On today's Dopest we're covering:
Cottage Home Block Party — the fall neighborhood event that feels like your favorite fictional fall town come to life
Coat Check Coffee — the Indy coffee pioneer that's been pulling the best shots in the city since 2017 and you need to be reminded
Salamat Cookies — the Filipino-American bakery that will introduce your Midwestern taste buds to a whole new world of flavor
Thanks for reading!
-Hillary
The Dopest Sponsor — Trevor St. Aubin | Realtor
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Via @cottagehomeindy
🎃 The Dopest Block Party — Cottage Home Block Party
You know that feeling when you watch a fall movie and think "I just want to live there"? The perfect neighborhood, the perfect decorations, everyone in costume, the air smelling like October. The Cottage Home Block Party is that feeling — in real life, in Indianapolis, next Saturday.
October 10th from 5–11pm at 714 N. Highland Avenue, the Cottage Home neighborhood transforms into the fall evening that you only thought existed on tv. Homes packed with decorations, kids and adults in costume, fall and Halloween-themed vendors, food trucks, drink stations, locally made artisan goods, live local music across two stages, a magic show, and fire-throwing hula hoop artists because of course there are. It's free to get in. The only thing you'll spend money on is food, drinks, and the vendor finds you didn't plan on buying but absolutely will. Just trust me. You will.
This is not a haunted house. This is not a Halloween party. It's a neighborhood that fully commits to the season and invites the whole city to come feel it with them. That's rarer than it should be and worth experiencing!
Learn more → @Cottagehomeindy
📍 714 N Highland Ave · Saturday Oct 10 · 5–11PM · Free
The Dopest Tip: Plan to arrive a little early. This event is so top notch and draws a bigger crowd than you would expect. Get their early to avoid long food truck lines!
Via @coatcheckcoffee
☕ The Dopest Coffee Shop — Coat Check Coffee
While everyone has been chasing the newest Instagrammable coffee shop, Coat Check Coffee has been quietly pulling some of the highest quality espresso shots in Indianapolis since 2017. locatged inside the historic Athenaeum building off Mass Ave — built directly into the building's former coat check closet in the grand foyer, which is exactly as cool as it sounds — this shop led Indy's specialty coffee scene long before Indy became what it is now.
The lattes are mastered. Truly. But let's talk about the baked goods because they’re drool inducing. The sausage egg and cheese breakfast sammy is a spiritual experience — and the pepper jelly is the kind of addition that makes you question every breakfast sandwich you've had before it. The cardamom babka is simple, gooey, and doesn't leave you feeling like you ate a mouthful of sugar. I want it EVERY SINGLE DAY.
Yes, the 2026 cost of living is painful and yes, specialty coffee feels like a luxury some weeks. But when you do decide to spend the money, Coat Check is the answer. Every time.
📍 The Athenaeum, 401 E Michigan St · Off Mass Ave
The Dopest Tip: Get the sausage egg and cheese sammy with the pepper jelly. Get the cardamom babka. Do not talk yourself out of either one. You came this far.
Via @salamatcookies
🍪 The Dopest Local Cookie — Salamat Cookies
In 2020, Mike — Indianapolis photographer, no kids yet, pandemic at full swing — decided to learn to bake from his Mama Odie. He started giving cookies away to say thank you — or as they say in Filipino, salamat — to friends and family helping him out when work dried up. Then someone asked if they were for sale. He said yes on the spot. And that's how Salamat Cookies began.
Here's the thing about the Midwest palate: we say we like to try new things, but bringing new flavors to a fairly square set of taste buds often proves difficult. Salamat does it anyway — and does it well enough that you won't miss your comfort zone for a second. We all love a chocolate chip cookie. But a mango sticky rice cookie or an ube marshmallow cookie will open up a whole new world of flavor that you didn't know you were missing. We guarantee you will not look at classic cookies the same way again.
What started as a pandemic act of gratitude is now a Modern American-Filipino bakery bringing Filipino-inspired cookies, blondies, and small-batch syrups to doorsteps across the country. They started here in Indy and they're still here slingin’ sweets! SALAMAT means thank you — and every order feels like it goes both ways.
The Dopest Tip: Order online or follow @salamatcookies to catch their next popup. Either way — try something you've never had before. That's exactly the point.
The Dopest This Week:
Niki Glaser | Clowes Memorial Hall | Thursday
Broadway’s The Lion King | Old National Centre | Thursday
Irvington Ghost Tour | Irving Theatre | Friday
Germanfest | Athenaum | Saturday
Pig Yoga | Oinking Acres | Sunday
Indy is always up to something. So are we.
See you next week! — Indy's Dopest
Got a friend who thinks Indy is boring? Forward this. We'll take it from here.
