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Friday, March 29
The Indiana Daily Student

Everybody goes to Rachael's

Chelsea Merta

On Monday, my sister was in town and I wanted to take her out to lunch, but I didn’t want to take her to the typical Bloomington ethnic or pizza restaurant. So, we went to the newly opened Rachael’s Café, opposite from the post office on Third Street. An article about the restaurant ran in the IDS about a month ago, so we wanted to give it a try, rather than stick with the familiar sushi or pasta regime.

I was more than impressed with the atmosphere as soon as we walked down several stairs into the cafe’s dining room. Warm-colored walls and comfy couches filled the room, and an abundance of plants and paintings by local artists lined the dining area. Huge globe lamps hung over modern teak-and-steel tables.

The cafe doesn’t conform to a specific genre of restaurant; rather, it offers a variety of organic, local and vegan dishes, owner Rachael Jones explained.

The menu changes daily, so we had several options for lunch. Chef Amy prepares a mean Zanzibar kidney bean dish with coconut milk, poured over a bed of brown rice, but I chose her freshly made Nigerian pineapple and peanut stew.

“It’s vegan,” Chef Amy told me, “but you can’t tell.”

Complementing the intense spiciness of the peanut sauce, the flavorful pineapple mellowed out the stew. With added kale, the thick stew was filling but not heavy on the stomach.

My sister ordered a turkey sandwich from a variety of meat-and-vegetable sandwiches the restaurant offers. Served on toasted bread with a side of Doritos, the sandwich, she told me, was absolutely delicious.

While we waited for our food, the outgoing and friendly staff kept us company. Chef Amy and Rachael informed us of the whole-wheat-flour brownies, cookies and muffins, while a staff member played a song on her guitar for the other diners. Rachael also introduced us to the menu of coffees, teas and espresso, to which I indulged myself in a cup of Nicaraguan coffee.
 
Between the sociable staff and delicious food, my experience at Rachael’s Café was exceedingly personable and enjoyable. Offering an atypical menu and a vast variety of coffee and tea, the cafe provides a true Bloomington experience, without the pizza.

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