A restaurant in the small Southern Indiana town of Oldenburg got a big surprise recently. When the owner of Wagner’s Village Inn, well known for its fried chicken, began receiving congratulatory phone calls about a very prestigious award, he thought it was a prank. But Daniel Saccomando, whose grandparents opened the restaurant in 1968, soon realized it was true: The restaurant had been honored with an America’s Classics award from the James Beard Foundation. The awards, say the foundation’s website, are “given to locally owned restaurants that have timeless appeal and are beloved regionally for quality food that reflects the character of its community.” The town of Oldenburg has a population of about 700 and is known for its German...

Bloomington chef Daniel Orr on foraging, fine dining and what’s in his fridge Columbus, Ind., native Daniel Orr left Indiana for culinary school, and his career took him around the world, from Michelin-starred restaurants in Europe to some of New York City’s top fine-dining establishments. In 2008, he came home, embraced his “inner Hoosier,” as he says, and opened FARMbloomington. Located right downtown on Kirkwood Avenue in Bloomington, the restaurant features a farmhouse vibe, an award-winning burger and his great-grandma’s buttermilk biscuits. For those who’ve never been, how would you describe the food at FARMbloomington? Our concept is “Local Ingredients with Global Flavors.” We work with local farmers, foragers, growers and grain...

One inconvenient location since 1851. It was true then, and it’s still true today. And that’s how the Story Inn, situated on Ind. 135 south of Nashville, Ind., identifies itself, although the restaurant and inn are definitely worth the effort it takes to get there. It certainly is off the beaten path. Visitors travel the state road that twists and turns through ridges and hollers to get to the village, which was a bustling community back in the late 1800s, with a school, church and post office as well as mills, a blacksmith and a couple of general stores. But the population of Story dwindled in the 1930s, and by the 1970s even the last general store closed. However, an enterprising couple, Benjamin and Cynthia Schutz, saw a future for...