1. Btown Diner

Location: Next to Brothers

Pros: Cheap diner food

Cons: Cheap diner food

If you’ve ever walked by this place and thought ‘Wow that place looks sketchy,' you’re not completely wrong. To be fair, I’ve had plenty of weird experiences at this place. One time, a drunk mother-daughter duo were giving the wait staff a hard time (at 3 am) and proceeded to throw a temper tantrum about the quality of service. When it was time for the pair to walk to the back with the manager – who also happened to look like a bald Hagrid – one of them decided to do a large swipe across our table as my friend filmed the entire thing. After one of the drunkards attempted to swat the phone out of my friend's hand, it was time for both of them go. Is it just me or is it usually uncomfortable to deal with aggressive drunk middle aged women? With that being said, there are a lot of weird things that happen after 2 am at Btown Diner for reasons that I am still unsure. With that aside, the pancakes are decent and the hash browns are the perfect kind of stringiness and saltiness. Overall score: 6/10.

2. Big Cheeze: (food truck)

Location: Anywhere on Kirkwood but usually close to KOK

Pros: Cheese is amazing, and they have a lot of it

Cons: Long wait times for a product that is somewhat subpar

You probably don’t realize this as a first timer at Big Cheeze but they have other menu options besides grilled cheese with macaroni. I would personally go for their fried cheese, which is their take on mozzarella sticks, but with a crunchier batter. Warning: Big Cheeze does not stay fresh. I do not recommend eating it if it has sat out half-eaten overnight. Overall score: 7/10.

3. Juancho's Munchies: (food truck)

Location: Sometimes on Kirkwood, sometimes next to Sports, sometimes nowhere to be seen.

Pros: Mexican food that is hot and fresh with rich flavors

Cons: Mexican food is not always the best drunchies choice for obvious reasons that are better left unsaid

If you happen to find the Juancho’s food truck on any given Saturday night parked next to Sports at the intersection of 7^th and Walnut, I definitely recommend stopping by. They have amazing amazing burrito-like creations called Arepas that are filled with whatever you want (pork, chicken, beef, veggies). Its like a hot pocket, but doesn't taste processed. In addition, if they have them available, I highly recommended the Tequeños because they are essentially Mexican mozzarella sticks. You’re welcome. Overall score: 8/10.

4. Rockit's Famous Pizza:

Location: Next to Bluebird on Walnut. It's literally a hole in the wall.

Pros: Cheap, fast, and savory

Cons: low-quality pizza that is nowhere near what I am used to coming from the East coast (after all, this is not NYC or Chicago or any other major pizza destination. We take what we can get here)

Oh Rockit's… where to even begin. This is yet another establishment where I have shared one too many odd experiences. My personal favorite is the time that my friend and I had resorted to the only seats left in the tiny space, and sat across a heavy metal, heavy leather biker couple. We presumed they were going to gouge our eyes out if we dared to look in their general direction. Funny thing about assumptions, they’re usually wrong. The Marilyn Manson couple turned out to be super chill and was only there for the same reasons as we were: to eat shitty pizza at 2 am. Rockit's is nothing near famous, but it definitely has substance. Try to get a pizza with a topping, because they’re usually quite generous. The slices aren’t huge but they do the job; somewhat greasy, but not unbearably so. Questionable sanitation quality overall but nothing completely out of the ordinary from your average pizza shop. The restaurant is essentially a crawl space so don’t expect a sit down meal on a busier night. Overall rating: 5/10.

5. Black's Mercantile

Location: Next to the entrance to the Vid Bar, which is next to Brothers, which is next to Btown Diner on Walnut.

Pros: whatever you want or need, or don’t need or want, they have it.

Cons: Jenky, knock-off 7/11 and represents the epitome of Bloomington weirdness.

If you walk near Blacks, or even venture inside, you will notice that there is definitely a feeling of oddness surrounding the entire operation. While this is no restaurant, they certainly sell food. If you don’t happen to pass one of the 24 hour CVS’s on your way home from the bars but you’re still craving a Reese’s, or know you will be in dire need of a Gatorade at 5 AM, you can just hop on over to Black’s after you’re finished spending the majority of your money on water long’s at Sports, Brothers, Bluebird, the Vid, etc. Black’s is a great meeting point for Walnut Avenue and serves as the mecca for vagrants and random homeless people as well. Note to all: the scene outside of the entrance to the store is a little hectic at times, particularly on Saturday nights when the energy is high and the freaks come out. Black’s carries many of the products that average college students find themselves needing. They have everything from your standard bread, eggs, and milk to office supplies, coffee filters, Crisco (does anyone still use that?), and literally every size battery known to man. They obviously also sell lottery tickets, grape flavored blunt papers, American Spirit loose tobacco, and all the other gas station favorites of our generation. Again, this is not a restaurant but they have the goods. Also, there isn't a police officer watching you make purchases like the Kirkwood CVS. Overall score: 7/10 or 5/10 depending on how creepy the crowd is outside.

Honorable mentions: Butch's, Square Donuts, Nick's English Hut, specifically the "Nicks Fries, the new döner kebap truck that sits on Kirkwood, Jimmy Johns, Z&C Teriyaki (remember to ask for the egg with your fried rice, no I am not kidding).