CHEAP EATS - TACO BELL
Taco Bell was highly ranked in two categories -- it was the number one place for cheap eats and the second-best place for a cheap date.\n"Obviously we are pretty cheap," says Becki Prince, restaurant manager of the Taco Bell location on North Walnut Avenue. "We get a lot of college kids. You can get a lot for your money."\nPrince says Taco Bell does serve a lot of couples.\n"They come in, order, eat and sit around to chat for a while," Prince says.\nFour Taco Bell locations -- north, south, east and west -- surround the IU campus. The lobby of the North Walnut Avenue location is currently open until 2:00 a.m., Prince says, and many customers come in hungry after a night out.\n"It's good to go," says junior Heather Moylan.\nBut for a date, Moylan has plenty of reservations about the fast-food restaurant. \n"I'd be very unhappy," she says.
BEST DESSERT - COLD STONE
Cold Stone Creamery was voted Bloomington's best dessert over local favorites Jiffy Treet and Scholar's Bakehouse.\n"In my opinion, it's like cars -- like comparing a Lincoln Continental to a [Ford] Escort," says Barry Keaton, owner of both Bloomington Cold Stone locations.\nIU sophomore Becky Kane says when she craves ice cream, she chooses Cold Stone because of its convenient downtown location close to campus.\n"It tastes good," Kane says. "It is really delicious, and the small size is filling."\nCold Stone's ice cream, made fresh daily, is thicker than competitors' ice cream because less air is pumped into the mixture, Keaton says. The cream used to make Cold Stone desserts is made at one factory then shipped to all of the franchise locations. This ensures the taste will be consistent at every Cold Stone across the country.\nThe first Cold Stone Creamery opened in Bloomington three years ago. Keaton says he was attracted to the area because he thought the student population would think the ice cream tastes "awesome."\nLocal ice cream shop Jiffy Treet could not be reached for comment.
BEST CAFE - STARBUCKS
IDS readers voted Starbucks as Bloomington's Best Café. Two locally owned cafés, Soma and The Copper Cup, ranked second and third.\nStarbucks boasts a combination of people, product and place, says Paul Owen, store manager of the Starbucks on Indiana Avenue near the Sample Gates.\n"We get a lot of students and people connected to IU," Owen says.\nThe Indiana Avenue location was the first Starbucks in Bloomington when it opened six years ago, Owen says. Since 2001, Starbucks has been ranked as Bloomington's Best Coffee or Best Café five times.\nThe characteristics of the majority of the student population may have contributed to Starbucks' popularity. The chain has a "yuppie atmosphere" while some other locally owned coffee shops have a "hippie atmosphere," says Starbucks customer junior Colin MacLaughlin.\n"There's an intellectual stigma," MacLaughlin says about the Starbucks clientele.\nStarbucks are everywhere, says IU junior Morgan Fencl. She's right - the chain has stores on all sides of campus and will soon open in the IMU. Starbucks brews are also sold in the Herman B. Wells Library and in residence hall cafés.\n"It's more of a trend than the coffee," Fencl says.
BEST BURGER - CHEESEBURGER IN PARADISE
Cheeseburger in Paradise was voted as the home to Bloomington's Best Burger. The chain, which was started in Indianapolis, topped local eateries Scotty's Brewhouse and Opie Taylor's.\nWith five restaurants across the state, Indiana has the highest concentration of Cheeseburger in Paradise locations in the nation, says manager John Skolak. About 40 total locations are scattered across the Midwest, the South and the Atlantic coast regions.\nIngredients for the 11 types of Cheeseburger in Paradise burgers are delivered fresh daily and never frozen, Skolak says. Strict guidelines in the kitchen ensure burger preparation is consistent.\n"Hopefully that's why people like us so much," Skolak says. "The food should be 100 percent the same when they come back."\nThe fun atmosphere and super-sized margaritas appeal to senior Libby Spille. The sides, such as sweet potato fries, are menu items Spille says she would not expect in a casual Bloomington restaurant.\nAnd the burgers: "I think they're pretty dang good," Spille says.\nBut Scotty's manager Bryan Scantland says national chains attract customers with large advertising budgets.\n"America is very brand-oriented," says Scantland. "You go with what you know."
BEST RESTAURANT - MALIBU GRILL/BUCCETO'S (TIE)
Despite encroachment from national chains, two local restaurants each ranked highly in three Best of Bloomington categories. If you are looking for the cream of the crop, try Malibu Grill or Bucceto's Smiling Teeth. These two restaurants tied as Bloomington's Best Restaurant.\nMalibu Grill was also the Best First Date Restaurant and the Best Place for Dinner with Parents.\nMalibu managing partner John Bailey says customers like familiarity. About 75 percent of Malibu's menu is exactly the same as it was when the restaurant opened 13 years ago.\n"If students come during orientation, we'll see them for the next four years," says Bailey.\nBucceto's Smiling Teeth was also the Best Place for a Cheap Date and the third-ranked First Date Restaurant.\nThe fun, happy atmosphere allows people to relax and enjoy themselves with good food, says Bucceto's store manager Mike Heffernan.\n"We offer a really great meal in taste and price for the flavor and amount of food you get," Heffernan says.
