We came to Bloomington, Indiana to visit our second-oldest, Noah, at IU. He plays sousaphone in the Big Red Band for the men’s basketball games, and so we managed to find tickets to a game and watch the band, and then took Noah out to a nice dinner afterwards. Before I talk about Feast, I just need to say that if you are at all interested in basketball, don’t hesitate to go to a game at IU. The feeling in the arena is electric and you can’t help but jump up and down with all of the frenetic fans! Plus, the band is pretty excellent too! Check out my reel on Instagram from the game!

So after the game, we took Noah to Feast, which was recommended to me as a very “Aukse” place to go in Bloomington. Feast isn’t in the main downtown area, which I intend to visit sometime in the future, not super “college-y,” and kind of off the beaten path.

The restaurant (and market!) has a modern, yet natural aesthetic. Everything is mostly wood and brick, and there are also live plants adding some warmth to the decor. Very cool art is also adorning the walls wherever there is space. Much of the rest of the place is taken up with shelves upon shelves of wine bottles for sale.

Service here was attentive and very kind. Our server was chatty, but not annoying, and she never went missing. I should note that we arrived at 4pm, an hour before dinner service started, but they were serving drinks and appetizers so we were there for a very long time.

We ate and drank quite a lot here, and everything was fresh and very delicious. We got there early, but we were all super hungry, so we ordered a charcuterie and cheese board which we ate up pretty fast. Brian and I ordered a couple of cold brews to fuel us through the evening and for the 3.5 hour drive home afterwards. The coffee was excellent, and the charcuterie and cheese was exactly what we needed.

Our mains were also amazing, though we all agreed that I got the best one. Noah ordered potato gnocchi which were fresh and tender and in this amazing miso sage cream sauce. Toasted bread crumbs were sprinkled on top for a bit of crunch. Brian had the steak which was absolutely smothered in mushrooms, onions and sauce. We ordered several glasses of the house wines, which were all excellent. Their wine list is very good, but you can also pick from whatever wines are on the shelves as well (they have over 400!), so you are not going to be left wanting in the wine department here.

For my main, I chose the pork chop, which was honey marinated and accompanied with a sweet potato pancake and covered with shaved brussels sprouts and a caramelized pear and bacon jam which was to die for. Typically, I don’t order meals that I am usually pretty decent at making at home, but man, this pork chop was magic, and I owe it to the honey marinade. That extra touch of a little bit of sweetness really brought out the flavors of this pork, which I’m sure had to be locally farm raised because it was so tender and flavorful. The caramelized pear and bacon jam was amazing, and somehow, the whole thing was not too sweet. I can, with total confidence say, that this was the best pork chop I have ever had.

Speaking of sweet, check out Feast’s dessert display!

I ordered a caramel cheesecake, and Brian got a chocolate cheesecake. Noah ordered an enormous slice of strawberry shortcake. All of the desserts were top-notch, and made fresh daily, and I highly recommend NOT skipping dessert, so save room if you can!

By the time we left, the place was completely full. Feast is a really delicious gem, situated in the middle of a college town. If you get to that IU basketball game, or are just driving through middle America, definitely put Feast at the top of your list for any meal – their brunch and lunch menus look incredible as well!