The Inferno Room's new Cuban-inspired menu

Arika Herron

A large nacho bowl piled with shredded lettuce, cilantro on top, pickled red onions, sliced jalapeños, beans, melted cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips around the rim on a wooden table. — The plantain nachos at The Inferno Room. Photo: Arika Herron/Axios

I first tasted chef Jose Plasencia's Cuban food at an Indianapolis Ballet event last year and have been thinking about it pretty much every day since.

Why it matters: Plasencia's pop-up Átame found a permanent home earlier this year at The Inferno Room, the Fountain Square tiki bar.

What to order: The Cuban Frita — a twist on the classic American cheeseburger.

A smashburger is topped with a smoky, ketchup-based sauce that makes the whole thing taste like what a sloppy joe wishes it could be. It's finished off with American cheese, onions and shoestring potatoes.
The Inferno Room offers a meat-free version with Impossible beef and the whole thing is just a ridiculous, delicious mess.
Plus: It comes with some of the best fries in town.

Yes, but: I barely ate any of it because I'd already ruined my dinner with the loaded nachos served on plantain chips.

Also available with Impossible beef, the plantains are covered in cheese sauce, lettuce, black beans, avocado and pickled onions. And they're the good kind of nachos, where every layer is absolutely smothered in toppings — none of that "only on the top" nonsense.
Something about the combination of plantains and toppings beats regular nachos — and I couldn't stop eating them, even when I knew dinner was on the way.

If you go: The Inferno Room, 902 Virginia Ave.

Open 4-11pm Sunday and Tuesday-Thursday; 4pm-1am Friday and 2pm-1am Saturday.

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The Inferno Room's new Cuban-inspired menu

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