Welcome to the first issue.

On today’s Dopest we’re covering:

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Fountain Square finally has a new restaurant that isn’t Mexican (if you know, you know)!

Monti is the latest reason to take actually take shower and go out. This place is such a vibe and makes you feel like you're on a hot date in a cheesy romcom.

The vibe is cozy and stylish without trying too hard and literally comes with complimentary vermouth. WTF????? The food is absolutely delicious. You can tell it was made from scratch. The portions were perfect and on top of that it was affordable. We ordered 1 app, 1 salad, 1 pasta dish and 1 main and our bill was $71 dollars before tip. I don’t know if you're a boomer (Millennial) like me, but going out to dinner got so expensive in the last couple years! This was a delightful surprise.

Go for the vermouth. Stay for the pasta. Tell your friends before it gets impossible to get a table — and then feel smug when they can't get a reservation.

📍 Fountain Square

The Dopest Tip: Order the Focaccia and Bucatini al Limone

Indy is getting fancy baby!

In January, Herb Simon and the Simon family broke ground on the redevelopment of the former CSX Building at Pennsylvania and Georgia Streets downtown. The project includes Indianapolis's first ever Ritz-Carlton — a 15-floor, 176-room luxury hotel with a third-floor pedestrian bridge connecting directly to Gainbridge Fieldhouse — plus a 4,000-capacity Live Nation music venue.

What does this mean? Indy is evolving. What once was a passover city is now home to a luxury hotel brand that is more epic than Vonnegut’s mustache. Think about it. The Ritz Carlton doesn’t mess around. They did a deep dive on Indy’s demographic and said, “Yes, Indianapolis can support a luxury market.” Thanks John Greene!

The hotel opens early 2028, the venue completes construction fall 2027. The era of explaining to people at parties that Indianapolis is actually cool is officially over. The development is doing it for us now.

📍 Pennsylvania & Georgia Streets, Downtown

Indianapolis has 36 independent bookstores. That’s just under how many potholes I have on my street!

The Indy Indie Book Crawl is back for its third year! The concept is simple: pick up your official bookmark, visit as many stores as you can, collect stamps, and enter to win prizes — no purchase necessary.

It’s no secret that books have been making a come back as miraculous as Robert Downey Jr. Now you can gather with all the bookworms and support your favorite local bookstore!

The Details:

Loudmouth Books is hosting a Black & Bookish Mixer Thursday evening at 6:30pm at 212 E. 16th St. Kids Ink on the north side has teamed up with nearby restaurants for bookish drink and lunch specials. So like, The Fault in our Spritz? Don’t worry, I’ll get better.

And pop-up shops are set up at The Stutz all weekend if you want to make a full day out of it. Here is a list of all the bookstores participating!

Bring a tote bag. You are going to need it. Plus, you can donate the book you bought last year that you didn’t read. 🤣

📅 March 19-22 | Free | indyindiebookcrawl.com

Indy is always up to something. So are we.

See you next week! - Indy’s Dopest