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