So. Indiana

says...
>
>Dick D. wrote:
>
>>Will be travelling and staying in both Bloomington and Evansville
>>Indiana in a couple of weeks. Looking for good recommendations for
food
>>as follows:
>>
>>1. Oriental restaurants (Indian also)
>>2. Vegetarian restaurants
>>3. Coffee shops (we're talking espresso here, not Dunkin' Donuts, and
>>yes, atmosphere, music and late hours are appreciated!)
>>4. Just plain good home cookin'
>>
>>Thanks for any suggestions, I already downloaded the vegetarian page
>>for Bloomington, but would love to hear your reviews for places like
>>Laughing Planet, Encore Cafe, etc.
>>--
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Check it out!
>
>Ok finally a question I have four years of expertise in ;) I only know
>bloomington so here goes.
>
>1) Jung's Chinese on 10th and 45/46 next to a sherwin williams paint
>store has the best (and least oily) chinese food, especially good are
>their lo meins and the mushu...I really hope its still in business.
>
>2) The Snow Lion has incredible tibetan food(very indan like) with
>mammoth portions and very cheap, (a friend of mine did come down with
>a severe case of food poisoning once after we ate the but I never had
>any problems.) If concerned stick to the curried noodles. Pretty much
>anyone in town can direct you to this. Lots of vegetarian dishes.
>
>3) For coffee you have the daily grind (my favorite coffee and
>capucino) in three locations; kirkwood, college mall, and the art
>museum. For atmosphere and late hours hit The Runciple Spoon, I also
>hear their breakfasts are great.  My favorite place in general though
>besides Jung's Chinese is The Uptown Cafe, with a ever changing menu,
>excellent coffee, and great dishes, I had indonesian corn fritters one
>day and I still think about them.  The Uptown Cafe is right in the
>middle of Kirkwood, which anyone can direct you to.
>
>4)Next door to Uptown is a Greek place called the trojan horse, great
>falafal.
>5)If you like sushi or japanese skip the scenic place on the hill
>(can't remember the name) and go to Mikado's on 45/46 just down from
>one of the daily grinds.
>
>As for Encore Cafe, I ate there once with friends and I can't help but
>think that it sucks.  Dry bread, wilted greens etc...
>
>Its odd but Bloomington with a population during the school year of
>about 60k has a great deal more really good places to eat than Tampa
>does with a population year round of ..uh...alot more.
>
>If you have anyother questions about bloomington just email me.
>
>Sean Connolly
>[email removed]
>
Well...I just graduated from IU so I have 4 years also.  I think that:

A) there is really no good Chinese in Bloomington. Some friends and I had a contest to see if anyone could find any, but to no avail.  There is the Shanghai Dumpling as take=out only...mall style, but the owner, a nice little lady, takes good care of you if you are lucky enough to get her.

B) Snow Lion is OK...be PICKY!!! They will sit you where ever they feel is ok and they have a bad reputation as far as service is concerned. The food can be great, but make sure that they know that you will not take any crap.  Also...they are pretty good at making really sizzling hot dishes.  HOT is hotter than Challenge the Chef though.  Also...the owner (nephew of the Dalai Lama) admits it is not authentic because Americans would not like the real thing. I crave it sometimes, but when I do go, I make sure to have their MILK TEA which is so mellowing that the bad servers do not get assaulted (:

C) Vegetarian...every place has something vegetarian. The best is Petersons on 10th Street.  Next might be The LAughing Planet Cafe.  As I said, most every place has a good assortment.

D) Cafes...avoid the Original Kona Koffee Company...nothing worth drinking.  The Daily Grinds are ok...the Runcible Spoon uses a hot air roaster.  I think the best coffee in town (and I love coffee) is actually at a Pizza place called Lennies. It is from a small local roaster called Partridge and Quigleys (they are on 6th Street and Walnut).  Get some coffee @Lennies and maybe pick up some beans to go at the roastery.  Lennies also has the only MicroBrew Pubin Bloomington and make great gourmet pizza.  They have one with roasted red bell peppers, feta, garlic sauce (no tomatoes) and artichoke that would satisfy any discerning gourmet. Their fried shrooms are excellent.

E) No trip to Bloomington is complete without some authentic Irish food
>from  the Irish Lion. This PUB is as nice as some of the oldest and best
pubs in London (I just found that out for myself!).  They have a great selection of single malt scotches and the beer selection is second to none.  Grab a pint or a yard and some Blarney Puff Balls late at night...nice night cap! They even have AUTHENTIC Guinness not what most americans get but what the Irish drink.

F) The Uptown is nice too...good for Brunch though busy.  Try the Runcible Spoon for breakfast too...their coffee is good for breakfast when a harsher, full bodied brew is more appreciated.

G) The Encore Cafe is ok...they used to allow students to study there and now they do not. It has gone downhill, but their dessert selection is great.  Best in town.

H) Greek.  The trojan horse has, by far, the worst service anywhere.  I was in spain and they are notorious and the trojan horse is worse. The food is partially acceptable.  For similar food, half the price make the drive to King Gyros.  Their Gyros are better.  For REAL middle Eastern food go to Casablanca's.  4th and Dunn...a house that is on the Southeast corner.  It is small and intimate.  Their Couscous dishes and their Tagines are great.  The chef specializes in dessert crepes too. Try some of their morroccan iced tea and hoummous on toasted french bread. Yes, the morroccan atmosphere is intense, but the food is beautiful.

I) Home cooking...for breakfast, lunch and maybe dinner...the Ladyman's Cafe.  American food is harder to find, save for bar munchies.  Also try Yogi's Sports bar on 10th and Indiana.  They have some good food.

Good Luck and Enjoy!

David

___________________________
David A. Podgursky
[email removed]
www.thepoint.net/~david

From [email removed] Sun Mar  3 21:31:27 EST 1996
Article: 23224 of rec.food.restaurants