Secretly Group Interview: Where to eat in Bloomington, IN
Next in our series on record labels is the powerhouse Secretly Group, which is a family of some of my favorite indie labels including Secretly Canadian, Dead Oceans, Jagjaguwar, and Numero Group. Collectively, they’ve released albums by artists such as Destroyer, Juliana Barwick, Jens Lekman, Tig Notaro, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, and Angel Olsen, just to name a few!
Thanks to Caroline Marchildon, a publicist at Secretly Group, for sharing some of their favorite spots to eat around Bloomington, Indiana!
What are your top 5 places to eat around the Secretly Group office?
Rainbow Bakery: We're lucky enough to have this gem right next door to us! They serve up the best vegan treats in town. Their _chocolate rosemary donut'_s a personal favorite, plus they've got a Laura Palmer - which is a spin on the classic Arnold Palmer - made of lavender lemonade and iced tea.
King Dough (Food Truck Friday): Every Friday a group of food trucks set up in the parking lot of a local ice cream parlor, which is only about a five minute walk from our office. King Dough makes phenomenal wood fired pizza. Super fresh ingredients and great flavor combos. Plus they've got an oven in the back of a pickup. They're about to open a brick & mortar location, which is really exciting.
Bloomingfoods: This is the local co-op in town. It's got a great salad bar, honestly hard to beat it. Plus they've got great sandwiches or grab n' go things like curry chicken salad, goat cheese couscous and so on.
The Owlery: If you're in need of vegan comfort food look no further! I'm kinda crazy about their "chicken" fingers and mac & cheese. But they've got a lot of dishes inspired by different cuisines. Not to mention it's set up in a cozy spot on the square.
La Poblana: This is a bit of a walk from the office, but this food truck serves up great Mexican food and is usually parked outside Cardinal Spirits, a fairly-new distillery. Needless to say it's an ideal spot for happy hours.
What’s in your office fridge?
If you really wanted to impress a new signee, where would you take them to eat?
Oh man that's tough! It's so much fun when we have visitors, and I really love getting a chance to show someone around town for the first time. I think Farm is such a great spot. It's got a nice wine selection and a seasonal menu. Plus the atmosphere's ideal - quiet enough that you can hear each other, kinda cozy, and soft lighting.
Does the Secretly Group team have any special food traditions?
On the first Friday of every month we go out to lunch as a team, which is nice because sometimes we run on different schedules. Usually we'll pick a new spot, or vote on a different place to go. It's great to just catch up and get out of the office for an hour or so.
If you were to embody the Secretly Group sound into a dish, what sort of dish would that be?
This is tough, but I feel like we'd definitely be a dish that came about organically from a trip to the farmer's market. You know how you stroll through and pick up things that inspire you and figure out how to best prep them to make a cohesive meal. I guess that's sort of abstract, but that's definitely in step with SG's personality. So maybe it'd be something like a really good veggie lasagna.
Check out Secretly Group’s restaurant picks on our Food Map:
