Drakes, Indianapolis

Remember that plan I said I had for today? For some reason I thought that I could totally right a blog post after Girl’s Night. We were going to dinner at 6…I’d spend a couple hours with my friends, have one beer, and come home and write. Totally plausible. Right? Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiight…

Which is why it’s now 10:15 and I’m just now starting. This is me trying to stay awake until Mr. M gets off work at 11. Oh geez.

The reason I wanted to write this specific post tonight is because Girl’s Night was at one of my new favorite places in town:  Drake’s. This bar is fantastically unique. It’s a chain, but not one you see very many places. 7 locations in the Midwest, according to their website. Whoever thought this place up knew exactly what they were doing….or maybe they were just really drunk. Either way, it works in a very strange way. The walls are all wooden, kind of like a roadhouse type feel, and it’s all open seating…no hostess to tell you where to sit. And the seats themselves are boothlike, except there are no seat backs–it’s more like sitting at oversized picnic tables where the benches are butted up against the one next to it. Now, some people don’t like it because they don’t like sitting so close to strangers, but it has a very communal feel to it, and in a drinking atmosphere, it works, especially later in the night. It’s a bar! Socialize! In the summer they even have cornhole outside! This is not a sit down loaner keep to yourself type of place.

The other really crazy thing about this place is the food. Drake’s has a regular menu with what you’d expect–burgers, wings, nachos, etc. And all of that is pretty great. Or so I hear. I’ve never ordered any of it. Why? Because Drake’s has some of the best sushi for the price in Castleton. Whaaaaat?! In a roadhouse style bar? Absolutely. The fish is super fresh tasting, and the rolls are unique. My favorites are the surf and turf roll–crab meat on the inside and thinly sliced beef on top with a spicy sriracha type sauce on top, and this incredible take on a crab rangoon, which they’ve turned into a fried sushi roll! I had some of their raw sushi tonight too and it was pretty fantastic as well.

Another thing they offer are their beer towers. They have a couple different sizes, but if your table can agree on a type of beer, they are a really great deal. We had 60 oz of Blue Moon and it was only $17! Tell me that’s not a steal. Much better than buying it beer by beer. The price will vary depending on the beer you are buying, but they offer it in 60, 90, and 120 oz. They have a floater that they put in the tube to keep it all the way through, and basically it’s a pour your own tap. I’d do it again in a heartbeat. And any time I can get my friends to kiss a beer tower….that’s a good night.

Oh! One more thing–Don’t bring your kids here. There was a couple with really young kids, one in a high chair. I was surprised 1) that they were even allowed in, and 2) that Drake’s even HAD a high chair. The kids were obviously not enjoying themselves, and neither were the parents. This is a bar, folks, not a family restaurant. I’m not saying this because the family was bothering me or anyone else. I’m saying this only because I was very surprised to see the family there at all. There are soooooooo many awesome places to take your family….this isn’t one of them. The music is loud, guys are there to pick up women, the women are there for girl’s night so we are loud and WOOing, and it’s just…not kid appropriate in my opinion.

Check this place out if you are looking for a fun, lively place for dinner and drinks. The food is great, the service is friendly, and the beer is cold. The music gets loud after 9, but it IS a bar geared towards the mid-20s, so that’s to be expected. They do trivia some nights too, if that’s your thing. It’s a fun fun fun place to be when you’re in the mood to be fun fun fun!

Two of my besties at Drake’s, next to the beer tower

Good night all! Mr. M should be home soon.

Mrs. M