The Bear is still the best

It’s been a Bloomington staple for more than 30 years. If that weren’t proof enough Mother Bear’s knows how to make a pizza, voters just reinforced for the fourth consecutive year that the restaurant makes the best pizza in town.

Owner Ray McConn said the award is a tribute to the people who have worked at Mother Bear’s. He credits his employees with maintaining the quality of the food.
“It’s very much a team effort,” he said. “Everybody gets with the program of making great pizza every day.”

Maintaining their reputation is also a motivating factor for excellence, McConn said.
“It’s really hard to get on top, and it’s almost as hard to stay there,” he said.
And for a restaurant that is renowned far beyond city limits, a reputation is a valuable commodity.

Of course, not even the best cooks can make good food from bad raw materials, which is why McConn said the restaurant uses high-quality ingredients. The variations on crusts, cheeses, sauces, meats and vegetables offer thousands of different combinations for customers to build their own version of pizza perfection.

Those who want gourmet pizza can also find something for their individual tastes.
For southern-style barbecue chicken lovers, there’s the “Dixie Two-Step;” homesick Chicagoans can have an “Illinois Central,” and anyone not keeping kosher might be in the mood for a “Tuscaloosa Touchdown” topped with pork loin or the “Divine Swine,” with ham, sausage, bacon and pepperoni. Art majors might like the “Monet;” English lovers can enjoy a slice of “Dante’s Inferno” while their French counterparts may have the “Poulette de Paris” (“Authentic French accent available upon request,” according to the online menu).

Sophomore Laura Cole, a Mother Bear’s hostess who can attest that the restaurant is packed without fail on weekend nights, said she has a sensitive stomach, and Mother Bear’s is the only pizza that doesn’t give her a stomachache because it’s not greasy like other pizzas.

If someone is not in the mood for pizza and bread sticks, Mother Bear’s also serves salads, pastas and hot sub sandwiches, as well as “munchies” like buffalo wings, chicken tenders and cheese bread.

The sauce and crust are also key to what makes the pizza great, Cole said.
Junior Maranda Baker said there’s a noticeably different flavor to Mother Bear’s crust and that while some places, like Pizza Express, are a good deal when she is just craving pizza, Mother Bear’s brings on a craving all its own.

“It’s a good change from the ‘$10 deal,’” Baker said, though she doesn’t think Mother Bear’s is expensive, either.

“It’s fancier without being fancy.”

McConn said the Mother Bear’s formula for great pizza is simple.

“Superior ingredients, superior people,” he said, “superior pizza.”