Posted by Kenny Norman in north.
Tags: Black Cherry Chocolate Chip, Chris' Ice Cream, Graeter's, ice cream, Illinois Street, Maggie Moo's, review, waffle cone
I went to Graeter’s, a first for Indianapolis, on March 4. The location is at 5560 North Illinois Street in a former cleaners building and it just opened on February 11. 
The service was very prompt and the employees were very friendly, and she happily gave us as many samples as I wanted. Their strawberry and cake batter ice cream were nothing special, but their black cherry chocolate chip was wonderful. Unfortunately, the cashier failed to notify me that a waffle cone costs extra, so a one-scoop black cherry chocolate chip in a waffle cone cost $4.67.
Ouch. I DID sign up for a loyalty card while there, so at least I can get free stuff and discounts once in a while. It’s a clean place and has a LOT of options, including sorbets. And just for comparison: at Chris’ Ice Cream in Nora you can get a one-scoop vanilla or strawberry (among other flavors) in a waffle cone for $2, and at Maggie Moo’s in Greenwood Park Mall, you can get a one-scoop strawberry (among other flavors) in a waffle cone for $3.23. Just something to keep in mind. I might go back again, but I’d skip the waffle cone.
Posted by Kenny Norman in south.
Tags: Aeropostale, Blondie's Cookies, cargo, construction, dinner, friends, Greenwood Park Mall, highway, khakis, Maggie Moo's, October, Old Navy, Ryan's, T-shirts, tennis shoes
The I-65 highway construction was finally completed around October 15. Therefore, I planned a night to go with Kate to Greenwood Park Mall. We haven’t done that since July 30. I asked her where she wanted to eat and, surprisingly, she said Ryan’s, which I am, of course, cool with doing.
Kate came to my house at 6:00 and my dad built a fire for us in the living room to briefly enjoy. Kate said she needed help getting new tennis shoes, because her old ones hurt her feet, as well as new khakis to comply with a dress code at a church where she would soon be volunteering. Surprisingly, she only owned jeans- no khakis. As I am the reverse, she knew I’d be the person to ask about buying khakis. We left for the mall at 6:20 and got there about 6:50. Since we’d be at Ryan’s later, which is on 31, we took 31 to get there instead of Madison Avenue. Therefore, we parked by the JcPenney entrance instead of the Sears entrance. It was warmer than we expected; we needed hoodies but not our winter coats.
We had about an hour and a half to enjoy the mall. I grabbed a directory and kept Kate away from Hollister and American Eagle, as per her request. Our first stop was Aeropostale, where the selection was so bad that you’d think I were at the Castleton Square Aeropostale. I almost gave up when I saw an XL striped V-neck T-shirt for $10. I decided to get it. It’s so hard finding XL anything there- and some of the clothes didn’t have any left in large; just small or medium. I also saw khakis over on the girls’ side of the store and told Kate; luckily, they had some in her size. She went to try them on and I got in line, but when Kate wanted me to look at how the khakis fit her and the woman ahead of me in line was buying $100 worth of clothes, I bailed and told Kate that the pants fit her nicely around the waist and didn’t drag past her ankles. And as an added bonus, they were only $20, which is good for any new pair of khakis. She bought those and then we both took a few cologne/perfume samples before heading to Payless.
When we got to Payless, we had trouble finding 6 ½ wide in women’s, but we had a nice girl helping us. She was a very skilled sales associate, and she owned the pair of shoes Kate wanted, so she was able to tell Kate all about them. Kate didn’t much like the color (gray and light blue), but when I told her it was already 7:47, she bought them and we went onto the next stop.
Kate and I got a quick pic outside by the Greenwood Park Mall sign like we always do. The photo came out somewhat blurry.
We got to Blondie’s and I got a pumpkin spice cookie. Those things are delicious, though I think they’re only available for a limited time. I didn’t recognize any of the employees though.
However, at Maggie Moo’s, I recognized them and they remembered me. I guessed the total of my small strawberry ice cream with Butterfinger in a waffle cone to be $3.20. Kate burst out laughing.
After that, ice cream in hand, we went to Old Navy. I had a coupon where you had to spend $25 to get $10 off, and then I had a 10% off coupon. Therefore, I had to spend $27.50 before I got discounts. I went to the clearance rack and started pulling down all the men’s XL T-shirts that looked good. The hardest part about that was not getting strawberry ice cream on clothes I hadn’t yet paid for! The Greenwood Park Mall Old Navy has a HUGE men’s section with a varied selection- both in that they carry a wide variety of items and almost every item comes in my size. I got eight T-shirts before I saw cargo khakis were on sale for $20. I could use a replacement pair for the cargo khakis I got paint on. So I got a pair of 34 x 34s and got a changing room. Kate was nice enough to wait for me. I was prepared to find out I was too fat for a 34, but no…the waist fit perfectly! The shocker was my legs were too short for a 34! I went back and got a 34 x 32 pair, which was good for waist AND legs. However, now that I had pants, I knew I couldn’t afford ALL the T-shirts; just the ones that would get me to that magic $27.50. So I got three T-shirts, and the girl at the cash register was really nice, making THREE attempts to let me combine the 10% off and $10 off coupons. That’s part of why I love this particular Old Navy so much: in addition to the wide men’s selection, the employees happily and diligently attempt to let you combine coupons. The girl kept apologizing for taking so long. I just laughed and said, “Hey, if you can combine the coupons, then it’ll be worth the wait. I’m not complaining.” She did, and I spent $19 there- pretty good for pants AND three t-shirts. After that, I saw it was 8:20, so we needed to hurry and get to Ryan’s before they closed at 9:00.
We got to Ryan’s at 8:40 and each paid $14 for dinner and sodas. Normally, I go there when I have coupons, but I haven’t gotten any coupons for a while and I haven’t been to Ryan’s since September 1st. It’s safe to say I missed the place. I had a FULL first plate with mashed potatoes (best item there), carrots, ham, shrimp, orange chicken, French fries, and broccoli. It all tasted wonderful and I got a second plate of it soon after, followed by ice cream and apple pie for dessert. Our waitress was really nice, giving Kate and me both Sprites before we asked and even giving us “$1 off” coupons for a future visit. It’s not a big discount, but it’s a big thought. Now, Ryan’s adjusted their hours for the fall: they close at 9:00 on the weekends instead of 9:30. Consequently, Kate and I were there almost an hour past closing; despite this, the wait staff was all “come back and see us again,” “glad you enjoyed the food,” “have a great night,” “Can we get you anything?”, and “let us know if we can do anything else.” Oh, and they asked us our permission before disassembling both the hot food bar and dessert bars. Talk about service! We felt guilty we didn’t leave a bigger tip, and we left stuffed. STUFFED.
Kate got me $10 of gas for $3.13 per gallon at the Speedway at 31 & Epler before heading back to my house. We sat by the fire and played PS2 video games until almost midnight.
All in all, it was a WONDERFUL return to the South Side. I missed that place so much.
Posted by Kenny Norman in miscellaneous, north, south.
Tags: activity, Aeropostale, Blondie's Cookies, dining, fun, Greatimes, Greenwood Park Mall, Maggie Moo's, Old Navy, Sapporo, shopping
As featured on the IndyStory Project!
When it comes to Indianapolis, quite a few options exist for leisure time, in shopping, dining and activities. However, were I to pick just one of each, then I would pick Greenwood Park Mall, Sapporo and Greatimes, respectively.
What I love about Greenwood Park Mall is that not all of its stores are women’s clothing. While Castleton Square has more square footage, it has fewer stores with an emphasis on women’s clothing stores (and its own directory supports me in this). Greenwood Park Mall has more stores, albeit smaller, with a wider variety of stores. I also find younger people of both sexes frequenting this mall more, as opposed to the older women at Castleton Square.
Therefore, the environment is more appealing. Also, the employees are wonderfully friendly, outgoing, cheerful, helpful and thoughtful. I’d like to think they’re naturally this way, but maybe they’re just really good at their jobs. Either way, I approve of the employees and staff at all the stores. As far as what to do in Greenwood Park Mall, I visit Old Navy, Aeropostale, Blondie’s Cookies, and Maggie Moo’s. Greenwood Park Mall is the last mall in the Indy area to have an Old Navy, and it is my favorite store. I can find a lot of things for under $20, especially on the clearance rack. The same goes for Aeropostale, although its sales are less frequent and less generous.
Maggie Moo’s has a moderate selection of ice cream with approximately 16 flavors, but its flavors are rich and creamy. A small ice cream in a waffle cone costs $3.20. And Blondie’s has the “rich and creamy” cookie equivalent. They charge by weight, but non-iced cookies cost $1.40-1.60 each and iced cookies cost about $2.20 each. Best of all, they have frequent user cards, so after eight visits, the ninth will be free. There are several more restaurants and shops inside the mall, but those four are the ones I frequent.
Sapporo is across Indianapolis on the north side, off east 82nd street and Knue Road in Castleton. This former Old Country Buffet was convincingly converted into a Japanese steakhouse. Servers put on quite the show thoroughly cooking your food and making it delicious. It’s quite apparent they take great pleasure in their job and approach it with genuine enthusiasm. The food itself is remarkably delicious, covered in soy sauce, lemon juice, and teriyaki sauce. Best of all, two sauces, ginger and mustard, are provided, and the ginger sauce will give both chicken and shrimp a kick in flavor while keeping it sweet. A wide variety of entrees is offered, including chicken, steak, shrimp and scallops, and each entree comes with white or fried rice, though the fried rice costs an extra $2.50.
I get it every time though, because I have yet to find rice with the same hibachi flavor as Sapporo’s fried rice. There is also a bowl of soup that is flavored with mushrooms and onions that tastes somewhat like chicken. I find it zesty and savorable. The only caution I can give is that dinner can be between $18 and $30 for one person, so Sapporo is best used for special occasions and not weekly dinners. It’s worth the price to go there once in a while though.
Greatimes markets itself as a “family fun park”, so it’s suitable for all ages. Though at 24 years old, I still visit once in a while for the thrill of go-karts, bumper boats and miniature golf. Tickets are required for said rides, though there is a discount if you buy multiple tickets. On the inside are a whole bunch of arcade games, including skee ball, air hockey, motorcycling, zombie hunting, Pac-Man, basketball and more.
There’s also a pizza place with sodas, a redemption counter in the center to get prizes from tickets, and a few party rooms for birthday parties. For smaller children, a bounce house and indoor playground is located on the first floor behind a wall of arcade games. Children can have fun with the arcade games and playground, but even older kids and teenagers can enjoy the outdoor activities.
Word to the wise: there is a height requirement for the outdoor activities and they are seasonal, so they close at some point in the fall and reopen the following spring, so don’t come here in the dead of winter expecting go-karts and miniature golf. However, when all attractions are in season, my friends and I can easily amuse ourselves here for a few hours.
All in all, while there are several options for activities, dining, and shopping in Indianapolis, I’ve chosen to focus on these three favorite places of mine. Don’t let my article discourage you, however- there’s a whole city to explore.
The service was very prompt and the employees were very friendly, and she happily gave us as many samples as I wanted. Their strawberry and cake batter ice cream were nothing special, but their black cherry chocolate chip was wonderful. Unfortunately, the cashier failed to notify me that a waffle cone costs extra, so a one-scoop black cherry chocolate chip in a waffle cone cost $4.67.
Ouch. I DID sign up for a loyalty card while there, so at least I can get free stuff and discounts once in a while. It’s a clean place and has a LOT of options, including sorbets. And just for comparison: at Chris’ Ice Cream in Nora you can get a one-scoop vanilla or strawberry (among other flavors) in a waffle cone for $2, and at Maggie Moo’s in Greenwood Park Mall, you can get a one-scoop strawberry (among other flavors) in a waffle cone for $3.23. Just something to keep in mind. I might go back again, but I’d skip the waffle cone. 
KNormIndy 