El Ranchero

Picture night for Leo's basketball team, so he had to be very early.  Instead of waiting like a good parent, I dumped him out and went to El Ranchero for dinner and a margarita!

The chips and salsa were good.  I ordered a shredded beef chimichanga.  The margarita arrived soon in a tall pilsner-type glass and the chimi arrived shortly after that.  The margarita wasn't very strong (probably a good thing, so I didn't embarrass Leo at his basketball game!).  The chimi was good -- covered in cheese sauce.  The dinner also included rice & beans.  The rice was good.  I'm not much into refried beans, so I'll not comment. 

All in all, it was a good meal.  Not great, but not as mundane as some Mexican meals I've had. 

Leo sat out one quarter, and still managed to foul out at the beginning of the fourth.  LOL.

Olive Garden

The salad...  The breaksticks...

I've loved those at Olive Garden ever since we first met about 20 years ago.  I'd been to the Bloomington Olive Garden once, over a year ago (before my blog began).  My pasta was overcooked then, but my kids' stuff was fine.  So, we decided to give them another chance.

Upon sitting down, I noticed there was something on the top of my wine glass -- leftover lipstick perhaps?  I wasn't planning to drink wine, so I just casually mentioned it to my kids.  They then both examined their wine glasses, only to find them also dirty.  When I opened my napkin and pulled out my silverware, there was a piece of paper (approximately half the size of a stamp) adhered to one of my forks.  Really guys?

Wanting to avoid potentially overcooked pasta, I ordered the stuffed chicken marsala.  Roma ordered spaghetti & meatballs and Art had lasagna with Zuppa Toscana instead of the salad.

The salad and breadsticks were delicious.  However, the dressing was just on the top layer of salad.  I remember them actually tossing the salad in front of me many years ago.  Is that different by location?  Server?  Perhaps it went away with time?  Anyway, the top layer was wonderful.  The breadsticks quickly disappeared, so we requested more to go with our dinners.  Yummy.  Art said his soup was pretty good, too.

The chicken marsala was pretty good.  The side mashed potatoes were also quite tasty.  I could tell by looking that Roma's spaghetti was way overcooked -- it looked mushy.  She liked the sauce and meatballs, but not the pasta.  Art burnt his tongue on the first bite of lasagna, so said he couldn't taste if it was good or not.  Poor thing...

Next time we're in the mood for some Italian, I think we'll stick to DeAngelo's.

Darn Good Soup

How can you go wrong with a name like that?

Roma and I went to the Canopy of Lights on the courthouse square in Bloomington.  The trees are wrapped in lights and lights are strung from the courthouse dome all across the square.  It's magical!  We went to watch the lighting.

We walked numerous circles around the square while awaiting the lights to come on.  Every time, ladies offered us candy canes.  We each had several, then dropped in the Bakehouse for warm drinks (cappuccino & hot chocolate).  Once the lights came on, we walked around the square once more then went for some Darn Good Soup. 


There were ten soups on the menu (we were told one was completely out).  The guy behind the counter explained that they had over 80 different soups that they rotated through, and had a new one every Wednesday.  Cool!

Roma had chicken tortilla and I had chili.  What can I say -- it was darn good!  Very hearty, with very little broth.  We each had a 16 oz bowl decided next time we'd both opt for the 12 oz bowl.  Instead of the usual crackers that people eat with soup, they gave us a small piece of bread.  Within minutes of us walking in, they closed the place and served everyone inside.  The place was packed, and everyone seemed to think it was darn good!

The next time I'm in the mood for soup, I will have some Darn Good Soup...

Dats

Roma and I both have colds or allergies.  We thought some good spicy cajun food would open up our sinuses.  Roma ordered the chicken gumbo and I had red beans and rice.  

I love the way the place looks.  The wood flooring looks old and is slightly warped.  The walls were a bit rough.  Some great jazz was playing throughout.  The floor being unswept made it look a bit more authentically Nawlins...

The red beans and sausage were quite tasty, but not hot whatsoever.  If I'm eating RB&R, I should feel it!  Roma wasn't a big fan of her gumbo.  But, she's been sick, so perhaps her taste was off.

It was fun :-)

Which Wich

My mother and niece came up to Black Friday shop with me and mine :-)  We piled six of us into mom's car ("Grandma, we look like Mexicans") and headed into town.  Since Ann (niece, age 15) had never seen IU's campus before, my mom asked me to show it to her.  So we drove around the square and down Kirkwood.  We parked, I pointed out the "Purdouche" t-shirt (go IU!), and debated where to eat.  Most aren't very adventurous, so we headed to Which Wich.

When entering, we started looking at the menu, all confused.  The fella behind the counter came out and, in a voice meant for a tour guide, showed us how to fill out our orders on the sandwich bags.  Pick a category (chicken, Italian, turkey, ...), grab that bag, and start checking things off.  Yes, the menu is printed on the sandwich bag...  Bread, size of sandwich, toasted or cold, and any toppings (about 20 from which to choose).  

I opted for gyro meat on wheat, added tzasiki (sp?) sauce, cucumbers, tomatoes, and feta cheese.  Voila - gyro sandwich (sort of).  It was wonderful.  I had the smaller size and a bag of chips, and was stuffed.  Mom had a ham & cheese (good).  Leo opted for a TBR (turkey bacon ranch) which he said was really good.  Art had something different (sorry, I can't ask him because he's still asleep) and chowed 10" of it.  Ann had a buffalo chicken sandwich.  Everyone was really happy with their sandwiches, but Roma (freshman in college, home for the holiday).  She had some sandwich with Italian meat, and none of us liked it.  We were so surprised there was a bad sandwich because the rest was so good, that we all passed hers around for a bite.  And then it went into the trash.  LOL.

We loved the food.  We loved the multitude of choices.  We will return soon...

Player's Pub

In a pre-Thanksgiving celebration, Sarah and I decided to be thankful for the things no one will remember on Thanksgiving day.  Yeah, we're all thankful for family, friends and food.  But what about the other good stuff?  Platform heels that allow me to walk in stilettos?  Cell phones with unlimited texting?  Snowplows?

About 90 minutes before Sarah and I are planning to meet, she texts me, "I need a drink.  I'm leaving now."  She lives about 30 minutes out, so I grab a quick shower, throw on some clothes, do the makeup, and beat her there :-)

Players Pub was gearing up for a show.  I ordered a glass of wine and Sarah a beer (no mixed drinks at PP).  The wine was a dry red, so naturally I had to order a steak to go with it :-)   I then proceeded to give my first toast (via Facebook) -- to Sarah who put the F in BFF.  We were best friends back when we were 11, lost track after graduation, and have started hanging out again.  I meant FOREVER, not that other F word.  Really ;-)

I had a filet mignon and baked potato.  Sarah had a sirloin, potato, and salad.  We were both impressed that a pub served a mixed salad and not just the icky iceberg.  The steaks arrived within a minute or two of the salad (I hate it when that happens).  My filet was very chewy.  A medium filet mignon should melt in my mouth!  Sarah did think her sirloin was very good, but not cooked enough; she'd ordered it medium well and it was probably medium rare.  My potato had zero flavor, even with butter.  I requested more butter, doused it in salt, and was still disappointed.  Sigh.

The guy at the door was starting to collect $ for the show, so we took off into the night to begin our adventure...  I wish I could remember all the things we toasted that we were thankful for, but only recall the most colorful ones...

Nick's English Hut

Nick's is infamous.  It's been there for 80 years, just outside the gates to IU.  Any living person that's ever been an IU student has probably been there.  I know this in part because I often meet former IU students when I travel.  They always ask if Nick's is still there...

So, expectations were high for me and my sons.  We were ordered to stay downstairs since they are under 21.  The ordered sodas arrived in what appeared to be jelly glasses.  Cute.  We ordered an appetizer -- Sink the Biz fries.  The seasoned fries arrived in a small bucket with a plastic cup of dipping sauce (something mayo-ish).  After eating many of the fries, Leo said, "I'm not really sure if I like these."  Well, kiddo, you certainly put a dent in them!

I ordered a half strom and the boys had whole ones.  Just as the food arrived, a young lady started taking a bunch of pictures.  I told the person who delivered the food that someone was taking our picture.  She then introduced herself as being from the Indiana Daily Student, said Nick's had recently won an award (Best Place to Take Your Parents), and she was getting pix for the article.  She took our names, asked Art if he was a student, ("Yeah... at South"), and she left the restaurant.  So, maybe we'll be in the paper!  Although, if it was me, I'd find an IU student taking their parents to dinner, not a mom taking her young sons.  Art was quite pleased to be mistaken for a college student...  by a young lady... again...  He's a freshman in high school.  Giggle.

We were all disappointed in the taste of the stroms.  There was a lot (a LOT) of meat, but very little sauce or cheese.  Trying to add a bit of flavor, Leo put some seasoned fries on his.  I sure am glad I only ordered a half -- they were huge!  The boys each took half of theirs home (along with some fries) to have for dinner the following day.  They plan to pop open a jar of spaghetti sauce  and douse them first.  I think they'll be much better that way. 

As we were leaving, an Occupy Bloomington protestor was chasing after cars with a "Honk if you support the first amendment" sign.  Someone drove past without honking and he actually ran after the car yelling "HONK!  HONK!"  The car honked.  Leo has his driver's permit, so he purposely drove past the guy on our way home.  "I just wanted to honk."  I told him that, in exercising my first amendment rights, I thought about yelling at the guy, "Go take a bath and get a job!"  But I thought he might hurt my BMW :-(

I don't think we'll be back to Nick's... Is it merely famous for being famous?

Opie Taylor's

When I lived in Bloomington before, I got in a tradition of a weekly Opie Taylor's meal with my daughter Lyn.  I remembered the steak fries fondly, so was happy when Leo suggested we go there.

I'm wondering if the owner is from up north.  The front room is covered in IU stuff (as it well should be!), but the back room had the Cubs and Packers.  Hmmm. 

Leo and I decided to share a half order of cheese sticks.  They are far thicker  and shorter than typical cheese sticks; the cheese is roughly the shape of a roll of quarters.  The three of them came with two dipping sauces -- a tomato sauce and a ranch dressing.  Perfect -- we each had our own :-)

After debating on whether to get a single or a double cheeseburger, Leo ordered the Calbert's Club.  I had the Northsider, which included bacon, barbeque sauce, and fried onions.  And, of course, we both had steak fries. 

My food was wonderful.  Leo reported the club to be merely ok.  Next time, I'm sure he'll order a burger.  With choices as varied as the Tom Crean and Crimson (cute!) and a Stroganoff burger, it should be easy to find one that sounds delicious.

Siam House

It was Veteran's Day, so I had the day off.  I decided to try yet another new restaurant (surprise, I know...).  Parking was difficult, but I found a metered spot in a small parking lot.  YES!  The meter still had 0:24 on it -- awesome!  I dig into my purse and find a couple quarters.  Naturally, I immediately drop one of them between the seat and the console and cannot retrieve it :-(  I put in my quarter and plan to order my lunch, ask my waitperson for change, then run back to the meter while they cook it up.

The nearest restaurant is Siam House, and they have a sign that says Lunch Buffet.  Great!  They have quite a few people lunching.  The buffet is small, but had a nice variety.  There were small signs above everything, so it was easy to avoid things I don't like (ie - seafood).  I tried nearly everything, had a couple little bites for dessert, and enjoyed it.  Not really to my taste, but it was fine.

I returned to the parking meter with a spare 14 minutes.  Someone else got to do a fist pump...

Aver's Pizza

Leo spent the night with a friend.  A day later, he said they'd ordered Aver's Pizza and it was the best pizza he ever had.  It was getting close to dinner time and I wasn't feeling like cooking (big surprise!).  So, I thought I'd try the "best pizza ever."

I went to their web site and saw they had a special that included breadsticks, two cookies, and two drinks.  Awesome -- I'd run out of Diet Pepsi (my addiction) the day before and was getting cranky.  We flipped thru the menu and settled on the Deluxe (cheese and tomato sauce piled upon by pepperoni, ground sausage, mushrooms, red onions, and green peppers).

Less than an hour later, dinner arrived.  The breadsticks were similar to Noble Romans.  The pizza was good.  The cookies were a nice touch.  And the Diet Pepsi potentially saved my life ;-)

When I asked Leo why he thought it was the best ever, he admitted a fib.  He said he just wanted pizza for dinner.  Grrrrr.  We'll probably order from them again, especially if we're out of Diet Pepsi!

Snow Lion

One of the things I enjoy about Bloomington is the wide variety of restaurants.  Tibetan Food in Indiana?  Of course!

Silver was late, so Sarah and I had a seat and ordered an appetizer -- the Combo Platter for Two.  This included two eggrolls, three shumai, and three momo.  Two sauces were included -- something soy sauce-ish and something sweet-and-sourish.  I stuck to the soy sauce one... 

The egg rolls were similar to any I've had before.  Fine, but nothing unusual.  I was apprehensive about the shumai (fried stuffed seafood dumpling).  It was small -- slightly bigger than a Rolo.  I'm not much of a seafood fan, so I chopped it in half and stuffed it in my mouth.  OMG, I could eat an entire fish in one bite and have less of a seafood flavor.  Definitely not for me!  After seeing my bulging eyes, Sarah opted to try the other half.  Her reaction wasn't much different.  Ok, that leaves two shumai for Silver!

The Momo was more dumpling shaped -- like a wonton or tortellini.  It was filled with fried beef.   Once again, it was fine.  Sarah had one, and we left one for Silver.

Silver finally found the place.  We asked what the guys at the next table were eating -- chicken curry fried rice and chicken sesame vegetables on rice.  The waiter highly recommended both, especially since the sesame dishes made the kitchen smell amazing (yes, that's what he said).  Sarah and I each ordered those, and Silver ordered something with beef and bean threads.

We slid the Momo & Shumais to Silver, telling her what they were.  She popped one of the shumai in her mouth, loved it, and asked us if it had shrimp in it.  She said she was allergic to shrimp and that her throat would close up.  OMG, might I suggest asking what's in the seafood PRIOR to eating it!?  Sarah and I then got into an argument about, if Silver stopped breathing, which of us stayed with her and which ran the block to get the firemen.  In all honesty, I think we both would've ran after firemen and left her with the waiter.  Just kidding!  The waiter came past shortly thereafter, declared the shumai to be shrimp-free, and Silver had the other one and the Momo.  We then had salads brought to us, which had a unique but good creamy white dressing.

When the food arrived, it looked so good!  The smell was great.  Sarah and I both tried our dishes and traded (so I ended up with the curry).  The bean threads looked almost like tinsel on Silver's food -- translucent and shiny.  We all shared each other's food, enjoyed everything, and called it a success (especially since there was no allergic reaction!).  Now we need to find another excuse to chase down a fireman ;-)

Texas Roadhouse

You gotta love somewhere that encourages you to throw peanut hulls onto the ground...

Leo and I had some time to kill while waiting for Art to finish driver's ed (yes, stay off the roads!).  So, we headed across town to Texas Roadhouse.  The parking lot was full, but we were seated immediately.  I was especially impressed that the hostess grabbed some of those amazing rolls as she was seating us, so we were able to start nibbling as soon as our tushes hit the seats.  They were so warm, so soft, so yummy.  I smeared the cinnamon butter (is that what it is?) all over mine, but Leo wasn't a fan.  Our waitress happily supplied him plain butter, and another basket of rolls (where did the first four go anyway?). 

I ordered a caesar salad, small filet mignon, and a baked potato.  Leo had house salad with ranch, half-rack of ribs, and steak fries covered in cheese.  The caesar salad didn't have enough bite for me.  But the filet was amazing!  The potato was also great.  Leo chowed like a starving man.  His only complaint was that the fall-off-the-bone-ribs actually fell off the bone.  He said he preferred gnawing.  LOL. 

Art was thrilled.  Not only is he a bit closer to driving, but he had a doggie bag with some ribs, some fries, and a couple dinner rolls. 

A great meal :-)

Scholar's Inn Bakehouse

I found a good cappuccino!!!  So happy!

The last time two times my car was at the dealership, they said the brakes were close to needing replaced.  Suggested I do it then.  In the interest of getting as much life from the brakes as possible, I opted to wait until the indicator light came on.  It never did, but they started making terrible noises when I stopped :-o  Not wanting to wait another moment (after all, Art was getting his driving permit that day!), I took the car to Midas.  They couldn't see me until later.  I drove over to Expert Tire and asked what I thought was a dumb question -- where could I get brakes done that morning...  He said they do lots of brakes and could get me in within the hour.  Cool! 

So, I wandered up to the square.  Thought Scholar's Inn looked like a place that would have coffees.  Ordered the Portabello Mushroom Scramble and a double cap. 

So yummy.  The cappuccino wasn't quite as good as those in Italy, but darn close.  Better than having to live with the Italian ex- to have a good cup (LOL).  I will be back for those... often!

The Portabello Mushroom Scramble also had spinach and feta cheese.  Sounded like it might be an odd combination, but it was quite tasty.  It came with home fries (good) and two slices of their Bakehouse toast (not a fan...).

I'm psyched about this place.  I'm not often out for breakfast in B'ton, but will return there as soon as I am...

Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches

Leo, as usual, wanted American food.  Off we went to Jimmy John's. 

The place is cute.  I like all the signs on the walls with advice such as:
“Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you are. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.” 
Thanks for that, Bill Gates!

Anyway, I ordered the Club Lulu -- sliced turkey breast, bacon, lettuce, tomato, & mayo and some plain potato chips.  I don't remember what kind of sandwich Leo had.

The sandwiches are big!  Neither of us could finish ours.  However, neither of us really wanted to...  They were ok, but Leo declared Dagwood's to be better.  I find Penn Station to be much better.  So...  I don't think we'll have JJ's again unless it's because they deliver...