Giordano's: Italian Pizza, Midwest Roots, Local Beer
Giordano’s has made its mark on Indianapolis – twice. It opened its River’s Edge location at Dean and 82nd street last year, and a second Indianapolis location in downtown Indianapolis this spring at 43 N. Illinois. These two locations are the only ones in Indiana, and in 2017 they are planning on a third Central Indiana location (exactly where is still unknown, so no need to try and figure that one out quite yet). The chain started in 1974 on Chicago’s south side and is known for its famous stuffed deep dish pizza, a recipe still used today that comes straight from Italy.
For those of us who grew up taking road trips to Chicago as kids—because it wasn’t that far away and had a lot to offer before Indianapolis exploded—the nostalgia of Chicago style pizza is strong within us and appeals to many Hoosiers.
While pizza is assuredly this family restaurant’s mainstay, they are trying their hand at a variety of other items like appetizers, salads, pastas and sandwiches (which are stacked high with meat) with the help of their corporate chef. And, at the downtown Indy location they offer lunch deals (one is their “baby” 6” stuffed pizza) and they plan to offer an express lunch and catering in the very near future. This location is also the very first to offer happy hour 3–6pm, which is a nice bonus for the downtown area as people are leaving work.
Giordano’s Indianapolis locations offer local beers, as well. At the River's Edge location you can find: Bier, Quaff On!, Scarlet Lane, Sun King and Triton. At the downtown lcoation, you can find Bier, Metazoa and Quaff On! And as you well know, beer pairs really well with pizza.
You can find more information about Giordano’s at Giordanos.com.
You can find out more about the local breweries represented at Indiana’s two Giordano’s locations here:
The Bier Brewery at BierBrewery.com.
Metazoa Beer at Metazoa.Beer.
Quaff On! Brewing Company QuaffOn.com.
Scarlett Lane at ScarletLaneBrew.com.
Sun King at SunKingBrewing.com.
Triton at TheTritonBrewing.com.
