IN Chowhounds: Restaurant near Oliver Winery?

[knielson2]

We are visiting Oliver Winery on Saturday. Is there a good reasonably priced restaurant with easy access from the winery? I don't eat meat (my friend does). Thanks for your thoughts

[knielson2]

We had a very good dinner at Upland Brewery. We particularly liked their spinach artichoke appetizer--yummy!
We were also impressed with the winery. We were able to taste varieties of their wine we never see in the store in Indy or Lafayette. We particularly liked the Sauvignon Blanc and the red Zin. It was a fun trip. Thanks for the tips, I'll be back to try other places I'm sure!

[David W]

I'd suggest a re-visit to the winery in the summer-they have quite a garden display. It is a nice place.

[pikawicca]

If you want good reasonably-priced vegetarian/meat options, I'd suggest taking the same exit, but make a left turn onto 4th street. Drive several blocks and you will be in the middle of an amazing array of ethnic restaurants with many option of the type you are looking for. Don't overlook the newly-reopened Ashenda, now housed inside Puccini's Italian restaurant. (Don't eat at Puccini's!)

[myplateoryours]

Ditto the advice on the ethnic restaurants on 4th St. Also (and easier to get to for you), My Thai Cafe is straight down 37 at West Third Street. Fabulous Thai food, and almost anything can be vegetarian. And I strongly recommend Trulli Flatbread -- great vegetarian options there too.

[David W]

You may also want to consider Trulli Flatbread-nice soups, salads-but their wood-burning oven flatbreads are really terrific. It's an easy run in from the winery-turn left and take 37 into town (take the downtown/IU exit)-no more than 20 minutes.
They don't have much of a website-so take a look here:
http://www.localharvest.org/restaurants/M17638

By the way, you may also want to check out the Big Red Liquor store at 418 N College in Bloomington if you go-they have an impressive selection of wine at pretty decent prices-
http://www.bigredliquors.com/our_wine...

[knielson2]

Thanks David, That looks good too. When I look at these restaurants it makes me feel like Bloomington is a world away from Indianapolis. So different! I can't imagine a brewpub in Indy serving such extensive veggie options. I need to spend more time down there!

[Kate_N]

Oliver is a 10 minute drive from Bloomington. I suggest Upland Brewery (though with the caveat that they recently took several excellent vegetarian dishes off of their lunch menu), Trojan Horse, and Lenny's.

[knielson2]

Thanks Kate. Those look great. Will they be easy to find from the main route? Neither of us knows Bloomington. Also how busy will they be for an early dinner on a Saturday? I would prefer not to tie us to a reservation if possible.

[Kate_N]

You can go to any of these places without needing a reservation!

Bloomington has a lot of one-way streets! If you take the first Bloomington exit off of 37, that street eventually becomes College, which is one-way south.

To get to Upland, turn right off of College on 11th. Upland will be 1/4 mile, on your right. I highly highly recommend the vegetarian philly "cheesesteak," which they still serve after 5 (It's made with seitan.) http://www.uplandbeer.com/menu/dinner/ The beer-battered fries are amazing, too!

To get to Lennie's, turn left off of College onto 10th street. Go a mile or two and it'll be in a shopping center on your left.

To get to Trojan Horse, take College to Kirkwood (5th) and turn left. Go a block; it'll be on your right. Keep going another three blocks or so and you'll hit Trulli.

There are tons of great ethnic restaurants in town, too. It is a great place to be a vegetarian! Have fun!

[knielson2]

Oh, I do eat fish. Not looking for a vegetarian place but someplace we can both eat.