On the Menu: Vivencia restaurant opens with Latin, American fare
Vivencia Latin Flavors restaurant opened Tuesday at the former Bowl location, 2800 E. Buick Cadillac Blvd. The restaurant will offer daily breakfast from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m., lunch all day and dinner from 3 p.m. until close at 9 p.m. There will be a mix of American fare and Mexican and Central American food served, along with coffee drinks, smoothies, wine and beer, inside and on the new patio.
The menu starts with chilaquiles — fried tortillas topped with red or green salsa, sour cream, cheese and onion all served with refried beans and two eggs. Another breakfast option is a traditional Venezuelan plate with arepa, white cheese, beans and eggs. For American-style breakfast, the menu has biscuits and gravy, pancakes, omelets, French toast and a Hoosier burrito made with a flour tortilla filled with egg, house potatoes, cheddar cheese, sausage, ham and bacon. The avocado toast has mashed avocado, smoked salmon, capers and red onions, served with either fruit or salad.
For lunch there are finger food sharables including los tostones with fried green plantains topped with coleslaw, cheese and pink sauce; and tequeños, which are Venezuelan cheese wrapped in dough and fried. Other lunch options are empanadas; arepas filled with shredded chicken, chicken salad, grilled chicken and bacon, carne asada and guacamole salad, and a vegan option with black beans, avocado and fried sweet plantains; tacos; and cachapas, Venezuelan corn cakes and soft cheese served with a choice of steak, fried pork belly or more cheese for a filling.
American-style lunch options are burgers (hamburger, black bean, mushroom and swiss or jalapeno), a V burger with 8 ounces of beef, mayo, ketchup and mustard, lettuce, cheddar cheese, and an over-easy egg. Sandwiches include grilled chicken, Philly steak, a Cuban, buffalo chicken and a Hoosier dream sandwich with grilled or crispy chicken breast, bacon, avocado, tomato and mozzarella cheese on grilled bread. Other offerings: short ribs soup served with white rice or a plain arepa; and pozole rojo, a red stew with pork, hominy and red chilies topped with cilantro, avocado and red onions. Sandwiches are served with fries or fried yucca.
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Dinner has many house specialties — from the carne asada molcajete with steak, chorizo, queso fresco, grilled pepper and green or red salsa served with rice and beans or a salad to the parguito, which has a marinated and deep-fried whole red snapper topped with coleslaw salad and pink sauce, served with white rice and tostones. Other options include a plate of three tamales; skewers of bell peppers served alongside steak or chicken, rice and vegetables; and a citrus salmon steak sautéed in garlic lemon butter and served with yucca and salad.
There are also smoothies, an acai bowl, a pitaya bowl and juices, sodas as well as the coffees, beer and wine. Desserts are rice pudding, pie de limon and churros.
Mr. Tokyo open next to IU campus
Mr. Tokyo opened about a month ago in Suite 105 at 530 E. Kirkwood Ave., with the actual storefront facing Indiana Avenue. It's directly north of bapu teahouse and snacks.
The restaurant offers teriyaki, sushi and ramen with a menu that includes appetizers of egg roll, spring roll, crab rangoon, edamame, pork gyoza and takoyaki. Salads include a house green salad with ginger dressing, avocado salad, seaweed salad and spicy kani salad with crabmeat. An array of sushi includes signature rolls and sashimi. Vegan, tonkotsu and miso ramen all cost $13.99.
Varieties of Japanese yaki udon are vegetable, chicken, beef and shrimp. Mazemen (a brothless ramen) is offered as veggie or Tokyo with spicy pork, poached egg, scallions, seaweed flakes, minced garlic and fish powder. Toppings of pork chashu, beef, chicken, egg, shrimp, Japanese curry and cheese can be added.
Teriyaki available includes chicken, beef, shrimp, chicken and shrimp, and beef and shrimp.
Mr. Toyko offers dine-in and carryout options. Hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. For more, go to mrtokyobloomington.com.
Oktoberfest at Lennie's set for Oct. 2-3
Lennie's will celebrate Oktoberfest with German food and drink specials, available from 4-9 p.m. Oct. 2 and 3, or while supplies last. The special appetizer will be Katoffelpuffer, house-made potato cakes served with spiced apples and sour cream. Entrees will be Jägerschnitzel, which has breaded pork tenderloin with bacon, mushroom, onion, and sour cream gravy; Wurstplatte that includes knackwurst and bratwurst from Claus’ German Sausage and Meats in Indy; and a veggie option with two smoked apple and sage veggie sausages. All entrees are served with German potato salad and red cabbage.
For dessert, there's Mein Mutter’s Apfelkuchen of spiced apple cake, streusel topping, and local vanilla bean ice cream from The Chocolate Moose. Bloomington Brewing Co.’s seasonal Oktoberfest lager will be another special taste for Oktoberfest available at Lennie's, 514 E. Kirkwood Ave.
Food Truck Friday changes location, more this week
Food Truck Friday will move from Switchyard Park this week to East Kirkwood Avenue to be part of the Lotus World Music & Arts Festival's Food Truck Village, which will be open Friday 11 a.m.-11 p.m. and Saturday 5-11 p.m. in front of The Graduate.
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Friday's food trucks will include La Poblana, Little Bowl Thai, Bloom Burger, Pinot Garden, Arepa Burger, Pili's Party Taco, Eatzo, Doner Kebab and The Chocolate Moose. Saturday's lineup includes Doner Kebab, Eatzo, Pili's Party Taco, Pinot Garden, Little Bowl Thai, La Poblana and The Chocolate Moose.
Contact Carol Kugler at ckugler@heraldt.com or 812-331-4359.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: New Bloomington restaurant, Vivencia, opens on east side
