Foodie Indy: eat well. eat local.

There is an orange pack of what looks like playing cards titled “Foodie Indy.” Twenty dollars each, the packs contain 52 gift certificates of $10 to 52 different Indianapolis-area, locally-owned restaurants. There’s a minimum purchase required for each certificate (usually $30, which cannot include alcoholic drinks, taxes, or some specials/other certificates).

If you are going out with a group, this is perfect. Even if you want a romantic dinner for two, this lets you splurge a little AND try a new, locally-owned restaurant. So far, I’ve gone to Monon Food Company and Asian Grill. Both were tasty. At the Asian Grill, I tried crab cakes and a curry dish; I had some rather tasty tea. At the MoFoCo (as they like to call themselves), I tried Hawaiian tacos, tomato parm soup, and mushroom pizza. And carrot cake. And really good coffee. (I was sharing all this food, mind you.)

The downside to the Foodie Indy cards? Many of the restaurants are in Noblesville, which is decidedly north of Indianapolis and requires a longer car drive.

It really should be called “Foodie Indy/Noblesville.”