Slippery Noodle Inn

The oldest bar in Indiana and the most famous live blues venue in the state. Two stages — front and back — host bands seven nights a week. The kitchen does decent pub food (the Cajun catfish is the standout). The crowd skews older blues fan in the front room, younger and rowdier in the back.

No cover most weeknights; modest cover on weekends. Free parking in the back lot is rare in downtown Indy.

bars and cafes bar
A story
Opened in 1850 as the Tremont House Inn, the building has served at one time or another as a roadhouse, a brothel, a Civil War-era brewery, an Underground Railroad way station, and reputedly a hideout for John Dillinger's gang — the bullet holes in the back-bar wall are real. It is the oldest continuously operating bar in Indiana.