First Friday at Fountain Square

On June 1st Lynne and I headed to Fountain Square for a date night.  I had never been to this part of the city (in 4.5 years, I know that’s pathetic), and a concert was a good excuse to make the trip.  There are lots of great places to eat, and while I researched many, we decided to go to Siam Square for Thai food.  We’re very picky on Thai food in the states, and while Indy has its share of hits and misses, we had heard good things from friends.

We enjoyed some noodle and curry dishes, and overall we thought it was excellent and probably the best/most authentic Thai food we’ve found in Indianapolis.  There are so many other places we want to try in the area, but it will hard not going back to Siam Square.

We had a lot of time to kill between dinner and the show, so we had planned to walk around the area to visit the shops and sights.  Fortunately, it was the first Friday of the month, which is known as “First Friday” in Indianapolis.  The monthly event focuses on the arts in Fountain Square, where there are lots of little galleries, and other parts of the city.  This meant that all the shops stayed open later than normal, so we could check out antique stores, vintage clothing shops, and more.  Little coffee shops featured music and visual artists, and despite the dreary day, the overall vibe was fantastic.

Just south of the main square is the new (just a little over a year old) Fountain Square Brewery, so I made sure we stopped by for a tasting.  Since it was First Friday, the tasting room was packed and had a DJ playing some very loud music.  Fortunately we found seats at the bar, and I enjoyed their Bigger Nuggets double IPA and Eclipse black lager (schwarzbier). I think I’ll enjoy grabbing a pint there more when the music isn’t so loud and you can actually have a conversation.

The concert we were attending was at the White Rabbit Cabaret, a small little venue set up with table seating, seemingly more suited for a comedy show than a concert, but really intimate.  The venue has some decent beer on tap and is a really nice place to catch a show.  There were three acts: CALLmeKat (Danish woman, haunting electro-pop), Brown Bird (folk rock duo), and Rocky Votolat0 (songwriter with a guitar).  CALLmeKat was far better than I expected, and Brown Bird played a really long set that was tons of fun.  Their music would have been even better at a more lively standing-only venue.  I became a fan of Rocky’s thanks to some Pandora suggestions, and he didn’t disappoint.  However, the atmosphere is way more “talking” than “listening” so I actually found it rude that late in the evening the headline performer was slightly drowned out by a drinking, chatting crowd.  Still, for $10 a ticket to see three talented acts, I really can’t complain.

We look forward to returning to Fountain Square for date nights, future First Fridays, and any other excuse, so let us know your favorite FS places!