The thing about Bloomington is that though almost everybody at IU is vaccinated (in theory), none of the places in town ask for proof of vaccination. Fortunately, masks are required. But not when you’re eating or drinking. Things seem a little lax. NPS bets that one day pandemic processes will be more like NY or Portland. Hopefully sooner rather than later.
The old IU stomping grounds
Bloomington is an oasis of intellectual goodness in a sea of rural America. This has its positive aspects. The Midwest is a thing. For example, though NPS has stayed at the Grant Street Inn countless bazillions of times through the years, this trip happened to coincide with an important big ten football game. That meant that every hotel within 150 miles was filled to the gills with football fans. Heck, even the Dean’s Advisory Council arranged to send people to the game. No sportsball for us though. Instead, we focused our energy on intellectual pursuits.
The upshot was that we needed a place to stay Friday and Saturday nights. Fortunately our friend (and thesis advisor of yore) Rob and his partner Katy put us up in their gorgeous house on Lake Monroe where we kayaked, fossil hunted, and even tried an e-foil. Honestly, the weekend was the highlight of the trip with excellent conversation, shared art, baking, and fun in the lake. Real life, well lived.
View from the deck
Our fearless leader paddles with his feet
The best fossil (which also caused the bag to switch guardians)
Hiking the ridge at scout camp
The take: fossils and geodes.
The best geode
We kayaked on Saturday which was cooler but not raining. E-foil experimenting was left for Sunday in wet suits. The weather was shockingly warm for mid-October.
We ended up staying at the Grant Street Inn Thursday and then again Sunday and Monday. NPS chose the usual room (number 30).
Room 30 has a bed
Room 30 is quiet with a nice bathroom
You can read more about the Grant Street Inn elsewhere on NPS.
The DAC meeting included a tour of the new Luddy AI Center. One day it will be filled with students. For now, it is still being set up.
The VR room of the Luddy School AI Center
Tuning the system
Of course, Indiana places a big emphasis on breakfast (at least outside the confines of Rob and Katy’s house). Here is one example. This is a light breakfast.
While in town, we made a couple of visits to C3. One with Kay and one just ourselves. The cocktails are (still) excellent.
A dughof sighting (at the Spoon of course). This was a delightful lunch as usual.
The icing on the cake of our Bloomington run was a visit to the IU Art Museum which has been completely renovated and updated. Going to a museum chock full of history certainly puts things in perspective. 9000 years from now, we wonder if some off-planet Earth museum will have one of our everyday items on display.
Read about our visit to the museum here.
IU Art Musem
Fin.
Bloomington Done Right: The Grant Street Inn
January 17, 2020
You know how we feel here at NPS when it comes to generic hotels. The good news is that this trip (off season and not on a game weekend) the Grant Street Inn had our favorite room available. Needless to say, this place beats the heck out of the Hyatt Place.
So here we are in room 31. Sadly the fireplace has been disconnected and no longer functions. In fact, there are a few things that could use sprucing up…like better furnishings, no ancient radio, no phone that plugs into the wall, and some outlets built into the bedside table. You can do it guys!!
The first trip of 2020 started out great with a last minute upgrade from United who seems to have changed their upgrade policy to make things more nail biting for Global Services members. Not sure how we feel about that.
And then there was the hilarious stretch limo that the car service used to get us from Indy to Bloomington.
While in Bloomington, visit the Irish Lion for a stiff drink. And have some food at Anyetsang’s Little Tibet Restaurant.
The Grant Street remains our favorite location to stay in Bloomington. Four showerheads.
Hyatt Place Pablum in Bloomington, Indiana
October 19, 2019
Yeah well the Grant Street Inn was full. So we ended up at a Hyatt Place. Nope. Hamster cages for all.
Bloomington Morning
Hamster cage 229
Same
Same
Not plastic, but might as well be
NPS will try hard to avoid Hyatt Place in the future. About the only good thing about it is that the Irish Lion is across the street.
Irish Lion across the street
The bar at the Irish Lion
Old Fashioned
There was also a house concert.
Ritt and Wilder Deitz
Two showerheads for the Hyatt.
Back at the Grant Street Inn in Bloomington, Indiana
November 6, 2018
Though NPS has lost track of just how many times we’ve stayed at the Grant Street Inn, our previous visit seems to have been in October 2015! Whoa. Well, it’s nice to be back.
The good news is that room 30 was available (or rather, became available) for this visit. Thanks to the staff for freeing it up!
The fireplace in 30 no longer seems to function
The bed, on the other hand, functions just fine.
Still no opportunity to try out this hot tub thing
The plastic shower can be forgiven due to the hot tub thing. We guess.
It was a nostalgic visit this time, back to the town where NPS went to grad school. The weather was awful, rainy and chilly, so, as a result, much time was spent inside.
A new cocktail club in town called C3 Bar is worth a visit. Had to teach them how to make a Lion’s Tail, but they did a fine job. The food is good and beats the kind of weird suburban location hands down.
A visit to the Irish Lion was an absolute blast as always. So much laughter! And great Sazaracs made with Whistlepig 10 rye.
Back up to four showerheads for the Grant Street Inn. One of these years, maybe the hot tub will come into play.
Switcheroo at Grant Street Inn Bloomington, IN
October 1, 2015
I have been coming to the Grant Street Inn for about twenty years ever since they opened. They know me, and theoretically they know that I am a big fan of room 30. Alas, on this trip they put me in room 31. The room is nice, but its biggest feature is also its biggest flaw.
The room 31 pod sticks out by 7th street
The problem with 31 is noise from the 7th Street bus route. It’s OK during the day, but it starts early. Room 30, just around the corner from the pod is much quieter. And room 30 has a fireplace and a nice shower thing with a hot tub feature.
The deck off 31
The door to the outside deck is very nice. And the deck makes a great place to delete email as big buses rumble by.
Room 31 Grant Street Inn
Room 31 Grant Street Inn
Bathroom/sink area room 31
The shower in 31 is reasonable. It is a cube with glass, but not as fancy as it could be.
The shower is reasonable
While in town, try restaurant DO for some interesting Korean food.
Anyway, for forgetting that I really prefer room 30, the Grant Street gets a temporary three showerheads. Until next time!
Glassaholic: Moscow Mule
April 29, 2015
The Moscow Mule is very easy to make. About the only difficult bit is finding some copper Moscow Mule cups. That’s where Cardinal Spirits comes in. They provided me with some first run Vodka and some Moscow Mule cups last trip out to Bloomington.
So Moscow Mules it is!
Moscow Mule
1.5 oz Cardinal Vodka
1 wedge of lime
real ginger beer (barritts or home made)
pour the vodka over the ice, squeeze in the lime, add ginger beer. if you’re feeling adventurous, stir!
Cardinal Spirits, Bloomington, Indiana
Yes, we know the governor of Indiana is a jackass. And as a serious participant in the Indiana business community, my company is not happy with the exclusionary stupid laws recently enacted. But it’s not like we can just pull up stakes and leave. So we sometimes have to go to Indy.
Last trip out, NPS gave the Alexander a shot with mixed results. This time, we found a better room (3044) and had a much better shower. Much less hamster cage. Much more bathroom kung fu. If we find a higher floor version, we will have what we actually want. Oh, and about that morning newspaper…
3044 has style at the Alexander
3044 bathroom console (includes unused TV)
Bathub AND large glass shower cube
Not only was the shower glass, it had great shower pressure and plenty of hot water. YES!
Hallway
Homage to the American TV
I was so beat when I got to the Alexander, that I did not even go to the fabulous bar for a night cap. Slept like a log. Maybe next time.
Four shower heads for the Alexander. So much better than the awful Conrad!
In other Indianapolis news, other than a stupid jackass governor, the Libertine has moved to new fancier and hipper digs. Still the same great cocktails though.
Arriving too early for the event and just in time to squeeze in a cocktail, my companion and I were served by Benjamin Moran. After the event, three hours later, we returned for more. Here is the as yet un-named Libertine Experiment One:
2 oz Ford’s Gin
.5 Cocchi Torino
.5 Gran classico
.25 Dry curaçao
1 dash angostura
2 droppers scorpion grapefruit tincture (in house)
Stir down. Big rock. Grapefruit peel garnish for nose.
The Libertine Experiment One by Benjamin Moran
Benjamin was nice enough to make this for me even though his shift was over. But not to fear, Colin Lime was in the house to take over. Colin made us an Indiana Diamondback:
2 oz Bonesnapper Rye (local)
.75 Green Chartruese
.5 Demerara syrup (1:1)
2 dashes Angostura
3 dashes lemon bitters
shake. serve over big rock. lemon peel garnish.
Then it was back to Bloomington and the Grant Street Inn, but not before stopping in at the Irish Lion again for a Sazarac with Hendry.
Cardinal Spirits: A New Bloomington Distillery
April 16, 2015
Cardinal Spirits is so new that their grass has not come in yet. We were honored to get an evening tour led by a mysterious partner.
The grass is still straw at Cardinal Spirits
Cardinal is using both wine and barley beer as mash for vodka and gin distillery. Currently, the vodka is available and the gin is almost ready for release (still in the titration stage with aromatics). There is some brandy and some whiskey recently barreled as well.
Where the mash is born.
Cardinal Spirits still is about 6 stories in 4 connected sections
Distillers notes
Aromatics added here for the gin process
The mysterious partner gave a great tour
How new is the brandy and whiskey?
One rick
This new!
New indeed. Born last week.
You are in Indiana!
The experiment is still underway when it comes to gin.
Gin testing bench
Bottler
Needless to say, the tour was fantastic. So much fun to see Cardinal Spirits booting up!
Now it’s time to taste the gin.
Spring at the Grant Street Inn
As a creature of habit, I always look forward to returning to my favorite haunts. The Grant Street Inn is my Bloomington home away from home. And room 30 is my room…though they changed it up!
The stylish new sink console. Nice.
Big huge tub shower thing remains intact: room 30
Yes, the ceiling is tiled.
Traveling at the height of Spring in Virginia is a tough row to hoe, but at least it is the height of Spring here too!
Four perpetual shower heads forever. Plus a garland of flowers.
Very sad Bloomington news though, the Rail has closed. This leaves precisely zero high end mixology bars in town. So it will be the Irish Lion for some bourbon I suppose. So bummed.
Dinner at Janko’s.
April Showers at the Grant Street Inn (not plastic)
April 3, 2014
Well, more like thunderstorms. This week is wet. Fortunately, the Grant Street Inn will provide umbrellas for those guests too clueless to plan ahead with the Interwebs.
Radar around Bloomington
Sometimes I miss the thunderstorms in the midwest. You can see them coming for miles and then they arrive in a hurry. Lightning, thunder, heavy rain in sheets, wind. It’s not tornado season now, but those happen too.
Sometimes I don’t miss the thunderstorms at all. Here’s what it sounds like at 6am in room 30.
After some finagling during prep for this trip, room 30 magically became available. The management does know its guests. As always, the only place to stay in Bloomington is the Grant Street Inn. Room 30 has a good shower.
Rainy days on Grant Street
In other news, Farm is OK, Soma coffee is still the best in town, the Irish Lion continues to have an outstanding selection of fine bourbon and rye (served by delightfully sassy waitresses), and The Rail will serve you breakfast for dinner if you want, along with a world class cocktail.
Try this little number, whose clever name escapes us:
1.5 oz buffalo trace bourbon
.5 oz eldorado 8 yr rum
.25 spiced honey syrup (1:1 with cinnamon, allspice)
.25 amaro abano
3 dashes mole bitters
Stir down, serve on the rocks with an expressed orange peel dropped in. (this drink needs to be adjusted toward the bitters.)
Almost forgot, United Express (operated by Shuttle America) flew a nice new Embrear 170 this trip. No net, but plenty of room for a commuter jet. Then again, it was April Fools Day.
RSS - Posts