Cajun restaurant nears opening

The "Nawlins" flavor of Yat's is coming to Bloomington next month.\nThe December opening on the corner of 4th and Grant Streets will be the restaurant's third expansion this year, and owners believe Bloomington could be one of their best markets yet.\nThe popular cajun restaurant, Yat's, first opened its doors in Broad Ripple two years ago to rave reviews. The New York Times said any trip to Indianapolis was not complete without a meal at Yat's, and NUVO Newsweekly said it was the best place to go on a date if you're buying.\nBut what is a Yat?\nAccording to Yat's owner and head chef Joe Vuscovich, the name Yat, comes from a common greeting in New Orleans, "Where y'at?" \n"Yats love is to eat, and they don't just keep eatin' to live -- a Yat keeps livin' to eat," Vuscovich wrote on the restaurant's Web site, www.yatscajuncreole.com.\nYat's gained its devout following by offering cheap food in a festival-like setting.\nAll the traditional Nawlins fare -- gumbo, jambalaya, etouffees, rice, and beans -- are $5 each.\n"We are a relaxed, casual, neighborhood place where you can gather and eat good food cheap," said co-owner and wife of Joe, Regina Vuscovich.\nJoe Vuscovich, said he makes all the food himself at the kitchen in the Broad Ripple Yat's and sends it frozen to the other restaurants.\nThe son of a Louisiana oyster fisherman, Joe once owned an award-winning restaurant named Viscoes on the west bank of the Mississippi in New Orleans but retired when he was 40 to play polo full time.\nJoe came back to the restaurant business and has opened new Yat's locations this year on Massachussetts Ave. in downtown Indianapolis and in Brownsburg. With one in Bloomington on the way, Joe's Broad Ripple kitchen is no longer big enough to do all the cooking.\nIn late November, just in time for the Bloomington debut, Joe will move his outfit to 10th Street in Indianapolis, to an old Hardee's he transformed into a full cooking plant. \nIU sophomore and Indianapolis native Sam Gilchrist said he always eats at Yat's when he's back home in Indianapolis. His favorite dish is the chili cheese etouffee with crawfish.\n"I love Yat's," he said. "I'll eat there at least once a week when its open."\nRegina Vuscovich said she expects Yat's cheap food and Bloomington's college crowd will be a perfect match. Bloomington visitors at the Indianapolis restaurants have been begging for a Yat's of their own, she said.\n"We have people who drive up to College Avenue and tell us that if we were open in Bloomington, they'd eat there all the time," Regina said. \n-- Contact senior writer Adam Van Osdol at avanasdo@indiana.edu.