Thanks to the Indiana Foodways Alliance’s culinary trails program, Hoosier foodies can map their way to their next dining adventure. The Alliance promotes a whopping 21 unique trails crisscrossing the state and featuring more than 220 locally owned establishments.

The trails focus on a variety of cuisines, sweet treats, beverages and guilty pleasures. It’s no surprise that the Tenderloin Lovers Trail would be one of the most popular taste tours considering Hoosiers’ devotion to the breaded pork sandwich. In 2018, media company and pop culture blog PopSugar ranked the tenderloin trail number seven in its “10 Best Food and Drink Trails” ranking. Meanwhile, in USA Today’s 2015 listing of “Best Food Trails in America,” the Hoosier Pie Trail placed fourth, besting Kentucky’s Bourbon Trail in popularity. The Sweet Temptations Trail, like a real life Candyland, leads visitors to gourmet marshmallows, ice cream, candies, cakes, baked goods and more. This sugar-laden expedition to 43 shops, cafés, restaurants, bakeries and even a honey farm, orchard and farmers’ market is another top trail. 

Other creatively coined trails to suit palates of all kinds include Here Fishy Fishy (seafood — including shrimp and frog’s legs); Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner (26 restaurants’ take on a favorite comfort food); and A Cut Above (the fine dining tour). Several of the restaurants participating in the Alliance have been featured in Indiana Eats in the past including Bonge’s Tavern (Perkinsville), One Ten Craft Meatery (Warsaw), The Post (Tell City), Pea-Fections (Vincennes), and Chaperral Café (Shelbyville).

The Indiana Foodways Alliance, based in Fishers, Indiana, began as a subsidiary of the I-69 Cultural Corrider Association, in January 2006. The non-profit’s goal was to promote culinary tourism in the state and spread the word about Indiana’s local food culture. The trails program debuted the next year. 

As well as supporting Hoosier restaurants and enjoying some good food all around the state, those who hit the trails can win fun incentives. Just sign up for an Indiana Culinary Trails mobile passport at visitindiana.com/cuisine and eat and drink your way to rewards with every stop you make. Visit 30 locations to earn a pie server, 60 stops for a tumbler and 90 places for a hat. 

Also check out the Alliance’s Tales from the Trails blog at www.indianafoodways.com/blog for its upcoming promotions.