Everyone loves to travel to other countries and try international cuisines, but plane tickets can be so expensive. So why hop on a plane when you can hop in your car or on a bus?
Bloomington is home to over 15 restaurants featuring international foods from countries like Thailand, Japan, Myanmar, India, Turkey and many more. The best part? Bloomington has a whole street dedicated to ethnic restaurants (and some of them even have lunch buffets.)
If you find yourself looking for affordable international food, head down 4th street and check out these awesome restaurants.
Anatolia – Turkish
Photo by Katie Coyle
If you need your Turkish food fix, look no further than Anatolia. Anatolia offers delicious, filling foods from all regions of Turkey. They offer foods for most dietary preferences including vegan and vegetarian. And even better than that – they have FREE bread and tea.
Their menu has everything from pide (bread boats filled with cheese and toppings) to lamb shanks to stews baked in traditional clay pots. They also have red lentil and white bean soups to warm you up on those cold winter days. Try the lunch buffet, available Wednesday – Friday between 11:30 am and 2:30 pm.
#SpoonTip: Pay with cash to save 5% on your bill
Siam House – Thai
Photo by Claire Waggoner
Turkish food is delicious, but if you want spicy food, everyone knows that Thai food is where it’s at. Siam House allows you to control the spiciness on most of there items, from a scale of 0 – 5. You can get anything from Mee Grob, Pad Thai, a variety of curries or Kao Pad Soriya (pictured above with shrimp).
If you’re looking for food to satisfy both vegans and meat eaters alike, Siam house is the perfect choice. And you can order delicious drinks like Thai tea, Thai coffee and even Singha (Authentic Thai beer). Try the lunch buffet Monday – Friday from 11 am to 2 pm.
India Garden – Indian
Photo by Amanda Brown
Indian food is an incredibly versatile food and you can get essentially a different meal from every region. From Tamil Nadu to Uttar Pradesh, Indian food will be your new favorite. Most of the time when people think about Indian food, they assume that it’s just curry and naan bread, but it’s so much more than that. Some Indian food dishes aren’t even spicy.
India Garden offers samosas, pakoras, biryani, tandoori dishes and, of course, curry and naan. And like other restaurants on fourth street, there is a daily lunch buffet. Check out their delicious buffet from 11 am – 3 pm daily.
#SpoonTip: check out their website for discounts for students, $1/off lunch buffet, etc.
Anyetsang’s Little Tibet – Tibetan/Thai/Indian
Photo by Kayleigh Dance
Tibetan food is not exactly it’s own variety of food, but more so a collection of several cuisines from surrounding countries. You can eat anything from Chinese style dumplings, curry dishes, mixed vegetables inspired by Thai cuisines, etc.
If you and your friends are arguing between where to eat for dinner, head to Little Tibet. They also serve dessert that will knock your socks off, the most popular one being the green tea sorbet.
So if you need your international fix, but you don’t want to deal with TSA and jet lag, grab your keys and head to 4th Street.