Top Spots To Visit On A Trip To Southern Indiana
While I visit Louisville periodically, I have NEVER thought to cross over the Ohio River to check out what was going on in Southern Indiana. A couple weekends ago, they invited me out to visit the area and I can’t believe what I’ve been missing out on. I spent 2 total of about 2 days split between New Albany and Jeffersonville, Indiana. Tons of walkable and outdoor areas, lots of great food, and tons of fun fall events. I honestly just wish I had more time to explore everything.
New Albany, Indiana
Boomtown Creamery
The first place I stopped when getting into town is Boomtown Creamery for one of their signature Boomshake. They’ve got tons of different options, from scoops to milkshakes to these massive loaded shakes. I split this with a friend and we still didn’t finish it, but it was so good. We chose the Cookie Doughlicious Shake, but the birthday shake looked like the most loaded if you’re going for max wow factor, and they have seasonal features off to the side as well that included a pumpkin shake and a Halloween shake.
MESA Dining Show
Our first night in we attended a live dining show at MESA in downtown New Albany. As everything in New Albany, this was walking distance so we had a beautiful walk over. This dinner-show concept was started by a local couple with a passion for food and family. The small shows have a very intimate familial feeling (max 18 guests), and Ysha’s (co-owner) father is the one who hosts the dinners. The show comes with live cooking of a 3 course meal and ours had entertainment as well. For our show, we had Richard Darshwood, a local magician from the nearby shop J&B Magic Shop & Theatre.
Our night started with a cocktail hour from 6-7, where the entertainer walked around a little, the food started cooking, and diners can try some of the signature cocktails and drink offerings. We tried the Raspberry Beret |(vodka based raspberry drink) and the Julius Cream (Licor 43 based citrus drink) for the cocktail hour. They both had a little thicker of a texture because they included puree or gomme. The Julius Cream was recommended by the host because it tasted EXACTLY like an orange cream float. 7-8:30 is the official show-time. Our host came out with introductions for our magician and chef, then handed the show over for magic while the food finished cooking.
The first course came out at about 7:20. Our chef, Liz Martino, made a savory pumpkin soup topped with candied bacon, pumpkin seeds, scallions, and goat cheese. I’ve never thought of myself as a savory pumpkin person, but this soup was super rich and absolutely mouthwatering. It has had me craving pumpkin soup since. All of the toppings worked perfectly with the flavors of the soup as well.
For dinner, we got another set of cocktails: the Sweet Dreams (Gin based cocktail) and the Mesa Old Fashioned (Bourbon-based cocktail). The Sweet Dreams was my favorite cocktail that I had during the entirety of our trip. The entree had a couscous base topped with roasted pork tenderloin and maple roasted butternut squash and brussel sprouts on the side. While I again had never tried couscous, this was the perfect base for the incredibly juicy pork.
The night ended with some very fun and interactive tricks from our magician and a dutch apple pie with vanilla frozen custard. I’m still dreaming about that pie y’all. By recommendation of the host, we tried this with their signature Carajillo cocktail, and it was the perfect dessert cocktail. It is a coffee based cocktail that contains the Licor 43 I mentioned before. This signature Spanish liquor is one of the fastest growing spirits of scale globally. It was my first time trying this spirit and it mixed magically with the coffee and dessert.
This experience was an incredible 10/10 and an absolutely must try for anyone visiting the area. The dinner shows usually range from $75-$85, but they also have hands-on events that are typically $50. It will definitely be on my itinerary next time I’m in town.
The inside of MESA also contained a small tea bar called Fresco, so I of course had to come back and try it first thing the next morning. I got their peach tea and loved it. They told us all about their shop right next door in Jeffersonville and another new independent one opening soon in New Albany, so that is definitely a must see stop for my next trip.
J & B’s Magic Shop
After our magic show the night before, we really wanted to see what the local magic shop looked like. Brent Braun was behind the counter when we visited, and told us all about this amazing scene in small-town Indiana. Brent is a world class trick consultant, or honestly as it more sounds like to me, a magic engineer. He’s the brains behind the tricks that have won magicians both America’s and Britain’s got Talent, as well as the magic behind most shows on Netflix today. While all of the tricks and props around the shop are insanely cool, the part I found most exciting about the shop was their shows. Brent works with massive and talented magicians, and of course they need to be able to practice his tricks before going on stage. Well, to practice those, they bring the biggest magicians to the immersive theatre inside the magic shop 10 minutes away from downtown Louisville to practice in front of locals. In addition to these shows, they’ve also got a weekly, interactive, family-friendly matinee show called The Never Not Amazing Show.
New Albany Farmer’s Market
The New Albany Farmer’s Market is a year-round outdoor market, and said to be one of the best in the area. They are not just a local market though, but a staple in the local community. They accept EBT cards for families in need, they have a power of produce club that gives kids vouchers to buy their own produce, they have YMCA sponsored fitness classes throughout the summer, and kid’s days at the market at well. One of my favorite community features was the mini-library that pops up at the market as well.
Lady Tron’s
Just a street over from the farmer’s market, Lady Tron’s was the perfect afternoon lunch. They’ve got a small, diner-style inside, but for nice days, they also have a walk up window and picnic table which is what we chose to use. They’ve got one of those menus that is small but spot on. What they have, they do very well. We got the grilled cheese sandwich and the fish sandwich. Both were so big that we couldn’t finish them and they were perfectly crispy.
Distillery 64 was our pre-dinner drink spot. It’s located in what looked to be an old school or office building, and had a speakeasy theme to the spot. After walking down a bit dim hallway, you come to a door with these counters, chairs, a typewriter, and a phone. The paper on the typewriter instructs you to lift the phone to call the establishment. When they answer, they ask what you’re there for and if you’d been tailed on your way over. After you give them a convincing no, they tell you to come on in.
The inside is a very natural looking room with a bar, a few long high tops, and a couch corner with a coffee table. They specialize in gin making, but also offer vodka, and both oaked and spirited rum. My top favorites off their menu were their cocktail flight and dessert cocktails. The cocktail flight included 1 of their signature cocktails of each spirit: The Cape Cod made with vodka, The Margarita-ish made with rum, the Old Fashioned made with oaked rum, and the Cosmonaut made with gin. The dessert cocktail we chose to try was the Campfire, which was hot chocolate with vodka and chocolate cream, topped with charred marshmallows and a side of graham crackers. This was hands down my favorite drink and I’m distinctly not a vodka person. It paired really well with the richness of this drink, and I loved eating the melty marshmallows off the top.
We stopped by 2 speak-easy themed spots while in town, and High Street Apothecary was the second. You can sometimes get a walk in appointment with the doctor, but reservations are recommended. You start your visit by heading around back and ringing the doorbell. The Doctor lets you into his office and asks what you’re in for. After you explain your ailment, he writes you a prescription for his suggested drink. He then takes you through his secret door in his office and down a hall to a gorgeous, low-light speakeasy area. It’s a very calming ambiance with low noise and very little bustle. They have a great menu of cocktails and I was incredibly excited to also see mocktails on the menu! I was further impressed when I ordered one and it came out looking like a cocktail would. There was no skimping on show even if for the non-alcoholic options. It’s a great place to grab a drink and have some nice post-dinner conversation.
Brooklyn & The Butcher
For our last meal in New Albany, we chose the GORGEOUS Brooklyn & The Butcher. This dinner was everything I could have wanted and more. A variety of rolls was on the table within seconds of our being seated. We started with the Ahi Tuna Tartare which was definitely the best Ahi I’ve every tasted, paired with an amazing slightly spicy aioli and crispy bread. The entrees we chose were the Black Hawk Farms Sirloin - forager style (definitely recommend spicing up your steak with one of their additions), and the Verlasso Salmon topped with miso and a base of summer succotash and fennel salad. The steak still has my mouth watering and I’d never had summer succotash before but it’s a new obsession. It added the perfect crunch to my salmon. Because they use fresh and in season ingredients, their menu is constantly slightly changing to match what’s available. The extras on the mains have already changed since I was there 2 weeks ago, which is a touch that I absolutely love. We ended the meal with the creme brulee and the NY style cheesecake. Both were unmatched. Despite being very full from the incredible dinner, we did not leave a single crumb of the desserts behind. I was super pleased to see that this was another spot with actual mocktails. The drink shown above was a great ‘bourbon’ drink similar to an orange old fashion, made with Spiritless Kentucky 74. Their current mocktail lineup utilizes mainly Nkd Ldy alcohol alternatives, which are one of my absolute favorites in the space. Overall, this restaurant scored an easy 10/10. I would recommend this to anyone in the area for really any occasion. One of my favorite features is their large price range. You can get some pretty nice dishes with a higher price tag, like the $92 Surf and Turf, but they’ve also got several more affordable dishes like the Butcher’s Burger that rings in at a great $18. Everything tasted spectacular and very filling.
Jeffersonville, Indiana
NoCo Cultural Arts District
The hands down most visually impressive spot we visited was the No Co Arts Cultural District in Jeffersonville. This park space is covered in art, most of it interactive. There’s a massive twister board, a story walk, a trailer built event space that hosts community art events. There’s seating all over for parents to sit while their kids play. Bright colors and designs are everywhere, and even a digital gallery along the office buildings walk that can periodically changes to display new artists. You could spend hours looking at all of the engaging art. No Co still has tons on their planner moving forward. They want to get into more community engaging and downtown vitalizing things like street fairs, artist designed street furniture, and developing the interior of the muraled water tank for activities. Their extensive long term plan can be found on their site and is a super exciting outlook for the next few years of the area.
Schimpff’s is one of the oldest confectioneries in the States and the #1 thing recommended to me when friends and followers saw I was in Jeffersonville. They’ve got 3 distinct areas inside - a candy room, a lunchroom, and the candy making + museum area. While I love some great candy, the making/museum side was by far my favorite. I could watch the lemon drops being stamped for days on end, and there were a seemingly infinite amount of things to look at in the museum room. The outside of the shop is absolutely adorable but also has a few flood markers next to the door that was incredibly interesting and equally terrifying to imagine.
Union Game Yard
Union Game Yard was very much a walked-by-and-couldn’t-not-stop-in sort of visit. You can’t possibly walk past the cornhole and trees lining the walk and NOT wonder what fun could be inside. And I’ll tell you- it’s a lot. Theres human sized pong, a stage and turf area, and a several gorgeous cabanas. Weather permitting, their garage doors are open giving a wonderfully open feel to the inside of the restaurant, and more games like pinball, foosball, and darts inside.
The Red Yeti
The Red Yeti was our last stop on our way out and definitely a filling one before our drive home. While we didn’t get the chance to try the normal menu, we DID get to participate in the brunch buffet, which was pretty dang great. They had a ton of breakfast foods, as well as chicken wings and cooked zucchini. The outside tables lining the street were the perfect spot for an afternoon bite, the coffee was no charge, and the mimosa was filled to the very brim - what more could you ask for? Their namesake, Red Yeti Jeff, is a red yeti statue standing right outside the restaurant and is a GREAT photo opportunity.
**This trip was a sponsored trip where I was invited out to try many of the experiences, but all opinions are my own and reflect my personal experiences.
