On the Menu: 2 restaurants, Cafe K-Bap and Everbowl, open in Bloomington
A Korean fusion restaurant has taken over the space where Sofra used to be, and a vegan smoothie and bowl joint is opening above Lennie's. Here's the lowdown on these new additions to Bloomington's food scene.
Cafe K-Bap adds Korean fusion to Walnut Street
Cafe K-Bap, a Korean fusion restaurant at 340 S. Walnut St., Suite 4, have opened in the former location of Sofra Cafe, which closed last month. Cafe K-Bap offers appetizers including pan-fried dumplings, fish cakes (tteokbokki), kimchi pancakes, deep-fried shrimp and deep-fried vegetables.
Options for beef, pork, tofu, chicken or vegetable are available for bibimbap (Korean rice bowl), dolsot bibimbap (served in a hot stone bowl) and bokkeumbap (kimchi fried rice). Jap-chae (stir-fried glass noodles with vegetables) is one of the noodle dishes, along with ramyun (Korean instant noodles), yaki udon, yaki soba (both fried noodle dishes), and jjajangmyeon (a Chinese-style Korean noodle dish topped with thick black bean paste sauce).
Also on the menu are soups, including kimchi jjigae (stew), sundubu jjigae (spicy soft tofu stew), and galbitang (beef short rib soup). Meat dishes include bulgogi (Korean barbecue), grilled pork belly topped with green onion, and grilled mackerel. The meat dishes come with rice and five side dishes.
Hours are 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Wednesday through Monday. Cafe K-Bap is closed Tuesday.
Everbowl brings vegan treats to Kirkwood Avenue
Everbowl opens Friday, Oct. 20, at 518 E. Kirkwood Ave. Everbowl serves dairy-free, gluten-free vegan bowls that begin with a frozen base scooped into bowls and topped with fruit, peanut butter and other options. The Bloomington restaurant's owners, Mike and Lori Fowler, live in Fishers but found their way to Bloomington since their son, Cam, is an Indiana University student. He will be general manager of the shop that will employ 15-20 workers.
Both Lori and Cam worked at the Everbowl location in Noblesville and learned the philosophy behind the franchise: make friends, have fun, have integrity and be remarkable.
"We like the product. It's fresh and healthy," Lori said.
The different base flavors are chocolate, vanilla, acai, dragonfruit, coconut, pumpkin latte (seasonal) and blue majic, which includes mango, pineapple and blue spirulina (a type of seaweed). Toppings include granola, banana, strawberries, blueberries, kiwi, pineapple, coconut, peanut butter, chia pudding, goji berry, cacao nibs, almond butter, almonds and dates. Besides bowls, Everbowl also creates smoothies.
For people who want to eat in, there's seating for 24 people. The grand opening will be 5-7 p.m. Thursday with the first 300 people in line getting a free bowl.
Hours will be 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. Everbowl has an app and can be ordered through DoorDash, GrubHub, UberEats and other delivery services. They will soon honor Crimson Cards for IU students.
Tacos on the lunch menu at FARM
Lunch tacos now are available at FARMbloomington, 108 E. Kirkwood Ave. Options are catfish; spinach and local wild mushroom; birria beef; vegetarian potato; and Napa cabbage with chili-spiced walnut "meat." The tacos are served with guacamole, citrus slaw and pico and are available 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. All the selections are gluten-free.
Contact Carol Kugler at ckugler@heraldt.com or 812-331-4359.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Cafe K-Bap and Everbowl open restaurants in Bloomington
