Three new Kirkwood establishments are competing for students' business -- day and night. Whether it's lunch between classes or a sobering snack after a weekend bar crawl, these restaurants offer a diverse selection of food.
Uncle D's New York Pizza \nJunior Seth Martin has been to Uncle D's multiple times and said the White Pizza is his favorite item on the menu.\n"I like how they have so many different types of pizza to try and you don't have to buy the whole pie since they sell by the slice," Martin said.\nLocated at 430 E. Kirkwood Ave., right under Jungle Room, Uncle D's New York Pizza opened its doors for business March 5. Uncle D's pizza is made from fresh ingredients daily, said employee and IU junior Beth Gorenc.\n"We have a prep guy that comes in and cuts up all the ingredients and sautees the mushrooms," Gorenc said. "Then someone else comes in and grates the cheese."\nUncle D's offers four kinds of cheese and 35 toppings, store manager Brandon Zupi said. Zupi's favorite menu item is the Baked Zita Pizza, but said the most popular is the Buffalo Chicken Pizza.\n"The Buffalo Chicken Pizza is a prepared mix of blue cheese, marinara sauce, Frank's Red Hot, fried chicken and mozzarella on freshly stretched crust," Zupi said.\nWhile Uncle D's is known for it's New York-style pizza, Zupi said it also offers Chicago-Style and Sicilian crusts as well.\nUncle D's is open 10 a.m. to 4 a.m. daily, and its peak hours are after the bars close on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Zupi said. It also delivers to all of Bloomington.
The Pita Pit \nGeneral Manager and part-owner Brian Jeffery said The Pita Pit offers Bloomington healthy food options that cater to all walks of life.\n"Along with traditional pitas, The Pita Pit serves falafel and gyros and low-fat smoothies," Jeffery said.\nThe Pita Pit, located at the corner of Indiana and Kirkwood avenues, opened March 22. Though the restaurant has more than 20 different pitas, six salads and four smoothies, Jeffery said his favorite pita is the chicken crave pita loaded with lots of fresh veggies.\nThe Pita Pit offers both wheat and white pitas 8 inches in diameter. A pita is prepared by splitting the pita bread in half, and stuffing it with desired ingredients, then rolling it up almost like a burrito, Jeffery said.\nPit regulars Brandi Wortinger and Anne Carroll have been to restaurant five times since the opening with the goal of trying everything on menu.\n"I come for the smoothies," Carroll said.\nThe smoothies are relatively new for Pita Pit franchises and have been great sellers, Jeffery said. \nThe Pita Pit is open till 4 a.m. Wednesday through Saturday to accommodate those with late night munchies.\n \nNoodles and Company \nNoodles and Company opened its doors March 14 under the historic Von Lee sign on Kirkwood Avenue. Offering noodle dishes from three different world regions, manager Steve Marcum said the customer base is broad and contains both locals and college students.\n"Our motto is 'every bowl, every customer, every time' and we stand by that," Marcum said. "All our dishes are served hot within five or six minutes."\nThe menu breaks down the dishes into three catagories: Asian, Mediterranean and American. The Wisconsin Mac & Cheese, which Marcum said is his favorite, is the best-selling dish. Adding grilled chicken breast into the bowl is popular.\nBloomington resident Kelly Crodian misses the old Von Lee Theater, which Noodles and Company now occupies, but she said food there is great, especially for the price. \nLike Uncle D's and The Pita Pit, Noodles and Company is open till 4 a.m. Thursday through Saturday to cater to the after bar crowd. The establishment will also start serving alcohol soon.\n"We plan on offering four different types of wine and six bottled beers," Marcum said.
