Best Restaurants in Bloomington

After not taking any major trips since May of 2019 to the Bahamas (2 whole years ago), we were long overdue for a vacation! Yes we had that day trip to Ohio but that was just one day. Now that we are fully vaccinated, we decided to take a short three day trip to Bloomington, Indiana. The main reason for us picking somewhere close to home and so short was because we were doing an experiment - will our two bengal cats tolerate travelling with us? Short answer: not so much! They were alright, but didn't seem to enjoy the venture and were more included to be nervous about so many new things.

That being said, the trip was great overall, with us trying lots of new foods, relaxing, and my usual exploration of nearby parks. Stay tuned for Part Two later this month for photos from all the parks I explored (as those still need to be edited). For now, I am just going to make you hungry by showing you the delicious foods we tried! Below are the top eight places from our trip.

1. Mother Bears Pizza West

The first place on our list after a long drive. Sarah tried a delicious looking veggie sub, described by her as a pizza in sub form (sauce, cheese, and all). I went with a deep dish meat pizza, and it was perfection. Crispy crust, loved the sauce dollops on top as their sauce is fantastic.

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2. Bloomington Bagel Co

No trip is complete without bagels, and this place caught my eye with their delicious looking bagel sandwiches. I had never had Lox before and was glad I tried it, very good paired with cream cheese and a crunchy bagel.

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3. Do Asian Fusion Restaurant

This restaurant had a LOT of amazing looking things, but with so many places on our list we just picked out two yummy appetizers. Both dumplings, one fried and one not. Both were amazing!

In fact the entire street had at least a dozen amazing looking international restaurants, including Tibetan, Indian, Thai, Korean, Turkish, and more!

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4. Fourth Street International Market

A grocery store and also a restaurant, we just stopped by because we were thirsty and picked out a few new drinks to try. All of them were delicious! The Bergamot Tea on the right reminded me of Arizona Iced Tea but without any fructose corn syrup!

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5. Lotus Garden

We came here to try their Dim Sum, something I hadn't had before. The left was a BBQ filling, which on the outside had the texture and taste of a fluffy pancake. The right had a nice chewy outside and fresh shrimp that was very good.

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6. Square Donuts

I'll admit, I came for the "stunt food" idea of a square donut. But I was blown away by how delicious they were too! The glazed was perfection, along with Key Lime, Boston Creme, and Apple Fritters that can't go wrong.

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7. Social Cantina

Sometimes fancy mexican restaurants like this can go too far, and I was worried. However, the two tacos I had were the best tacos I have had in a while. One was completely vegetarian, a fried mushroom (on top) that was just the best thing in the world. The bottom taco was Pork Butt and, despite the richness of the meat, was extremely refreshing with all the toppings it was paired with. Their tortilla chips were surprisingly addicting, not being very salty but had some sort of gentle seasoning on them that was unique.

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8. Zero Degrees

We came here several times and will say that the menu got us excited about many things (like ramen and milk shaved ice), but honestly most were just OK except for their main feature - Bubble Tea. Nonetheless, I would gladly go back for more Bubble Tea!

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