529912 Tue Jun 17 10:05:55 -0700 2008 24 8 General Midwest Archive 0 3787652 Looking for recs. I'll be arriving Friday night 8/8 for DCI,and then leaving Monday morning. I read some older posts and looked at Lennies/Bloomington Brewing Co. and Upland Brew Co. Those look pretty good...its me, my sister and brother so we aren't looking for fine dining...just some fun, casual places with good food (we're from SF Bay area) like brew pubs or pizza or something very "Bloomington" that one shouldn't miss (they like hand-crafted beer, I'm a wine drinker so I think we'll visit Butler Winery too?). Would love a rec for a good breakfast place, too. We are staying at the Fairfield Inn. Never been there before, but looking forward to it! Thanks. Tue Jun 17 10:05:57 -0700 2008 106731 ptrap 1 3788158 Lots of good places here. Lennie's and Upland are good (just had the fish and chips at the latter for lunch today -- yum!) Finch's on Kirkwood is excellent. Restaurant Tallent has great and affordable bar food and so does FARMbloomington.The pizza at Finch's and FARM is not traditional but really well done. Breakfast at the Uptown! If you want to try a local winery, Oliver is probably the best. But given where you are coming from, why? Tue Jun 17 12:10:53 -0700 2008 3787652 14614 myplateoryours 1 3788532 I am a regular Bloomington visitor and enjoyed breakfast at Michael's Uptown on Sunday, and I was impressed. Try the french toast...it was yummy. The applewood bacon was a hit at our table also. The waiter young and attentive to both the young 4 year old and the grandma. The coffee was not as good as my regular Panera...but that is a good stop for a casual meal also...no alchol..and breakfast or lunch. Had dinner at Finch's and it was great also...the pizza was raved on...deww Tue Jun 17 13:42:20 -0700 2008 3787652 21896 EWW 1 3789074 Agree with what most of myplate and EWW have posted (although I would not recommend Lennie's). I am particularly fond of breakfast at Uptown (especially their cornmeal pancakes), but pass on their chicory-enhanced coffee and order tea, instead. Upland does a mean fried pork tenderloin, an iconic Indiana dish. Nick's on Kirkwood is also worthy of your attention. A Bloomington tradition, this bar serves some seriously good food, and features lots of locally-produced meat. Tue Jun 17 16:52:18 -0700 2008 3787652 11995 pikawicca 2 3790835 Thanks all! I will add Nick's, Finch's and Uptown to the list. And Oliver instead of Butler Winery. Wed Jun 18 09:45:26 -0700 2008 3789074 106731 ptrap 3 3791471 I also like the Village Deli for breakfast, but haven't been there in a while. And if you need a bit of a sweet treat or some fabulous ice cream -- stop at the BLU Boy Chocolate Cafe and Cakery.YUM! Wed Jun 18 12:02:42 -0700 2008 3790835 14614 myplateoryours 4 3862950 Don't forget those fab. French macarons either at BLU. One day not long ago I made lunch of BLU ice cream and macarons. Yum! Sat Jul 12 14:30:19 -0700 2008 3791471 10285 Candy 1 3792298 I'll piggyback on this question as well- for Saturday lunch, would you choose Finch's or Farm? Thanks. Wed Jun 18 15:48:45 -0700 2008 3787652 17642 David W 2 3792438 Close, but give Finch's a try. Chef Jeff is really spreading his wings, and the energy here is awesome. On Saturday at Farm, you'll get brunch, not lunch. Wed Jun 18 16:38:16 -0700 2008 3792298 11995 pikawicca 3 3798906 Yes, I was leaning that way-I don't really like brunch-type food (and I'll probably have breakfast early so I can get in some shopping). I really loved the flatbreads when we visited before when it was Trulli. And I was put off by Farm when I tried to get a drink at the bar and found they didn't have a selection of wines by the glass but just by the bottle (I hope that has changed.) Thanks. Fri Jun 20 15:38:03 -0700 2008 3792438 17642 David W 4 3798956 As far as I know, Finch's has the best selection of wine-by-the-glass in town. I highly recommend the wood-fire roasted halibut. Forget the sauce -- this preparation doesn't need any enhancement. The creamed corn is awesome, as is the creamed spinach. Fri Jun 20 15:55:05 -0700 2008 3798906 11995 pikawicca 1 3856812 If you go through Indianapolis, you must try R Bistro, it is great. I agree with Lennie's for the best pizza. I have not had much luck at Farm, hope you do better. Breakfast at Uptown is number one, but if you want lots of food for the dollar, Village Deli is the place. If you go to Nick's, enjoy it for the tradition and college bar atomsphere, not the food. If you want steak please try Little Zagreb, the steak is fantastic, and you pay for the meat, not the building! Thu Jul 10 12:13:55 -0700 2008 3787652 208518 grit 2 3857824 I'm sorry. but I think Lennie's pizza sucks. Farm and Finch's do a MUCH better job, with Finch' s having the edge, IMHO. If you're touting R Bistro (high end dining), you should be talking about Bloomington's Restaurant Tallent. These restaurants are in the same league, but Tallent is way out in front when it comes to the use of seasonal ingredients and innovative cuisine. Thu Jul 10 17:09:16 -0700 2008 3856812 11995 pikawicca 3 3859265 Tallent is tops in my book too, but R bistro is also wonderful. More of a neighborhood place than Tallent, not really "high-end", and the food is not as elaborate, but it is fresh, local and delicious. Fri Jul 11 07:32:07 -0700 2008 3857824 14614 myplateoryours 4 3861339 It's been so long since we felt the need to go to Indy for a good meal that I've probably confused R bistro with Elements or Oakley's. We had good meals at all of them in the past, but for the best food, we choose to remain in Bloomington these days. Fri Jul 11 18:12:35 -0700 2008 3859265 11995 pikawicca 3 3862510 I'm just going to chime in here. I don't think it's necessary to say the pizza at Lennie's "sucks." Many people enjoy the pizza at Lennie's, and it is a totally different style of pizza than Finch's. Lennie's is part of the Local Grower's Guild in Bloomington and also uses fresh and local and meats. In addition, Lennie's has some of the best salads in town. They currently have a Ahi Tuna salad with avocado, fried plantains, and blue cheese that rocks my world. They also boast a huge selection of sandwiches. It's not anywhere near downtown, however, and can be a bit of chore to get there when IU is in full swing. I must disagree with the rest of the Farm supporters. I've given them a fair shot, and in my opinion, the only thing you can count on at Farm is disappointment and very bad service. Finch's is amazing. If you're deciding between the two, don't give it a second thought. If you want a truly superb meal do NOT pass up Restaurant Tallent. It is fantastic. Sat Jul 12 10:16:30 -0700 2008 3857824 122513 gilda83 4 3863394 Many people also enjoy the pizza at Pizza Hut. IMO, Lennie's rendition suffers from the faults of many American pies: Doughy crust and too-sweet sauce, way too greasy. Lennie's also seems to keep a stash of stale dried herbs that they put in their pizza sauce and in their soup. I agree that their salads can be very good, and if I'm with a group that wants to eat here, I'll order the house salad with blue cheese dressing, and be quite happy. Any restaurant in town can join the Local Growers' Guild for a price. They can display the logo, but don't have to disclose just how much (or how little) local produce they feature. Some do lots, some do little. I've found that a quick glance at a menu provides reliable guidance: If you can instantly tell the season of the year by looking at the menu, you're in a local spot. At Lennie's, you can't. I would like to know who they're buying their meat from, as well. I know who's selling to Tallent, Finch's, Farm, and Nick's, but I've never talked with local a meat purveyor who said they were selling to Lennie's. I don't want to come across as condemning this place; it's local, and does use some local products. That said, there has been no apparent effort on their part to improve over the years. Their main appeal is to the college crowd. Bloomington has much better to offer. Re: Farm: I know where you're coming from. Service here usually sucks. (Sorry, this is a crude term, and I herewith retire it.) The food can be very good, or meh. We were not going to return, but myplateoryours talked us in to giving it another try. We went with another couple who felt the same way we did. We ordered 4 different apps, 4 different entrees, and 4 different desserts. There was not 1 misstep; every dish was a hit out of the ball park. I will go again, in the hope that Farm can attain the goal of every good restaurant, consistency. In the meantime, enjoy the great food at Finch's and Tallent! Sat Jul 12 18:10:47 -0700 2008 3862510 11995 pikawicca 5 3863830 I will investigate, but I know for sure Fischer Farms provides their sausage...in addition, perhaps you should stop in and try their tamales. I know the pork used for that dish also comes from Fischer Farms, and they are PHENOMINAL. Roman, the kitchen manager, hails from south central Mexico, and made the tamales as a special one week. They were so well received, they were put on the menu. They also offer different pie crusts, I always go for the thin which is not greasy and perfectly crisp, and different pizza sauces. I'll agree, the red sauce is a little sweet, but I love the pesto and bbq. Jeff Mease, one of the owners, is very committed to using local purveyors and growers. In fact, he's creating a community garden project and intends, in the long term, to use the produce from this project in his restaurant. I believe that they intend to eventually grow their own hops for their microbrews. Jeff is very committed to Bloomington and has always been. I'm sure he'd be happy to talk to you about the purveyors he uses, his future plans for the farm project he has started, and his commitment to recycling and composting--which is pretty costly considering their volume of business. I'm not going to push to hard, I know how I am when I've decided that a place isn't what the hype says it is, but I think if you contact the owners and ask some questions, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. Sat Jul 12 22:27:12 -0700 2008 3863394 122513 gilda83 6 3864082 Thanks for the tamale tip. I'm a huge fan of tamales, and will definitely give these a try. Sun Jul 13 05:34:00 -0700 2008 3863830 11995 pikawicca 6 3864283 I ordered a pizza from Pizza Express last night. That is an off shoot of Lennie's/One World Enterprises. A migraine had laid me low most of the day and cooking and odors were bothersome. I ordered the thin crust was okay, we'd not had it before, it could have been a bit crisper but was okay. It really was not greasy and they delivered quickly despite being very busy. If I am going to get take out I do get it from Pizza Express. When we go to Lennie's I can frequently find something palate pleasing on the menu. If you are looking fo a sandwich, I do like Bloomington Sandwich Shop downtown on College Ave. and across from the courthouse, on the square. Mike corns his own beef. The sandwiches are huge so I generally order a half. Prices are reasonable and if it is a nice day you can sit outside and people watch. After that wander up the street to Goods and say hi. If you are into good food and cooking I think you might like poking around in our shop. Sun Jul 13 07:59:18 -0700 2008 3863830 10285 Candy 7 3891163 Thanks for all the Lennie's discussion. I wanted to weigh in with some factual info related to our purchasing as I'm the founder and CEO of the company. Due to cost and distribution issues, we aren't as far along purchasing local as I'd like to be, but given time and rising costs of conventional produce I'm convinced that more and more local ingredients will become affordable and convenient. At Lennie's we purchase all of our sausage for pizza as well as our beef for our steak salad and the beef for our chili from Fischer farms. We also buy our ground beef for our pizzas at Pizza Express from Fischer. We buy our eggs from the Birtles as well as seasonal items from them including flowers. We're using several items from them for our Local Dine Night specials this week. Beginning in another week or so, the cherry tomatoes on our salads will be from our own gardens on Loesch Rd just west of Bloomington and I hope to expand those offerings as the years progress. Our gardens are not certified organic but we follow organic principles, no spray and only natural fertilizers. I just delivered a bucket of Zuccini and yellow squash to our chef yesterday for use on our grilled veggie plate. There's lots more where that came from, please, take some off my hands. You can even pick your own if you'd like. Tue Jul 22 09:54:26 -0700 2008 3864283 211910 locavore1007 8 3893302 Jeff, always good to know,for or locals and visitors. I'll pass on zucchini or yellow squash. always we plant too much of it For 8/3. I am also thinking of a frittata with Caprole cheese and and herbs with Birtles eggs. I won't be be coming out to pick my own. Just too much of that stuff at this time of year! Tue Jul 22 22:47:34 -0700 2008 3891163 10285 Candy 9 3894457 I don't know why I said Birtles eggs. I meant local. I just had her on my mind. Wed Jul 23 10:22:41 -0700 2008 3893302 10285 Candy 9 3920666 I'm looking forward to your party. I'm bringing my family recipe bread pudding, made with local eggs, local bread and whole raw milk. yum. Thu Jul 31 20:54:43 -0700 2008 3893302 211910 locavore1007 10 3924641 Sounds great. There were no eggs at the market this AM, so I had to go to plan B. Amish eggs from another source. See you tomorrow. Sat Aug 02 12:04:52 -0700 2008 3920666 10285 Candy