November 28, 2005
LOST & OFF COURSE: INDIANAPOLIS MONTHLY'S 2005 BEST OF INDY LIST
In the December 2005 issue of Indianapolis Monthly, the magazine's new editor, David Zivan, writes:
"I have spent a fair bit of time these first few weeks getting lost. New friends have patiently explained that the city is easy to navigate, that it's platted. I have found this useful only insofar as it allows me to determine how far off course I have wandered."
Off course and lost is exactly how I feel when reading through the magazineís 2005 Best of Indy feature (pgs. 126-160). While I may agree with or have no opinion about many of the selections on the 124 Of Our Favorite Things about Indianapolis list, I can't help but question the logic behind some of its categories and the magazine staffís selections. For example:
- Jewelry Boxes (pg. 131): Aside from being a silly, inconsequential, random, and arbitrary throw-away category, the magazineís 2005 Best of Indy award goes to all three of The Bombay Company's greater Indianapolis locations. Are they serious with this one... the best the staff at Indianapolis Monthly can do is The Bombay Company? Granted, I don't have a better selection for this category, and I do like to look around a Bombay Company store just as much as the next fella, but on close examination of their wood-related pieces itís plainly obvious that the quality of their product line is less than spectacular. A nice mahogany glaze can do only so much for six pieces of plywood. With all of Indianapolis' unique shops and antique stores, I find it inconceivable that The Bombay Company wins out in any category other than Best Looking Kitschy Reproductions at a Somewhat Reasonable Price.
- Unique Antiques (pg. 136): The magazine staff's pick for this category is Antiques on the Square, a multi-dealer two-story Fountain Square store front specializing in mid-century modern 50's kitsch, and vintage clothing... hardly what I'd call 'antique' or unique. No, a much better choice in this category would have been White River Architectural Salvage and Antiques, a huge warehouse of a store where you can find everything from a 1943 official Boston Red Sox score card, to a Walnut China Cabinet from the 1800's. White River Architectural Salvage and Antiques is so unique in fact that rumor has it that a major cable television network is negotiating with the store's owner to create a new television series based on the shop's unique holdings and acquisitions.
- Glasses for Bookworms (pg 141): This category is meant to make us buy into the notion that people who like to read books have their own style of eyewear, whereas the illiterate must be shopping for their spectacles at the local Sears Optical. That aside, Urbane Optical receives the magazineís pick for this category, but if you've ever stepped foot into this particular store, I'd bet even money that "bookworm" is the last thing that comes to mind. ìEclectic,î ìcold,î ìfunky,î ìoverpriced,î and downright ìuncomfortably pretentious" (along with "fashionista-focused") is exactly how I--and many other people I know, some bookworm's, some not--experience this store. Chances are, if you choose to purchase your eyewear at Urbane Optical--which doesn't accept any of the popular insurance plans--you'll be hard pressed to afford even one used book afterwards. A better choice for this category, IMHO, is Ossip Optometry. With eight Indy locations, superior styles, out-of-this-world technology, quality customer service, and a reputation for exceeding its customers needs (which includes the ability to process most insurance plans), Ossip is more than capable and affordable enough to meet the finicky demands of even the trendiest of Indianapolis' bookworms.
- Wine List (pg 142) The pick for this category leads us into what I like to call the magazine's 'obsession with everything that's shiny and new' phase. Let me explain...Flemming's Prime Rib Steakhouse & Wine Bar receives the magazine's nod for best wine list, despite the fact... wait for it... here it comes... that Flemmingís first day of business in our fair city was September 14th of this year. Now, considering that magazines like Indianapolis Monthly operate on an editorial calendar which calls for editorial content for a December feature to be turned in for layout and design at least one full month before the issue is mailed to subscribers (if not even further out), it's hard to conceive just how Flemming's--with its 9/14/05 opening--could possibly prevail in this category. At best, the staff over at Indianapolis Monthly had maybe one solid chance to dine at the new restaurant, yet it bestows 2005ís best Wine List status upon the chain's new Indianapolis location? Selections such as this dilute all the others.
- Dive Bars (pg. 143) While I have no strong opinions about the five best ìdiveî bars the magazineís staff selected, I do want to point out to the good folks at Indianapolis Monthly that the Melody Inn, located at 38th and Illinois, is far from being on the ìNorthî side of Indianapolis. Maybe itís just me, but the ìNorthî side of our fair city doesnít start until at least 75th street, give or take about 10 blocks; Donít try to tell me that me 38th & Illinois is on the ìNorthî side of town.
- Gourmet Grocery (pg. 145): While I absolutely adore the store they selected, I would not classify any of the Fresh Marketís 53 nationwide stores as ìGourmetî (a highly subjective and overused term, by the way). Can you find gourmet-like items at Fresh Market? Sure you can, just as easily as you can find them at a dozen or so other chain grocery stores in the greater-Indianapolis area. A more appropriate choice for the ìgourmetî designation is Fraiserís Gourmet Foods, which oddly enough received the magazine staffís pick for having the best selection of mustard!
- Burgers (pg 146): The magazine breaks its best burger selection down geographically. The staffís best ìDowntownî burger for 2005 goes to The Elbow Room, which is, IMHO, a huge mistake. Just three blocks north of The Elbow Roomóon the same side of streetósits downtown Indianapolis' own Urban ElementÖ a highly underrated locally-owned restaurant which just happens to flame broil THE tastiest burger in all of downtown Indy. Add a side order of fries and a tall sweet tea, and youíre in heaven. Also of note in this category is the magazineís designation of 96th Street Steakburgers as being the best burger on the ìEastî side of town. Anyone with access to a map, no matter how new they are to town, can plainly see that 5430 E. 96th St, Indianapolis, IN 46250, is on the ìNorthî side of town, not on the East, can't they??
- Flatware for the Modern Home (pg. 152): The magazine staffís selection of Crate & Barrel only further demonstrates their 'obsession with everything that's shiny and new'. Mind you, Crate & Barrel didnít even open its doors until the 10th of this month, yet it receives a 2005 ëbest ofí nod from Indianapolis Monthly? Come on folks, who are you trying to kid with this one!? Including a store that wasnít even open when you went to print the current issue of your magazine is shameful. Yes, Crate & Barrel is an exceptionally interesting and compelling store, but do your readers a better service next time by letting the store open its doors BEFORE you go to print with a ëbest ofí designation.
In all fairness to Indianapolis Monthly, lists like this are highly subjective. According to the article's editor, a very nice woman named Liz Joss, people at the magazine made 100 percent of this yearís selections. In other words, none of the magazine's subscribers contributed to the list, nor were they asked to vote on any of the selections. That having been said, therein lie the problems. A magazine like Indianapolis Monthly should open its 'best of' nominations and voting to its subscribers/readers. Doing so would allow vested members of the community a rare opportunity to add to such a prestigious list, as well as generate excitement--and help the magazine to extend its own brand identity--in anticipation of the annual printing of the list.
Finally, if anyone from Indianapolis Monthly happens upon this posting, please consider updating your web site the very day upon which each issue of Indianapolis Monthly mails to subscribers. Right in the Table of Contents (pg. 12 of the December issue) you plug 'exclusive online content,' but when one visits your web site, said content is not available... in fact, according to the very nice person who answers the phones at the magazine's downtown Indianapolis offices, web site updates aren't completed and posted online until at least one full week into the calendar month listed on the outside of the magazine. In this case, despite receiving the December issue of Indianapolis Monthly in the mail on the 22nd of November, access to Decemberís 'exclusive online content' isnít available for at least another couple of weeks. From a customer service standpoint, Iíd think youíd want to be able to deliver on your promise. Thereís nothing more aggravating to a reader than hitting a dead end like the Indianapolis Monthly web site.
++ UPDATE: Tuesday Afternoon, November 29, 2005 ++
I just had a nice telephone conversation with the magazine's Promotions Director... a friendly chap named Andy Austin... who informed me that:
A. IndianapolisMonthly.com now contains information from the December issue; and...
B. IndianapolisMonthly.com will soon take on an entirely new look and feel. According to Andy, within the next few months, the magazine's web site will be totally redesigned. Popular features like the staff's annual 'Best of Indy' selections and the 'Top Docs' feature (which appears in-pint each November) will be archived and fully searchable, as will all of the magazine's restaurant listings and reviews. The new site, which Andy says is expected to rollout in three separate phases, is now in beta testing, with phase one slated to go live by the middle of December.
Nice work, Indianapolis Monthly! Now, if we could just get you reconsider your stance on who gets to vote in the 'Best of Indy' feature.
Posted by Mikal at November 28, 2005 1:48 PM
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