In a small city like Bloomington, Indiana, one would expect that after nine months, every storefront and small café would have been visited. I thought that when committing to Indiana University, I would have been to every eatery in Btown by the end of my freshman year and have picked out my favorites. But boy was I wrong! After almost a year in my midwestern city, I was still trying new places as I was packing up to move back home for the summer.
It’s Thursday evening on May 2nd. Twenty-four hours ago, I was cramming for my Accounting final exam, and just a mere 12 hours ago I woke up at the crack of dawn for my Economics final. I now sit on the tarmac at the Indianapolis Airport, waiting to go on with what seems like the worst travel day. I’m usually one to jump at the opportunity to hop on a plane and travel, but today’s lack of enjoyment as I trek on home has nothing to do with any particularly bad weather forecast, an increase in traffic at the airport, or any normal travel-hindering reasons, but more because I dread leaving the school that has provided me with the best nine months of my life so far. Being surrounded by friends at all hours of the day is something that I took for granted for much of my freshman year; as I lay in bed tonight, I’ll be wishing I were surrounded by those who are always down for a night out on the town, a movie night in, or who have our favorite pizza place on speed dial for our late-night cravings, which happened often.
As much as my heart aches even after I’ve poured out my sadness onto the internet, I can’t wait to fly back out to Bloomington in a few short months and do it all over again. Forget dorm-style college eats, think sorority house eats. At the end of the day, however, I’m most definitely not trying to rush my summer away because I’ve got quite a summer to which I am looking forward. And, my parents are picking me up in New York when I land, and I couldn’t be more excited.
It’s now a few days later; my (extremely overweight) bags have been unpacked, laundry has been done, and I can now reflect on my freshman year beyond being sad about my lack of a social life… let’s talk about food!
Between springtime and finals season, this post’s array of food varies greatly but certainly stays within the category of Good Freaking Food. During my spring break, when I posted about my trip to DC, I then went home to NJ to get my wisdom teeth removed. I was very much out of commission for the remainder of my vacation and even for some time when I returned back to school. However, I eventually recovered and I went back to feasting with friends.
In my small city of Bloomington, Indiana, there’s not much to do besides eat at local restaurants and, well, party. Around March and April, students at my school prepare for the greatest college week in America, Little 500. Taken after the Annual Indy 500 Racecar Race, the Little 500 is IU’s take on racing, but on bicycles. Students from different student organizations gather in teams and race against other teams for a prize and ultimate bragging rights; there’s a women’s race, where female teams race against other female teams, and a men’s race, too. So, while a small fraction of the IU student body prepares to bike their 100-200 laps during the week leading up to the Little 500 races, the rest of us prepare to party hard each day. There’s not much else to do in the middle of Indiana, so when this annual bike event is held, we tend to go crazy.
This first photo above is from one of the days of the Little 500 parties. The friends we were with were kind enough to order enough pizza for an army; I was lucky enough to snag a slice, and I captured my happiness with my fish-eye lens, too!
Little 5 was a great success, and I can’t wait to do it all over again next year.
After a week of post-Little 5 recovering, I traveled up north with friends to Chicago for my friend’s fraternity’s formal weekend! We stayed right on the Magnificent Mile and indulged in great food. It was my first time in Chi-town, so it was only appropriate that I get deep dish pizza from Giordano’s. It was cheesier than I ever thought it would be, and I was definitely stuffed after one slice.
After eventually traveling back to Bloomington, my friends and I certainly made every remaining day as special as possible. On one beautiful April afternoon, Ben Higgins, an IU alum and a star from ABC’s The Bachelor, came to visit his old college town. More importantly, Ben was holding a Meet and Greet at Campus Craves and all of the proceeds went towards Indiana University’s Dance Marathon’s (IUDM) fundraising efforts for Riley Children’s Hospital. Being the big Bachelor fan that I am, I dragged my two friends to go meet Ben. Campus Craves, where the event was happening, specializes in ice cream, doughnuts, and ice cream in doughnuts. I decided that I would buy Ben a root beer and we would “crack open a cold one” together. He was so excited that I bought him a drink, as I’m sure meeting a bunch of screaming girls is tiring. Here’s a picture of us cracking open a (root) beer together:
It’s not every day where I can meet a celebrity in my college town, especially one that’s a beautiful 6’6’’ and very easy on the eyes.
Diving more into Spring, I felt that it was about time that we can walk to restaurants as the weather gets warmer. My friend and I walked to inBloom Juicery the other day to grab acai bowls. I got the peanut butter bowl… here’s a snap of my pretty brunch:
After our bowls, we trekked over to Inkwell Café and grabbed an order of their famous avocado toast. Here’s a photo of this ~snack:
I might have mentioned this before but I’m in THE Kelley School of Business, aka the coolest school I’ve ever known. Kelley provides intangible experiences that I don’t believe I can get anywhere else. Just recently, I participated in the Macy’s Case Competition, where teams of six students create a marketing sales pitch for Macy’s Department Stores. There were over 250 teams, each with their own unique idea for a sales pitch; the winning team gets the opportunity to travel to New York City to present to Macy’s executives, which is unheard of for any undergraduate freshman student. I was always passionate about my team’s idea: “EveryBody Macy’s” was our hypothetical fashion line of adaptive clothing for people with disabilities. Think magnets as buttons on a shirt for someone missing an arm or a hand, or pants with zippers down the legs to fit over leg braces. Never would I thought that my team would have the winning idea… however, after advancing to the semi-finals with 15 other teams, and then making it to the final four round, I am proud to announce that my team won the Macy’s Case Competition, enabling us to travel to NYC during school to present to executives over at Macy’s.
It was a great experience to travel to my city for a night, and especially to show my midwestern teammates how New Yorkers do it… bagels and pizza galore! My team and I stepped off the airplane and immediately grabbed bagels at the nearest bagel shop. Here’s a snap of my bagel/lox treat:
My business school is great, and with opportunities like winning the Macy’s Case Competition, I can’t wait for future opportunities to arise.
Traveling back to Bloomington, we got off the plane and all of a sudden we had one week left in Indiana and final exams were coming around fast. Sorority friends and I went to Siam House that has my personal favorite Pad Thai in Bloomington. Another friend and I got our favorite stir fry from our favorite dining hall, and I indulged in some super greasy late-night final season eats because when you’ve been studying for 15 hours a day, a little cheesy goodness won’t kill you.
So, finals are over; I packed up my beloved dorm room, hugged my friends goodbye, shed some tears and landed home in New York to start what I hope to be an unforgettable summer. With big hopes, dreams, and expectations for the upcoming months, I can’t wait to get started. It’s just a few days into summer vacation and I’m already feeling the sunshiny vibes that lay ahead.
Stay tuned for epic #eats this summer. And while you’re here on my page, take out your phone and follow @SimoneSaysFood on Instagram, because why not!
Ta ta for now. This is sophomore Sim, signing off.
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