Two Food Writers Walk into a Bar...

I had lunch this week with fellow food writer Christine Barbour, co-author of Indiana Cooks!: Great Restaurant Recipes for the Home Kitchen and columnist for the Bloomington Harold Times (archived columns here). If you have not picked up a copy of Indiana Cooks!, please do. It would be equally as appropriate on the coffee table as it would be on the kitchen shelf. The writing is top-rate and the photographs, by Tom Stio, rival those of the best national food magazines.

Lunch was the buffet at Vitesse at the new Indianapolis Conrad. The buffet is one-of-a-kind in Indianapolis. If you are expecting a Bring-Me-a-Bucket experience you'll be disappointed. The buffet is modestly elegant with enough choices to make things interesting but not overwhelming. I was most impressed with the selections of roasted vegetables - eggplant, red bell peppers, squash and the in-room mini-bar equivalent of a full-fledged raw bar - oysters and crab claws. The entrees, a baked chicken and carved ham, were standard buffet fare as were the desserts. One nice additional touch was the baked garlic cloves available to spread on a variety of breads.

Christine and I had a good time comparing notes, Indiana favorites, or our respective stories that brought us to our current places in life. Check out her archives for loads of great information on the food scene in the southern part of the state.