The Quest For Zest

Best Boy Co.

Making great things. Helping people in great need.

Wayne Shive has been building things his entire adult life. He started with apartment buildings and custom homes, before moving on to daycare centers, hospitals, and nursing homes across the country. Later, he started, and ran, an electronics manufacturing company based out of Phoenix, Arizona. Years later, he returned to Indiana and once again, founded and ran a new company; this time, manufacturing aluminum. “I’ve done a lot of things. I’m what you call a serial entrepreneur,” he says. Today he considers himself “kind of” retired, but that hasn’t stopped him from continuing to build businesses and create new things. His latest effort is named Best Boy Co., and was born out of his love of cooking hot fudge sauce, and his desire to help victims of natural disasters.

The Return to the Valley of Paradise

A brilliant farm-to-fork kitchen and bar in Valparaiso, Indiana.

It had been a hot day at the beach. The sun made the sand painful to walk across and the wind whipped it into clouds that stung eyes and skin. The water in Lake Michigan was so cold we could barely tolerate being waist-deep in it for more then a few minutes. That’s the thing about going to the beach in Indiana in May though; the odds of it being a great experience are just as good as the odds of it being regrettable. Likewise, we know that returning to a restaurant we had a fantastic dining experience at was no guarantee that it would be amazing a second time. We had little hesitation about returning to Valley Kitchen and Bar in Valparaiso, Indiana.

Blaine Stuckey, Mad Anthony Brewing

Putting passion before profit.

Blaine Stuckey is like the cool cousin that you only saw at the summer family reunion when you were a kid. A little intimidating, because he was a slightly older and biger than you, which meant he could easily throw you in the deep end of the pool. Yet, cool as hell, because he always had fireworks for you in his car. When we met the towering yet jovial co-founder of Mad Anthony Brewing, he greeted us with a booming, “Guys, you don’t have beers! We can’t do this without beers!” Like that cousin, Blaine’s imposing presence was immediately offset by his generosity, gregarious nature, and infectiously positive attitude. He is a man who firmly believes in doing what you love, and is as passionate about his work as he is about his community. With a frosty Ol’ Woody Pale Ale in hand, Blaine talked with us about how they brew their beer, their focus on quality, and what he hopes is “brewing” in Fort Wayne’s future.

The Publican

Part farm house. Part beer hall. Entirely delicious.

I didn’t know what to expect from a dinner at The Publican in Chicago. Those in the know all agreed it was a must for people serious about food and it certainly looked enticing from the photographs I had seen. Had I known we were blithely walking into a James Beard award-winning, beer-focused, farm-to-fork restaurant, I probably would have studied the menu harder before arriving; and skipped breakfast and lunch.

Trader’s Point Creamery

Rustic elegance meets sublime cuisine.

Just off interstate 465 on the west side of Indianapolis, down a tree-lined back road and across a narrow bridge, awaits a dining experience you can scarcely believe exists within the borders of our fair state’s capital. On a hill, overlooking grassy fields, sits a 19th century barn that is home to Trader’s Point Creamery’s restaurant, The Loft. It’s idillic country setting started to work it’s magic on us as soon as we stepped out of the car. It was a quiet evening and the air was crisp and faintly scented with the smell of fresh cut grass and wet earth. A farmhand was turning over the soil in one of the large gardens and a curious barn cat stalked us from a safe distance. We could feel our pulses begin to slow down and our shoulders start to unclinch after a day spent in the heavy traffic of Indianapolis’s north side. Although we had just arrived, it was so peaceful, dinner was becoming an afterthought.

Simply Divine Cupcakery

Grand ambitions for cupcakes.

Chauncey Ness is not the type of girl who backs down from a challenge. At 25 she is double majoring in Public Advocacy and Political Science; she is getting married in three months; she volunteers at the YWCA; and this past January, she started Simply Devine Cupcakery in Huntington, Indiana. When I was twenty five, I was blowing all my money on DVDs and aftermarket car parts, drinking as many Manhattans at Club Soda as my liver could endure, and spending my weekends at my parents house doing laundry. If I had been half as ambitious and motivated as Chauncey, I’d probably be well on my way to retirement.

the quest for zest

A food & travel community from The Crossroads of America.

Eat Local. Travel Global.

Best Boy Co.

Making great things. Helping people in great need.

The Return to the Valley of Paradise

A brilliant farm-to-fork kitchen and bar in Valparaiso, Indiana.