Anatolia

I was meeting my friend Shar for dinner.  As we were walking from our parked cars in front of the fire station, a loud cheer erupted.  We immediately realized the IU vs. UK game must still be going on, and close enough to cheer?  Wait a minute...  They're #1 and we're not ranked.  How could that be?  We continued walking and heard some more screams from another location.  Wow, it must be quite the game!

At the last minute, we detoured to eat at Anatolia.  Shar said they were really good.  My friend Sarah doesn't like them at all.  It's time to form my own opinion...  Once we went in, we were asked if we wanted a table or to sit in the Cushion Room.  We opted for the Cushion Room, quickly realizing they should give a warning to those over the age of 30 that we'd be sitting on the floor and may never get up again.  LOL.

We were immediately served some hot tea, which was wonderful on such a cold night.  We both opted for the red lentil soup and stuffed chicken.  The soup was quite tasty and served with a nice bread.  

The chicken breast was huge -- stuffed with spinach and feta cheese and topped with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese.  It was wonderful.  There was a small salad and a bit of rice, too.  They were also really good.  At the conclusion of the meal, we were asked if we wanted some baklava.  Absolutely!  It was nearly impossible to cut, so I ended up eating mine with my fingers!  The only negative at Anatolia was getting up from the cushions with our 40-something year old bodies and full bellies :-D


When we exited, we discovered Kirkwood was blocked off.  People were everywhere in red, hooting and hollering.  Indiana had won!!!
 

Waffle House

Why are the places with the best breakfast food always the scariest?  Last Saturday, Leo and I were seeking a place for breakfast while Art was in driver's ed.  When I pulled in to the WH parking lot, Leo seemed hesitant to even leave the car.  He looked at me, as if to say, "Are you sure???"  We went in....  The decor (and air) seems unchanged in the past 40 years or so.  When I was in the ladies room, I was stunned at how grody the sink faucet was.  I think it has buildup from when Bloomington was first founded...  WH, you can buy one for $40 or so and they are easy to replace.  If someone comes here to eat with a large group, perhaps you can leave one as a tip ;-)

The biscuits and gravy were wonderful!  I'm not sure what exactly Leo ordered, but he had a large plate of food with another plate of pancakes.  He told me the pancakes were the side item.  There were two of them, easily a foot across.  And that was the side item?!  He didn't like those pancakes, but cleared up the rest of his food pretty quickly.    

I admit, I preferthe ambiance of Scholar's Inn Bakehouse.  But it's hard to say anything bad about the biscuits and gravy...

Potbelly Sandwich Shop

Leo (my 12 year old son) and I went driving over to see if Macri's had opened back up yet (I loooooooved them!).  It looked dark, so we decided to eat wherever we could find parking.  Potbelly Sandwich was it!   

It's a cute little place, quite narrow, seeming to be wedged onto Kirkwood.  Leo ordered the Big Wreck --  a large-sized sandwich with salami, roast beef, turkey, ham, and swiss cheese (although I think he passed on the swiss).  I opted for the pizza sandwich (pepperoni, marinara sauce, provolone cheese, mushrooms, and Italian seasoning).  While eating, Leo kept debating on which he preferred -- this or Which Wich.  He finally voted for Potbelly, basing it upon too much cheese at Which.  LOL.  I enjoyed my sandwich, but thought the pizza sandwich I had at Penn Station was MUCH better.  


For years, my kids have begged to go to Subway.  I got burnt out on it years ago.  I'm so happy we are finding these sandwich shops around town where my kids are happy to eat :-)

Coach's Bar and Grill

Well, the waiter looked fabulous 8-)   The food, not so much... 

Sarah is kind enough to help me scratch places off my long list.  Coach's had a word in their title that we particularly like (bar).  We had a seat, ordered $3 margaritas (the night's special), and looked over the menu (and the waiter).  The margaritas arrived with no salt :-o  which we managed to get corrected for the next two rounds...

I ordered chicken strips and waffle fries.  They were fine.  But Sarah ordered a steak (medium well), which came with mashed potatoes and vegetables.  The steak was pink and had a lot of gristle.  The potatoes were instant.  Sarah sent her food back and ordered a salad instead.  They didn't charge her for either, which was nice.  But really? 

I don't think we'll be back.

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...