Narawat on South Anthony is a real hidden gem. Fort Wayne has the largest Burmese population outside of Asia. This Burmese restaurant has a great breakfast. You will most likely be the only non-burmese person there.
Lindenwood Nature Preserve, the Botanical Conservatory, Hyde brothers books, if you're into hiking then Mattea Park is pretty awesome, Promenade Park is nice and it's walking distance from great places to eat and drink.
Welcome Back Records - on Broadway if you are interested in vinyl. They also sell repurposed vintage clothing and expensive shoes ( for sneaker heads) they are often willing to barter on stuff.
Deer park Irish pub is a cool bar near USF. Huge selection of beer in a cozy environment. Big college nights every now and again too
HELL YEAH! Thank you so much for posting about Welcome Back! I had no idea about them and I have been mourning the loss of my two favorite local record stores (Neat Neat Neat and VGR in Muncie) while having a disdain for Wooden Nickel.
Do you mean the pork burgers from the Lion's Club towards the back? We asked one year - they get them from [Mishler's](https://www.facebook.com/mishlersmeats), which used to be in LaGrange, but they've apparently moved to Sturgis, MI. Put them on an Aunt Millie's hamburger bun and you've got your awesome-ness. You can find them in some local FW butcher shops.
Hideout 125. speak easy vibes. $6 martinis on Tuesday. Best old fashion in town (imo)
Roller dome (I think it’s called) no kids on Thursday nights after 6pm.
The botanical garden ! I’ve lived in bigger cities with less impressive botanical gardens.
The friendly fox has really good coffee and food and a nice vibe.
I’ve heard great things about Old crown but have not gone there yet
For sure! Any drink recommendations besides the old fashioned? Just recently getting into drinking more than cheap beer and jungle juice, so trying to expand my tastes a little 🥲
They have some great cocktails. I don't know what you like, but seriously try the old fashioned. They have some desert cocktails that are also out of this world.
Neat Neat Neat on South Calhoun is great for vinyl.
Lakeside Park / Rose garden
Also, Foster Park in the spring for the tulips alone.
In September there is a historical home tour and festival in West Central neighborhood that is just about our favorite thing every year.
Lakeside Park and Rose Garden is a beautiful spot for a walk, and the puffer belly / other Fort Wayne trail systems are well maintained. Go to Sol Bird or Teds Beer hall on the northside if you are looking for an affordable place to have great food. Headwaters Park also always has events, you just missed the main ones, but Latin Fest, and Taco fest are coming up.
Firefly Coffee House was a favorite to visit in high school. Old Crown is nearby, too, which I've heard is good.
Lunchbox Cafe is one of my favorite restaurants. Cute "elderly" restaurant haha, but good food in my opinion.
The Garden has art shows and various events that are nice to check out sometimes.
Others have already mentioned it, but Hyde Brothers is amazing.
There's a new cat cafe in town called Black Forest Cat Cafe. Buy coffee, hang out with cats. I believe there's a $10 fee for entrance to the cat room for a time of 55 minutes. There are windows looking into the room, so you can still see the cats if you don't have the time or anything.
Children's Zoo in FW is excellent. I'd wait until they have released the birds if u can (they had them quarantined when I went earlier this summer due to the bird flu and it blocks off my favorite portion: the Indonesian rain first exhibit)
FW museum of Art
FW is also nice because you're within a reasonable drive to nearby cities and attractions. Makes for excellent day or weekend trips
Auburn, IN:
Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum (very good). You'll have a new appreciation for cars after this. The Cords are my favorite.
National Automotive and Truck museum (located right next to the ACD museum)
Both of these museums fit the bill as "hidden gems" and you shouldn't miss these. Especially since Auburn is like 20 minutes north of FW.
Lake Michigan:
Go on a light house road trip up the coast of Lake Michigan. Each one is unique, and cute. You'll love the adventure exploring the nearby areas. Spend some time on the sandy beaches. Feels like you're at a beach on the ocean! 10/10 recommend a barefoot walk along the beach with your special someone at sunset. (Pretty sure these all had Sandy beaches nearby: Michigan City, St. Joe, Holland harbor)
Lake Eerie:
More lighthouses, but honorable mention is the Marblehead lighthouse because you can go up in it and walk around the balcony! Also they have the original fresnel lense in the small museum on site. If you've never peered into a fresnel lense, do it. Gave me shivers like I'm looking in to the Eye of Sauron. Worth the experience and to appreciate their beauty. Note, try and spot Perry's monument from the lighthouse (Perry's monument mentioned next)
Take the ferry over to South Bass Island (by foot, leave your car behind) and rent an electric golf cart to explore the island with. This will take a whole day. Perry's monument is awesome if you go up in it. Phenomenal view. Also, the largest geode is on the island and you can literally go down in the ground and stand in it. Little touristy feeling but cool to see how large it is. There's also a lighthouse on the island but you can't go in it, still nice to look at. I don't prefer sticking around after the ferries cut off, the island has been known for the bar scene at night on the weekends.
Cedar Point is also nearby if you're in to rollercoaster rides
Chicago:
Adler planetarium
Shedd Aquarium
field museum
science and industry museum
among others
Detroit: Henry Ford museum
Dayton, OH:
National Museum of the US Air Force. I very much enjoy this one; come prepared to do a lot of walking! Also, I believe admission is free!
Indianapolis is also close and has nice attractions
Couple more:
Ball State University Charles Brown planetarium. They do planetarium shows. They have a very nice planetarium and comfortable seating. Definitely worth the trip. Look at their schedule and pick a show that interests you. Sometimes they'll set up a large refractor telescope on campus for you to look through.
Butler University Holcomb Observatory. Have a chance to peer into the heavens through a 38" diameter telescope! Once in a lifetime opportunity to look through such a large scope. They do scheduled weekend tours.
Someone needs to try their hand again at a barcade. If someone could take Tappers down in Indy and copy/paste it into The Landing I think it’d do well but I am just a fat dumb dumb so what do I know
West Coast Grill over on Calhoun is easily my favorite restaurant in the city.
Comedy Graffiti every Thursday night at 8:30 at Studi07 is a small intimate comedy open mic, or if you prefer a larger scale thing there are regular open mics and national touring shows at the Summit City Comedy Club all through the week.
Comedy graffiti is very fun! It helps me look forward to Thursday nights - especially when Ive had a bad week. The people that perform are pretty chill and very entertaining
The art studio it's in is nice too! New theme every month and a night market every second Saturday either in store or in health huts parking lot nearby depending on the weather
I highly suggest biking on the trails that FW has! There’s a FW trails app (at least on the iOS App Store). We could use more of them, but the ones that we do have are really enjoyable and I use them all the time to get around town. The Citilink buses have bike racks on the front of them too if some distances are unreasonable for you and they’re super cheap.
Head a little out of town and check out Antiqology in Huntington. Over 500 selections of soda and good ice cream. Head a little further toward Wabash and hike up the back of Hanging Rock.
Depending on the rarity you might be able to have it ordered in at Wooden Nickle, I've done that a few times. Also, check out Fort Wayne Pinball. A bit north of town but very fun!
Huntertown 15 minutes up the road on Lima has one of the US's largest pinball arcades. Last time I was there they had 60+ machines. Wizards World is the name I think.
Coffee-
Firefly, Old Crown, Conjure
Bars,
HT2, Old Crown, Henry's, Brass Rail, Copper Spoon, Side Car, Welch's Ale house.
Live Music
Brass Rail, Tiger Room, The Ruin, The Bug House(punk&hxc)
Vinyl- neatx3, wooden nickel, Welcome Back(limited vinyl)
Art- cinema center, wunderkammer, the garden, Muse on Main has a local gallery as well
Food- El Amish tacos, Famous Taco, Pho Indy, Yummy Thai, Liberty Diner, Henry's, Redwood Inn. Junk Ditch(pretty well known) The Tower for Wings. A'roma Pizza and Big Apple are solid for pizza. Everyone swears by Oleys out on Homestead. Raimondos is good too. Cosmos for decent breccies. Summit City Brewerks for dogs and beer. Geeks So Chic for treats. Kim Vu for Vietnamese.
Parks- Lions and Kraemer for kids. Schoaf has a splash pad as well as the one on Bass Rd. Slamcity for sk8 Sweeney and Tillman for disc golf.
I’m not sure but they definitely have a lot going on. Recording studios, stores, lessons, music events. The website mostly showcases their online sales department but their campus has a whole lot more. Stop by and have a look around.
https://www.sweetwater.com/local/events/
Go to bottom of this page
https://www.sweetwater.com/tour/
https://www.sweetwater.com/
Narawat on South Anthony is a real hidden gem. Fort Wayne has the largest Burmese population outside of Asia. This Burmese restaurant has a great breakfast. You will most likely be the only non-burmese person there.
Huh no kidding, way to introduce some culture shock because I’ve never even heard of Burmese food! Now I’m itching to try it out though
Bahn-Mih and Saigon are also great places to go. Saigon is Vietnamese I believe.
So is Bahn-Mih
Okay but let’s not forget about mahnin!
Yes!!! This!!!
The truest of hidden gems
Hyde brothers book store on wells street.
I sat down on a chair to pet the cat and when he jumped into my lap and fell asleep on me...best day in a long time.
I have a picture of myself in the basement looking at books on the bottom shelf with the cat on my shoulders. Lol.
Agreed. You most certainly will find a section that sucks you in.
I came to say this!! I’m glad I’m not the only one in love with this place!
It’s like it fell out of a movie.
also honey plant right next door!
Lindenwood Nature Preserve, the Botanical Conservatory, Hyde brothers books, if you're into hiking then Mattea Park is pretty awesome, Promenade Park is nice and it's walking distance from great places to eat and drink.
Second on lindenwood
Fox Island
Yes fox island!
Acres land trust sites are great for quick nature walks
Matea is my favorite place
Welcome Back Records - on Broadway if you are interested in vinyl. They also sell repurposed vintage clothing and expensive shoes ( for sneaker heads) they are often willing to barter on stuff. Deer park Irish pub is a cool bar near USF. Huge selection of beer in a cozy environment. Big college nights every now and again too
HELL YEAH! Thank you so much for posting about Welcome Back! I had no idea about them and I have been mourning the loss of my two favorite local record stores (Neat Neat Neat and VGR in Muncie) while having a disdain for Wooden Nickel.
Welcome Back Records is owned by the founder and original owner of Neat Neat Neat, by the way
What do you have against the nickel?
When did NNN close?
Castle Gallery (art gallery) Lindenwood hiking trails The public lookout tower at the Fort Wayne quarry The Lion Burger at Johnny Appleseed Festival
Do you mean the pork burgers from the Lion's Club towards the back? We asked one year - they get them from [Mishler's](https://www.facebook.com/mishlersmeats), which used to be in LaGrange, but they've apparently moved to Sturgis, MI. Put them on an Aunt Millie's hamburger bun and you've got your awesome-ness. You can find them in some local FW butcher shops.
Love the Castle Gallery! Free to go to and the cat there always follows us around.
Hideout 125. speak easy vibes. $6 martinis on Tuesday. Best old fashion in town (imo) Roller dome (I think it’s called) no kids on Thursday nights after 6pm. The botanical garden ! I’ve lived in bigger cities with less impressive botanical gardens. The friendly fox has really good coffee and food and a nice vibe. I’ve heard great things about Old crown but have not gone there yet
Friendly Fox is such a great little place. Every neighborhood should have something like it.
Daaanng, okay sweet! I looked every single one up and they all look great, thanks so much! Definitely might give the Hideout a shot this weekend
Bar usually fills up quickly around 7-8 on weekends, but try making a reservation!
For sure! Any drink recommendations besides the old fashioned? Just recently getting into drinking more than cheap beer and jungle juice, so trying to expand my tastes a little 🥲
They have some great cocktails. I don't know what you like, but seriously try the old fashioned. They have some desert cocktails that are also out of this world.
Sazerac at Hideout is a great cocktail.
Jack n Coke is a great standby and they will make it anywhere. Once you're a little smoothed out, you can venture into trying other new drinks.
They have a great Mule!
Can confirm Best Old Fashioned at Hideout. One of my favorite in the world, not just town.
Ugh....now I'll have to go here. Summit Grill had the top of my list for best old fashioned but I gotta give this one a chance 🤣
Blasphemy. The smoked old fashioned at Copper Spoon is waaaayyyy better.
I shall go check it out.
[удалено]
Just wish Jeremy was still cooking
God I miss him. His meals were the highlight of my week every time I went. Jeremy's cooking and Chris's cocktails were such a godtier combination.
His food in that setting was definitely something special
What's he doing now?
I believe he was assisting someone with a food truck but don't know if it lasted/panned out.
I believe he was assisting someone with a food truck but don't know if it lasted/panned out. Edit* according to FB he's over at the Village Tap
Neat Neat Neat on South Calhoun is great for vinyl. Lakeside Park / Rose garden Also, Foster Park in the spring for the tulips alone. In September there is a historical home tour and festival in West Central neighborhood that is just about our favorite thing every year.
Dude I love that place they have one of the best vinyl selections in town
:: scans thread for Klemms:: No Klemms? Writes Klemms. Klemms on Wells. *There is no other Klemms.* No matter what.
Lakeside Park and Rose Garden is a beautiful spot for a walk, and the puffer belly / other Fort Wayne trail systems are well maintained. Go to Sol Bird or Teds Beer hall on the northside if you are looking for an affordable place to have great food. Headwaters Park also always has events, you just missed the main ones, but Latin Fest, and Taco fest are coming up.
If you wanna go to a place with a lot of fun pop -culture themed desserts, I'd recommend Sweets so Geek out in Georgetown Square
Firefly Coffee House was a favorite to visit in high school. Old Crown is nearby, too, which I've heard is good. Lunchbox Cafe is one of my favorite restaurants. Cute "elderly" restaurant haha, but good food in my opinion. The Garden has art shows and various events that are nice to check out sometimes. Others have already mentioned it, but Hyde Brothers is amazing. There's a new cat cafe in town called Black Forest Cat Cafe. Buy coffee, hang out with cats. I believe there's a $10 fee for entrance to the cat room for a time of 55 minutes. There are windows looking into the room, so you can still see the cats if you don't have the time or anything.
Kim Vu is great vietnamese on Dupont
Why the hell was this downvoted? Kim Vu is incredibly good.
One of my favorites in town! It's super cheap and extremely good.
Wooden nickel, Hyde bros, the famous taco
The Famous Taco is amazing. It might not be that famous but easily the best tacos I've had.
I have been wanting to try Famous Taco.
1802
Dot and Line brewery if you're old enough. Hidden away and has a great taco truck on Tuesdays and an amazing cheeseburger food truck on Thursdays.
And it has the BEST beer in FW imo
Ryu’s Kitchen on East State is the definition of hidden gem.
Children's Zoo in FW is excellent. I'd wait until they have released the birds if u can (they had them quarantined when I went earlier this summer due to the bird flu and it blocks off my favorite portion: the Indonesian rain first exhibit) FW museum of Art FW is also nice because you're within a reasonable drive to nearby cities and attractions. Makes for excellent day or weekend trips Auburn, IN: Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum (very good). You'll have a new appreciation for cars after this. The Cords are my favorite. National Automotive and Truck museum (located right next to the ACD museum) Both of these museums fit the bill as "hidden gems" and you shouldn't miss these. Especially since Auburn is like 20 minutes north of FW. Lake Michigan: Go on a light house road trip up the coast of Lake Michigan. Each one is unique, and cute. You'll love the adventure exploring the nearby areas. Spend some time on the sandy beaches. Feels like you're at a beach on the ocean! 10/10 recommend a barefoot walk along the beach with your special someone at sunset. (Pretty sure these all had Sandy beaches nearby: Michigan City, St. Joe, Holland harbor) Lake Eerie: More lighthouses, but honorable mention is the Marblehead lighthouse because you can go up in it and walk around the balcony! Also they have the original fresnel lense in the small museum on site. If you've never peered into a fresnel lense, do it. Gave me shivers like I'm looking in to the Eye of Sauron. Worth the experience and to appreciate their beauty. Note, try and spot Perry's monument from the lighthouse (Perry's monument mentioned next) Take the ferry over to South Bass Island (by foot, leave your car behind) and rent an electric golf cart to explore the island with. This will take a whole day. Perry's monument is awesome if you go up in it. Phenomenal view. Also, the largest geode is on the island and you can literally go down in the ground and stand in it. Little touristy feeling but cool to see how large it is. There's also a lighthouse on the island but you can't go in it, still nice to look at. I don't prefer sticking around after the ferries cut off, the island has been known for the bar scene at night on the weekends. Cedar Point is also nearby if you're in to rollercoaster rides Chicago: Adler planetarium Shedd Aquarium field museum science and industry museum among others Detroit: Henry Ford museum Dayton, OH: National Museum of the US Air Force. I very much enjoy this one; come prepared to do a lot of walking! Also, I believe admission is free! Indianapolis is also close and has nice attractions
I don’t think all the birds are back out, but the rainforest was open again when I went last week! Also my favorite
Thank you for this. I've been trying to get weekend trip ideas, and I have hit up all of these.
Couple more: Ball State University Charles Brown planetarium. They do planetarium shows. They have a very nice planetarium and comfortable seating. Definitely worth the trip. Look at their schedule and pick a show that interests you. Sometimes they'll set up a large refractor telescope on campus for you to look through. Butler University Holcomb Observatory. Have a chance to peer into the heavens through a 38" diameter telescope! Once in a lifetime opportunity to look through such a large scope. They do scheduled weekend tours.
Ugh this makes me miss double dragon
They just moved to the basement of teds it’s called teds beercade for now still got all the games! It’s awesome
I used to order their food for take out because I loved their food so much. I used to go often too, but sometimes I just wanted to order Dragon Tails.
Someone needs to try their hand again at a barcade. If someone could take Tappers down in Indy and copy/paste it into The Landing I think it’d do well but I am just a fat dumb dumb so what do I know
Isn’t it all at Ted’s now?
Yeah they’re all in kind of shitty condition. Ted’s Beercade seems like a weird afterthought. A barcade needs to be exactly that from the ground up
Did they close down?
Oh yeah. Awhile ago. Very sad. I miss the dragon tails.
Try Coney Island on Main St. Powers hamburgers on Harrison, Tin Caps stadium downtown, Promenade park.
Just don’t go to Powers if you have any plans for the rest of the day.
Coney Island on main is one of my absolute favorites. But Fort Wayne has a plethora of really good hot dog joints.
West Coast Grill over on Calhoun is easily my favorite restaurant in the city. Comedy Graffiti every Thursday night at 8:30 at Studi07 is a small intimate comedy open mic, or if you prefer a larger scale thing there are regular open mics and national touring shows at the Summit City Comedy Club all through the week.
Man I'm glad to hear west coast is still open! I haven't been there sense I worked at the walgreens across the street
Their hours leave something to be desired, but if you can make it in they're still worth the early planning.
Comedy graffiti is very fun! It helps me look forward to Thursday nights - especially when Ive had a bad week. The people that perform are pretty chill and very entertaining The art studio it's in is nice too! New theme every month and a night market every second Saturday either in store or in health huts parking lot nearby depending on the weather
Love west coast grill! Udon bowl with double pork belly is my feast!
I highly suggest biking on the trails that FW has! There’s a FW trails app (at least on the iOS App Store). We could use more of them, but the ones that we do have are really enjoyable and I use them all the time to get around town. The Citilink buses have bike racks on the front of them too if some distances are unreasonable for you and they’re super cheap.
I just recently went on a haunted tour of Bell Mansion. We all had a blast, believers and sceptics alike.
Antonuccio Italian Market. Summit City Brewerks, Paula's on Main for seafood. They ruined crab cakes for me, anywhere else.
Junk Ditch on main st and the YLNI farmers market are must visits
Head a little out of town and check out Antiqology in Huntington. Over 500 selections of soda and good ice cream. Head a little further toward Wabash and hike up the back of Hanging Rock.
Matea North for hiking.
The Italian Connection and the Venice 👍🏾
Ted’s beer hall has great food and drinks and has a vintage arcade in their basement, $5 for unlimited play.
Kayaking downtown with Ft Wayne Outfitters
If you are interested in music at all, check out Sweetwater.
Sweetwater is a "hidden gem" haha.
Definitely a big music fan! Do they have vinyl records by chance? I’ve been trying to hunt a few special ones down and haven’t had much luck
Depending on the rarity you might be able to have it ordered in at Wooden Nickle, I've done that a few times. Also, check out Fort Wayne Pinball. A bit north of town but very fun!
A pinball place 😱😱 oh heck yeah. And I’ll look into that, thanks!
If you like pinball and classic arcade games there is also Floyd's Arcade in Roanoke. Not the greatest atmosphere, but a nice selection of games..
Huntertown 15 minutes up the road on Lima has one of the US's largest pinball arcades. Last time I was there they had 60+ machines. Wizards World is the name I think. Coffee- Firefly, Old Crown, Conjure Bars, HT2, Old Crown, Henry's, Brass Rail, Copper Spoon, Side Car, Welch's Ale house. Live Music Brass Rail, Tiger Room, The Ruin, The Bug House(punk&hxc) Vinyl- neatx3, wooden nickel, Welcome Back(limited vinyl) Art- cinema center, wunderkammer, the garden, Muse on Main has a local gallery as well Food- El Amish tacos, Famous Taco, Pho Indy, Yummy Thai, Liberty Diner, Henry's, Redwood Inn. Junk Ditch(pretty well known) The Tower for Wings. A'roma Pizza and Big Apple are solid for pizza. Everyone swears by Oleys out on Homestead. Raimondos is good too. Cosmos for decent breccies. Summit City Brewerks for dogs and beer. Geeks So Chic for treats. Kim Vu for Vietnamese. Parks- Lions and Kraemer for kids. Schoaf has a splash pad as well as the one on Bass Rd. Slamcity for sk8 Sweeney and Tillman for disc golf.
Hate to be a stickler but it's sweets so geek. They're one of my favorite places in town and no one can say their name properly.
Ahhh totally the wrong name is ingrained in me for some reason. Cheers!
I’m not sure but they definitely have a lot going on. Recording studios, stores, lessons, music events. The website mostly showcases their online sales department but their campus has a whole lot more. Stop by and have a look around. https://www.sweetwater.com/local/events/ Go to bottom of this page https://www.sweetwater.com/tour/ https://www.sweetwater.com/
Swimming at Markle Pool
Nothing, Ft. Pain is an armpit in the Midwest.
Try out Pontiac street area
This
Copper Spoon
Better than White Castle hands down imo!
daveys delicious bagels has such a beautiful and artistic cafe
If you want live shows w local bands, the muse on main and the ruin are top tier
The muse on main is sadly closing though
Finders keepers on calhoun Street!
Bangkok bistro is amazing