ColtFreaks.com - Indianapolis Colts Fan Forum - im going to indy this week (First time ever)

You really can't go wrong with downtown Indy anymore. When I was a kid, it was all Steak N Shake and such. A lot of really cool, if overpriced, original and local places to eat and drink now.

JMO, ask anyone from Indy and their opinion will vary...

BEST BURGERS: Tie for me between Bru Burger and Burger Study (both downtown!)

BEST THING THAT'S NOT A BURGER: The pork tenderloin at Steer-Inn. Don't listen to anyone who tells you Mug N Bun is a thing. That's what the dorks who watch Guy Fieri shows and never actually go downtown think. Steer Inn is far better, and a really good neighborhood representation of the city IMO because it's in between like 3 different socioeconomic spheres.

BEST ITALIAN: Mama Carolla's, which is a little north of downtown (what my dude Derek Schultz would call the Midtown area)

BEST DRINKS: Depends on what you're into. If you're a beer guy, check out Sun King for sure. If cocktails are your thing, you really can't go wrong anywhere in Fountain Square or Mass Ave. I like Thunderbird most myself.

BEST CHEAPER FOOD: I think the prices may have gone up recently but the fact that Pearl Street Pizza serves pizza by the slice as good as anything else I've had in Indy used to be my best kept food secret downtown.

BEST THING TO DO BESIDES COLTS GAME: A Pacers game! Hell, you can sit lower level for half the price of a nosebleed seat at a Colts game. It's fun just to walk around Bankers Life itself, and Pacers are a pretty good team this year (starting slow though).

THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT INDY:

1. There is no real public transportation here, unfortunately. Blame years of foot-dragging on a light rail system. I would recommend renting a car. If you don't, though, there are enough Uber and Lyft drivers to get you where you wanna go. TAXIS AREN'T REALLY A THING IN INDY. That caught a lot of people off guard during the Super Bowl, I know. You're not gonna hail a cab in Indy really. Be prepared to use your phone if not driving.

2. Our downtown interstate passthroughs are a fucking mess right now, to the point where people are debating an underground passthrough at this point. Don't be surprised if something is obnoxiously closed or under construction. That's what happens when you have no public transportation and a billion interstates that all interact with a downtown area.

3. Indy is a super safe city, but you'll probably run into some panhandlers or homeless people. No biggie. Don't engage the crazies and you'll be good. I've never had an issue walking around downtown at night. Shit, I walked through the Virginia Ave underpass homeless camp at night once to cut over to Mass Ave and no one bothered me. Northsiders would probably tell you to be careful, but honestly Indy south of 10th Street, east of the White River and inside the 465 belt is as safe as big cities get.

4. If it's really cold, Indy is also a really interconnected city. The convention center connects directly with Lucas Oil now, and there are like a dozen hotels that connect with the convention center, so you can pretty much Skywalk from most downtown locations into Lucas Oil without ever going outside. Or you can not be a pussy too.

5. People in Indy are super nice. Hoosier hospitality is a real thing. If you find a cool-looking tailgate and tell them you came from Chile to see the Colts, guarantee they'll offer you free food and drinks.

But also: football games are football games, so be prepared to see a lot of white trash people who say and do dumb shit, just like you do at any NFL stadium. They're just fatter in the Midwest.