Road Trip: Bloomington, IN - Hinkle's Hamburgers

206 S. Adams

Bloomington, IN 47404

(812) 339-3335

Hinkle's Hamburgers

I was down in Bloomington again to coach in the IHSAA State Track Meet. I had driven by Hinkle's Hamburgers numerous times while I was in school, but I had never actually eaten there. It is located southwest of campus off S. Adams St. If you take Kirkwood west past the cemetery, veer to the left and the restaurant is on your right. Hinkle's is the epitome of a dive restaurant. It is not very big and it seems the decor hasn't changed in years. The menu is the same as you would find in a concession stand. I think this is what gives the restaurant its signature "No Frills, Classic Food" flair. It has a couple of seats at the counter, about 7 or so table tops, and a few benches outside. I think only recently they started accepting credit cards. When you walk in, there are about 5 or so employees behind the counter. The place was pretty busy when my brother and I arrived. We were unable to eat inside the dining area, so we went to the picnic tables outside.

 

We each got a double cheeseburger meal (burger, fries, soda) for $6. I went with grilled onions, lettuce, and tomato on mine. We also ordered a side of the fried pickles ($3). The price couldn't be beat. If you look at the specials menu, you can see the 3 hamburgers for $5. I think they really know the target market of Bloomington townies and college students on a budget. I mean "townies" with the utmost respect. Having to put up with college students 9 months of the year, you deserve great restaurants like Hinkle's. I really wish I would have tried this place out when I was an undergrad, as you can't beat the price. Also, this would have hit the spot for many a hangover. I know when you see these pictures, you will think the burger is pretty unappealing, but tell me the last time you went to a fast food joint and the burger looked like the burger from the commercials. The fries were typical. The fried pickles were spears not chips. I was hoping they were hand breaded, but to my disappointment, they came out of a bag in the freezer. The freshest part of the meal was the burger. The beef is ground fresh daily. It was about the size of a McDonald's patty in thickness and area. The flavor was more along the lines of a White Castle burger, but with much better meat. This can be attributed to the steamed onions. I saw the chef cover the burger with a stainless steel cover to melt the cheese faster. I guess it was a good thing I was only coaching, not running in the meet, because this meal sat heavy. Although on numerous occasions this year, I had to explain how important it was to not eat junk before the meets.

I have long said that Bloomington is a food mecca. Hinkle's just extends my theory. My brother overhead some kids talking about where they wanted to eat after the meet. I was very disappointed to hear that their options were Olive Garden, Bob Evans, and Applebee's. Please, do yourselves a favor. If you ever go down to Bloomington, stay away from the chains. You will not regret your decision.


"I want to keep fighting because it is the only thing that keeps me out of the hamburger joints. If I don't fight, I'll EAt this planet." -George Foreman

Road Trip: Bloomington, IN - Janko's Little Zagreb

223 W. 6th St.

Bloomington, IN 47404

(812) 332-0694

Little Zagreb

I have been pretty excited to come back to eat at Janko's Little Zagreb. I never had the pleasure of eating there during my 4 years at IU. This is mainly because as a college student, the only time I really got to experience the nicer restaurants is when my parents came down to visit, as most of my money went to the Busch Light fund. Now that I am all grown up, it has been a treat to go back down and finally go to the expensive dining hot spots. As I have mentioned before, Bloomington is a food mecca. There are endless dining options for every palette. Little Zagreb is renowned as one of the best steakhouses in the state. I always pictured the restaurant to be a pretty classy joint, but it is the exact opposite. It is very casual. There are two dining areas which seat a fair amount of people. We were seated in the further dining room which is near the grill and food prep area. This was a unique experience in that you rarely see the food actually being cooked. The decor is typical of Bloomington in that the walls are full of IU memorabilia. The tables are covered with the old school red and white checkered table cloths. You kind of have a nostalgic feeling when you eat there, like you are eating in the past (minus the LCD tv's on the wall). The restaurant sponsors IU athletics, so you may have the pleasure of rubbing elbows with the past and future IU legends. My friends and I have been running to Todd Lindeman when we go down there. I recommend making reservations during home football weekends, Little 500, Graduation, or any other big weekend down there. Our food came out quickly, our water was always full, and our waitress was very knowledgeable of the menu.

My logo creator had never eaten at Zagreb before and he is planning on moving this summer, it was a perfect opportunity to dine there. @RFSchaffner and I had eaten there before, so we kind of knew what was good. Since there were 3 of us, we decided to get the most bang for our buck. We ordered the sirloin dinner for 3. It is over 3 pounds of sirloin, rolls, and salad. We also opted for the half order of spicy meatballs. Just a forewarning, they are surprisingly more spicy than any meatball I have ever had. You get about 8 or so in a half order. I couldn't really pin point where the heat came from. When I make my own spicy marinara, I use sriracha (or Sir ChaCha as it has been commonly referred to amongst my group of friends), and the sauce reminded me of that same flavor. I decided to get creative with my food, and I made a mini meatball slider with half a roll and a meatball. The rolls were warmed on the grill, and had a nice crusty outside and fluffy inside.

I would have to say that if there was a downside to the meal, it was the salad. The dressing was good, but the lettuce is just an average hand torn ice berg lettuce salad. We were all talking how a wedge would have been better, but you also don't go to Zagreb's for the salad. I'm pretty sure the dressings are made in house, I went with the Bleu Cheese. I think there could have been more Bleu Cheese crumbles in the dressing.

The star of the meal was the steak. We kind of had a bet before the steak came out. I was convinced the steak for 3 would be 3 different sirloin cuts. The other two said it was going to be one big steak. They were right. Our waitress did mention that there is a smaller piece of sirloin that could be cooked to a different temperature than the main cut. We ordered the main cut to be cooked medium, the small cut medium rare. It was a test to my butchering skills to divvy up the steak between us. I know you are supposed to cut against the grain of the beef to have more tender bites, but with a steak that large, I had to go against traditional methods to get equal pieces. The steak was tender, juicy, and flavorful. I'm sure it was only seasoned with salt and pepper. My only issue was there was a little more fat than I had expected on the cut. It was only along the outer edge of the steak, so it was easy to trim. We had a good amount of steak left over, so we left it for our wonderful host to reconstitute into a steak sandwich. We didn't have room for dessert, but the options sounded amazing. We ordered them to go. I went with the lemon berry cake with Mascarpone cheese. We all ordered a different dessert. All were very good, and I recommend that you order a dessert if you go. Our waitress said that the lemon berry cake and the chocolate mousse cheesecake were her favorites. She said that the lemon berry was more of a morning food and she could eat it for breakfast. I'd have to agree, it tasted like a blueberry muffin with a cool creamy center. The chocolate mousse was more rich and decadent. The NY style was your typical cheesecake with a buttery graham cracker crust. When I go back, I'd like to try the steak burger.

You have 3 days to take advantage of the Groupon for a steak dinner for 2:

http://www.groupon.com/deals/jankos-little-zagreb

"Not EAting meat is a decision, EAting meat is an instinct." -Denis Leary

 

Road Trip Bloomington, IN: Buffa Louie's

114 S. Indiana Avenue 

Bloomington, IN  

(812) 333-3030  

Buffa Louie's

The first time we ever ordered Buffa Louie's was during the infamous 2004 Super Bowl (the one where Janet Jackson showed the world her boobie). We were freshmen at IU, living in McNutt Crone. We ordered 2 buckets of Buffa Louie's and snuck in a couple six packs of Rolling Rock Green Light (We didn't know any better, and my roommate was watching his carb intake). Ever since that night, Buffa Louie's became my favorite wing place in Bloomington. There is only one location now, located at The Gables on Indiana Ave. The location is famous, as Jazz great Hoagy Carmichael penned part of "Star Dust" there. The interior is full of IU memorabilia, from signed posters to flags and banners, it is a great place to see the rich tradition of Indiana University. There are essentially three levels of seating and the restaurant is pretty large. It is usually pretty packed when IU is hosting a basketball or football game. It is a great place to take the kids as well, as it is one of the more family friendly places near Kirkwood. My only knock on the place, is that the service can be on the slow side. By "service", I mean the amount of time it takes to get food to the table from ordering. There isn't a traditional wait staff, as it is a place where you order and then pick up your food at the counter. 

Buffa Louie's offers 15 different kinds of sauces, ranging from Buffalo Sauces (Mild, Medium, Hot, T.N.T, and Volcanic), Mrs. Louie's BBQ (Sweet Q, Mild Q, Medium Q, Hot Q, T.N.T Q, and Volcanic Q), and Exotic (Teriyaki, Honey Garlic, and Hot Garlic). It is nice how boneless and traditional wings are the same price. I ordered the Louie's Dozen (15 wings). I was able to get 2 different sauces; 10 Hot BBQ & 5 Hot Garlic and celery and bleu cheese. I wanted to try new sauces and I wasn't very impressed. I think the HOT should be a little hotter. There was a strong Garlic and BBQ flavor, but the wings lacked heat. I do like that the wings are covered in sauce. It is always disappointed to find that dry spot on a wing. I really like the curly fries at Buffa Louie's and I was remiss to not order them. The random piece of bread in the picture is their cheese bread. It was nothing special, and RFS ordered it, so I tried it. When I go back, I will make sure to order the T.N.T and the Teriyaki, which were my previous go-to sauces.

"I really believe the only way to stay healthy is to EAt properly, get your rest and exercise. If you don't exercise and do the other two, I still don't think it's going to help you that much." -Mike Ditka

Mother Bear's Pizza: Bloomington, IN

1428 East Third Street
Bloomington, IN 47401
Mother Bear's Pizza


I think I'm going to blog Bloomington for my next two posts. I know its been a while since I blogged Indy, but I frankly don't care. Apologies to any readers that won't ever visit the most beautiful college town in state, but hopefully I can convince you to make a trip an hour South. Football season is around the corner and the mighty Hoosiers host Virginia, South Carolina State, Penn State, Illinois, Northwestern, and we get the chance to defend the rock and keep the Bucket in Bloomington. 

Eleven people were clinging precariously to a wildly swinging rope suspended from a crumbling outcropping on Mount Everest. Ten were Purdue grads, one was an IU grad. As a group they decided that one of the party should let go. If that didn't happen the rope would break and everyone would perish. For an agonizing few moments no one volunteered. Finally the Hoosier gave a truly touching speech saying he would sacrifice himself to save the lives of the others. The Purdue grads applauded.

So Mother Bear's was an easy choice. We wanted pizza, and to be honest I'm sick of Pizza X, or Hot Box here in Indy. I wish there was a better late night pizza joint in Indy, specifically Broad Ripple. I think Za is overpriced and tastes like cardboard. I have seen way too many fights in Hot Box and their pizza is boring. I would have to throw Mother Bear's in as my favorite, if not one of my favorite pizza places in the state. Recently, my family has been getting Jet's Pizza and I am a huge fan. Now Mother Bear's is one of the Bloomington staples, like Nick's and Kilroy's. The decor seems like it hasn't changed in years, although they did expand the dining area when I was a student. It is a classic pizza parlor: dimly lit, ample seating, and a very energetic atmosphere. It is award winning, according to the blue ribbon on the door, they are the 4th in the nation. People Magazine has recognized the store as one of America's Best Pizzas. The student paper has also voted Mother Bear's the best pizza numerous time. 

WJB, RFS, and JMA were in attendance on this gorgeous Spring evening. Not surprisingly, JMA was a borderline hammered as it was the weekend prior to Little 500. It being his last as an undergrad, it was completely acceptable. Apologies to the hipster in the Newsies hat that he called a nerd while he was riding his 1960's bicycle across the street wearing skinny jeans and a scarf (note: it was 78 degrees outside):

JMA: "Nice hat..."

Hipster: "Thanks!"

JMA: "NERD!!!"

Hipster: "What the hell dude?"

With JMA not being able to read a menu, I decided to order for us. We got the Mom's Favorite special which is only available for inside dining. Comes with one 10" one topping pizza, 2 house salads or breadsticks, and 2 soft drinks for $14.50. It's a steal if you ask me. We wanted to get a specialty pizza, so we decided on the Monet: Parmesan-Garlic White sauce, mozzarella, Sun Dried Tomato &  Basil Chicken sausage, red onions, and green peppers.  Also decided to go with salads. MB's has the most unique salad topping. Yes, those are Goldfish crackers.  It also has red onions, tomatoes, and cheese. I went with the Bleu Cheese dressing, I think it is made in house. I usually don't opt for Bleu Cheese, but recently I have been in that type of mood. Other than the Goldfish, it is a typical salad, but compliments the pizza perfectly. I don't know why the pizza is so delicious there compared to other pizza joints. They just know how to do it right. I almost always leave the crust on my plate, but with MB's I eat the entire slice. The toppings are fresh and they just work well together. I'll admit I read the menu wrong as I thought there was going to be Sun Dried Tomato and Chicken Sausage, not Sun Dried Tomato Chicken Sausage. Either way, I'm glad we tried something different. 


Most often when eating pizza, you feel pretty full and want to go into the dreaded food coma. With this pizza, I was rearing to go party afterwards. Every time I went to visit B-town, my night ended up with a some type of crazy story. This weekend, I met JMA left Sports early to meet some friends, thus leaving RFS, WJB, and JD at Sports. I get a call from him to meet him at his fraternity to go back to his house. I asked what he was doing. His response, "Riding a skateboard and listening to 80's music." He came to the house on a bicycle. We proceeded to ride back to his house with him sitting on the handlebars, me not being able to see over him, and not having any sort of balance. Needless to say, we wrecked and he face planted within seconds of us getting on the bike. After figuring it all out, we made it back to the house. Sure enough, there was 80's music blaring from the porch. Another successful weekend in Bloomington...


"You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I'm not hungry enough to EAt six." -Yogi Berra

Bloomington Sandwich Co. - Bloomington, IN

118 East Kirkwood Avenue
Bloomington, IN 47408-3330
Bloomington Sandwich Company

The Bloomington Sandwich Co. (BSC) is my favorite sandwich shop in the state. (I only go to Shapiro's for the Reuben, whereas I have loved every sandwich at the BSC). It was a rainy Saturday afternoon and we came back to Bloomington to play in a fraternity basketball tournament (it was rained out, so lunch was our next best option). Now the BSC used to be located the square, but it has since moved to Kirkwood. The first time I ever ate at this restaurant was after I graduated college (one of my biggest regrets in college). I know I would have been a regular, if I had known that this place existed. Based on the BSC Bloomingpedia page, the BSC was started by Mike and Carole Moy in 2005. If my memory is correct, Mike is from the Chicago area. I know this because we had a conversation about the Italian Beef Sandwich on the menu, and my affinity for giardinera. The Italian Beef is only one of the reasons I fell in love with this restaurant. The first being, the Reuben... It ranks #5 on the All Time Reuben List. Here is where Mike and I have a discrepancy. I have told you I order the Reuben NY Style, with cole slaw instead of sauerkraut. Mike refers to it as New Jersey style. He said that he had some dudes from jersey come into the store and they said that the cole slaw style originated in NJ. Of course they would say that. Anyone that went to IU could spot said "dudes from jersey" from a mile a way. You know the type, with their "shirts before the shirts", Yankees flat bills, orange skin, bottle service at Sports. Because those dudes annoy me to no end, I will not let them take credit for the cole slaw on the Reuben. It will always be NY Style in my eyes, because New Yorkers are so much better. 

So why is the Reuben #5? It's not stacked with corned beef like the other Reubens on the list, but it is the total package. The meat is tender, juicy and delightfully seasoned. The rye bread is toasted to perfection. There is a perfect amount of cole slaw and 1000 island dressing, so it isn't runny and messy. The Swiss cheese is melted just right. It just tastes fresh. I honestly think I could eat about 3 of these in one sitting because they taste so darn good, but just the one with a side dish will leave you satisfied. I chose the potato salad. It is nothing spectacular, but it does the trick. Beyond the sandwiches and service, the one thing that sold me on the BSC was the tasty treat they give you at the end of the meal. It is just a sample of their many flavors of Italian Ice, but after your meal, just a sample is enough. 

Round 2

RFS and I went back to Bloomington to meet with our fraternity advisor before we went to Columbus, IN for a wedding. KM had never been there before and he is a B-town native, so we had to go. Was I tempted to get the Reuben, absolutely. I had to opt for something different. I must say that the Combo meal that the BSC offers is one of the best I have ever seen. For the price of just a sandwich, you get a 1/2 sandwich, EITHER potato salad or Cole Slaw, then pick from the following: chips and drink, fries, side salad, cup of soup, cup of chili, OR chips and salsa. I decided to go with the BSC club: Bacon, Turkey, Ham, Lettuce, Tomato, Mayo on toasted sourdough bread. I went with the Caesar side salad and potato salad for my sides. Once again, the potato salad is just your run of the mill potato salad. The Caesar salad didn't wow me either, but I was feeling a salad, and hadn't had a Caesar in a while. It was just chopped Romaine lettuce, croutons, and shredded Parmesan cheese. As I stated before, the meat they use at the BSC is so fresh. Really any option you choose, you are guaranteed a freshly sliced stack of meat and fixins. The lettuce is crisp and you really get a bite of each ingredient every time. I also like how they don't put too much mayo on the sandwich. I only like small amounts of mayo on my sandwiches. I know I mentioned I would go on a Sandwich hiatus, but I had this entry queued up. Be on the lookout for Mother Bear's Pizza, Sensu, and Hotcakes Pancake Emporium. 

"I am proud to be an American. Because an American can EAt anything on the face of this earth as long as he has two pieces of bread." - Bill Cosby