NOLA comes to Bloomington

Although New Orleans is more than 800 miles away, Bloomingtonians who crave Creole and Cajun-style cuisine this Mardi Gras -- or any other day -- don't have to travel far to get it. Locally owned Dats, nestled on the corner of Grant and Fourth streets, offers 32 authentic New Orleans-style dishes and the chance for patrons' taste buds to escape to the bayou without leaving town. \n"It's very casual, very quick and very inexpensive," said owner Bob Crowley. "You get a good taste profile with Cajun and Creole food here. Unlike most people's perception, the food isn't really hot or spicy, but it is really flavorful." \nFor those who have yet to experience the distinct flavor of the Big Easy, Cajun and Creole dishes have influences from French Provincial, Italian, Spanish, West Indian, African and American Indian cuisines. Though they are often lumped together in the same down-home cooking category in restaurants nowadays, Cajun and Creole food originally came from very different places. Cajun food originates from the poorer country people of southern Louisiana, where Creole dishes are known to come from more affluent French and Spanish city people. \nDats offers a selection from both styles of food, but customers get a taste of New Orleans in more way than one when they dine in. From the colorful plastic beads draped haphazardly over the chandelier light fixtures to the Mardi Gras-inspired wall art and array of ornate mirrors, the atmosphere inside the charming restaurant is truly one of an authentic Cajun hideaway. \n"Besides the great food, I like the uniqueness of the restaurant," senior Ryan McDougle said. "It's different than anything else in Bloomington." \nThose familiar with the restaurant might remember it as Yats, as it looks exactly the same on the outside with the exception of a "D" on the sign where a "Y" once stood. Crowley altered the name when he took it over a year ago, but besides an expanded selection offered on the chalkboard menu, the restaurant has remained essentially unchanged. \n"The former owner and I are friends, we had worked together in Indianapolis and then he started a Yats down here but was having trouble keeping up a restaurant both here and there," Crowley said. "I lived down here and he asked me to take over, and I'd always wanted something like this in Bloomington, so it was a win-win situation." \nSome Dats diners found the restaurant because they were familiar with the Indianapolis location. \n"I first ate there in Indy about two years ago, and when I moved down here I learned about Dats because it's right down the street," said sophomore Nick Graub. "I like eating there because it's cheap, quick and healthy from what I can tell. I like the rice and the restaurant is a refreshing alternative to Chinese food." \nDats' food is cooked in large quantities like it is in New Orleans with only fresh ingredients, herbs and spices, Crowley said. Each week the chef prepares 40 gallons of one item and then chills and freezes it, and every day part of the food is cooked, but there's never any reheating. The menu rotates four featured items daily and the 12 most popular items are always available. \n"The Datwich sandwich is popular; it's turkey dusted in Cajun spices, slow-cooked and soaked in beer for 12 hours and then slow-cooked again," he said. "It's a pot roast that warms you from your nose to your toes."\nJambalaya, gumbo, chili-cheese etouffee and chicken Creole are also popular items on the menu. All food, except for the Datwich, is served over rice and can be ordered in pints and quarts for those who want gumbo on the go. Dats is vegetarian-friendly, too, with items such as black beans and caramelized corn, spinach-mushroom etouffee, spinach-artichoke etouffee and red bean chili.\n"They didn't have many vegetarian meals at Yats, but I started focusing on those items because my son doesn't eat meat," Crowley said. \nFor those spice-fearing skeptics wary of trying Cajun food, Crowley promises that the food is only hot if you want it to be. \n"It's just flavorful food, and if you want to make it spicy, we have hot sauces so you can make it exactly as spicy as you'd like it to be," he said. "Even people who hate spicy food can find something they like here." \nIf meat-lovers and vegetarians alike can enjoy Dats, so can the customer who doesn't want to shell out a lot of cash. Entrees start at $5.50 and customers can supersize their meal to get 70 percent more food for only $3 extra. Pints are $9 and quarts are $16, but given the quantity, most customers think it's quite a deal. \n"It's really inexpensive but filling," McDougle said. "The food is so good, I love the spices they put in it and it's all cheap. ... Now Dat's delicious"