10 Best Restaurants in Indiana, USA

Since 1986, this local fave has won raves for its "thin or thicker" pizza with a whopping 62 choices of toppings, from the mundane Italian sausage to the dare-you-to-try Cajun shrimp. It also offers a full slate of French bread sandwiches and huge salads. Besides the Broad Ripple location, there are outposts downtown (333 Massachusetts Ave.) and in Carmel (111 W. Main St.), all with outdoor dining options.

Specializing in fresh-pasta dishes served in a romantic environment, this restaurant is named after chef-owner Andy Richmer's wife and late mother. Seafood selections come with a choice of two sides, from a light Caesar salad to hearty fettuccine pasta with cream sauce. Pasta dishes are large and flavorsome, as in marinated chicken breast atop creamy pasta tossed with tomatoes and roasted poblano peppers. Several by-the-glass options are available on one of Madison's most extensive wine lists.

A true throwback eatery, this place remains largely unchanged since Winfred Hinkle founded the malts-and-burgers spot in 1933. That includes the prices, which remain incredibly low—the weekday lunch special is (at the time of writing) $5.89. Sides include Tater Tots and onion rings. Breakfast options represent hearty, typical diner fare such as eggs with toast and bacon or sausage. A whopping 40 or more shake selections include exotic flavors like wedding cake and Coco Puffs.

Inside a former button factory overlooking the Ohio River, this landark eatery has been a local institution since 1950. Shrimp are prepared six ways, including wrapped in bacon, Panama-style, and rolled in chopped coconut. The "Captain's Table" is a five-course tour of the menu starting with shrimp cocktail and including crab legs, shrimp, and scallops with drawn butter. Be sure to try a slice of house-made key lime pie. Window tables along the front offer the best views.

Grits, biscuits and homemade gravy, hickory smoked bacon and fried pork chops. These are some of the mouthwatering highlights at this off-the-beaten path destination for made-from-scratch Southern cooking. Humble beginnings in 1988 as a six-seat countertop diner, Kountry Kitchen Soul Food Place has evolved into a sit-down restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and early dinners. It also happens to be a standard stop for visiting celebs, including President Obama.

The real thing, only better. That's what this full-service restaurant really is, because from 1905 to 1990, the L.S. Ayres Tea Room was a ladies-who-lunch fixture of the L.S. Ayres department store. But when the store closed, the restaurant lost its home. A decade later, it found a new space and new, family-friendly setting in the Indiana State Museum, complete with replicated tables, chairs, carpets and lighting, and a menu featuring some of the old-fashioned favorites like chicken velvet soup and the children's "hobo lunch."

Works by local artists hang on the walls at this family-friendly eatery in the heart of downtown Nashville. Since 1859 it has served up fried chicken and slow-roasted turkey dinners, with sides of fried biscuits and apple butter. Other meat-heavy options include baked Hoosier ham and barbecued ribs. A meal here would not be complete without sassafras tea and pecan pie.

This self-described "student union for adults" definitely has the camaraderie and community feel down, with food appreciated by students and grownups alike. Sourcing locally before it was cool, owner and Texas native Martha Hoover opened her first Indy restaurant in 1989 and by 2002 had earned a shout-out in Bon Appetit magazine. She still does it right, from deliciously flavorful cups of sustainably grown coffee to the famous "broken yolk" breakfast sandwiches and fresh house roasted turkey wraps.

It says "Famous since 1902," and it truly is. In 2012, this storied steak house was named a James Beard Award-winner in the category of America's Classics. It's clear why: The ornately carved wood trim, tin ceiling, bow-tied servers, and walls covered with photos of famous diners throughout the decades hint at its history. Expertly done filets, prime rib, ribeye and porterhouse confirm its continuing appeal. An impressive 2,000-square-foot wine cellar boasts nearly 12,000 bottles or, for a sip with a kick, order the signature Elmo Cola (Maker's Mark bourbon infused with Luxardo cherries from Italy, served with an ice-cold bottle of cola on the side).

Renovated from an 1850s general store, this inn, about 13 miles north of Nashville, is known for fine dining by oil lamp. Breakfast and lunch menus cull ingredients from the on-site garden and include locally raised game meats, featuring in everything from a chicken breast with spiced peaches to grilled artichoke on a croissant. Some of the inn's accommodations are above the restaurant and there are also cottages on surrounding land.