walnut, honey wheat, and chocolate chip. Pick up half a dozen at $5.94 for home-based consumption, or eat one on the spot with lox spread for $3.69. If you're trying to cut down on carbs, try a sandwich wrapped in a flour tortilla ($5.19), in varieties such as southwest turkey and chicken Caesar. A melted deli sandwich ($4.89) such as the roast-beef swiss melt on your choice of sub, bagel, or bagel croissant will sate squealing hunger pangs for the better part of the day.