Janko's Little Zagreb

[Truth Detector]

One of my all time favorite restaurants is Janko's Little Zagreb in Bloomington. Fantastic steaks served by beautiful IU coeds while you sit at a picnic table complete with the checkered table cloth.


Sadly John (Janko) Pouch, the restaurant's owner, died Sunday.

RIP wild man. You were one in a million.

[exfasteddy]

Sorry to hear that. I've been there a cople times, one was great, the next time horrble. I can't rememebr what I had either time, but it did seem high priced for the less than casual ambiance. Agree on the coeds.

[roadracer]

You're probably too young to remember when it was called Choo-Choos, TD. The tracks run right outside. '75 - '79, my tenure at IU, I had some good friends who were from Yugo by way of East Chicago, they knew Janko and turned me on to the place. Later, he added on and changed the name, same location.

The best steaks imaginable, and one of my favorite places to take dates. A couple of years ago the Mrs. (also an alum, and whom I had taken there on at least one date) and I went back for a long weekend, stayed at the Union, breakfast at the Runcible Spoon, lunch at Nick's, and dinner where else but Little Zagreb. And then to the Bluebird, where everyone including the bartender and bouncer looked to be about 12 years old.

You can go home again, thanks to institutions like those. Here's hoping that they're in business another 30 years. And thanks for the memories, Janko.

[Truth Detector]

I got there in '82, roadracer, and to be honest I don't remember if it was the Little Zagreb at that point because I barely had enough money for a weekly game of Pac-Man.