Which is the best Indiana food? Chase and Anna Wright weigh in
The Indy 500 is a see-and-be-seen day for celebrities and influencers. Follow along to see more walk the red carpet.
The Indy 500 red carpet saw a mix of movie stars, athletes and social media influencers this year, and while racing was foremost on everyone’s minds, they were also game to talk food. IndyStar spoke with several celebrities who graced the red carpet to gather their thoughts about traditional dishes that are Hoosier favorites.
We asked each person “binge, savor or trash” each of the following: a pork tenderloin sandwich, Indiana sweet corn and sugar cream pie. Here are their answers:
Scott Evans
The Cardinal Ritter High School alum, a television host who has appeared on “House Guest” and “Access Hollywood” among other shows, chose to savor the corn and trash the pie. And that final dish?
“How about that tenderloin, though? That’s delicious,” he said.
Evans looks forward to a tenderloin sandwich and corn on the cob every year at the Indiana State Fair, where he’s also tried fried Oreos, fried Snickers and chocolate-covered bacon.
“Crazy stuff, right? But a funnel cake or an elephant ear with a lemon shake-up and some corn? Good night! Good night. And good day. And good evening,” Evans said.
Tyson Ritter
Ritter, lead vocalist and bassist for the All-American Rejects, would savor the pork tenderloin and binge the sweet corn.
“I mean, it’s pork tenderloin,” he said. “I’m from Oklahoma … a very confused Midwestern state. So yeah, we believe in tenderloin. Have I had it in Indiana? I don’t remember.”
The dessert option, however, held little appeal.
“I’m not a sweets guy, so I’ve got to trash the sugar cream pie,” Ritter said.
Kat McNamara
The actress known for roles in “Shadowhunters” and “Arrow” chose to savor the sweet corn and trash the pie.
“I’m a Kansas City girl and barbecue is, like, our thing, so I’ll binge some tenderloin,” she said.
While she hasn’t yet eaten a tenderloin in Indiana, she does have a go-to restaurant: St. Elmo. However, there’s no pork tenderloin on the menu there.
Titus O’Neil
O’Neil, a professional wrestler who earned the WWE Hall of Fame 2020 Warrior Award, would trash the pork and savor the corn.
“I shouldn’t, but I would probably binge the sugar cream pie,” he said.
Like McNamara, his favorite restaurant in Indy is St. Elmo, where he makes a point to seek out the shrimp cocktail.
Chase Wright
The country music artist from Lebanon, Indiana would binge the corn, savor the tenderloin and trash the pie.
“I’m not really a sweets guy,” Wright said.
As for his favorite tenderloin in Indiana? That would be one from a fair.
“Growing up, I just used to go to the fairs, and that’s where you’d get the bun that’s this big,” he said making a small circle with his hands, “and the tenderloin that’s that big, right,” he continued, widening his hands into a larger oval.
Chase’s wife Anna Wright, who’s from Los Angeles, offered a different opinion, saying she would binge the pie, savor the pork and trash the corn.
Jeremy Hansen
The first Canadian to go on a mission around the moon as part of the Artemis II crew would binge the pie and savor the pork. But he wanted to edit the ask.
“I guess I’d have to trash the corn, but that just seems like a poor choice, to be honest. But you’re making me do it,” he said.
He hasn’t yet had a tenderloin sandwich or sugar cream pie in Indiana but said he would try to rectify that shortly.
“Now that I know this is a thing, I guess tonight I’ve got to try and track some down,” Hansen said.
Alec Pierce
The Colts wide receiver said he would savor the pork, binge the pie and trash the corn. Maybe.
“Although corn’s pretty good, though, so I don’t know,” he added.
Jonathan Owens
Owens, a safety player for the Indianapolis Colts, would trash the tenderloin, binge the corn (“I’m a big creamed corn guy,” he said) and savor the pie.
So no tenderloin? It came down to a process of elimination.
“I wasn’t going to get rid of the creamed corn and the pie,” he said.
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Contact IndyStar reporter Domenica Bongiovanni at 317-444-7339 or [email protected]. Sign up here for the newsletter she curates about things to do and ways to explore Indianapolis. Find her on Facebook, Instagram or X: @domenicareports.
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