A Taste of Home

Being away from home can be difficult. Being away from any kind of food you consider familiar can be even worse.

Luckily, Bloomington is home to several businesses that offer international options for either staying in to cook a favorite dish or spending the night on the town at one of several restaurants that offer international cuisine.

To prepare you for nights when peanut butter and jelly or Easy Mac just isn’t going to cut it, these places will help you on your journey toward finding a taste of home.

EATING OUT, ORDERING IN
If you’re looking for some home-cooking or just want to try something new, eating out can be a great option.

Downtown Fourth Street is a popular place to find just what you’re looking for.

This area houses ethnic restaurants such as Amol India and Taste of India, which both serve Indian cuisine, Anatolia, which serves Turkish cuisine and the nearby Snow Lion, which serves Tibetan food.

Other international options are Puccini’s La Dolce Vita, which serves Italian food, and Siam House, a Thai restaurant on Fourth Street.

A great resource available to Bloomington residents is www.btownmenus.com, a website that provides a delivery service of some of the best Bloomington restaurants.

The website includes dozens of options, from pizza or candy to Tibetan or Japanese.
In addition to being easy to use, it also features regular specials when you order from
the it.

GROCERY SHOPPING
Knowing exactly where to look for hard-to-find ingredients can make a trip to the market much less stressful.

Grocery stores like Kroger and Marsh have aisles with international ingredients, and both stores have multiple locations in Bloomington.

Kroger has four locations in Bloomington, including a store at 528 S. College Ave. near campus and 1175 S. College Mall Road near the 9 bus route.

One specialty ingredient offered there is Tahini, a sesame paste used in Middle Eastern dishes.

Marsh also has two locations around the IU campus at 1825 N. Kinser Pike and 123 S. Kingston Drive near the mall. It offers a variety of kosher options and Indian, Asian, European and Hispanic products. One specialty offering here is mango chutney, which can be found in the Indian food section.

Marsh will also sometimes order a specialty item for you if you can’t find what you’re looking for.

Both of these markets offer discount cards, which you can get within the store and provide discounts on select items.

Sahara Mart is also an option for international ingredients at either of its two Bloomington locations, one at 2611 E. Third St. and one at 106 E. Second St.

The family-owned store prides itself in providing a wide variety of products, which include organic options, gluten-free products and international products from nearly every part of the world imaginable.