I have an account in the Broad Ripple Village area of Indianapolis, a vibrant entertainment and shops district on the north side of the city. There are a number of restaurants in the immediate area and after one recent morning visit I decided to have lunch at a spot I've had my eye on for a couple years, a burger and craft beer place by the name of 317 Burger.
Bill Ficca is sort of a serial restaurateur around Broad Ripple. Ficca, his wife, Nancy, and various investors have stakes in a number of restaurants in the area including the Vanguard, Delicia, and the Northside Social. (Click here to see the Road Tips entry on the Northside Social.) When Boogie Burger moved a few blocks east Broad Ripple in 2011, some say it left a void for a good burger in the neighborhood. The Ficca's came up with a concept gourmet burger joint/craft brew house that grinds their own steak burgers. 317 Burger (317 is the area code for Indianapolis) opened in December of 2013.
It was just before the noon rush on a beautiful day in Indy when I pulled up to a parking spot across the street from 317 Burger on Westfield Ave. in the heart of Broad Ripple. (see map) I walked into the place to find a very nice bar with an upscale pub decor. 317 Burger wasn't very large, but it was clean and comfortable. It wasn't busy inside, but nearly all the tables on the patio in front of the place were full.
In the corner of the bar is an area called the Indiana Speakers Corner. It features a number of quotes from some of Bill Ficca's favorite famous Indiana natives. A local art/mural company - Blice Edwards - was commissioned to do the artwork for the Indiana Speakers Corner. There was a booth and table set up for people to converse in a pub-style setting.
Off to the side of the main bar was a smaller game room set up in an informal hodgepodge of bar stools with high top tables, and a sofa with a table that had a number of board games stacked underneath the table top. Two real dart boards - not the electronic kind you find in most bars these days - were hung on the wall of the game room.
Next door and attached to 317 Burger is a tap room called None the Wiser. The name, of course, comes from a play on words signifying that they don't sell Budweiser products in the tap room. They feature a full bar with 16 different craft brews on tap. It's more elegant than 317 Burger with real cowhide back coverings on the booths and high quality wood paneling throughout the room.
I took a seat at the bar and the bartender handed me a menu to look over. I ordered up an Oaken Barrel IPA to enjoy while I looked through the menu. The menu featured a number of interesting appetizers such as a seasonal veggie poutine, French onion soup dumplings, Caribbean pulled pork nachos, and crispy chicken tenders. 317 Burger also features wings, quesadillas and salads.
In addition to burgers at 317 Burger, they also feature a number of sandwiches - a couple of which caught my eye. They had a grilled four cheese (American, Gouda, Swiss and Provolone) sandwich where you could add pulled pork to it for a $3 upcharge. And they had a pork tenderloin sandwich - breaded and fried, or grilled - a true Indiana signature sandwich.
I was still thinking about the grilled four-cheese with pulled pork sandwich when I saw that they had a similar burger - the 317 Burger - with the American/Swiss/Gouda/Provolone combo with a garlic aioli sauce and pepper bacon. I asked the bartender if they could do some sautéed mushrooms on the burger and she said it would be no problem.
The burgers at 317 Burger are all ground in house from high quality Black Angus beef. The burger was lean with a hint of juiciness to it. But with all the cheese on it, along with the, garlic aioli, bacon and mushrooms, it didn't need to be an overly juicy burger. It was pretty messy in its own right and was definitely a multi-napkin burger.
The burger - when I could taste it through everything that was on it - had a great, rich beef flavor. Flat-grilled, the burger was thick and had a bit of pink in the middle. The garlic aioli was very strong in flavor and something was very salty on the burger. I figured out later on that it was the bacon. Because it was so salty, I didn't seem to get much of a peppery taste from the pepper bacon.
The fries that came on the side were a little lukewarm when they were served. They were fresh cut, but they'd obviously been made earlier and set into a warming pan. But that was fine with me. I wasn't much interested in the fries as I was finishing the delicious big burger I had in front of me.
317 Burger - nice place, nice bar, good burger, good service, good beer selection, comfortable setting. There's not much more to say than that. They have a number of other things on their menu if you don't want a burger, and their appetizers are interesting. And even if you don't want to get something to eat and would like to enjoy a beer, 317 Burger and its taproom - None the Wiser - are a great place to relax with friends. 317 Burger fits in wonderfully with the rest of the Broad Ripple places of choice.
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