March / April 2011

Windmill Donuts & Pizza: The menu is not the healthiest, the pizza toppings are limited, but we are so enamored with the concept: donuts and pizza in the same restaurant. Right inside this Northeast Side joint is a display case

Every spring offers an opportunity to dress like a sophisticated Southerner — and pull it off — thanks to the opening of the Keeneland racetrack (April 8) in Lexington, Ky., and the Kentucky Derby (May 7) at Churchill Downs in

A root beer saloon. Roller skates. Dancing shoes. From places for playing to fascinating people to cool skills, couch potatoes aren’t welcomed here. Grab the bull by the horns — literally — and have some fun this spring. Fun People:

Americans have transformed the Italian pizza for decades: Chicagoans with a love of deep dish, New Yorkers with an affection for giant slices, Californians with a penchant for Asian and Hispanic toppings, and Evansvillians with an obsession with supermodel skinny

Blame prohibition for the decline of American beers in the 20th century. Plenty of beer connoisseurs and historians do. Imports were available after Prohibition was repealed. They weren’t cheap, so the realm of beer used to fall into two categories,

Kanpai – The only bar inside this East Side restaurant is for sushi, but as a self-described beer snob, owner Jayson Munoz offers a beer menu that shines with a rotating stock dependent on the seasons. This spring, more wheat

The Casual Brewer: Larry Epplin Mariah Hill, Ind. Brewing since 1993 Makes four batches (20 gallons) a year. Why Brew: “I’ve always been a beer lover. There’s no doubt about that,” says Epplin, “but my cousin got me into it.

As a veteran of Old Chicago’s World Beer Tour, Michael Cannon has tasted the world from a glass. His journey through 110 beers began with a Bud Light, a domestic beer from St. Louis, purchased soon after the restaurant’s opening

First, the obligatory disclaimer: Read the fine print before you buy a discounted restaurant certificate. (Limits may apply to dates and times, alcohol purchases, and more.) If you have questions, call the restaurant. Better safe than starving. Dining Discoveries and

The smell of freshly cut grass and budding yellow tulips can be a refreshing reminder that spring finally is here. Another reminder: 55 percent of people in the United States will suffer from itchy eyes, runny noses, constant sneezing, or

To Tamara Gieselman, the United Methodist Church’s slogan, “Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors,” represents more than a catchy branding effort. Since landing a job in 2009 as the University of Evansville chaplain, Gieselman has founded a series of public

On NBC’s hit comedy Parks and Recreation, Jama Williamson plays a beautiful, smart doctor married to Aziz Ansari, who portrays a cocky Hoosier bureaucrat. The show’s characters suspect the arrangement is a green-card marriage considering Ansari is of Indian descent.

 In Ann Arbor, Mich., Zingerman’s is a food institution. It rocks the culinary world with divine treats from an assortment of gourmet food businesses: paesano bread (great for dipping in olive oil) from Zingerman’s Bakehouse, a bacon chocolate pig (a hog-shaped

Before we left Evansville to spend the fall 2010 semester in Pécs, Hungary, most of our friends were pretty clear about what my wife, Margaret McMullan, was going to do. She would be the Fulbright fellow, teaching at the University

In the early 1990s, Mark Pettinga was a financial advisor in Indianapolis when his wife, Gayle Gerling Pettinga, received a call from her father, Gary Gerling. He offered her the chance to lead his Evansville law firm, an organization Gerling

Numbers tell a story in baseball. Casual fans might know the value of a 20-game winner or the importance of a .300 hitter. Mention figures like 56 or 511 to hardcore aficionados, and you’ll probably get an earful about Joe

Made from Indiana limestone, 14 allegorical figures top the Old Courthouse. Craftsman Franz Englesmann began sculpting for the impressive courthouse in 1888.  A year later, just blocks away, leaders at the Vulcan Plow Co. on First Street received a majestic

My lexicon is filled with “fun.” More than a magazine editor should, I tend to speak colloquially, use idioms and clichés liberally (especially old-fashioned terms), and introduce plenty of phrases that my family calls Kristen-isms. I’m a big fan of

Sweet CeCe’s (8680 High Pointe Drive, Newburgh) opened in February in the Newburgh Walmart complex off Bell Road. The concept, which originated in the Nashville, Tenn., area, allows customers to create their own frozen yogurt desserts by choosing from eight

When Tom Wintczak first sat down at a potter’s wheel, “it just kind of stirred something in me,” the Posey County resident once told Evansville Living. That moment eventually would propel Wintczak, the former manager of a car rental facility,

Joanne Massey is a realist painter fond of using acrylics, watercolors, and oils to create lush florals and landscapes. A fellow disciple of realism, Diane Ubelhor-Wunderlich creates watercolors that feature fauna rather than flora. Though they favor different mediums and

When Evansville Police Department Detective Patrick Phernetton’s daughter Mickey was diagnosed with Prader-Willi syndrome in 1996, he knew he needed help. The rare genetic disorder causes compulsive eating, developmental delays, and learning disabilities, and it requires specialized care. In 2007,

Thomas Garvin arrived in Evansville in the mid-19th century with $7 in his pocket. He soon became a prominent lawyer. The white-collar worker bought land on the North Side for a picnic grove. After his death, Garvin’s heirs sold the

Spring’s warmer temperatures mean quality time in the garden. If you want to add pizzazz to your tried-and-true annuals and perennials, check out these greenhouses. Greenhouse What You’ll Find When to Shop Where to Go Hasting Plants   Nancy Hasting

Earlier this year in this column, I stressed the importance of diversifying your garden. (Remember? If you don’t have variety, you’re increasing the risk of pest infestation or disease.) But that doesn’t give free range to pick whatever you wish.

Dressed as a black cat, Ela Stein Weissberger sang proudly from a European stage. In the audience were esteemed poets, artists, and musicians, and on stage with Weissberger were dozens of other young singers. The cast performed the fanciful story

Old wooden wagon wheels and stacks of hay stand sentry at the Newburgh Country Store. A rustic wooden sign proclaims, “This here building was bilt in 1863.” [sic] Inside, lamps cast a warm glow on vintage posters and dried flowers

In March, 65 college basketball teams will compete in one tournament, and Hoosier pride in basketball runs deep. Indiana University’s men’s basketball team is no lock to compete during March Madness, but I’m not a fair-weather fan. This cocktail —

In every issue of Evansville Living, columnist Eli Haddix entices readers with a new recipe. For this edition of Flavors, he reveals the top five tools he uses to create a culinary masterpiece. “My list is based on my belief

Around 1:20 a.m. on a chilly Saturday, Jeff Butts headed home from a late-night game of bowling. As he drove down Denzer Road, a narrow, tree-lined country road northwest of Evansville, he spotted something in the darkness: flames shooting from

Frozen grape juice concentrate, yeast, sugar, a glass jug, and a balloon were all Damon Murray needed to make his first batch of wine, inspired by a basic how-to on the Internet.  “Within minutes, the balloon (stretched over the bottle

Kyle Kuric has been on a marvelous ride during his four years playing basketball at the University of Louisville. And he will finish that career in the place where every major college basketball player wants to be. The Final Four.

In our March/April 2011 issue we feature Ben Lang's custom log cabin ("Rising from the Ashes"). Five years ago, a fire destroyed the cabin and nearly claimed Ben's life. A love of rural living — and a little convincing from

We strive to cover local restaurants in our magazine, but in this issue of Flavors, our annual dining issue, we sent readers on a progressive chain date (“Chain Action”). We aren’t the first city magazine to admit that chains are