Truly Scrumptious. Trulli Flatbread

Even Truly Scrumptious, Caractus Potts and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang would love Trulli Flabread, one of the new restaurants in the shadow of the University's Sample Gates. Located directly across from the old Von Lee theatre on Kirkwood, Trulli specializes in locally grown produce, cheeses and meats and formulates them into delectable salads, panninis and the house specialty flatbreads, baked in Trulli's custom designed and constructed brick oven. Managed by the Chef, a graduate of the New England Culinary Insitute and his wife,the couple opened their first flatbread eatery in Mount Pelier, Vermont. It became the fancy of an Indiana University alum during getaway visits from his home in New York. The benefactor encouraged the couple to move to Bloomington and open a mirror image of their Vermont restaurant including an exact replica of the flagships' oven. Trulli Flatbread opened here in late spring/early summer of 2007.

I've eaten there three times now; twice for Saturday lunch and once for dinner and the food was consistently delicious. "Consistent" is the operative word, here. Most Bloomington restaurants are great the first time, just all right the second and by the third visit (or whenever the first flock of wait staff turns over--whichever comes first) both the food and the service usually suck. Trulli Flatbread is the exception.

During all three visits, I had flatbread, of course--each one with different combination of toppings. My favorite was the house special with shrimp, thin strips of jalapeno for heat, sweet red pepper sauce and italian cheese. The crust was wonderful with lots of flavor and crispy on the edges. My partner and I shared an order of the house special mussels which came swimming in a delectable broth, suitable for soaking the olive oiled crustini served along side. I could continue rattling on about all the different selections and the ingredients, but I'll just say try it for yourself.

I do have two minor issues with Trulli Flatbread. The first is it's lack of Sunday hours of operation. I mentioned same to the proprietor and "fingers crossed" Sunday will indeed be added to the hours of operation. ( I think I sparked her interest when she learned there was no Sunday evening food service on or around the campus.) My second point of concern is the noise level. While the restaurant is very simple and chic with loads of gorgeous oak woodwork, there's nothing to absorb the sound so the ambient noise is a bit much--especially for us older diners. The same is true for the upstairs wine bar. A quiet chat over a glass of Taval Rose just isn't possible in the current environment. Both issues are simple fixes and ones that management should "trulli" consider.

One last thing. If you're a lover of Gorgonzola salad dressing, theirs is one of the best. Bon apetite.