I’ve lived 36 years in Chicago and have never visited Indianapolis, but the proximity and allure of WNBA All-Star Weekend had me packing my bags and taking the 60-minute flight east to see my favorite basketball players and explore the city.

I never thought of Indy as a food town, but days before I left, a friend raved about St. Elmo’s, the city’s oldest steakhouse, and insisted I visit. But, he warned, I likely wouldn’t be able to snag a reservation in time—the restaurant books up weeks in advance. This felt less like a disappointment and more like a challenge.

So, on paper, my first food stop was to be dinner at Bodhi, a Thai restaurant located in the hip Bottleworks District, the former site of the world’s largest Coca-Cola bottling factory (turned hotel) and now a lively entertainment district. The hotel is an art deco lover’s dream with original terra cotta exterior, terrazzo floors, a stunning original chandelier from the 1920s, and spacious guest rooms.

However, after checking into the Omni and realizing it’s a short walk from St. Elmo’s, I decided to visit and see if I could get in for a late lunch. Diners who don’t mind eating at a steakhouse during odd hours (like 2:30 pm) are going to find tables easy to come by. My friend Katie and I were seated without a wait.

The 123-year-old restaurant is known for its spicy shrimp cocktail. Made with ground horseradish, the dish arrives with a warning and instructions from your server. They’ll tell you the sting lasts for a few seconds and washes away. What they forget to mention is that this sensation happens with every single bite. The appetizer comes with four pieces of jumbo shrimp—I only made it through one.

By the time I finished my wedge salad and filet mignon, I realized I only had two hours before dinner. The second Bodhi came into view, and I knew I had made a mistake not arriving on an empty stomach.

The restaurant doesn’t take reservations. At 5:45 pm on a Thursday night, the dining room was already packed, and a line had formed. During the summer months, diners are lucky. The ivy-covered back patio adds 70 seats, which reduces wait times.

Taelor Carmine, 38, opened Bodhi in March 2021 and works alongside Nicky Carmine, her mother; and Pen Phojanasupan, her grandmother, to bring traditional Thai cuisine to Indianapolis. Expect papaya salad, shrimp lemongrass soup, curries, and noodles on the menu. The family immigrated to the Midwest when Carmine was 13 years old, and the restaurant is a reflection of her family’s history. She ends up serving our table, but because dinner service is busy, we speak later by phone.

“This restaurant represents the shared love for food within my family’s kitchen,” Carmine tells me. “It’s not supposed to be fancy Thai cuisine. It’s traditional food we grew up enjoying as a family. I avoid saying authentic, because there’s no such thing as authentic Thai food nowadays. We just take a modern approach to it.”

Carmine points to her beverage program, led by Beverage Director Dalton Lineback, as an example. The list of craft cocktails includes yuzu, black sesame, and fish sauce paired with corn, strawberry, and cantaloupe—it’s meant to marry her eastern roots with her western upbringing for a unique combination not often seen in small or larger markets.

“Most Thai restaurants are very straightforward, transactional, but I felt like Bodhi could offer something unique, and make it more vibey,” says Carmine. “The bar menu creates this potent combination of Thai food and craft cocktails. I don’t think many Thai restaurants do that.”

She’s on to something. It might have taken me almost four decades to visit Indy, but Bodhi is the reason I’ll be back in no time. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about the crunchy spring rolls dipped in a sweet plum sauce.

Indy might be a sports town (it’s what first brought me there), but as I spent my last few hours unwinding at the Conrad’s spa—where two Picasso sketches stood framed with only me as an onlooker—I realized its growing food scene makes it an unexpected dining destination, and perhaps one of the Midwest’s most underrated cities.