Indy steak house celebrates 100 years

INDIANAPOLIS -- It's a devilish trick: Take unsuspecting out-of-towners to St. Elmo Steak House for the spicy shrimp cocktail and watch them take their first bite.

Even Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning has duped his guests into trying the mostly horseradish concoction with the bite that many hate to love, and a reputation that stretches from coast to coast.

"I love taking rookie football players or friends there and ordering the shrimp cocktail and not telling them what to expect," Manning said. "There is no question it packs a punch."

Coming from New Orleans, the spice may be in Manning's blood -- he sometimes orders two of the $10 shrimp cocktails for the challenge. But after the laughs have quieted and the smart is gone, it doesn't matter where the patrons are from, the Bayou or not, the shrimp is a favorite.

Named after the patron saint of sailors in a city far from any port, St. Elmo's is celebrating 100 years of business this year. And throughout its history, the restaurant has earned a reputation as one of the places a traveler to Indianapolis must go, as much a city institution as the Indianapolis 500 or Monument Circle.

Statesmen and dignitaries, sports stars and rock stars have all been regulars, and their pictures crowd the restaurant's walls. Bartenders and waiters are oral historians, eager to tell the tale of celebrity visits from Elton John, Lyle Lovett or Jon Bon Jovi.

Lovett banged on the restaurant's door one Sunday morning, ordered some steak and a shrimp cocktail, then borrowed a bartender's Harley-Davidson motorcycle for a two-hour joyride through the city.

Most of the wall's photos are scribbled with notes of thanks and a few warn guests about the shrimp cocktail, the restaurant's one and only appetizer.

A shot of Manning in his Colts Jersey hangs behind the tiger oak bar. He flew into Indianapolis from Louisiana the night his agent reached a contract agreement with the Colts to celebrate over a meal at St. Elmo's.

It was his agent's third meal in the restaurant that day. Manning has been coming back ever since. "It's just a special place. It's got a great tradition and it's very unique," Manning said.

Through the years, St. Elmo's owners have savored that tradition. Some waiters, in fact, have hurried through the restaurant's five dining rooms, bumping shoulders and elbows, for more than 20 years. And there hasn't been any turnover in the kitchen in two years.

"I feel part of this restaurant. I feel kind of old now that I know so many people," said waiter Lorenzo Acuna, chuckling as he looked up at the photo-filled walls.

And though patrons can feel tradition in the walls, the years have brought change. The same place where soldiers stopped for a meal while riding the rails home during World War II is now a place for high rollers out for dinner or a Friday night bar crawl.

Filet mignon and prime rib are staples to the menu, and the basement wine cellar boasts more than 2000 bottles. The most expensive is a Chateau Lafitte Rothchild bordeaux. It's as old as the restaurant and valued at $4,500.

"But it might as well be priced at $10 million because the only way that bottle's being sold is with the restaurant," owner Craig Huse said, gingerly holding the bottle with the yellowing label.

Huse and his father, Steve, bought the restaurant in 1986 from Harry Roth, the man who traded "eyeglasses for bar glasses," left optometry school in Chicago and returned to Indianapolis in the 1940s to manage the restaurant.

And what patrons experience now isn't all that different from the ambiance of that era. The tables are still packed tight, the waiters wear bow ties to honor Roth who started the tradition on nights when he prepared the shrimp cocktail, and the barroom chatter is far from pretentious.

Only certain restaurants ever reach the status of a century-old favorite, touching the community around them. They are the bars and taverns where people go to treat themselves to a night out, close a business deal or celebrate an anniversary.

"Restaurants have always been a cornerstone of the community. And they've obviously built a niche," said Katharine Kim, a spokeswoman for the National Restaurant Association, a representative for the industry since 1919. "It speaks to the fact that this is a popular restaurant and that it's maintained a close relationship with its patrons."

The centennial of a restaurant is not a rare occurrence. There are many aging restaurants across the nation that have reached or passed the 100 mark -- several more in Indianapolis alone. But it's the fond memories that help a restaurant to last.

Writer John Feinstein ate at St. Elmo's frequently during a year he spent following Bob Knight and Indiana University basketball in 1985. He later wrote "A Season on the Brink," a best seller that chronicled the team's season that year.

And just as he has fond and unshakable memories of Hoosier basketball, it's hard for him to forget the painfully delicious experience of St. Elmo's shrimp.

"The shrimp cocktail sauce is the best I've ever had, as long as you can survive it," Feinstein said from his home in Shelter Island, N.Y. "You certainly just don't bite into it and continue your conversation."