The Red Pepper

Trip To Madison, IN
My wife and I took a motorcycle trip to Madison, IN in early June. This blog post is part of a series which presents each step of our journey. If you missed the beginning, the story starts here.

Seven years ago, when we made our first pilgrimage to Madison, IN, in the days before we were riding our motorcycles on long trips, my wife and I stumbled upon a great local restaurant. Upon our return we were happy to see the place was still in operation. We made sure to visit it again.

I don't know the history of The Red Pepper, but the building looks like it used to be a classic service station from the 1950's, turned into a restaurant. It has a diverse menu, and good food. We enjoyed our sandwiches immensely as we sat and talked and listened to the music playing. The sun streamed in the windows and we enjoyed our place in the sun.

The Broadway

Trip To Madison, IN
My wife and I took a motorcycle trip to Madison, IN in early June. This blog post is part of a series which presents each step of our journey. If you missed the beginning, the story starts here.

After catching up on my sleep, we geared up, got back on the bikes, and rode into Madison (which is just a mile down the road from Clifty Falls State Park).

Madison has a quaint and historic downtown with lots of old buildings turned into restaurants, antique shops, and bookstores. 

Madison's location on the Ohio river made it an important trade center in the early 1800's. Goods and passengers bound for Indiana arrived by riverboat, and transferred to stage coach or train at Madison.

As other forms of transportation took over, Madison's importance in industry diminished. Today it survives as a tourist destination nestled along the beautifully wooded banks of the Ohio River. The town has preserved many historic buildings and converted them to shops, restaurants, and hotels. The architecture of a bygone era and the small-town feel make it an enjoyable weekend get-away.

We parked our bikes in free parking along main street, walked along the shop until we spied The Broadway Hotel, which claims bragging rights as Indiana's oldest continuously-operated Inn. Former patrons include John Wilkes Booth.

The food was delicious and plentiful. The staff was friendly. My wife and I ate our fill for under thirty dollars.

Story Inn

Trip To Madison, IN
My wife and I took a motorcycle trip to Madison, IN in early June. This blog post is part of a series which presents each step of our journey. If you missed the beginning, the story starts here.

We left Gatesville and travelled south until we picked up IN-46.  We jogged east on IN-46 to IN-135, which we took south to Story, IN and the fabled Story Inn. 

Story Inn in Story, IN is a charming anachronistic place in the middle of nowhere. It wouldn't be in business were it not for the day trippers making a trek through and around Brown County State Park. The fact that it's situated on IN-135, one of the area's best motorcycle roads, doesn't hurt.

We stopped for lunch.


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We snapped a few photos of the Inn, including an antique gasoline pump on the front porch.

Here's a shot of the front of the Inn.

We've eaten there before and not been disappointed, but this time around we felt a little underwhelmed. Story Inn seemed long on image, and short on substance.

I ordered the BBQ pulled pork, and Mrs.Rat ordered the artichoke burger. Both of us got fries and a soda with our entree.

The BBQ pork was gristly and greasy ... Something I didn't even know was possible for pulled pork.

The artichoke burger was a fried patty made of artichoke dip. "Barely edible" was how Mrs. Rat described it.

The fries certainly looked great. Hand cut, with real bits of potato peel stuck on either end of the thick cut fry. The way they're supposed to look. However, they were slimy and cool on our plates.

After this meal, we considered taking Story Inn off our list of favorite eateries in Indiana.

We grabbed another photo of the front of the Inn, this time with our bikes in view.

We saddled up and rode south from Story on IN-135.