Restaurant Review - Dats

To begin our grand send off from Indiana, we visited a restaurant that I had not been to in a very long time - In fact, I had not been to this restaurant since before I was a vegetarian, so over three years. While it was a favorite of mine when I still ate meat, I was a little nervous about returning and browsing their vegetarian options.

Let me tell you, I should not have been worried!

Dats on Grant is a cajun and creole restaurant in Bloomington, IN. Before I was a vegetarian, I loved to go there to get a heaping plate of Bourbon chicken. Actually, their Bourbon chicken is one of the few meat based meals that I find myself missing from time to time. As a picky eater, I hadn't had much else at the restaurant and I seemed to believe there wasn't going to be anything else for me there. Fortunately, I was wrong.

But before we talk too much about the food, let's chat about the atmosphere.

When you walk up to the bright, yellow building with its charming open patio seating, you catch your first taste of the casual, homey feel of Dats

. You might notice the patio set on a quaintly landscaped lawn and, if it's a nice day, already formulate a plan to eat outside. Upon stepping through the door, however, you may feel that inside is more to your taste. Because Dats is built in an old house, the interior is separated into several smaller spaces so it's easy to pick a room you like and make yourself feel at home. Decorated with festive beads and with old time posters covering every table, this dining experience is entirely unique. Dats is Bloomington's little piece of New Orleans.

The service was great.

Dats usually seems to only have two employees on site at any given time, but that doesn't hurt their ability to get you your food quickly. Because I didn't have any experience with their vegetarian options and Connor hadn't ever been to Dats at all, we asked the man behind the counter for a recommendation. He told us that, out of everything on the menu, his favorite dish was the caramelized corn and onions. We got an order of that, and one order of Creole ratatouille, plus a sweet tea to split.

Caramelized corn and onions - yum!

Which of course means that we've reached the moment you've been waiting for: the food!

We settled in at a table with a photo of Dean Martin and got straight to the business of eating.

Every entree at Dats is served over rice and comes with two pieces of bread with a spice spread. The bread is delicious on its own, but better when you top it with some of your entree.

I can't tell you how amazing the caramelized corn and onions were. Sweet, yet spicy. Savory, but light. It carried all the flavors and feeling I missed from Bourbon chicken and more. I'm pretty sad I haven't been going to Dats all along for the past three years because I was so missing out. The ratatouille was good, too. It was a more subdued flavor and was made up of large chunks of tomatoes, zucchini, and other vegetables in a sauce.

Because we're on a mission here to enlighten our readers about great food and great places, we figured we'd start with a bang and get some dessert, so we split a piece of peanut butter pie. Dats' peanut butter pie is rich, creamy, and covered in a wonderful layer of chocolate sauce and chocolate chips over whipped cream. Connor and I found ourselves dropping our conversation while eating it to just pause and let the waves of delicious wash over us. You can't eat this pie without saying, "Mmmmmm."

Furthermore, Dats is in a great location.

Dats is located in downtown Bloomington close to shops, parks, theatres, and the IU Bloomington campus. Visitors to Bloomington will love being able to walk to Dats from scenic Kirkwood without having to find a new parking spot for their cars.

Speaking of parking, Dats is only a couple blocks away from the 4th Street parking garage, where there is free parking for the first three hours before 6pm, and free after 6pm M-F. If you go on a weekend, the garage is free all day. If you don't want to walk those couple blocks, metered street parking is available.

So what's the verdict?

Food: Tasty, filling comfort food, with a variety of vegetarian options and at least one vegan dish. A variety of house-made hot sauces to further spice up dishes -  A+

Atmosphere: Homey, festive, cajun. A great place to eat alone or in groups. Casual.

Price: $$ Our two entrees cost us about the same as two burritos at Chipotle.

Service: Very friendly, helpful, and quick - A

Proximity/Ease of Access: Located in a convenient part of town for site-seeing, shopping, and parking. Parking may require fees - B+

Overall: Anyone who wants a great, unique meal at a great price in a casual setting should consider Dats.

Check out their website here or like their Facebook page here!