The Sky City Cafe is set within the beautiful and artistic surroundings of the Eiteljorg Museum in Downtown Indianapolis. This 2-year-old contemporary cafeteria is a fantastic choice for lunch, with views of the canal from indoor or outside seats.

The mood

The cafe, filled with Downtown workers and museum-goers, is casual, but the setting kicks things up a notch. Modern decor inside contrasts with nature's work on the patio.

Huge glass and wood swinging doors separate the A/C lovers from the sun seekers. When I visited with my husband, Hayden, we chose an outdoor table, and despite the intense heat, we were perfectly comfortable under an oversized umbrella.

The food

Because the restaurant is cafeteria-style, you have to wait in line. The menus are posted on the wall, visible from all angles, and fittingly (since it's the Eiteljorg), the cafe food has strong Southwestern and American Indian influences

The bulk of the menu items are soups, salads and hot and cold sandwiches. Sounds like any other cafe, right? Well, how about a Rio Rancho salad -- taco salad with a twist -- a tomato tortilla shell, piled with lettuce, blackened salmon, corn, black beans, jicama, pico de gallo, sour cream and guacamole ($9.25). Or possibly, the Mohave Valley sandwich piques your interest with meaty grilled portabella mushrooms, garlic spinach and roasted tomatoes ($6.50).

For a quick choice, the chef also prepares a quesadilla of the day for $6.50.

After stepping up to the counter and placing our orders, we were given a number and waited for our food to arrive.

Since it was a scorcher, hot soup didn't sound like a good idea. Hayden chose the Piquante Beef cold sandwich ($8). Roast beef was loaded onto sourdough bread along with tomatoes, lettuce, onions, pepperjack, and an awesome garlic lime mayo.

I went out on a short limb and ordered the White Rock cold sandwich ($6.25), a great choice for veggie heads. Multigrain bread, roasted red peppers, cucumber, lettuce slaw, cheese and posole hummus, which is mostly made of corn. Different, and very good.

Both sandwiches were served with tangy lime chips and to finish off our lunch we ordered an Oreo dessert bar ($2.25).

The drinks

I chose a Sprite ($1.50), while my husband opted for ice water. Even though the drink fountain was self-serve, we didn't need it: We scarfed our delicious meals so quickly, refills were unnecessary.

The damage: $19.44

Sky City is a must stop if you're heading to the Eiteljorg. Plan a day out. The museum can satisfy your eyes and Sky City easily sates your hunger.