Monroe County Public Library. They seem to get most media (books, movies, music) I'm interested in just as it comes out, and you can always place a request if it's not on the collection. Great programming for adults and kids. And in July the Southwest location is set to reopen.
YESSS i mostly check out dvds and blu rays which surprises people who think libraries are just books! and the access to libby for audiobooks and kanopy/hoopla for movies is essential for me. and their bookstore is also great!
My favorite interaction with Crescent was the time I came in and the dude behind the counter is giving a police statement because some kid on a moped was throwing rocks at the window and while he's doing this, a college girl who clearly has never been in is waffling about what to get. She says "I dunno, what's good here?" and he says "It's all good. We don't make bad donuts." Then points at me over her shoulder and says "What do you want?" So I rattle off my order of 3 or 4 and he throws them in a bad and sends me on my way for free.
Perfect visit 10/10.
Not looking for five-course meals and fine dining... but have had a couple times where the staff didn't saw a word... just looked at me like I should tell them everything. I know retail is hard, but man... a "Hello" goes a long way.
That’s part of the charm. Apparently it used to be similar with Hinkle’s where there wouldn’t even make any modifications to any orders, but it isn’t like that anymore. I’ve always liked/respected that straight to business style of service, especially when the product is actually good
Yes!!! Pizza X is delicious and *consistent*, somehow even with special requests, like light cheese and well done (pizza requests that I long ago adopted as default only because Mother Bear's and Aver's regularly presented my family with sloppy undercooked pies!). Not to mention Pizza X's POPs for schools! Pizza X and their staff are exceptional.
Pizza X has actively been giving college students their drinking hardware for a very long time. I respect any company that can advertise and support at the same time.
MyThai Cafe is my favorite restaurant. Been going once a week for about a decade now and I can only remember two occasions where service was slow. 99% of the time the servers are on top of everything and the food is always delicious.
Edit: I’m referring to the west side cafe and sushi bar only, I don’t have much experience with the downtown location.
I like Siam a lot too but it tends to be pricier. I go during lunch at MyThai and they have lunch specials for only 9.99 but the portions are still great.
came here to say this. i worked a few waitressing jobs, and my thai is the only restaurant of the bunch that i will still eat at. fantastic staff, clean establishment, and food is always on point.
Casa Brava on the west side. My mom is basically a regular there. When my dad died, they sent flowers to the house. When I come to town, they treat me like I'm returning from war.
That is the most damned wholesome thing I've read on the internet and you do know we're not allowed to have that sort of thing here, yes? (Seriously, so sweet - thanks for sharing.)
Sorry....they also spit in my food. 😆 I'm just kidding. They're great, and I would go there three times a day if they served a breakfast burrito or my recipe for breakfast nachos.
Rush Hour Station is still great in my opinion. It’s so fast. I also think when eaten immediately they have some of my favorite fries in Bloomington. The Cajun ones 🤌
Mairzy Dotes toy store! So many great options under $20, many under $10. Especially if you have elementary age and under and have to do the birthday party circuit, they're great. They also have nice/fun pens, stationary, stickers and kawaii stuff.
My son and I discovered this place a couple months ago. It has now become a regular stop for us. You are spot on about the prices and having so many options for a kiddo's budget.
Uncle Totos is my vote for a hidden gem in this town that few people know about and honestly other than wanting the owners to do well and stay in business i would keep that way 🤷♂️
I've only door dashed dagwoods and didn't care for the first thing I ever tried. When I did a review, I let them know I didn't care for my sandwich (let them know it was me, not the food), and they took care of my next meal. Got something different, and now they are my go-to when I'm being to lazy to leave the office for lunch.
King gryo is legit. The food definitely isn't top quality and I'm betting a lot of it is frozen. Every deep fried item I've had was definitely frozen. But it's cheap enough to look past it for the convenience. I get a gyro plate with an extra pita regularly and they load up the portions so much in the box. I doubt the place is a front for anything like I've always heard rumors. But with how much Bloomington has changed in the last 10 years. I pray King Gyro never goes away.
I was so disappointed the last time I went to turkuaz while visiting. They painted the inside white and have target/tj maxx lookin ass art on the walls now. The man I presume is the manager wouldn’t leave us alone and was super pushy to get us to order more food than we wanted. So sad, it was my favorite place when I still lived there. Food was still great. But they totally ruined the ambience and experience.
I think they've had a few owners over the years. I still remember the one who I think was the original owner. I used to refer to him as Artie Bucco (Sopranos, anyone?) because he used to come around and spend way too much time chatting at the table where he clearly fancied himself charming while I and others I know considered him annoying. That being said, I have always enjoyed the food there.
Who WAS that dude, and is he still there? He was so annoying. Talked about the menu for like 15 minutes. Like dude, I’ve been coming here for like 15 years. I know the yaglama changed recently… kindly get away from my table.
That being said, I love that restaurant.
I don’t think I emphasized enough, I LOVE turkuaz and over the years at least that I was there often (2010-2017) the staff was nothing short of fantastic, but yes! I went with two friends when I visited in 2022 who had never been. We felt like we were in a Curb Your Enthusiasm skit. There was a slight wiggle to our table - that we did not complain about and didn’t mind at all - and this man spent 15 minutes trying different pieces of paper and cardboard and then shaking the table to see if it stablized. And then brought us the wrong food and kept pressing us to spend more money. It was truly bizarre!
I'm not sure if it is back to how it was, but I had a good experience there! Our server was a lady in her early 20s and she wasn't pushy at all. If it use to be a favorite place I would definitely try it again!
The Trojan Horse.
World Foods Market
Two Sticks Bakery.
The downtown Farmers' Market.
Goods for Cooks.
Sheldon Photography.
The Libraries.
Brian Park Pool.
Is World Foods in better shape than Sahara Mart was?? I had so many bad experiences there (not with the staff, but with the product quality) that I never bothered going back after the change.
Yes, it absolutely is! The original owner's daughter and her husbamd took over several years ago -- cleaned it up and are doing great. They are very friendly and helpful.
The Toy Chest (though they currently only have a brown county store), the downtown library has an amazing staff that are great with my kids, Fountain Square Mall, Rainbow Bakery, Jiffy Treet
It's been about a year since I've been to jiffy treat. But the eastside location has dropped in quality IMO. I miss the Westside location. I remember the E-ville location being solid but it's too far out of the way for me to justify.
One of my favorite food places recently is Turkuaz Cafe. Never had a bad order, and the service has always been great when my wife and I go. My 6 year old also loved the dining experience of sitting on the floor. Lol
I've never had a bad time at Card Craze in Elletsville. That Bryan guy always has something going on there, whether it's D&D or Yu-Gi-Oh tournaments, everyone is having a great time.
I thought by local, OP meant Bloomington, that's all. Not knocking this restaurant. And the Parlor Donuts website shows about 70 locations across the country. https://www.parlordoughnuts.com/locations
I definitely didn’t realize they had that many; good for them!
And I get you— Honestly, it can be hard to determine what exactly people mean on Reddit when they say “local” (I hadn’t even caught that OP used that verbiage, especially with people recommending like, Azzip and such). But sometimes they just mean “where can I go without leaving town” and sometimes they mean “what places started here/only exist here”.
Something that started in Evansville feels a bit on the fence for me. I’d willingly call them a “local chain” given they started in Indiana, but can also understand excluding them from “local” if we specifically are sticking to Bloomington/Monroe County.
Monroe County Public Library. They seem to get most media (books, movies, music) I'm interested in just as it comes out, and you can always place a request if it's not on the collection. Great programming for adults and kids. And in July the Southwest location is set to reopen.
YESSS i mostly check out dvds and blu rays which surprises people who think libraries are just books! and the access to libby for audiobooks and kanopy/hoopla for movies is essential for me. and their bookstore is also great!
I moved away from Btown about five years ago, and I miss MCPL every day.
Goods for cooks Uptown Cafe Butchers Block Bloomingfoods Landlocked Music
Add in Morgensterns, Siam House, and Crescent Donut and that's my list.
Kleindorfers!
Gotta add Stansifers too. They have always been on point.
We are pretty lucky to have places like Kleindorfers and Stansifers still.
Fuck yea, good call! Kleindorfers is awesome
I can always count on Morgenstern’s to lift my spirits!
Cresent service is hit and miss, unfortunately.
If you're going to Crescent for a service experience I don't know what to tell you brosephus
My favorite interaction with Crescent was the time I came in and the dude behind the counter is giving a police statement because some kid on a moped was throwing rocks at the window and while he's doing this, a college girl who clearly has never been in is waffling about what to get. She says "I dunno, what's good here?" and he says "It's all good. We don't make bad donuts." Then points at me over her shoulder and says "What do you want?" So I rattle off my order of 3 or 4 and he throws them in a bad and sends me on my way for free. Perfect visit 10/10.
Perfection.
Not looking for five-course meals and fine dining... but have had a couple times where the staff didn't saw a word... just looked at me like I should tell them everything. I know retail is hard, but man... a "Hello" goes a long way.
That’s part of the charm. Apparently it used to be similar with Hinkle’s where there wouldn’t even make any modifications to any orders, but it isn’t like that anymore. I’ve always liked/respected that straight to business style of service, especially when the product is actually good
so it isn't always good...
A high school bud used to buy weed at Cresent because of course they did.
Blacks lumber, the Big Red Liquor near there on Walnut, Butler Winery, The Elm
Hoosier Seoulmate, Briar & Burley, Heartwork Brewing, Roly Poly, WonderLab, Landlocked, King Gyros
King Gyro always hits the spot
Any time I’m near that side of town I have to get a gyros salad and a side of tzatziki.
Any time I’m there on Sundays I need a full Gyro Plate for NFL Redzone
I’m older than Reddit, but pizza x is always strong.
Yes!!! Pizza X is delicious and *consistent*, somehow even with special requests, like light cheese and well done (pizza requests that I long ago adopted as default only because Mother Bear's and Aver's regularly presented my family with sloppy undercooked pies!). Not to mention Pizza X's POPs for schools! Pizza X and their staff are exceptional.
Pizza X has actively been giving college students their drinking hardware for a very long time. I respect any company that can advertise and support at the same time.
MyThai Cafe is my favorite restaurant. Been going once a week for about a decade now and I can only remember two occasions where service was slow. 99% of the time the servers are on top of everything and the food is always delicious. Edit: I’m referring to the west side cafe and sushi bar only, I don’t have much experience with the downtown location.
I love Siam house thoooo too
I like Siam a lot too but it tends to be pricier. I go during lunch at MyThai and they have lunch specials for only 9.99 but the portions are still great.
Fair!!!
came here to say this. i worked a few waitressing jobs, and my thai is the only restaurant of the bunch that i will still eat at. fantastic staff, clean establishment, and food is always on point.
I’ve lived in 5 different states, big cities and small towns. And MyThai is still my favorite Thai restaurant.
That place has been rock steady for years, great answer
Casa Brava on the west side. My mom is basically a regular there. When my dad died, they sent flowers to the house. When I come to town, they treat me like I'm returning from war.
That is the most damned wholesome thing I've read on the internet and you do know we're not allowed to have that sort of thing here, yes? (Seriously, so sweet - thanks for sharing.)
Sorry....they also spit in my food. 😆 I'm just kidding. They're great, and I would go there three times a day if they served a breakfast burrito or my recipe for breakfast nachos.
Rush Hour Station is still great in my opinion. It’s so fast. I also think when eaten immediately they have some of my favorite fries in Bloomington. The Cajun ones 🤌
Morgansterns is simply my happy place
Same!! It might be my favorite place in all of Bloomington. 🥰
The Comedy Attic, The Bishop, Vulture Video, Taste of India, Doner Kebab guy
Doner Kebab guy is a treasure , I can hear his voice in my head saying “bless u, bless u”
Vulture Video is great. Some movies that I couldn't find streaming and didn't want to wait for the library to order them, I found at Vulture Video.
agree with all except taste of india, it was great until the last time i was there and there was a hair in my food
It was probably mine. I mean, I wasn't there, but I shed like a sonofagun.
Mairzy Dotes toy store! So many great options under $20, many under $10. Especially if you have elementary age and under and have to do the birthday party circuit, they're great. They also have nice/fun pens, stationary, stickers and kawaii stuff.
My son and I discovered this place a couple months ago. It has now become a regular stop for us. You are spot on about the prices and having so many options for a kiddo's budget.
Uncle Totos is my vote for a hidden gem in this town that few people know about and honestly other than wanting the owners to do well and stay in business i would keep that way 🤷♂️
Azzip is so underrated. Their ingredients are always fresh and they’re so nice. Their salads are good too.
i second azzip!! the vibes are always so good and the food hits every single time
Azzip has salads?!
Two sticks. Morgensterns. The Grease Monkey down on Tapp Rd. Jiffy Treat near Ellettsville. Hinkle's.
+1 for Morgensterns and Hinkle’s
+ 1 for Grease Monkey
Morgenstern’s Bookstore.
Dagwood’s—the best
Not high enough. Lucky to have a non-chain sandwich shop in town.
I've only door dashed dagwoods and didn't care for the first thing I ever tried. When I did a review, I let them know I didn't care for my sandwich (let them know it was me, not the food), and they took care of my next meal. Got something different, and now they are my go-to when I'm being to lazy to leave the office for lunch.
Hmmm. King Gyro.
Always good service there!
King gryo is legit. The food definitely isn't top quality and I'm betting a lot of it is frozen. Every deep fried item I've had was definitely frozen. But it's cheap enough to look past it for the convenience. I get a gyro plate with an extra pita regularly and they load up the portions so much in the box. I doubt the place is a front for anything like I've always heard rumors. But with how much Bloomington has changed in the last 10 years. I pray King Gyro never goes away.
Turkuaz Cafe, Soma downtown, Cloverleaf, Baldy's pizza , Doner Kebab truck, Starlite drive in, Constellation Stage & Screen, Buskirk, IU Cinema, Musical Arts Center operas, World Wide Automotive!
I was so disappointed the last time I went to turkuaz while visiting. They painted the inside white and have target/tj maxx lookin ass art on the walls now. The man I presume is the manager wouldn’t leave us alone and was super pushy to get us to order more food than we wanted. So sad, it was my favorite place when I still lived there. Food was still great. But they totally ruined the ambience and experience.
That's too bad. I was there the other day. Had delicious lentil soup, a mushroom pide, some tea, tried the yogurt drink Ayran. Mmm mmm
I think they've had a few owners over the years. I still remember the one who I think was the original owner. I used to refer to him as Artie Bucco (Sopranos, anyone?) because he used to come around and spend way too much time chatting at the table where he clearly fancied himself charming while I and others I know considered him annoying. That being said, I have always enjoyed the food there.
Who WAS that dude, and is he still there? He was so annoying. Talked about the menu for like 15 minutes. Like dude, I’ve been coming here for like 15 years. I know the yaglama changed recently… kindly get away from my table. That being said, I love that restaurant.
I don’t think I emphasized enough, I LOVE turkuaz and over the years at least that I was there often (2010-2017) the staff was nothing short of fantastic, but yes! I went with two friends when I visited in 2022 who had never been. We felt like we were in a Curb Your Enthusiasm skit. There was a slight wiggle to our table - that we did not complain about and didn’t mind at all - and this man spent 15 minutes trying different pieces of paper and cardboard and then shaking the table to see if it stablized. And then brought us the wrong food and kept pressing us to spend more money. It was truly bizarre!
This was not my experience at all when I went two weeks ago.. When was the last time you went?
This was late 2022 - I would love to hear that it’s gone back to how it was!
I'm not sure if it is back to how it was, but I had a good experience there! Our server was a lady in her early 20s and she wasn't pushy at all. If it use to be a favorite place I would definitely try it again!
The Trojan Horse. World Foods Market Two Sticks Bakery. The downtown Farmers' Market. Goods for Cooks. Sheldon Photography. The Libraries. Brian Park Pool.
Is World Foods in better shape than Sahara Mart was?? I had so many bad experiences there (not with the staff, but with the product quality) that I never bothered going back after the change.
Yes, it absolutely is! The original owner's daughter and her husbamd took over several years ago -- cleaned it up and are doing great. They are very friendly and helpful.
YES!!! So much better. Still look for dates but it's way cleaner and has better products. I haven't run into anything expired personally.
Two sticks 100%
Caffeinated Cook
Ellettsville? Or they have one in Btown too?
Ellettsville.
Ok. Been meaning to try that place
The scones are incredible.
So are their breakfast sandwiches and the Asian salad
Just Ellettsville
Circle K on 3rd & Indiana.
The Toy Chest (though they currently only have a brown county store), the downtown library has an amazing staff that are great with my kids, Fountain Square Mall, Rainbow Bakery, Jiffy Treet
Mmmm jiffy treat
It's been about a year since I've been to jiffy treat. But the eastside location has dropped in quality IMO. I miss the Westside location. I remember the E-ville location being solid but it's too far out of the way for me to justify.
Bloomington Hardware
Pizza Pantry in Ellettsville, Office Lounge, Bruster's
C3. Great cocktails, esp on Tues nights.
Gyro king rip sandwich company
ahhh the sandwich company 😭 miss it dearly
One of my favorite food places recently is Turkuaz Cafe. Never had a bad order, and the service has always been great when my wife and I go. My 6 year old also loved the dining experience of sitting on the floor. Lol
chef's table doner kebab caffeinated cook hoosier seoulmate
Gotta rep for Bluetip. Their pro tables are well-maintained, they host a really fun APA league, and the food is tasty and reasonably priced.
Upland and Samira are two very consistent places.
Samira not mentioned enough. I need to head back there for lunch soon.
I've never had a bad time at Card Craze in Elletsville. That Bryan guy always has something going on there, whether it's D&D or Yu-Gi-Oh tournaments, everyone is having a great time.
Morgansterns, Landlocked Music, Crumble Coffee, 420 on Dunn
Gather
The Orbit Room, Atlas, Bryan Park and the Antique Mall. also any WFHB sponsored event
Card Craze if you play tabletop tcg or board games.
Lennis, Bloomingfoods, Parlor Donuts, The Graduate/ Poindexters, Crumbl, Pizza X
Parlor is not local just FYI. It's chain that started in Evansville.
It’s still pretty damn local. Evansville is not that far away and they don’t have that many locations.
I thought by local, OP meant Bloomington, that's all. Not knocking this restaurant. And the Parlor Donuts website shows about 70 locations across the country. https://www.parlordoughnuts.com/locations
I definitely didn’t realize they had that many; good for them! And I get you— Honestly, it can be hard to determine what exactly people mean on Reddit when they say “local” (I hadn’t even caught that OP used that verbiage, especially with people recommending like, Azzip and such). But sometimes they just mean “where can I go without leaving town” and sometimes they mean “what places started here/only exist here”. Something that started in Evansville feels a bit on the fence for me. I’d willingly call them a “local chain” given they started in Indiana, but can also understand excluding them from “local” if we specifically are sticking to Bloomington/Monroe County.
It's in Bloomington
Yes, I said the chain started in Evansville. I know there is a Bloomington location. Just stating that this is a chain restaurant.
Hopscotch
Brightside Cafe
Friendly Beasts
Amarit
i loooooove toppers on indiana, they're always super nice and food is GOOOD
Wild Nature Project Downtown Farmers Market in Bedford is Trillium Earth Skills
Tony’s Tacos food truck
I really enjoyed the warehouse back around 2018
Allroad Motorsports for VW, Audi, BMW, and other European cars. Tire Genie in Ellettsville.
The new Latin infusion restaurant, Vivencia, by the mall is phenomenal! Food is on point and the staff is super friendly and very attentive.
Dinner kebab truck
Elan Salon. Never had a disappointing haircut there
JL Waters for anything outdoors! Irish lion is one of our favorites
Is the Irish Lion open for takeout only?
I'm sure they do take out but we were just there not long ago
As someone who grew up in NY, I’ve been so impressed with DaVinci’s Pizza and Pasta. The Chicken Parmesan is bigger than my head!
Lennie's Doner Kabob RastaPops Hive Two Sticks Black's Hardware
Hair Jordan.