Amish country

Indiana is the state with the third largest Amish population in the USA; about 50,000, or 1/6 of the total US Amish, live here. Many (more than 1/3) live in LaGrange County, immediately to the east of St. Joseph County. The heart of the Amish country is the triangle spanned by the towns of Elkhart, Shipshewana and Nappanee. (Photo of Shipshewana below from in.gov)

A tour of Amish country makes for an excellent day trip from South Bend. The town of Shipshewana has many lovely craft and quilt stores (the Amish are known for their truly beautiful quilts), particularly in the Davis Mercantile center, and also has a great throwback to older American ways in Yoder's department store. Goshen also has excellent stores, particularly in the Old Bag Factory. Middlebury has good stores too, but probably its main attraction is Das Dutchman Essenhaus, the place to go for cream pies in northern Indiana.  

See here for a map (specifically here). Elkhart, the closest town on this map to Notre Dame, is about a 30 minute drive from Notre Dame.

Warning: If you visit Amish country on Sunday, you will find all stores and restaurants closed.


  

Paczki day!

South Bend historically has a large Polish population, and so the day before lent begins is not Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras, or Shrove Tuesday, or Pancake Tuesday, but --- Paczki Day!

Paczki (roughly pronounced ``PUNCH-key'') are Polish pastries, basically big lumps of fried dough filled with deliciousness (strawberries, custard, cream, and, maybe not so delicious, but very traditional, prunes). They are typically eaten in Poland the day before the fasting of Lent season starts.

With an historically large Polish population here, South Bend is one of the small number of towns around the US (Detroit, Ann Arbor, Chicago are others) that celebrates the day before Ash Wednesday by devouring these high-calorie monsters with no regard to what they do to the heart and arteries.

Up until a few years ago, paczki were only available on the Fat Tuesday itself (or maybe on the Monday at a few places), but now quite a few places in the area have given in to demand and make pazcki up to a week before the day itself. So you can enjoy them for a Saturday brunch, and try out a few different examples without dying of sugar poisoning!

Here are a few likely spots for paczki over the next six days:

-> The Baker's Dozen --- the only true Polish bakery left in town, their paczki are quite traditional, with more emphasis on dough than filling. The other places I'll mention have somewhat "Americanized" the confection, with a greater emphasis on the filling.

-> Macri's --- an Italian bakery, and, by the way, also a great Italian Deli.

-> Cops and Donuts, Dainty Maid Precinct --- when this was just Dainty Maid, it made the best paczki in town (imho, see picture above). Recently taken over by the Clare, Michigan bakery Cops and Donuts (police owned and operated --- no joke!), I won't know until next week whether the same high standards will be maintained by the new owner.

-> Rise'n'roll --- this is the first year that Rise'n'roll, the Amish bakery, will be offering paczki, so as with Cops and Donuts, time will tell where they stack up to the competition.

The river walk

The St. Joseph river cuts through South Bend, and the turn it takes at Howard Park, close to downtown, gives the town its name. On a nice spring, summer or autumn day, there is nothing better than walking by the river, enjoying the ever-changing views of and across the water.

We are fortunate to have a well-developed river walk, that allows one to walk a more-or less unbroken 12 miles mostly right by the water. The trail starts at St. Patrick's Park, near the IN-MI state line, then goes south, eventually reaching and passing through downtown South Bend before turning east, ending up at the very lovely, and recently remodeled, complex of four parks in downtown Mishawaka: Beutter Park, Battell Park, Kamm Island Park and Central Park. Have a look at the map here to see how to follow the path.  There are plans eventually to link up with some existing trails along the river in Niles, MI, so that eventually there will be an uninterrupted 20+ mile walking and bike trail connecting Niles, South Bend and Mishawaka.

The best parts of the river walk (to me) are:

-> From IUSB (there's a parking lot near the corner of Ironwood and Pleasant Streets) to the old St. Joseph high school (right at the southwestern corner of campus); along this portion, you can walk for about 6 miles without having to cross a road, always right beside the river. The picture below is from this stretch, just by the farmer's market. The building on the far right is ND rowing's new boathouse.

-> Along Riverside Drive from Angela Blvd to Cleveland Rd, past the campus of St. Mary's; along here the views of the river are so beautiful, especially close to sunset.

-> Around and about the parks of downtown Mishawaka; there are plenty of great opportunities for decent-length loop-walks here.  

Langlab

I'm not sure what Langlab is. I may be a little too old.

Here's what I know: it is located in a (now no longer) abandoned warehouse on High St, it regularly hosts interesting, dynamic and forward-looking music groups, plays, and, more generally, "events", it is the home to the tasting room of Zen Cafe, an excellent coffee supplier run by local roasters who personally source their coffee beans using best ethical practices (see a nice review from The Observer here), and overall it is probably the most creative yet hard to define space in South Bend.

I went there last year for the first performance of the newly-created South Bend Lyric Opera. They put on La Boheme with the set scattered among the seats, the singers weaving in and out among the audience members. It was the most intimate and compelling La Boheme I have every seen.

Victorian mansions

At one time South Bend was a thriving industrial town. The Studebaker brothers started a wagon company in 1852, that moved into making cars in 1902, and until the mid-1960's Studebaker cars were among the best produced in the USA. In 1853 James Oliver founded the Oliver Chilled Plow Works, and in the 1920's this became part of a conglomerate that was a significant force in the farm equipment industry.

The manufacturing plants all started to leave South Bend in the 1960's, creating an economic depression from which the town is only just beginning to recover. But the wealthy industrialists of the 1800's and 1900's have left their marks on the town with some fabulous and distinctive late Victorian mansions.

The Studebaker mansion, Tippecanoe Place (pictured above), is now a restaurant; its a great place to dine out for a special occasion, and does  a particularly good Sunday brunch buffet. It is furnished with pieces from the late 1800's, when the Studebaker family were at their peak.

The Oliver mansion, Copshaholm (pictured above), is now owned by the Northern Indiana Center for History, and guided tours are available. It is part of a complex of buildings owned by the Center for History that combine to give one a great idea of how South Bend developed through the 1800's and 1900's. (If you are a member of SJCPL, one of the local public libraries --- see this earlier post --- you can check out a free pass to the museum!)      

The Morris Performing Arts Center

South Bend has an excellent theater, the Morris Performing Arts Center, that has a very active and varied program. Within the next couple of months, for example, the Morris will host:

---> A run of the broadway musical Once,

---> A performance by Martin Short & Steve Martin,

---> An evening with astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson,

---> A performance of Tchaikovsky's Symphony number 6,

and lots more besides.

The theater is a lovely place to visit. It was build in 1922, and its architecture catches much of the optimism of that era. It has had its ups and down through the years, but is right now in a definite up period, having undergone a major renovation in 1998.

As an historical aside (pictured above, from todayinndhistory.com), the Morris has a place in Notre Dame history --- in October 1940 2,500 people watched the world premiere of the movie Knute Rockne: All American, while 25,000 people gather outside to see the stars, Ronald Reagan, Pat O'Brien, Bob Hope and Kate Smith, walk the red carpet.

Downtown bookstores

Every college town has a few unique bookstores, and although South Bend can't quite complete with, say, Ann Arbor, we still have a few gems.

The Griffon, on Colfax Street, is far more than just a used bookstore. It is also a haven for those who love games --- board games (in the vein of Settlers of Catan, or Risk), role-playing games, card games, .... There is a whole floor devoted to a game room, with very active game nights on Friday nights. The proprietors know all that there is to know about gaming. Have a look at this recent article from the South Bend Tribune, written to celebrate The Griffon's 40th anniversary, to get a feel for this genuine South Bend treasure.

Idle Hours, on Michigan Street, is a small space with shelves packed to the ceiling. It defies categorization; let's just say that it is the sort of bookstore where after a stretch browsing, you always find a book that's perfect for you, but you hadn't realized you had wanted.

 

River lights

The heart of South Bend is the St. Joseph river, and there are many great activities associated with the river that I want to mention. To enjoy most of these requires warmer weather than we mostly have. Today I want to mention a recently-created river attraction that can be enjoyed in all weathers.

In the summer of 2015, the River Lights were installed along both banks of the St. Joseph near Seitz Park. This is an interactive art installations: pylons dotted with powerful LEDs that colorfully illuminate the flowing river, and change subtly as watchers move around the banks. The installation was part of South Bend's 150th anniversary celebration, but will remain indefinitely.

The lights come on half an hour before sunset, and stay on until sunrise, although the interactivity stops at midnight. The color theme varies day-by-day, some days reflecting current events (blue and gold when Notre Dame football wins a home game; recently red, white and blue on the day of a terrible terrorist attack in Paris, in solidarity with the people of France).

Pizza!

This Sunday is Superbowl day, known in my house as Pizza Day. If you plan on joining the 99% of the population who will get in a pizza pie to enjoy with the game, why not bypass the Papa John's and Dominos of the world, and go local? South Bend and environs has some really great pizza options that are unique to the area.

Everyone who lives here has a different opinion as to who locally makes the best pizza, so I should issue the warning that what follows is very much my personal view. To that point, I surveyed the class and got these responses:

Rocco's (6 votes)
Bruno's (3 votes)
Barnaby's (2 votes)
[Blaze, one of a chain (2 votes)]
Polito's (1 vote)
South Dining Hall (for its gluten-free options) (1 vote)
Silver Beach, St. Joseph MI (1 vote)
Fire and Ice, St. Joseph MI (1 vote)
[Papa John's, a chain (1 vote)]
[Fat Sully's, Denver; Giordano's, Chicago; Mama Rosa's, location unspecified --- not really in the South Bend area! (1 vote each)]


Barnaby's, on Jefferson Blvd (on the ND side of the bridge) is my favourite. It's great both for take-out and dine in, with a very atmospheric, dimly lit dining room filled with dark wooden benches. It is always packed.

Bruno's is another favourite; they have branches in various spots around town, but generally not for dine-in (just a few plastic tables at most locations).

Further afield, Pizza Transit in Niles (twenty minutes north of campus) is a real gem. They have a different ``Pizza of the month'' every month (maybe corned beef and cabbage, for March & St. Patrick's day, or turkey & stuffing for November and Thanksgiving). This month it is one of their best, French dip --- beef, onions and cheese, no sauce, au jus on the side for dipping (photo below from their website).

Other people have mentioned the famous Rocco's, a great favourite of ND alums, just south of campus, which has a more traditional Italian thin crust. My feet tell me that this is not a favourite of mine --- I haven't been there in maybe seven years. Another place worth mentioning, further afield, is Silver Beach pizza, atmospherically located in a converted railway station by Silver Beach in St. Joseph, MI, a town that will be the subject of a later post.

Happy eating!

South Bend First Fridays

The evening of the first Friday of every month is a downtown South Bend "First Friday", an evening when many local business organize special events --- live music, discount promotions, demonstrations, etc.. Events run from about 5pm to about 9pm. (Picture below from downtownsouthbend.com).

Each First Friday has a different theme. This coming Friday, February 3, the theme is "Fire and Ice", and will feature fireworks by the River Lights at 9pm, and live demonstrations of ice carving earlier in the evening. The full details are here.

The Friends of the local library runs a book sale every First Friday from 4pm to 8pm, near the main branch. There are usually great bargains on books and cds.

Visiting downtown during First Fridays is a good way to get a feel for what South Bend has to offer.