On the Menu: Bru Burger, Che Bello now open in Bloomington; Bruster's opens March 1

Carol Kugler, The Herald-Times
·5 min read
Bru Burger Bar opened Monday in Bloomington, where burgers, like this one topped with cheese, bacon, tomato jam, caramelized onions, chopped lettuce and mayo, are on the menu.
Bru Burger Bar opened Monday in Bloomington, where burgers, like this one topped with cheese, bacon, tomato jam, caramelized onions, chopped lettuce and mayo, are on the menu.

Bru Burger Bar opened its Bloomington restaurant Monday in Suite 1 at 229 S. Grant St., on the first floor of the western portion of The Annex apartment complex. It's the 15th Bru Burger opened by the Cunningham Restaurant Group, which has Bru Burgers in South Bend, Lafayette, Evansville and Indianapolis, where the first one opened in 2011 on Massachusetts Avenue.

General manager Ethan Beach is excited about the Bloomington location, which can seat about 130 people inside with more seating on the patio along Grant Street. The restaurant will be open 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

BBQ nachos with both barbecue chicken and barbecue pork are one of the appetizers available at the new Bru Burger Bar in Bloomington.
BBQ nachos with both barbecue chicken and barbecue pork are one of the appetizers available at the new Bru Burger Bar in Bloomington.

The burgers are made with a custom grind of sirloin, chuck and brisket and are served with choice of fries, onion rings, slaw or fresh fruit. Burgers include the Bru Burger, with Taleggio cheese, bacon, tomato jam, caramelized onion, chopped lettuce and mayo; the Mexicali BBQ with white queso, pickled jalapeno, guacamole, fried onion, house chipotle barbecue sauce, lettuce and tomato; and the Melt Your Face, with habanero hot sauce, habanero jack, jalapeno, habanero whole grain mustard, lettuce and tomato; and a lamb burger with whipped goat cheese, spinach, marinated red onion jam, curry mayo, lettuce and tomato.

Other sandwiches include a Bru hot chicken that has fried chicken, Nashville hot dry rub, mayo and lettuce; a portobello melt with spinach, caramelized onion, horseradish Havarti and Parmesan cheese on sourdough; and a Baja salmon with spinach, guacamole, black bean aioli, and black bean edamame salsa served on an oat bun.

A selection of wines, beer and cocktails are offered. Draught beer includes some brews from Upland Brewing Co., Bloomington Brewing Co., 3 Floyds Brewing and Blockhead Beerworks. Signature cocktails include a Bru Bloody Mary, a Bru margarita and a Texas Mule.

The Gorgonberry Pecan salad is one of the options on the Bru Burger Bar menu. The salad is made with mixed greens, cranberry-poppyseed dressing, Gorgonzola cheese, cranberries, candied pecans and bacon.
The Gorgonberry Pecan salad is one of the options on the Bru Burger Bar menu. The salad is made with mixed greens, cranberry-poppyseed dressing, Gorgonzola cheese, cranberries, candied pecans and bacon.

Carissa Newton, vice president of marketing with Cunningham Restaurant Group, said her favorites are the patty melt and the siracha Caesar salad with salmon. The Bloomington location has online ordering, but doesn't have a delivery service, though plans are to add one soon.

A Coffee Beanery and Cold Stone Creamery are expected to open soon in the eastern part of the apartment complex.

Che Bello reopened Feb. 23 with new chefs, ownership

After several setbacks, Che Bello Italian restaurant celebrated its grand reopening on Feb. 23. Reservations are available on OpenTable for the restaurant at 106 W. Sixth St. Even though the restaurant's name has not changed, the owners, chefs, food and cocktails are all different. Executive chef Steve Martinez last worked at 21 North Eatery + Cellar in Martinsville.

Che Bello will offer brunch from 8 to 11 a.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday and will be open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. daily for lunch and 4-10 p.m. for dinner. While lunch and dinner menus will differ, pizza is available throughout the day as are espresso drinks and fruit juices.

A vegetable panini served with truffle parm fries is available at Che Bello, which recently reopened with a new menu.
A vegetable panini served with truffle parm fries is available at Che Bello, which recently reopened with a new menu.

Some restaurants close: Loss of 5 businesses shows why supporting local is essential

Bruster's Real Ice Cream opens March 1 for its 2024 season

Bruster's Real Ice Cream, at 4531 E. Third St., will reopen on March 1 and be open noon to 9 p.m. daily through March 31 and then 11 a.m.-10 p.m. April through September.

March will be mint month at Bruster's where mint chocolate chip, mint Oreo and mint fudge crunch will be featured. Bruster's first new flavor of the season is rainbow sprinkle cookie. March 9 will be PJ Day, when anyone who wears their pajamas or donates new pajamas to help youth in foster care will get a free small waffle cone with a scoop of ice cream.

Like past years, every Thursday will be BYOBanana day with customers who bring a banana receiving half off a banana split. Bruster's will be open on Easter, which is March 31, and will be taking preorders for ice cream bunny cakes that each serve six to eight people.

Leap Day celebrated with specials at FARM

In case you haven't looked closely at the calendar, February has an extra day — Feb. 29 — since it's leap year. To celebrate, FARMbloomington will offer special cocktails as well as a dish of garlic crispy frog legs with parsley butter and ratatouille from 5 p.m. to close Feb. 28, 29 and March 1. Chef Daniel Orr says the French frog leg entrée, the signature dish at La Grenouille in New York City when he was there, received 3 stars from The New York Times.

Pizza by the slice available at both Aver's locations

Slices of Aver's specialty pizzas, including the Whole Enchilada, are available at both Aver's Pizza locations daily from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Slices of Aver's specialty pizzas, including the Whole Enchilada, are available at both Aver's Pizza locations daily from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Both Aver's Pizza locations, North at 1837 N. Kinser Pike and South at 317 E. Winslow Road, are offering grab and go lunch slices for carry out only. The slices are available 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Monday through Friday. Every day the selection will include cheese, pepperoni, sausage (sometimes Crumbles, other days Italian with sweet peppers added), and a rotating Slice of the Day. The Slice of the Day selection will be posted daily on Aver's social media pages (@averspizza). A list for the month is on Aver's website, averspizza.com/lunch-slices/.

Each slice is one-eighth of a 14-inch soft-crust pan-style pizza. Cheese slices are $3, pepperoni and sausage are $3.25 and slice of the day is $4.

Contact Carol Kugler at ckugler@heraldt.com or 812-331-4359.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Bloomington food news: Bru Burger, Che Bello now open