Pickle Plate at Black Market

With its rustic, industrial décor, a menu that sources from local farms and two communal tables to encourage mingling among diners, Black Market seems like just the place you'd find a charcuterie plate or cheese board.

But this Mass Ave newcomer is turning heads with a little snack that isn't found at other Indy restaurants: a pickle plate.

Consider it a $5 wakeup call to your taste buds before the main course, says Micah Frank, Black Market's chef and co-owner with Ed Rudisell. The pickle plate is sweet and sour, and most of the time, it doesn't even have pickles in the traditional sense.

You might find ramps that have been pickled with Asian influence, quick-pickled Swiss chard stems and an Indian spice pickled egg. The plate is finished with a dollop of homemade peanut butter, a nod to the memorable PB-and-pickle sandwiches that Frank's grandma made when he was a kid.

"We're trying to show people that pickling is very versatile," Frank says. "You can pickle almost anything, from beef tongue to cucumbers."

The house-made plate changes with what's on hand – and what might otherwise be thrown out, like Swiss chard stems.

The rest of Black Market's menu features seasonal, from-scratch cooking. It's a place where the kitchen "isn't living off recipes," Frank says. Picture the likes of pork schnitzel, ale-steamed mussels and grilled flatiron steak. Duck from Maple Leaf Farms and produce from Big City Farms are among the bevy of locally sourced ingredients.