Bloomington burger blues

This post comes to you from the Hoosier heartland, good old Bloomington, Indiana. I’m vacationing in this storied college town with my family and keeping my hungry eyes peeled for memorable eats. A go-to fine dining restaurant here is the Scholars Inn, a gourmet cafe and wine bar on North College Road. The owners and executive chef Jake Brenchley have done a great job creating a warm and relaxed dining experience, with sharp service and a tantalizing and accessible menu. I ordered a Caesar salad to start, described as ”Romaine hearts, bell peppers, brioche croutons, and basil caesar dressing.” For my main course, the truffled aged filet burger, “8 oz. filet mignon and prime beef patty, braised mushrooms, white truffle oil, and confit steak fries.” I literally rubbed my hands together in anticipation.

The salad was amazing. Half a dozen long, uncut stalks of crisp Romaine presented horizontally on a rectangular plate, evenly dressed with a hearty Caesar dressing. The sweetness of the peppers contrasted beautifully with the bite of the dressing. One of the most modest Caesars I’ve ever had –  why do so many restaurants seem to think that a good salad has to be big enough to do a snow angel in?  – but one of the best. After that lip-smacking start, the burger turned out to be a real disappointment. The patty was rich and flavorful, wonderously beefy. Hallelujah! Everything else was a mess. For starters, the bun was an onion roll, which neither fit the flavor nor the the character of the burger. An onion roll. It was like putting foie gras on pizza dough. The mushrooms and truffle oil made the top half of the burger soggy, oily, and too darned rich. The bottom of the burger was strewn with a medley of fresh green herbs, which I cast aside with undisguised disdain. Herb somebody else’s burger, why don’t you? The whole package was confused and prissy and not worth the price of admission. The steak fries were right on point, though. Golden brown, peppered, spud perfection.