Applebee's

"I only have 300 calories left today."
"Mom, they have food under 300 calories.  Don't you remember?"

Well, not quite...  But close.  I am trying to drop a few, so we went to find this low-cal food.  I ordered the Asiago Peppercorn Steak.  It was surprisingly good.  Add in a few roasted potatoes (there were literally 4 tiny potato pieces), a veggie mix, and I'd have to say it might've been the best 380 calories I've ever had.  Yes, 380 calories.  Amazing, right?  Leo had some other type of steak which wasn't as good.  He snubbed the veggies (of course) but killed off all the french fries.  Art found the ribs to be finger-licking good.  Which makes for fun when he needed a drink -- "Mom, can you move my glass over here?"

So, the next time I want something delicious and low-cal, I'll be back.

Peach Garden

"I bet he has lots of girlfriends.  <giggle>"

Really?  Art is only 15, but he now has waitresses flirting with him.  Sigh.

I was in the mood for Chinese food, but didn't want to hit a buffet.  I've been gaining weight (imagine that...  LOL).  So, I needed someone else to control my portions.

My egg drop soup was pretty good.  Art had an egg roll as an appetizer.  I'm not sure how it was, but it did disappear pretty quickly.  My main entree was curry chicken.  I like mine spicy enough that I go through a box of kleenex.  Tonight, I didn't even need the first tissue :-(  At the advice of the giggly waitress, Art had the Mongolian chicken.  He wasn't a big fan either.  Sigh.

So, where's the best Chinese in Bloomington?

Cafe Pizzaria

I must admit, I was worried about eating somewhere where the name wasn't spelled correctly.  But Leo had his heart set on pizza.  I thought it would be best to hit Kirkwood, because those places will be a zoo once the students are all back.  So away we went.

We were lucky enough to have seats next to the window.  We saw plenty of freshman going past with their parents.  We saw little groups of students who looked uncomfortable to be exploring their new town.  Leo saw enough leggy blondes walk past to have good dreams for the next month or so.

We had the Pizzaria Supreme -- pepperoni, sausage, mushroom, onion & green pepper.  It was surprisngly good.  I prefer my crusts a bit thicker/softer, but Leo was in pizza heaven.  We ate most of a 14" pizza, but sacrificed to take a few slices home to Art.

It's a definite return.

DeAngelo's

"Don't eat the calamari -- they'll stick to your insides."

Really, Mom? 

I lived in the Naples, Italy, area for two years.  I've visited often since then.  There are three things I always must eat when there, because there is nowhere else that compares:
1.  fresh mozzarella di bufala (from water buffalo)
2.  sfoglietella (a pastry with ricotta cheese)
3.  pizza margarita (tomato, cheese, basil)

If I am near anywhere that purports to have authentic foodstuffs, I'm looking for those.  Last Christmas, I drove from Chinatown to uptown Manhattan for some imported mozzarella di bufala (and it was worth it, even with the $75 parking ticket...).

I'd eaten at DeAngelo's before.  It was the craziest first date ever.  Gosh, the internet brings out the odd ones.  "If you need to call an ambulance, tell them my medical records are on a thumb drive on my bracelet."  WTF?!

So, anyway...  Leo was absolutely thrilled beyond belief when I told him I knew where we could get fresh mozzarella.  Not di bufala, but still pretty good.  So off we went.  Leo wanted to order nothing but mozzarella; instead we split the Caprese Towers appetizer.  The mozzarella was great (Leo declared it two days old...).  The tomatoes weren't quite ripe, but ok.  It was a tasty treat.

Art and I decided to split a margarita pizza.  It wasn't very good :-(  Leo wasn't into his pasta dish, so I finished it off -- pasta alfredo with chicken.  OMG, it was amazing!  I must order that next time...  and some more caprese towers :-)

LongHorn

"What are these things stuck to the edge of my wine glass?"
The manager said tannins.  Funny, I thought tannins were something you tasted.  I found about eight things that looked more like fourths of litmus paper stuck to the edge of my glass.  Yikes.

Backing up a bit...  my 7 oz Flo's Filet was fabulous.  The caesar salad had a decent amount of tang (there's nothing worse than a bland caesar salad.... except for stuff in my wine glass!).  I think Leo enjoyed his baby back ribs; he was too busy eating to comment on them.  Art reported his chicken tenders sucked (well, Art, that's what you get for ordering chicken at a steakhouse!). 

A question...  Does anyone know why, if ordering a baked potato with just butter, that you get a potato with the same amount of butter as a loaded potato would have?  And so, when you'd start eating the sour-cream half of the potato, it's dry?  I sent for extra butter, and it arrived about 5 minutes later.  That's about how long I waited for a glass of water, too.  Salad dishes weren't cleared until the manager arrived at the end of the meal to discuss tannins and offer free cheesecake (which was amazing, BTW).  It's back-to-school time in Bloomington, so I will attribute the poor service to that.  Perhaps it was her first week on the job, and she'll be a pro by Labor Day.

But can anyone tell me about tannins?  Or some other solid that might be found in a wine glass?

Chili's Grill and Bar

"Mom, can we please eat at a chain?"

I gave in, and off to Chili's I went with Art & Leo.

I saw a photo of the Santa Fe Chicken Skillet and was sold.  "Cheese quesadillas, fajita chicken and grilled onions topped with Monterey Jack cheese and smothered in a mild roasted Hatch green chile sauce."  Looked great, although the roasted Hatch green chile sauce had me worried. 

Leo wanted the same, but had noticed the menu had a "2 for $20" special.  So, in addition to getting my meal cheaper, he got an appetizer tossed in.  Nice work for a boy of eleven.  He also requested two plates.  Art ordered the Crispy Chicken Crispers.

When the appetizer - 1/2 Texas Fries - arrived, the boys claimed the plates and started chowing down.  I had a few, dribbling cheese and bacon bits all over the table (oops).  Not bad, but I'm not really a fan of them... ever.

The Hatch green chile sauce?  OMG fabulous.  I'm thinking this was the singular best item that's ever been in my mouth.  I absolutely loved it.   It's hard to go wrong with melted cheese, flour tortillas, and chicken... but this was truly amazing.  I think I'm in love <3

China Buffet

It was Chinese.  It was a buffet. Really nothing else to say.  Food was adequate.  There was enough variety, but it wasn't huge.  It did the job...

Uptown Cafe

I was so totally disappointed.  I drove the kids down Kirkwood, around the square, and the only thing we could agree on was Uptown.  They thought it would have boring food (LOL).  I was thrilled to order some Red Beans and Rice with a Wedge Salad starter.  The salad arrived, and suddenly I had three other forks digging into it...  It was nice.  When the entrees arrived, my Red Beans & Rice was entirely too mellow.  I expected a bit of spice.  I think they forgot to season it.  I added a bit of salt which added a bit of flavor, but where's the heat?  I lived in the South for years; if the waitperson is bringing me RB&R, they'd better have a few drink refills ready to go!   I think I ate half of it without needing a sip of my beverage.  At that time, I traded dishes with Leo.

Leo had ordered Agliata Shrimp, which was a pasta dish.  Agliata should be a garlic sauce.  I noticed no garlic flavor, only a strong cheese crumbled atop it.  He hated the cheese (I liked it just fine) but enjoyed the shrimp.  Without the cheese, the pasta had no flavor.  I also used to live in Italy, and bland pasta was a disappointment.  Having not read the menu description, the cheese was probably an ordering mistake by a boy of 11.  But where was the garlic sauce?  Shouldn't the pasta have some flavor, akin to the simple but delicious dish of pasta with Aglio & Olio (garlic & oil)?

Roma ordered the Seafood Gumbo.  She thoroughly enjoyed it .  I took a taste.  I'm not a seafood fan, but still found it quite yummy.  Most amusing was her thought there was Orca mixed in with the seafood (instead of okra, LOL).

Art absolutely loved his New Yorker burger, but said he'd prefer Kraft to the Mac & Cheese he was given (kids!). 

We consider it our first miss, and probably won't be back... 

Asuka

"I don't want to go to Japanese.  I don't like Chinese.  It's the same."  Leo was upset, but outvoted (two women outrank two boys, right?).  Art refused to go.

When Oma (daughter, age 19), Leo, and I entered Asuka, we were asked "Sushi or Hibachi?"  Hibachi it was.  Since we were there early, we were the only ones in the back room.  As the three of us sat around the large cooking area, I knew what to expect.  The kids didn't.  I assured Leo, who was still pouting, that he'd be smile before he left.  He was determined to not enjoy it.  His first smile was trying to catch zucchini with his mouth.  Yes, the chef tossed food to us.  Oma was the only one who caught one (although I must state that my chunks were more likely to be caught by my cleavage).  Leo's second smile came when the chef lit up the entire grill with a two-foot tall, two-foot wide fire that I swear would've singed my hair if I'd been leaning forward and wearing hair spray...   Leo's third smile was the cute little squirtgun (well, more like a peeing doll).  Once the food was prepared, Leo was far too busy chowing down to smile (well, me too!).  I had a fillet, which was tender enough I could've cut it with a bread knife (except, of course, that the chef cut it for me).  Leo had steak.  Oma had calamari.  All were good, but mine was the best :-)  With the included soup (wonderful!), veggies, and rice (Leo opted for noodles instead), we had enough food that stubborn Art had a complete meal when we got home.

Jiffy Treet

Gosh, when I lived here before, my kids were little.  We'd come here on special occasions.  I remember my daughters getting the bubble gum ice cream -- full pieces of Super Bubble throughout the ice cream.  They'd get a second dish, put the gum into it, and take it home to chew later (well, until I tossed it the next day ;-)  Seemed pretty gross to me.  Who wants hard gum?

Leo and I came today to cool off and kill some time.  I had a waffle cone with soft serve caramel-flavored ice cream.  The cone was perfect -- crunchy without being brittle.  I wasn't a fan of the ice cream flavor, so I'll have to come back soon and try another :-D

Buffalo Wild Wings

Gosh, I was so excited to begin!  I signed the lease this morning, dropped Art (age 15) off at South, and was taking Leo (age 11) out for lunch.  "Leo, I have this list of all the restaurants in Bloomington.  We're going to try them all!  Do you want burgers, pizza, pasta?"  "Mom, I want O'Charley's.  I like their buns."   On went the discussion, trying to get him to try something new.  When he said B-Dub, I suggested he pick another Wings place.  After much debate, he settled on Wings Xtreme and we put the address into the GPS.  After battling traffic on 46, we crossed 37... and still had a few miles to go.  "Leo, Wings Xtreme is in Elletsville!"  So we turned around and went back to B-Dub.  Leo won.

B-Dub is MUCH larger than the one we frequent in Vincennes... and non-smoking!  That really bothered me in Vincennes.  Then I recalled from when I lived in B'ton before that all restaurants are non-smoking.  YES!!!

I ordered chipotle BBQ boneless wings and fries.  Leo had wings & ribs + fries.  When the food came, I was surprised that my wings looked fried, not slimed with sauce.  Leo pointed out that there were two sides to the hotness scale in the menu -- one with sauces and one with seasonings.  Duh!  Not what I was expecting, but what I ordered.  And yummy anyway :-)  Leo ate all his food (less a little of the ribs) and fell asleep as soon as he was in the car.  A successful start...

Welcome

Today, I am signing a lease to move back to my beloved Bloomington.  My favorite part of B'ton is the abundance of restaurants.  Trying to excite my kids, I pulled together a list of all the great places to try.  I told them, "If we eat out twice per week, we won't have to go to the same restaurant for over a year!"  They were less excited than I.  Well, I'm gonna give it a shot, although I think it will take quite a big longer than a year...  Join me :-)