March / April 2019

Domo Arigato

Ma. T. 888 China Bistro already had been in business for 12 years, providing the community with a wide variety of Chinese dishes, but the Ma family was torn. While many of them liked traditional Chinese cuisine, other family members preferred Japanese foods like sushi and ramen. Instead of living in a house divided, they decided to start a sushi bar and ramen house in unoccupied space inside China Bistro and, in October 2018, opened Domo Sushi Bar and Ramen House with Marvin Abadicio as executive chef.

Served Fresh

Fans of Franco Mannino’s cooking rejoiced in late 2018 when the Italian cook who once operated in Newburgh, Indiana, started his next venture in Evansville — Franco’s Tavola Calda along north Green River Road. The reason he came back to the restaurant business? It’s what he knows. “I’ve been in the business for many years,” he says. “Cooking is fun for me.”

Cooking Prep

Jami Richardson was a pro at bringing enticing foods to tailgate parties. During her two daughters’ college years, Richardson would impress the girls’ friends with appetizers and spreads of food. “That is one of my favorite things to do,” says Richardson. “Their friends would constantly ask me to share recipes.” The requests led her to an idea — a cookbook filled with not only various recipes she had tried over the years, but also instructions on cooking terms, substitutions, food storage, portion sizes, and more.

Way to Dough

When Milk & Sugar Scoop Shoppe moved down a few doors from its previous location on West Franklin Street to 2027 W. Franklin St. in November last year, the new address wasn’t the only change to the sweet shop. They also added to their menu, offering scoops of edible cookie dough. “Cookie dough ice cream was one of our most popular flavors, so we thought maybe the cookie dough might work here,” says owner Alisha Didia.

Tea Party

In September last year, Evansville got a taste of a colorful, fun new Asian treat. Mr. Bubble Tea, located at 503 N. Green River Road, opened to bring unique flavors to the community with its bubble teas and other Asian drinks. “There’s not really anything like that here in Evansville,” says assistant manager Hope Burdette. “You’ll find it in the bigger cities, so we wanted to incorporate that into the community.”

Backyard Retreat

A little slice of heaven — that’s how Jane Hayden describes her garden. Encompassing the backyard of the large ranch-style home she and her husband Gary have lived in for 35 years, the garden is a simple, quiet sanctuary for the couple on the East Side of Evansville, along Mulberry Street. “It’s my retreat before I get my day started,” says Jane. “I picture heaven like this someday for me.”

Recipe for Success

Mary Beth Guard says New Harmony, Indiana, put a spell on her. She and her husband Michael came to the area from Oklahoma City to visit her mother at the Charles Ford Retirement Communities of New Harmony. Originally from southern Illinois, Guard had not been to the town since she was a child but was immediately charmed. “All the sudden you just notice you feel so happy and you feel so relaxed,” she says. “Then you start thinking you want to make this town really do well and prosper.”

Glass Master

In the early 1970s, Evansville native Ron Snodgrass was interested in contemporary furniture. During some of his travels throughout the country, he saw a mirrored cube in a shop priced at $60. He decided to buy the parts and make one for himself. The total cost was $4. “I set it up in my apartment, and a lot of people liked it,” says Snodgrass. “I said, ‘Well, I can make you one.’”

Over the Mountains

Mountains, moonshine, and miles of attractions and scenic views — it doesn’t take much to sell me on a trip to Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

Let’s Bowl

Bowling lanes have been a home for Matt Sanders from a very young age. Growing up at Arc Lanes, where his father was once the general manager, Sanders (a graduate of F.J. Reitz High School and Marian University, Indianapolis) bowled his first game at the age of 3. “I spent a lot of my extra time following my dad around and rolling the ball down the lane,” says Sanders, who now resides in Indianapolis. “There was just something about knocking those 10 pins down that kept me coming back.”

Passion to Serve

In 2010, the physical therapy students in the doctorate program at the University of Evansville were itching to put their skills to use. After spending a summer working with licensed physical therapists practicing out-patient therapy, two students decided they could do more.

Coastal Getaway

Florida’s Gulf Coast has long been a favorite beach destination for sun seekers in southwestern Indiana. After all, you can be on the beach in just over nine hours. Last year, a quicker option was introduced by Allegiant Airlines — low-cost, direct flights to the beautiful Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport (VPS) from Evansville (EVV). Service this year begins May 16, with evening flights on Thursdays and Sundays, perfect for a long weekend. An added bonus is departing from the newly renovated EVV.

For Pietà’s Sake

A mausoleum on the grounds of a cemetery isn’t the first place one would go to view an impressive piece of art, but that is exactly what can be found inside the Chapel of Remembrance at Alexander Memorial Park. On top of a niche bank inside the chapel sits an exact replica of Michelangelo’s Pietà housed at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican City. The sculpture is one of only about 20 exact full-size replicas in the country.

Hubcap Shrine

In some ways, the small building that stood at 801 E. Walnut Street was a shrine to the hubcaps sold at the business.

People and their Pets

Erin Miller starts her evenings at home with a “Good evening, ladies and gentleman” greeting to her four rabbits. The Evansville resident and development communications coordinator for Easterseals Rehabilitation Center has owned rabbits for more than 20 years. Her first bunny was a family pet named Peanut, an extra-large reddish-brown male, who Miller bonded with immediately when she was in elementary school. “He was such a happy part of my life that I’ve continued to welcome pet rabbits into my life ever since,” she says.

Meet the Pets

People who have pets in their lives know the tremendous power our animals have in connecting us with feelings of well-being. Cats, dogs, service animals, and other furry, scaly, or feathered friends provide companionship and so much more by doing what they do best — tolerating and interacting with their people. Pet ownership is on the rise in the U.S. and Indiana ranks No. 4 among states in pet ownership — 69 percent of Hoosier households own pets, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association. We thought it was high time we devoted another issue to pets.

Reflecting Our City

It should be no surprise that in the creative offices of Tucker Publishing Group math isn’t our forte. When confronted with the March/April 2019 issue, we knew we had hit a milestone but didn’t know exactly how it should be celebrated.

Egg-citing Tradition

Outside of the Children’s Room at Willard Library is a display case filled with egg ornaments; all are decades old. They are the work of former children’s librarian Margaret Maier (also known as Miss Margaret) and are a part of an annual program at the library, taking place for nearly seven decades. The egg tree came about from the opening of a box of new books by librarians Gray Williams and Margaret in 1950 — both were attracted by the colorful book jacket of the children’s book “The Egg Tree” by Katherine Milhous.

Gulf Coast Treasure

At the southernmost tip of Alabama lies one of the South’s best-kept secrets: Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. Spanning 27,000 acres between Mobile Bay and Pensacola, Florida, this pristine island strip boasts breathtaking views of the Gulf of Mexico and some of the finest beaches in the world — 32 miles of sugar-white sand made almost entirely of fine quartz grains washed down from the Appalachian Mountains thousands of years ago.

Living in Color

Mollie Timmons Gerling’s family was surprised when, in remission after a battle with colon cancer, she decided to begin painting. Looking back, however, her drive to paint was the continuation of an artful life and career. In the third grade at Washington Grade School, a visiting art teacher selected one of Gerling’s pieces to be displayed at the Evansville Museum.

In Tune

Bluegrass music is not easy to define. Bill Monroe, considered the father of the genre, said: “It’s Scotch bagpipes and old-time fiddling. It’s Methodist and holiness and Baptist. It’s blues and jazz, and it has a high, lonesome sound … It’s played from my heart to your heart, and it will touch you.” “I think it’s such an individualized feeling of what it means to you,” adds Carly Smith, marketing director of the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum. “It’s hard to put into words.”

Evansville Living