Reflections from Chew On This at Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu owner explains the history of the restaurant.
On Tuesday night, I listened and conversed with a mix of strangers, friends and acquaintances over some Peruvian cuisine for the 2nd Chew On This event organized by Indiana Humanities. My fellow guests represented a diverse, food-loving set of individuals including a chef, a brew master, CEOs, city planners, community organizers, publicists, food bloggers and health promotions professionals.
In addition to the crowd of 25 or so gathered at the Machu Picchu, other diners were gathering at ethnic restaurants all over the West 38th Street/Lafayette Square area and doing the same thing – talking about food, in particular, the ethnic food scene in Indianapolis.
We kicked off the evening by introducing ourselves and sharing our favorite ethnic restaurants around Indianapolis. Among the favorites mentioned were Sawasdee, Abyssinia, Shalimar, Patties of Jamaica, Saffron Cafe, Hellas, Mama’s House, Siam Square, Country Kitchen, Tiger Lily and Santorini, reflecting a diverse range of tastes and dining experiences.
We then heard from the owner of Machu Picchu who shared some of the 10-year history of the restaurant. He provided some recommendations and brief primer on Peruvian cuisine. Like most of the others, I stuck to one of the recommended dishes and I was not disappointed.
After the orders were taken, we moved quickly into the conversation discussing the phenomenon of “strip-mall” cuisine and whether it’s unique to Indy or not (consensus = it’s not). Then, like many conversations dominating Indy lately, the conversation morphed into accessibility and transportation issues. The boom of a diverse ethnic food scene along the West 38th street corridor has taken place organically. Our conversation examined some of the pros and cons enhanced transportation options – including improved walkability – would provide to these locally owned, authentic, ethnic restaurants.
Ryan Puckett (left) at the Chew on This after-party.
The palates of Hoosiers and willingness to try new things also became a topic of conservation. Some wondered if we were ashamed of what our city has to offer indining experiences, while others declared their Indiana-pride and leader status in agriculture. Nearly everyone agreed that many Indy residents are intimidated by new food choices and are simply unwilling to stray outside of their comfort zone – it was noted that the same behavior occurs in other facets of Hoosier life.
Perhaps one of my favorite comments of the night was that notion that if ethnic food is thriving, that means diversity is thriving in Indianapolis. The very fact that there are locally owned, successful restaurants all over the city indicates a growing acceptance of diversity.
Written by Ryan M. Puckett. Ryan is principal of two21 LLC a communication firm with a focus on providing creative content, advocacy and communications strategy for all things pertaining to sustainability. He lives in Broad Ripple with his wife, son and dog. Contact Ryan via e-mail at or on Twitter @rmpuckett.