I don't spend a whole lot of time up in Hamilton County, however, a recent work conference gave me…read morethe opportunity to spend some time at Hamilton Town Center. Hamilton Town Center is essentially an open-air mall. Developed by Indy-based Simon & Associates, Hamilton Town Center opened in 2008 right on the cusp of when the more traditional shopping mall was starting to wane in popularity and developers were exploring options. Hamilton Town center features over 85 shops/restaurants and is designed to resemble a streetscape. Some of the dining options, in particular, are free-standing buildings in outlots. While I think it's pretty common to associate Hamilton County with a more affluent clientele, one of the things I like about Hamilton Town Center is that it has a nice diversity within its shops - from definite high end options to more "ordinary joe" type outlets. Hamilton Town Center also hosts Emagine Theatre (the former Hamilton 16 IMAX). I suppose a minor quibble would be that the vast majority of the options here are national chains, though I noticed a lot of the national chains tend to be smaller chains that might surprise you they're a chain. Being a Simon Mall, Hamilton Town Center has a rewards club and there are some online shopping options. Like most malls, Hamilton Town Center tends to host holiday events and has a Santa every holiday. Generally speaking, accessible parking is plentiful and curb cuts are well done. There's at least one very nice greenery area that seems to draw the kids quite a bit with its various playground-lite equipment. There's a definite "sprawl" here in terms of the landscape. If you have mobility issues, you may have difficulty if you want to go to several different stores at opposite ends of the "mall." In terms of accessibility, it works. It's just a bit tiring. I considered going a 4-star and a 4.5 is probably more accurate, however, the real clincher for me is that I like the diversity of shops more than Castleton and I like the economic variation more than Fashion Mall. I just feel like there's something for everyone here. While the mall generally opens at 10am, I do kind of wish they had a decent breakfast/brunch option. However, that's pretty easy to find within a mile of this growing area. If we're being honest, Castleton is okay but has definitely declined. Fashion Mall is just fine, and I definitely like the food options, but it's more than a wee bit pretentious. Greenwood Park Mall is probably the closest comparison, though Glendale Town Center is weaving together the hybrid experience these days. Washington Square and Lafayette Square? Um, yeah. No. While Central Indiana has other options, this is definitely one of the better mall experiences in Central Indiana and it's an easy drive from pretty much anywhere in Marion and surrounding counties.

This is a good place to go if you want to shop but don't want to leave your dogs behind! A lot of…read morethe stores allow dogs, you can find the list online and I heard they also have it in the mall office. We took our fashionable dog to American eagle, francescas, bath and body works, and of course three dog bakery. All of the staff at the stores were really nice to us and our dog and we felt comfortable in the stores. I also appreciated all of the safety measures at the stores like masks and outside lines. This is also just a pretty mall to walk around on a nice day. We rounded out the day with lunch at Pies and PInts in the mall which is dog friendly as well! We had an awesome sweet corn pizza and the dog was given some water and they were really kind to him.

Unfortunately came on a Sunday when everything was closed but this is such a cute little square!…read moreThere's a fountain, lots of shops, and plenty of parking! Great place to walk around and spend some time outside. They have a gym, intimate apparel store, toy store, homewares store etc. Plus a steakhouse and sushi restaurant! There were even more dining options too. They have rental bikes if you want to cruise around! Wish I came when things were open, but if you're looking for a place to do some shopping or even just window shop, it's a great place to get some steps in and enjoy the atmosphere.

Carmel City Center is ideally located pretty much smack dab in the middle of Carmel with direct…read moreaccess from the Monon Greenway. Within one complex, you've got the Center for the Performing Arts, Carmel Farmer's Market, Christkindlmarkt (during the holidays), Hotel Carmichael, and a number of other retail options, restaurants, and entertainment options. It's all, quite literally, within walking distance (well, unless you're like me and don't have feet. But, you know what I mean). Because this is a central area, a good number of the Carmel festivals will happen around here. You've also got live music and theater (including Civic Theater also housed within this complex). Accessibility is pretty strong since so much of this area is new. I've had my quibbles with accessibility involving the Center for the Performing Arts, though in talking to current Mayor Sue Finkam there's a definite effort to go beyond ADA and to truly become more accessible. Free parking is abundant in this area and the arts district is about 1/2 mile north. Dining options include Aroma Experience, Divvy, The Old Spaghetti Factory, The Cake Bake Shop, Eggshell Bistro, Lone Pine, Graeter's Ice Cream, and others within walking distance. Retail options include Kits & Kaboodle (a great toy shop), 317Home, A.D.A. Vintage, Addendum, Baseline Social, and a host of others. I will note that most of these shops lean toward the more premium experience. There's definitely no Dollar General to be found here. There's definitely a lot to offer here and it's nearly always crowded. I also like that the website will tell you which stores are closed on bad weather days. As accessibility continues to improve, I may very well move this up to a 5-star experience. For now, it's a definite 4-star experience and it's definitely a place I can easily spend the day once I arrive and also enjoy some time on the Monon.

Love this outdoor mall. Unfortunately, as everywhere, brick and mortar stores are dwindling, but…read morethere are still quite a lot of store left to peruse. Since this is an open air location, there is not food court, but plenty of restaurants at the mall as well as the surroundings. You will not go hungry here. And of course there is a movie theater and even event spaces to rent. I hope it survives the declining retail climate, because this is a very convenient location for me.

With all the time I've been spending in Hendricks and Putnam counties dealing with my father's…read morepassing, it seems inevitable that I'd find my way to The Shops at Perry Crossing. This is an outdoor shopping mall, a moving away from the traditional mall concept and yet it has its own issues (especially during winter). Like most malls, Perry Crossing has experienced some of the more traditional anchors going away. You've definitely got some of the familiar places from a traditional mall - JCPenney, Yankee Candle, Bath & Body Works, Claire's, Dick's Sporting Goods and others. Food options here? Bru Burger, El Toro, Hot Box Pizza, Schakolad Chocolate Factory, Rocket Fizz, Stone Creek Dining Company, Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt, and Theo's Italian. There's a Barnes & Noble here. There's AMC Perry Crossing. There's a splash pad for the kiddos. There's a family restroom between Zales and Yankee Candle (also available for nursing moms). Curb cuts are solid. Accessible parking is plentiful. Because this is an open-air concept, be aware that as accessible as everything is you'll still be going from store-to-store outside for the most part. So, plan accordingly. I generally do fine here, however, for those with mobility concerns or who might require assistance it's important to remember that during inclement weather you're not really protected from the elements. Overall, I like this shopping center. Things are well labeled, well organized, and parking is pretty reasonable. While it's not my favorite Indy retail spot, I often forget how much I like it until I am here.

Just a quick review on my experience at this hispanic indoor "mall" in Indy. I was cravaing ice…read morecream and we had some time to kill so I made my bf pull over to get ice cream at this random Yelp find about 5 minutes from where we were when I suddenly desired ice cream. Now... I took 8 years of Spanish but my brain went haywire and I couldn't say a single word of Spanish. That was a problem as everyone spoke Spanish. And not everyone spoke English. That's not a problem, of course. I should have been more prepared but my big dumb dumb brain failed me. There are at least two places to order ice cream inside. We got ice cream from the stand right by the entrance. That was the wrong one as I had wanted to try the stand with the unique flavors like corn and horchata. The one we went to had like a dozen basic flavors and milkshakes. Do a little bit of wandering inside if you want to find the stand with the unique flavors. There are dozens of other stalls inside, selling all sorts of stuff from cheap garbage to even dishwashers and hot tubs! We didn't see what the food trucks outside had. My bf got 2 scoops of ice cream ($5.50) and I panicked ordered a massive size of an oreo milkshake ($8.75 and 80000 calories). It was okay. Not as good as a DQ Blizzard which is top tier in the oreo mix em up game. Prices are barely on anything so make sure to brush up on your basic Spanish. As for the bathroom, it was messy, busy, and well worn. Also, parking was near impossible and potholes are abundant. Yikes. I am glad we tried this interesting experience, but I don't think I will ever go back.

I popped over here on Saturday to check it out; since many of my students had mentioned it to me…read more It's located on the west side, I honestly just browsed around and took in all the sights. There is something for everyone at this location, clothes, shoes, accessories, appliances! I'm glad I got the chance to check it out, I ended up purchasing an evil eye bracelet as well as an our lady of Guadalupe bracelet. I'd visit again, especially to check out the restaurant in the back!

Lots to try and do in this shopping center. I frequent Bibibop and occasionally Torchy Taco. I…read morehave been to Tropical Smoothie Cafe, Sangrita, Rise and Roll, Perspire, Sweetgreens, Kilwins, and Snapfish. Today I heard soft music from my parked car so I decided to check it out. They are freely celebrating mother's until 3 pm. They ran out of free bouquet of flowers. Free mimosos. Card and bracelet making. I visited this yard by the test kitchen during Christmas. I would be interested in checking out other events here.

Unclean, very unsafe garage parking. No security presence. Dont go there if you are female amd…read morealone. Better, safer options close by.

Shiloh Crossing is a fairly well spread-out shopping plaza located in Avon, Indiana right along…read moreRockville Road (US 36). It's not connected, so calling it a mall or shopping center would be inaccurate. It's also much less connected than Hamilton Town Center. However, all of the stores and restaurants fall under Shiloh Crossing. These include Michael's, Total Wine, Ford's Garage, Indiana Members Credit Union (one of the nicer ones), Best Buy, Portillo's, Donato's, Texas Roadhouse, Michael's, and a couple others. There's also a USPS drop-off box. This is definitely one of those corner shopping centers where you can snag an awful lot of things you want to do. About the only thing not here would be some type of grocery option. Unfortunately, they're disconnected enough that you can't really park in one place and visit them all. However, they do really have groupings - Portillo's, IMCU, and Ford's Garage are all easily within walking distance. There's also a small strip building with 3-4 of the options. So, it's all pretty convenient. I also find the turn-in a bit awkward here. You either have to turn off US 36 and go in around the side or you need to head in at the very end of the strip center. If you're going directly to IMCU or Ford's, for example, you can't really do a direct turn-off. This is both a heavy retail area and pretty strong residential area with a large apartment complex right around the corner. Truthfully, I don't think I've ever had a bad experience at any of these stores. I find this to be the friendliest IMCU in Central Indiana and the friendliest Portillo's. While the movie theater here is older, it's good enough and definitely has friendly employees. As I was cleaning out my father's home after his passing, I found myself at this corner a lot either banking, grabbing a meal, or simply decompressing the emotions (No, not at Total Wine. Tempting, though). While this really isn't a destination shopping center (other than having one of only two Ford's Garage locations in Central Indiana), it's definitely worth a stop if you're in the area.

A rather large plaza right along Rockville Road in Avon. As a typical plaza should, it has several…read morestores and restaurants for your enjoyment. And of course an adjacent cinema for your viewing pleasure. Stop by Michael's, Total Wine, Best Buy and other stores to keep our economy going. Think Portillo's, Donato's Pizza and Texas Road House for your after shopping reward.

Keystone Shoppes is a shopping center located right along East 86th Street. With right around 15…read morestorefronts including a variety of food options, personal services, and retail, Keystone Shoppes seems to be an always busy shopping center that accomplishes quite a bit with not a lot of landscape. I believe I've attended two Yelp events in the past in this open-air strip center alone - at First Watch and a barber shop whose name is completely escaping me right now. There's also the wildly popular Ruth's Cafe, a Crumbl Cookies spot, a Thai restaurant, a taco spot, Mattress Firm, Nothing Bundt Cakes and a few more. If there's one gripe I have here it's with the accessible parking. It's here, don't get me wrong. There are also at least three curb cuts along the strip, however, I can't tell you how many times I've passed by this strip center and gone elsewhere because the spots were full and I couldn't find a decent space for a wheelchair user (which I am). Again, the entire strip center is pretty tightly fit in here. I get it. It's just an issue that has bugged me for a long time. That said, I otherwise love this center. It's the kind of center you drive slowly through because of the parking arrangement, however, it's still easy to get to and has great shopping options. I come here regularly, most frequently for First Watch, and I love the blending together of restaurants, shopping, and personal services.

What a fantastic adventure I had today. I love Boba tea. So, it was not a surprise I would find…read moremyself visiting Ann's Boba Tea. I had difficulty debating which tea I wanted to try and ordered two. Fortunately, the first one was sooooo delicious that I drank it up fast and felt delighted and refreshed. Needless to say, I did not get a picture of the pineapple goodness that had strawberry popping bobas, but I know that combination is . With my second tea, I asked the owner to get creative. She created a honeydew with green apple masterpiece . If you're in the mood for some refreshing Boba teas, definitely head to Plaza Urbana in the extended food court to try some delicious Ann's Boba Tea. Black-owned/woman-owned

If you have not tried the businesses at Plaza Urbana-I encourage you to stop by. We stopped by…read morethree restaurants today and I will definitely be back!! 1. Cup de sac was our main stop. It's a vegan restaurant that is absolutely great. The owner and chef greets you with a smile and is ready to go over any question you have. We ordered the cooked nacho stack and the gargantuan burger meal and a small smoothie. 2. Ms Marsha's bakery was our next stop. Again greeted with a friendly smile and some deliciousness. She's got sweet potato pie-cookies-brownies parfaits-cupcakes-cheesecake; every treat you can imagine. But be warned-her cheesecakes sell out fast, so beat the rush. She also offers vegan treats as well. 3. Carnitas el tarasco was great as well. Their agua fresca were so fresh. They have different flavors so something to look forward to next time. There's boutique shops, a hair salón, I believe a nail salon and more spaces to be filled. Definitely worth a visit to the Eastside of Indy