Cafe Sol offers healthy ‘street food’

The Cafe Sol food cart may be a little more than a month old, but the cafe’s spin on fast food has already brought much success.

The cart is open from about midnight until around 4 a.m. — or until the food runs out — at the corner of Sixth and Walnut streets.

Siblings Philip and Katlyn Mast, an IU student, own and operate the business together. Philip Mast, who traveled the country working in the television industry, was inspired by his time living in Austin, Texas — and he hopes to bring a little taste of Austin to Bloomington.

“The street food scene was huge, and it wasn’t just hotdogs,” Philip Mast said of Austin. “People made an art of out it and put some creativity into the menu.”

Cafe Sol hopes to provide a unique late-night fast-food option to Bloomington residents.

“People want food faster and cheaper,” Philip Mast said. “They can get that here without taking away from quality. We’re giving them an alternative to the usual fast food.”

The Cafe Sol owners said they hope to bring fresh, healthy, affordable and tasty food to Bloomington residents.  

“We cook everything fresh during that day or on the spot and then we go out at night,” Katlyn Mast said. “It’s good and healthy Mexican-American fusion food. We buy local beef, chorizo and other things.”

Cafe Sol is gaining popularity because of values it shares with community residents, Philip Mast said.

“It adds some character to the downtown scene, whether you’re a student here or this is your first time in Bloomington,” Philip Mast said. “It’s been successful so far because a lot of people care about what they eat these days and so do we. With the college culture and the farmer’s market, it seemed like a great spot to be.”

Customers seem to agree.  

“It’s one of the several places in town that give the big city feel of fusion food to this small town,” regular customer Edwin Shurig said. “The first time I ate at the cart I texted all my friends and told them there was something new in town and they should check it out.”

The siblings cook their food fresh each day with the help of a new local organization called the Bloomington Kitchen Incubator. BKI offers small business owners access to a licensed commercial kitchen.

The menu items they prepare at BKI include breakfast foods and late-night snacks. Escabeche is their unique creation made of carrots pickled in apple cider vinegar and accompanied with a roasted poblano cream sauce.

“You can order anything from grilled cheese to tres leches, a Mexican desert with three kinds of milk,” Philip Mast said.

This wide variety of food makes first-time customers into regulars.

“I visit the cart every time I see it,” Shurig said, “Now anytime I’m out on a Friday night I will pop by and have a breakfast taco with chorizo, eggs, cilantro, carrot slaw and crema. The barbecue is really good, too. It gets your creative juices flowing when you make food for yourself at home.”

But it’s not just the food that keeps everyone coming back — it’s the atmosphere.

“We want to bring gourmet fusion food to the street and introduce well thought out food items,” Philip Mast said. “We want it to feel like you’re walking into a corner cafe. We have Christmas lights and an ever-changing chalkboard menu. We try to keep a funky and inviting vibe so it’s a cool place to be.”

And getting positive responses from customers makes the hard work all worth it for the duo.

“At the end of the night, people don’t want to go home,” Katlyn Mast said. “I’ve always wanted to cook at a restaurant. I love seeing people appreciate the food that I’ve made. I’ve even had a guy hug me.”