Continuing on our downtown media tour after our morning of museums and music we were ready for a meal. To my delight we were headed east to Iaria's Italian Restaurant. I'd never been to this establishment before but had heard great things about their tradition of food and family and couldn't wait to try it. We walked in to the restaurant to a packed house and I first feared we wouldn't find a table. Lucky for us they'd saved us a seat.

While chatting during our lunch, our server - a genuine 3rd generation Iaria - told us about the history surrounding the restaurant and his family. Cue the flashback sequence. It all started in 1911 when Pete & Antonia Iaria came to the States from Roccoforte, Italy. After first trying their hand at the coal mining industry in West Virginia they and their 8 children relocated to Indianapolis in 1913. They then purchased a home on Noble St. which later became College Ave. (where the dining room of the restaurant is today.) The Iaria's took in boarders and fed workers from the G & J Rubber Plant across the street; which is where the tradition of serving their delicious Italian cuisine began.

In 1916 they opened Pete Iaria's Italian Grocery Store (where the bar area sits today.)

And in 1933 Pete, Antonia, sons Matthew and Rocky, and daughter Pasqualina opened Pete Iaria's Italian Restaurant. For many years the restaurant has been passed from parents to children and from uncles and aunts to nephews and nieces. Today Iaria's is tended to by the 3rd and 4th generations of the family.

First came the history, then came the food. Prior to our meals we were served Italian bread and the choice of a fresh garden salad or cup of minestrone soup. Preparing for the large amount of food ahead I chose the lighter side and opted for the salad. For my entree, I ravished in the spinach ravioli. This dish is served covered in Iaria's famous spaghetti sauce which is still made from Antonia's original recipe. It is then topped with the option of a large homemade meatball or Italian sausage link. Mmm-Mmm meatball! We dined during Lent and many in our group selected their meal minus the meat. It proved the perfect pick for meat-eaters and evaders alike.

Iaria's Italian Restaurant is open for lunch and dinner. They're located at 317 S. College Avenue and can be reached for reservations at (317) 638-7706. Find out more about Iaria's and see their complete menu online at www.iariasrestaurant.com. While Iaria's once housed its own duckpin bowling lanes, this portion of the restaurant has since closed. So next we're off to Fountain Square to try our luck at duckpin.

Editor's Note: