American Pit Bosses (1113 E. Riverside Drive) has opened with a menu of what co-operator Mandy Crabtree calls “Indiana-style barbecue.” That style comes from co-operator Donald Osborne’s grandfather. “Everybody loves Grandpa’s barbecue,” Crabtree says. “We couldn’t wait for summer picnics when he would make it.” While they smoke meat, a dry rub is added until right before completion when a wet sauce is added. … Food with Flair (112 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.) has opened in the former WHVI radio station. Owners John and Kim Daleiden hope to bring in business from the Downtown arena crowd. The restaurant’s menu combines Asian, American, Mexican, and Italian recipes, including the Sardinia pasta. After living in Italy, Paul Krack, director of kitchen operations, brought the sauce back to Evansville: Italian sausage, tomato, garlic, fennel seed, red crushed pepper, bay leaf, and parsley. … Expected to open this fall is a new, 200-seat Roca Bar North Restaurant. The joint collaboration from Michael and Piper Conati, Randy and Andrea Sheffer, and Vernon and Jennifer Stevens comes from the original pizza joint on the South Side. “We are focused on keeping with the tradition of the original Roca Bar Restaurant on Kentucky Avenue,” says Vernon Stevens. The story of success, he says, is “one we want to emulate.”
Nibbles:
Archie and Clyde’s Restaurant & Bar (8309 Bell Oaks Drive, Newburgh) no longer is partnered with Roca Bar Pizza. Owned by Danny and Dianne Bradley and Ted and Anne Holderbaugh, the new pizza sauce now is “thinner and sweeter,” says Danny. The owners rely on a menu honed in Danny’s Deli, a restaurant Danny owned in Newburgh from 1981 to 1996. One addition to Archie and Clyde’s menu: Danny’s gyros. …In Mount Vernon, Ind., the Roca Bar now is Boogie’s Pizza (506 E. Fourth St., Mount Vernon). Owned by Dennis and Diana Uebelhack and managed by their daughter Erika Schmitt, the name comes from Schmitt’s baby nickname, “Boogie,” earned by her wiggling — almost dancing — diaper when she crawled. The menu includes pizza, sandwiches, pasta, soups, and desserts. … Angelo Jawabreh opened his remodeled, 100-seat banquet hall, the Gondola Room, in the late summer. The new expansion is for large groups, and on the weekends, he’ll open it for nightly patrons of his Downtown Italian restaurant Angelo’s (305 Main St.).
Dearly Departed:
Tootie’s (3 Market St., Newburgh), Taste … A Wine and Dessert House (323 Main St.), and Firefly Southern Grill (6636 Logan Drive) have closed.
