On the Menu: National Taco Day is great time to taste Bloomington's best
Wednesday is National Taco Day! Bloomington eateries offer many taco options to help you celebrate. Here I'm highlighting some of the places that keep coming up when I ask for recommendations.
La Poblana for simple Mexican street tacos
La Poblana Food Truck makes the list with its corn tortilla tacos filled with meat (try the chorizo), chopped onion and a generous portion of cilantro, served with a slice of lime and cucumber. The food truck often participates in Food Truck Fridays at Switchyard Park if you want to give them a try.
Juanita's for hard or soft tacos
The street tacos at Juanita's are tasty and can be ordered with hard or soft tacos and a variety of meat and other proteins. The restaurant at 620 W. Kirkwood Ave. also has spicy avocado, shrimp and mahi-mahi tacos.
Crispy fish (and more) tacos at Trojan Horse
Another downtown restaurant with crispy fish tacos is Trojan Horse, which is known more for the delicious Greek food. But the tacos are a good choice, too, whether you choose the crispy fish, the slow-cooked pork or the falafel tacos at 100 E. Kirkwood Ave.
Delicious taco takes at La Una Cantina
La Una Cantina, at 254 N. Walnut St., has a big selection of tacos and they're all worth a taste. From the pork cochinita with banana leaf, guacamole, pickled onion and salsa to the beef barbacoa and pescado (that's fish), why not order one of each?
Worth the drive for this El Ranchero
If you don't mind driving a little, try the shrimp and arugula tacos at the Spencer El Ranchero, at 405 E. Franklin St. You'll get three corn tortillas, beans, grilled shrimp, queso fresco, arugula and red pickled onions.
Tacos galore: more places to get your fix
Other places with great tacos include La Charreada (try the fiesta), Social Cantina (has seasonal tacos) and food trucks, Uno Mas (has blue or white corn and flour tortillas) and Pili's Party Taco. I'm sure many Bloomington foodies have other favorites — we are fortunate to have so many restaurants and food trucks!
Hours at farmers' markets change
Both the Bloomington Community Farmers' Market, at 401 N. Morton St., and the Woolery Farmers' Market, 2250 W. Sunstone Drive, will begin an hour later starting Saturday. Both will open at 9 a.m. now with the Woolery market closing at noon and the Bloomington Community market ending at 1 p.m.
East Kirkwood Avenue reopens to traffic
Another change that happened Oct. 1 was the reopening of East Kirkwood Avenue. The 2 1/2 blocks that closed to vehicles are now open and the outdoor dining spaces have been removed, although some parklet areas along the street may remain in place.
Silver Oak Wine dinner at Truffles
Make reservations now for the Silver Oak Wine Dinner on Oct. 11 at Truffles restaurant, 1131 S. College Mall Road. The five-course meal and reception will cost $165 per person, including tax and gratuity. Each course will feature a Silver Oak wine. For reservations, call 812-330-1111.
The dinner begins with white wine-poached sturgeon served with celeriac puree and parsley sauce followed by confit duck quarter with sautéed autumn greens, Swiss chard, quince and apple compote. Smoked brisket served with a brioche roll, bacon-braised red cabbage and crispy onions will be the third dish, followed by cardamom-ginger lamb loin chops alongside curry butternut squash gratin topped with roasted tomato-caper relish. The final dish will be apple strudel with bourbon caramel and cinnamon Chantilly cream.
Contact Carol Kugler at ckugler@heraldt.com or 812-331-4359.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Try some of Bloomington's best on National Taco Day
