Inside the Pacers' new steakhouse and speakeasy just steps away from Gainbridge Fieldhouse

As an NBA fan, it’s always great to see big moves before the trade deadline.

I’m of course talking about Commission Row, the new restaurant and bar owned by Pacers Sports and Entertainment set to open Jan. 22. Located at 110 S. Delaware St. on the east side of the Bicentennial Unity Plaza and operated by the Cunningham Restaurant Group, Commission Row is named after the stretch of Delaware Street where traveling 19^th century farmers sold goods to merchants.

There are decidedly fewer bushels of wheat and many more daiquiris at the new Commission Row, which I recently visited during a media preview. The 30,000-square-foot, three-story venue features a basement speakeasy called Mel’s, a first-floor steakhouse and a second-floor private event space overlooking the Plaza, fittingly dubbed Above.

Inside Commission Row’s basement speakeasy

Mel’s, named for late longtime Pacers owner Melvin Simon, is a roughly 120-person lounge with a private dining room that seats 24 behind dark red curtains. Low candle-lit tables, deep swiveling club chairs and brassy pillars flesh out the hush-hush vibe. Aside from a few vibrant sculptures, most of the color comes from the bottles behind the bar, Cura?ao and absinthe glistening like translucent sapphires and emeralds.

I sampled two drinks at Mel’s: a banana, citrus and cardamom rum cocktail dubbed The Runner Stumbles and a carrot, apple and ginger mocktail called the Rabbit Test.

Having only recently moved from the White Claw-stained tailgating fields of Indiana University, I tend not to have the finest appreciation for craft cocktails, but I enjoyed The Runner Stumbles’ pucker-inducing blend of sweet and sour. I suspect some might find it a bit cloying, but I suppose those people would ask for theirs strong.

The Rabbit Test surprisingly tasted less aggressively sweet. Crisp ginger beer foams nicely in your mouth, biting playfully at the back of your throat. The apple is the centerpiece, but a barely perceptible earthiness creeps through to remind you of the carrot. I don't suspect there were a lot of mocktails in prohibition-era speakeasies, but I think the bootleggers really missed out.

What’s on the menu at Commission Row?

Upstairs, the steakhouse’s menu comes from executive chef Corey Fuller, a Carmel native who got his first job as a 13-year-old at Woody’s — then called Ye Olde Library Restaurant — and became the sous chef at the Villa Inn by his senior year of high school. Fuller has since worked at restaurants in Chicago and Dubai.

Commission Row’s full menu will feature several spins on steakhouse favorites, including a seafood tower and French onion macaroni and cheese. During my visit, I sampled the shrimp cocktail, an everything-seasoned popover with steak and a smattering of desserts.

The shrimp had a nice snap to it and served as an excellent vessel for the piquant, faintly sweet cocktail sauce. It executed its responsibility commendably, whetting my appetite with a few pleasant bites. Far from an All-Star performance, but that’s OK. Whether it’s Jamal Tinsley or T.J. McConnell, I’m sure Pacers fans can appreciate the value of a solid role player.

The steak popover was a much bigger swing. A juicy strip of medium-rare steak nestles into a brashly oniony, peppery roll with a glug of red wine sauce and a flake of Périgord black truffle. Some bites struck me as abrasively salty, others a bit plain. However, in the more heavily-sauced mouthfuls, the fruity wine balanced out the louder flavors splendidly. Ultimately, this dish could make your night or leave you wanting, but it’s sure to pack a punch — the obvious Pacers comparison being Metta Artest.

What’s for dessert?

Lining a high wooden table between the surf and turf was a polychromatic display of desserts: bright pastel macarons, multilayer fruit cakes, raspberry-dotted tarts and even an upscale Swiss roll.

I popped a few airy, crumbly macarons with no complaint, but the showstopper was a shell of coconut-flavored chocolate filled with coconut mousse and coconut-almond dacquoise topped with cubes of pineapple-flavored agar-agar.

The chocolate shell is strikingly rich, but so thin it doesn’t overwhelm the fluffy mousse or crumbly dacquoise, reminding me of a nuttier Key lime pie crust. The pineapple agar had a texture somewhere between gelatin and an overripe pear, rounding out the pi?a colada experience. It was unquestionably my favorite thing I ate, a genuine superstar like Tyrese Haliburton or T.J. Warren for roughly two weeks in 2020.

Should you visit Commission Row?

Between the Probitas rum and the Périgord truffle, the average customer at Commission Row likely rolls a bit higher than your average diner. I know, I know — who would have thought the Pacers-owned steakhouse in the heart of downtown is a little ritzy?

I imagine the Pacers and Cunningham’s marketing arms would beg to differ, but if you just want to grab a drink or a bite after a Pacers game or other downtown event, you might be better suited to walk a few more blocks. However, for those with a bit more money to burn or something special to celebrate, why not?

I didn’t adore everything I ate, but the samples had a distinct vision and I’m curious to see what a full menu looks like. It’s a time of major acquisitions in Pacer nation, and I was told the French onion mac and cheese will really elevate the roster.

Contact dining reporter Bradley Hohulin at [email protected]. You can follow him on Twitter @bradleyhohulin.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Inside the Pacers and Cunningham Group's new steakhouse and speakeasy