Into Indian!

Have you ever made up your mind that you don't like something and then made a complete reversal? For some reason you had an idea about it and knew it would take something really astounding to change your mind? Long-time single, I've always been discouraged by the vast number of men on dating sites who declare they LOVE Indian food. How in the world will I ever find a partner without liking Indian food? Maybe single will last forever...

I just found something contrary enough to make me change my mind about Indian food! For decades I've had in my head that the only Indian food I like is butter chicken. I think I had too many things that were spicy at one time, or something that tasted a little "off." Butter chicken is mild. Butter chicken is safe. Butter chicken is rich and delicious. Butter chicken is my sure bet when someone suggests Indian food....

On the northeast corner of the courthouse square in Bloomington is Amrit Indian. Lured by an inexpensive gift certificate I decided it would be my next review. On a pretty September night a B-Town Bites crew ventured to India... or at least as far east as Walnut Street. There were very few people inside, only one other table at first so we received very dedicated service. The server patiently answered our many questions. We ordered an appetizer of Gobi Manchurian and garlic naan. Right away I was wowed. The garlic naan was fabulous. I am one of those people who don't like cilantro, so I'll note that there was some on it. Everything else about that bread was so good that I ate some anyway! We also ordered vegetable samosas, They came with an assortment of sauces, which were all tasty and varied in flavor from sweet to spicy, but the samosas were so delicious that they didn't need any additions. 

Finally we decided that we would each order a dish and share. We ordered Lamb Biryani, Bhindi Masala, and Guess what! Butter chicken! Guess what else, I wasn't the one who made that choice. (I picked the lamb). You can request a spice level from 1 - 5. I requested one, being timid, and we only went up to three so everybody would be able to taste. Butter chicken was familiar, rich, delicious, great. Bhindi Masala was a fabulous blend of flavors, well balanced and tasty. My favorite was the lamb Biryani that I had chosen. Savory, with tender, fairly abundant lamb....I was happy with my choice. There are plenty of vegetarian dishes available, the by-request for spice levels, meaning many people can eat here! I admit I forgot to inquired about allergies and special diets. The server was so pleasant in answering our questions that I don't think anybody would mind an inquiry. Let me know if you have feedback on allergy issues. I do know it is not a good place for low-carb eaters! Rice, oh, such delicious rice! One would have to have a steel will to refuse it. 

We took our time and enjoyed good service, needed lots of water refills that were prompt in coming. The bathrooms check out clean, they are gendered bathrooms, and I didn't spy a baby changing station, making this a lower score for family-friendly or those who mind gendered restrooms (they were one seaters though, and I know that can make a difference in that comfort level).

I'd been told that we should try the "Mango drink, " which is actually called a "Mango Lassi." The server said it is yogurt, mango, and a "little" sugar. My friends were the designated mango lassi tasters as I am allergic to mangoes! It was declared delicious and a nice indulgence.  

The bill was $58 for two appetizers, 2 breads, 3 entrees, and the mango lassi. I think that is a fine amount for a generous dinner for three, with plenty of leftovers!

The most amazing thing was that dinner at Amrit India transformed me. From one who thought I would always and forever hate all Indian food except Butter chicken, now I have a new favorite in that lamb biryani and a more open mind to trying more! I don't have to be afraid if some handsome man tells me he LOVES Indian food. 

How about it? Have you ever had your mind set on one thing for a long time and then made a complete reversal? 

 Table full of yum!

Gobi Manchurian

Bhindi Masala

 Lamb Biryani

 Garlic Naan

 Butter Chicken

 Mango Lassi

Come Sail Away...

So a couple of weeks ago I was due to post. My goal is every other week. I was getting ready for a TRIP, something I've never done before. I was experiencing some serious burnout both physically and emotionally from selling my house and undertaking new responsibilities at work. I'm back in Bloomington now and plan to eat and review either this week or next, but in the meantime.... I took several food pictures on my Norwegian Cruise Line CARIBBEAN CRUISE!!!

See that piece of cake in the upper right? (Left! Left! Editing to correct this, LOL!) My dream cake, dark chocolate with a creamy filling and a slick ganache.... TERRIBLE. I was so sad. 

 Crab cake. This was delicious, presented well, and yummmmy!

 Prime rib, very good. 

 New York strip with peppercorn sauce. The meat was good. The fries were dead. We were sitting in a big group and it made for slow serving which really affected the food quality at times. :(

 Not a big deal, but I actually used the often touted "life hack" of putting the straw through the tab to keep it from popping out!

 Chicken burrito at the Blue Reef Beach Club in Mahahual, Mexico.

 It had a good flavor, but I didn't see much recognizable chicken! 

 Chocolate mint mousse... This was probably the best dessert I had on the cruise, much to my disappointment. I am SO spoiled by my own baking skills. I tried a couple of cakes and muffins, but they tasted chemical and like they were low quality grocery items. I was sadly disappointed, as I had planned to follow Erma Bombeck's advice completely on this trip!

 Eggs Benedict. These were good. I can finally see why my father made such a big deal out of good poached eggs! Notice the bacon? I ate bacon for breakfast every single morning. It was sometimes difficult to find pieces that were crispy enough.

Cuban Restaurant in Miami. We walked through some scary-looking places to get here, 

but decided it was worth the walk!

 From a Cuban buffet in Little Havana in Miami. SO. MUCH. FOOD. The best thing here was the little packet in the upper left. The server said it was ham and cheese, but definitely some Cuban version. Tasty, in any case! I think I ate less than a fourth of this food, but I got the big plateful so I could taste more things. It's not like an American buffet... all the food was out on the buffet, but you ordered items and the server loaded your plate. I should have ordered "un pocito solamente," because I know how, but it didn't cross my mind!

The $15 mojito in the Cuban Restaurant, and it had TONS of liquor. 

My friends who drank them are not teetotalers like I am, and they couldn't finish them!

 Aunt Erma's advice. I TRIED to follow it, really!

Have you ever gone on vacation or a visit and had the opportunity to try something completely new? Was it rewarding? or disappointing? I'd call my cruise experience mixed. 

Sofra Turkish Cafe - clever subtitle here

In a little strip of buildings on 340 S. Walnut Street is Sofra Cafe, which cooks and serves Turkish fare, one of the many nations/cultures represented in Bloomington's international food scene. This is a new experience for me. Years ago I had tried Turkish food in another cafe, but hadn't been impressed with (might as well say it, I was upset by) my perception of the quality and my assessment of the cleanliness (of course, you know I have issues!). I was distracted by those problems and don't recall the food at all. Now I am ready to try Turkish cuisine again and I'm ready to be wowed.  

Sofra is not located in the area often referred to as "restaurant row," but it's not too far away, about three blocks south of the courthouse square. On a good foot day, I could walk there from downtown. On a foot hurty day I'd have to drive and park in the metered parking out front and along the block. The cafe is a tiny little place, with seating for about 25. If I recall correctly, they do set up some sidewalk seating in nice weather. It is easily accessible with a smooth concrete ramp and all the seating on one level; a couple of booths and tables and chairs. There was a highchair available for the little one of the large group who shared the cafe with us having what appeared to be a family dinner. 

I arrived as the last in our party and K had already ordered an appetizer platter. It had several items, including a red lentil patty, two stuffed grape leaves, feta roll, half a pita, a dish of eggplant salad and another dish of 'Cacik' a yogurt cucumber sauce. I'm pretty sure this is the same sauce that we refer to as tzatziki. I couldn't wait to start tasting! We discussed the menu, which is printed, and some items are also posted above the counter on marker boards.. ..and tasted the appetizers. I think the favorite was the feta roll, which was a nice savory treat. I also enjoyed the red lentil patty, especially with some of the yogurt dip. None of us really cared for the eggplant salad, which seemed to be a mass of bland, gelatinous goo to me - although later in the meal G. began to enjoy it and declared it has a "smoky" flavor. I wish the appetizer platter had come with more pita, I would have enjoyed that dipped in the sauce. 

K had ordered a glass of ginger lemon tea to begin and it was super cute in a glass with a tiny tea spoon. It tasted fresh and natural and would be great on a cold day. They also serve Pepsi products and G. ordered a yogurt drink called Ayran. G has traveled a lot and has a more experienced palate than I  and declared it rich and creamy. I'm a total sugar addict, so of course I wanted it to be sweet! I ordered lemonade, which wasn't anything special, but at least comes with free refills, for $1.95. 

The questions and the ordering began.... Our server told us she was brand new, but encouraged questions and said she would find out if she didn't know. The process was short-circuited when G tried to order a lamb dish.... out of lamb, then K tried to order a ground beef pide....out of ground beef! K settled for a Mediterranean panini and G went for a red lentil soup. It does seem that there were several vegetarian dishes available and I did notice a section on the menu that listed a few. It was kind of frustrating. I'd especially have liked to have been able to order the lamb to try something new! It wasn't the end of the evening, but a 6:00 dinner in the middle of the week...it seems like all the menu items should have been available. 

Our food began to arrive first with the Börek, a spinach and feta pastry with phyllo dough. Delicious. How could one go wrong with this!? Other dishes began to arrive...G's red lentil soup, a HUGE bowl, with a nice piece of bread. The soup was cold as she first began to eat, then she realized it was warmer on the bottom and stirred it up. Probably warmed in the microwave, but def needs a good stir before service. It was tasty and had a good texture. The presentation seemed to miss something and it looked pretty boring. G realized later in the meal that she enjoyed stirring some of the Cacik in... maybe it's not original to Turkey, but could possibly be served with a little side of the sauce to help make it look better and give another option. The Mediterranean panini really lovely! It was hot and tasty and full of good things. It was served with a sauce that K tasted and declared super hot (as in spicy)! Be careful if you try it until you know it's within your limit! I ordered a beef kebab bowl, which is beef cubes in a tasty sauce. You can have it served with bulgur or rice - the server did caution that the rice contains orzo! Diners with Celiac or others who avoid gluten or wheat, beware. I didn't ask about any other allergy issues so I don't have any other warning, but our server was willing to ask the cook questions if she needed to and I feel like questions would be willingly answered. We were all plenty full and were given to-go boxes as requested. K ordered a dessert, a type of lemon cake and I don't recall the name. K said "Ravana," but I am not sure of the spelling. She took it home for later and though she said it wasn't very lemony it was good enough to eat it all and not save a taste for me. ;) 

Remember when I mentioned the other Turkish restaurant I had tried where I questioned its cleanliness and I forgot all about the food? Sofra is super clean! Sofra is so clean that I forgot to wash my hands after I touched the menu! Sofra is so clean that I FORGOT to check the restroom! Sofra is so clean that even though you can see into the kitchen I wasn't horrified! I wasn't distracted from the food because of *issues.* I enjoyed the food....not enough that I used my clever title, "Sofra, A Turkish Delight," but yes, clean enough and good enough that I'd like to try it again. I want to try a lamb dish and I want to try one of those desserts myself, and I definitely want more Börek!

 Appetizer Platter, from upper left: Eggplant salad, feta roll, 

stuffed grape leaves, red lentil patty, Cacik, 

 Mediterranean panini

 Beef kebob bowl

 hot ginger and lemon tea

 red lentil soup

 Borek

 Borek

B-Town Bites dines at B-Town Diner, and it doesn't bite!

Whew! I just spent some highly focused time learning how to get pictures from my old camera onto my new computer! It's a good thing my brain (and the rest of me) are plentifully filled from my B-Town diner dinner.

This diner that boasts "24/7 Home Cookin'" is on North Walnut Street, in the same block as Black Mercantile and the Brothers bar. It's a doorway that took me a second look to find. I haven't spent a lot of time in this area for the last thirty years... no more bar life for me since then, and it is right across the street from the Bluebird. "24/7" must mean some great late night business, especially since the demise of the downtown Waffle House. Well now that it is thoroughly established that I am ANCIENT, here goes....

Once you find the door, there are a couple of easy steps or a ramp to enter, yay! for accessibility. Inside there are plenty of tables at floor level and booths one step up. We were immediately greeted by Tanner (based on our receipt - I did not miss the "Hi, I'm Tanner, let me sit down with you and tell you all my secrets while I am your server" greeting that seems to be standard these days). We picked a booth and he came right over for a drink order. I was on water tonight, having been fully caffeinated earlier, and K ordered a Pepsi, so it's a Pepsi product place. We needed to wait for our third party member and we examined the menu and chatted. Tanner let us alone, but was attentive when G arrived and got her drink order and didn't balk at her "plain hot water" (I was tempted to make fun of her a little bit). You know I have issues, though.... when he delivered her drink, he held it by the edges of the cup, not the handle... and even G, (who does not have my issues!) felt the need to wipe the edges a little bit. SERVERS, seriously, you handle money and dirty dishes and credit cards, don't hold glasses and cups by the parts people drink from!!   

We ordered dinner with about 17 extra requests.... I'm no bun, no apples, dressing on the side, high maintenance. I am happy to report that even the request to have no apples on my salad, but have them served on the side. so G could eat them was respected. I didn't ask about cross contamination, except to ensure the salads were made fresh and that the apples wouldn't be "picked off" an existing salad, but I feel like reasonable requests would probably be honored. Readers, lemme know so others with food preferences or sensitivities can get a good grip on that. It was hard to make a choice because the menu is appealing, offering breakfast, sandwiches, and entrees "hot plates" all the time. I had heard that B-Town Diner has great pancakes, but there were so many offerings we passed them up this time. There seem to be several dishes available that would suit vegetarians, didn't check super well for vegans, but the menu is online at their site, so you can check before you go.

My I-have-to-wash-my-hands-now-because-I touched-the-menu visit to the bathrooms followed. The Diner has two bathrooms, both marked unisex, and both seemed large enough for a wheelchair or walker to enter. There is still a throw-back that one has a urinal and the other has a baby changing table, but with the unisex signage at least the Diner isn't enforcing gender roles. I am all for unisex or non-gendered bathrooms and the Diner seems friendly that way. Both appeared clean and well stocked as far as towels, soap, tp....

I am glad I went to dinner with friends with whom I had a lot to talk about.... the food took half an hour to arrive. When it came the salad looked huge, great and fresh, and the hot food seemed hot, except the fries. I know it's hard to time fries when there are lots of dishes served, but they really seemed like they were dropped too soon and had spent significant cooling time. Even lukewarm they tasted good. I'd like to try them when fresh!  Between the three of us we ordered: fish and chips, zucchini potato pancakes, a bacon cheeseburger (no bun), and the cranberry pecan salad (apples on the side). It was a lot of food, and even though I ordered the salad instead of the fries with the burger I didn't even touch it, but packed it up for tomorrow's lunch. While we were eating and chatting some more Tanner was attentive at filling our drinks and bringing some little bits and pieces as requested. K had ordered a side of the macaroni and cheese and it didn't make it out until the end of the meal. He admitted he had forgotten to put it on the original order and gave it at no charge. The fish of the fish and chips looked like it might have been frozen breaded fillets... The menu says home cookin' and I know that doesn't always mean the same thing it used to, but those sure didn't look like freshly breaded fish to me. Also that was the ugliest presentation... a plain plate with three brown fish fillets and brown fries... a lemon wedge, a dollop of tartar sauce, an orange slice, or even some parsley would have really improved that. The presentation of the zucchini potato pancakes wasn't any better, but the colorful plate helped a little bit.

As we wound down realizing we weren't going to eat everything Tanner was quick to bring boxes as requested. I am looking forward to that salad for lunch tomorrow!

I need to note that I chose to visit B-Town Diner this week because it is spring break for I.U. Tonight we had no trouble finding parking, even though we had to pay, even the garage that has three free hours at times needed payment tonight. There was no wait for seating, but I wonder that a usual Thursday night as classes are winding down for the week is probably much busier. There was even what looked like a band bus parked over at the Bluebird tonight, but not the usual crowd milling around downtown on a not-too-cold evening. It seems like on a slow night like this the food would come more quickly, and the fries would have been able to be well attended and be hot. I understand that when I.U. is not in session normally a lot of employees are also gone and businesses often run low on crew. It should be remembered though that even non-students try to frequent downtown eateries and local businesses and deserve hot fries.

All in all, we did enjoy the diner. They could definitely improve timing and presentation. I'd like to try it again and get those pancakes. I guess the semester will be over in a few weeks and we might get there again.

 This was my bunless burger. It usually would come with fries, but I asked to substitute the salad. That kind of harmed the usual presentation, I guess, but this just seems wrong.

 This is the fish and chips, again with the presentation, and I wonder about that fish, even though G said it tasted okay.

 This is the zucchini potatoe (oh look, my fingers typed a Dan Quayle potatoe, I think I will just leave that for atmosphere) pancakes. Really tasty, served with applesauce and/or sour cream. A nice new thing to try!

         

       The cranberry pecan salad, sans apples, Nice and fresh and def huge, could be an entree or served family style to the entire table as a side. 

 This is my burger up close, NICE real bacon, sliced thick, and real cheddar.                         

 The apples from the salad served on the side by request. They looked super fresh, plentiful, and bright. Unfortunately, I cannot taste them :( and G took them home for later.

Mother Bear's, a Bloomington Classic.

Several years ago my sister started a food blog, Pechin's Pizza of the week. She came to visit me in Bloomington and we ate at, and she reviewed, the original Mother Bear's Pizza, near the Indiana University campus. One of her first reviews was the original Mother Bear's Pizza.  See her review here,

Well, just like every town, Bloomington changes and grows and new restaurants pop up, mostly chains. A new old restaurant popped up on the swiftly growing west side of town, a side that some students hardly know exists! Mother Bear's recently opened a new location in a building that had housed a chain rib joint that didn't make it. Just off the west side of Indiana State Road 37, which is now under construction to be part of Hwy 69, a straight shot between Indy and Evansville; adjoining the parking lot of a Kohl's store is where Mama Bear made a new home.

We went on a chilly Friday night, when LOTS pf people decided pizza sounded good. It had been a day when around 4:00 I sent a message to my roommate asking about dinner plans...REALLY hoping she wanted to eat out, no matter how many leftovers were festering in our fridge! I had a peanut butter flavored cardboard, um, I mean fiber bar to make it through the rest of my workday and yay! When she responded she said she was still craving that deep dish pizza she'd mentioned last week, so Mother Bear's it was. We had a couple of "life" tasks to do first, so headed to the Pizza den about 6:30, to find ourselves signing up for an hour long wait. There were LOTS of people waiting, if I recall correctly, probably fifty or sixty people. We were given a little buzzer thingy and sat down in an entry way on a wooden bench to wait. Lots of people chose to come in and get carry out, and I had noted two parking spaces near the door for carry out customers, so that might be a good option if you can't handle the wait and don't care about missing the dining-in experience.

As we walked through to our seats I realized there was no hope that my usual request to not be seated near children was possible. 80% of the tables were families or large groups with children. Once seated it took several minutes before our server appeared. She took a drink order and because we had waited so long for her we were ready to order it all. We were really hungry and excited about our dinner so we ordered our drinks, fried mushrooms, garlic bread with sauce, and our deep-dish pizza!

It took quite awhile for the drinks to arrive.... but when they did, YAY! 32 oz glasses of Pepsi products (note, the menu limits refills to one because of the size), a nice glass of Stella Artois, (from a tap beer list of at least ten brands!), and the cutest little 6 oz carafe of a red wine ever!

Not too long after the drinks arrived, the mushrooms came out. We hadn't looked too carefully at the description and didn't realize we were going to get big slices of fried Portobello. We even called the server back, thinking we had received the wrong dish, but realized before we made really big fools of ourselves! The pizza arrived and our server promised they were checking on the garlic bread. Another staff member arrived and apologized and stated, "Garlic bread shouldn't take twenty minutes!" and promised to give a discount on our check ! Very nice service there! we probably wouldn't have made a fuss, but it is nice that the wait was recognized and compensated a little bit!

The food... oh the food was delicious! The pizza was perfectly baked with browned and crispy edges and generous cheese. I might have preferred a double layer of pepperoni, because I like the fattening stuff the best, of course. The sauce was deep and rich and the perfect complement to the crust. Yum. The garlic bread was also delicious but I was able to limit myself to one piece so I could justify another piece of pizza. We had ordered a parmesan peppercorn dressing as a dip for the mushrooms and it was also great with the garlic bread. I am not usually a fan of deep dish pizza, but I am glad the roommate introduced me to Mother Bear's deep dish.

I have some mild OCD tendencies and one of my "things" is that I have to wash my hands after I touch the menu, I had to weave my way back through the dining area to the restroom near the front door. I noticed there was a lot of paper towels on the floor near the overflowing trash cans.... as noted, the place was super busy, but a front of house staff member could have taken a five minute check and taken care of that. There was ample parking, with overflow to the Kohl's lot, The seating in the dining area was comfortable, with choices of padded booths and tables, the atmosphere was noisy, because of the crowds, but fun, with the genesis of the graffiti walls echoing the original store, and nice art all around, I hope it is by local artists.

I noticed a sign for an outside seating area and I noticed table ads for a weekday lunch special for $5.95. I'm definitely willing to go back when it is warmer and NOT so busy and try those out.

Photos by Meg Prince.

Welcome!

Welcome to my food blog!

I live in Bloomington, Indiana, best known as home to Indiana University, especially Indiana Hoosiers basketball.

Bloomington is the real "Small Town," and is home to people who represent a unique blend of cultures.  The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music is known world-wide as a top music school. Academic disciplines also bring scholars from around the world.

Bloomington was the launchpad for Cook Medical, a manufacturer of pioneering medical devices. Other companies in the medical and pharmaceutical industries have clustered in Bloomington and some of the surrounding small towns, so engineers and researchers who design, and factory workers who manufacture the precision life-saving products add more variety to the multi-cultural population on and near campus.

The Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center is found on quiet grounds on the southeast side of town as well as other Buddhist monasteries and temples. Tibetan culture runs deep as the brother of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and his family live and work here.

So many diverse restaurants in Bloomington make it a foodie hotspot , known for "restaurant row" on 4th street with cuisine from around the world, as well as locally owned cafes and eateries with hometown flavor.

Here, I plan to visit, dine and review a variety of dining experiences. I've never had a very adventurous palate and I hope to do a lot of experimenting and learning as I go. C'mon! Let's eat!