The vine-covered corpse of Cafe Pizzaria birthed twins. One, another Italian restaurant, and the other, an on-the-go Mexican place.
This on-the-go spot isn’t Chipotle — it’s Roll n’ Dip, which, along with Ciao Bello, replaced Bloomington’s oldest pizza shop. The Mexican restaurant first opened its doors in August on Kirkwood Avenue, and I popped in this week to give it a try.
Roll n’ Dip offers a menu of Mexican offerings such as burritos, burrito bowls, tacos, taquito meals, quesadillas and specialty quesabirria. The restaurant also has traditional Mexican aguas frescas like horchata, Jamaica and rotating seasonal flavors. I also will inform the people who are loyal to popular soft drinks that Roll n’ Dip offers Pepsi products, including Dr. Pepper, Mountain Dew and Mug Root Beer.
The service was similar to Chipotle. You choose your base and then go down a line of ingredients to add to your meal. On my visit, I started with a burrito bowl, and my protein of choice was the al pastor pork. Then I added my preferred mix-ins, which included their Mexican rice, black beans, lettuce, pico de gallo, salsa verde, cheese, sour cream and pickled jalapeños. My drink of choice was a horchata.
Overall, my meal was delicious. As an avid Chipotle enjoyer, I would compare the bowl to something you could get at the chain but with more authentic Mexican flavors. The pork was tender and flavorful, adding a nice spice to the bowl. However, the standout for me was the pickled jalapeños: the spicy and sour peppers balanced the creaminess of the cheese and sour cream.
As for the horchata, I think it leaves a bit to be desired. I haven’t had too many positive experiences with the drink, but this one seemed especially watery. While adding condensed milk to horchata isn’t a strict requirement for the drink, I think it makes the cinnamon drink much more preferable, and it didn’t taste like Roll n’ Dip added it to theirs.
The portion sizes make for a large meal. They give you your bowl in a large Styrofoam tray, and even though I hadn’t eaten all day, I was not able to finish the entire meal. So, if you’re looking for a good meal and some leftovers, this may be a great option for you.
One thing I am a bit annoyed about is the restaurant website. Some of the images appear to be AI-generated, such as the image they used for their store front and the one for their food on the locations tab. While the address is correct on the site, the image of the storefront is completely different from their real store. AI can make some things easier for local businesses, but I believe images that appear to be artificially made can cause confusion for customers, especially when the images are of the food offerings.
Even still, if you’re craving Chipotle from a small business with more authentic Mexican flavors, I think Roll n’ Dip is the place for you.
