Bloomington/Normal Day 2: Destihl

So, Destihl is this brewery/restaurant that had told us the previous day that they only take reservations.  So, I we made reservations and when we got there, we still had to wait for a table.  I'm sure there is a Jerry Seinfeld episode about the purpose of having a reservation and this always reminds me of that.  When I worked at a restaurant and I heard that we had a reservation coming in an hour or even coming at a certain time, I quickly went into action putting a table together.  Under my supervision, I never had a reserved table wait.  I'm not saying wait a few minutes or wait longer, but I mean that the party would come in, tell me their name and their reservation and I would sit them: that easy. 

So, this place does what Schlafly does, for example.  They have a brewery/restaurant combo.  We sat down, ordered our food and was stuck in the curse of slow food and service, which we have been experiencing the whole trip so far then.  So, besides the slow service, what did we get?  The first item was deep fried bacon, tempura style.

Crispy crunchy fried batter on maple bacon.  A 3 out of 5 stars.

I ordered one of their signature dishes: Thai Fried Chicken.

It was a drumstick and breast piece, fried lightly with a thin coating and covered in these Thai flavors, like the flavors in a Phad Thai noodle dish.  It was a 3 out of 5 stars.

So, it was an okay place, not very child friendly and if you are hungry and you want to order, get a beer and get food within 30-40 minutes, then this isn't the place for you.  We also happened to seat in "Spot A" as I had mentioned earlier.

DESTIHL® - Opened November 2007
318 S. Towanda Avenue 
Normal, IL 61761 
P: 309-862-2337  F: 866-381-0349

The Bombay food truck

The Bombay food junkies truck is awesome and it is as simple as that.  What you have here, is a food truck, not filled with young men cooking on the line, but some older Indian women, working love into the food they sell.  Everything is home made or at least made from scratch and while the truck is entirely meat free, it can make a carnivore seriously consider becoming a vegetarian.

The food is amazing and when I had ordered, the woman asked me if I wanted a little spicy or a lot of spicy.  I said "a lot of spicy".  Most of the time, the spiciness contributes to the overall flavor, when in moderation.  When my brother-in-law orders his pad Thai at our favorite Thai restaurant, The Thai House, and orders spicy level 50, I don't see how it could possible improve the flavors, or if his numb tongue can even distinguish flavors at that point.  But, at this truck, the spicy levels are there just to add a hotter context to the food along with additional flavorings.  Spicy food was perfect and the items were had ordered were perfect as well.  Meaning: that I have ordered and or tried at least 2/3rds of their menu and have liked every bit of it.  I highly suggest finding them and ordering some food of your own after looking at these pictures:

Find them and eat their food for a 4 out of 5 stars experience.
https://www.facebook.com/BombayFoodJunkies