This year’s Super Bowl put the spotlight on the Circle City (that is, Indianapolis). But can this midwest mecca hold up as a destination year-round?

by Adam K. Raymond

One of Indianapolis’s many nicknames, “the cross-roads of America,” implies not so much a destination as a place people pass through — and leave quickly. While the big game will bring excitement and 150,000 tourists to the city, it’s hard not to wonder: Is Indy worth visiting on any other weekend? Find out with our two-day tour.

DAY ONE
10 AM In the hipster haven of Fountain Square, bike and coffee shop Joe’s Cycles draws the fixed-gear crowd with custom wheels and organic mud strong enough to melt mustache wax. Get juiced and stroll the nearby Monon Trail, a 10-mile former railroad track that’s now a greenway full of bikers, hikers, and dog walkers.

12 PM For your first pit stop, IndyCar driver Graham Rahal recommends the comfort food at Café Patachou. After an Omelet You Can’t Refuse (bacon, cheddar, sour cream, potatoes) at the Butler University location, pop into the legendary Hinkle Fieldhouse, the nation’s sixth-oldest arena and the site of the real-life 1954 state-championship game depicted in Hoosiers.

2 PM Swing by Luna Music, a record store blasting an indie band the rest of the country (OK, city) will learn about in a year. The staffers are knowledgeable but never smug — it’s Indiana — so if it’s Mellencamp B sides you’re looking for, don’t be afraid to ask.

4 PM Forty-five minutes outside the city, Brown County State Park offers steep climbs and vistas that won an Epic trail designation by the International Mountain Bicycling Association — an honor bestowed on only 57 places worldwide, including Cleveland. Maybe it’s time to narrow the criteria?

9 PM Fill up on wurst and suds at The Rathskeller, a giant German beer hall where thirtysomethings mingle to live bands on weekend nights and a roaring fireplace warms the outdoor garden during nippy months.

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DAY TWO
8 AM Every Midwest city has a 1950s-era shop where drooling masses stand in line for hot fried dough. In Indy, it’s Long’s. After gorging on cake doughnuts, go two miles down the road to the holy land: Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Several days a year, visitors can pay $499 for the privilege of circling the track in a real Indy car. The privilege of crashing into a tire wall is free.

1 PM Continue the assault on your waistline with Indy’s signature dish, fried pork tenderloin. A pounded, breaded piece of pig slapped into a bun with lettuce, onion, and mayo, the sandwich is “part of our culture,” says Rick Garrett, whose blog, All Tenderloins All the Time, is dedicated to the delicacy. His pick: John’s Famous Stew, a hole-in-the-wall where “your waitress is going to say, ‘Hi, darling, how you doing?’ And she’s going to mean it.”

4 PM Pay tribute to the city’s favorite literary son at the Kurt Vonnegut ­Memorial Library, which showcases the novelist’s artwork, rejection letters, and artifacts from his service in WWII, including a photo taken on his release from a German POW camp.

8 PM Start your night at the Slippery Noodle, a blues bar that served as a stop on the Underground Railroad and operated a brothel until 60 years ago. These days the entertainment is more wholesome (a recent headliner: Dan Aykroyd), but that doesn’t keep NASCAR champ Tony Stewart from stopping by when he’s in town.

10 PM Apparently, Indy bar owners have done recon in cities like Portland and San Francisco. The Ball & Biscuit joins the speakeasy trend with Prohibition-era cocktails and a clubby vibe. Sipping on local bourbon in a distressed-leather chair, you might start thinking Indiana isn’t so bad.

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VERDICT
So, does Indy rock? For 48 hours, sure. It has all the folksiness and quirky charm of a Midwestern town and none of the cloying big-city preoccupation with cool. But save your airline miles for someplace sexier, like Detroit.