Road Tips

The Demise of Tastee Freez - Davenport, IA

Our household was in turmoil last evening after watching a gut-wrenching story on the 10 p.m. news - the Tastee Freez on Rockingham Road on the southwest side of Davenport was closing (see map). No reason was given for the demise of the little shop that was first opened in 1954 and served soft-serve ice cream, burgers, hot dogs and sandwiches, as well as milkshakes and malts. It was a wonderful summertime treat for us to take the 20 minute drive over to the other side of town and get an ice cream cone on a warm evening. (Photo courtesy Quad City Times)

The Tastee Freez on the west side of Davenport was a little slice of nostalgia from a time when people would routinely go out for ice cream after dinner. The building hadn't changed since the 50's and it was like going back through a little time warp when you walked up to the one of the two outside windows to place your order. Service was generally fast and efficient and you'd have your ice cream cone within moments after ordering.

In a city where Whitey's Ice Cream rules, the Davenport Tastee Freez had some of the best vanilla soft-serve ice cream I've ever had. For soft-serve ice cream, I liked it better than Dairy Queen and much better than the vastly over-rated Country Style ice cream that has a number of fans in the Quad City area. Cindy liked the chocolate/vanilla swirl, but when they would have their special Walnut flavor ice cream, she would go wild over that.

The highlight, however, was the people watching as you enjoyed your ice cream cone on one of the picnic tables around the building. People from all walks of life went to the west end Tastee Freez, some dressed in some interesting summertime clothes.

The current owner, Tara Kirschenmann from Moline, had owned the Tastee Freez since 1993. She was only the third owner of the franchise in its nearly 58 year history. No word as to why Kirschenmann shut down the Tastee Freez, nor if she was planning on selling the building and its contents. But the signage was taken off the building and the inside appeared to be bare from the picture shown above.

The Davenport Tastee Freez was the last of what was once dozens of Tastee Freez locations across the state of Iowa. There was a pretty good Tastee Freez in Newton, IA where I grew up. It was run by Paul Rose and not only had pretty good ice cream, but they had some of the best hot dogs I've ever had. Many a lunch was spent at the Tastee Freez in Newton until I moved to the Quad Cities over 20 years ago. (Westside Davenport Tastee Freez picture courtesy of Captain Ernie's Showboat.com)

Tastee Freez, as a company, began in 1950 in Newport Beach, CA. The original owners, Harry Axene and Leo Moranz, invented a pump-style soft-serve ice cream machine and the concept was an immediate hit. They began to rent out the machines and franchise the Tastee Freez name. The one on Rockingham Road was one of the first ones in the state of Iowa. As a little kid, I remember getting milkshakes from the Tastee Freez in Newton in cups that had the little Tastee Freez mascots on them - Tee and Eff (below left). Tee, I believe, was supposed to be male, Eff, was female. Or maybe it was vice-versa. It was hard to distinguish the difference between the two other than the "Tee" and "Eff" on their front.

Since 2003, Tastee Freez has been owned by the Garlardi Group, the owners of the Weinerschnitzel chain of fast food restaurants, found primarily west of the Rocky Mountains. In fact, you can find Tastee Freez soft-serve ice cream in over 350 Weinerschnitzel locations across the nation. But the bulk of Tastee Freez locations have closed over the past decade. Today, there are only 42 Tastee Freez stand-alone locations in 17 states including a dozen in Illinois, most of which are in the greater Chicago area.

So it's a sad morning around our house knowing that after a great meal of Cajun barbecued chicken that we won't be able to take the crosstown drive to help cool us off with a great Tastee Freez ice cream cone. Another part of life that we took for granted is now gone.

Colony Point Deli - Williamsburg, IA

Since this blog is named Road Tips, the purpose should really be to point out some of the more obscure and secret places that I've found in my travels around the Midwest and beyond. One place that I've stopped at for years and years is the Colony Point Deli located in the BP gas station at the Williamsburg (IA) exit on Interstate 80. (see map) They have a great little sandwich place in there and I thought I'd share it with you today.

I have no idea of the history of the Colony Point Deli, but it's just a part of the Colony Point travel stop located right next to the Tanger Outlet Mall off Interstate 80 at exit 220. But it's not unlike many travel plazas that you find on any interstate across the nation. First of all, it caters to automobiles and not trucks, so it's definitely not a truck stop. Secondly, Colony Point is sort of like an upscale convenience store with knick-knack gifts, Amana foods and, of course, a pretty good little deli in the place.

The nearby Amana Colonies feature a handful of very good German-American restaurants (we've been talking about going there to one of the restaurants and doing an entry for Road Tips), a good little bakery called the Amana Bakery that makes breads, rolls and bagels, and the Amana Meat Shop and Smokehouse that is famous for their hams, bologna, sausages and smoked pork chops, as well as their cheese.  The Colony Point sells a number of these items for people who aren't willing to venture the 10 or so miles to the north and east to go to the Amana Colonies.   

One thing that Colony Point sells is the Amana pickled ham.  This stuff is like heroin.  In fact, I contemplated making a separate entry for the Amana pickled ham under the "Guilty Pleasures" column of this blog.  They take an Amana smoked ham, cut it into square chunks and then put it pickled vinegar water with onion slices and let it cure.  Oh, man!  It is so addictive.  I've found myself just sitting with a fork, watching TV and eating the pickled ham until I looked down and realized that I'd eaten half the bottle.  Then, of course, I'm wrought with guilt afterwards.

The first time I'd had the pickled ham was at one of the Amana Colony restaurants that I went to with my old college roommate, Billy Wilson.  Billy grew up near the Amana Colonies and every once in a while his parents would invite us to come over from Iowa City to have dinner with them on a Friday night.  The first time I went there nearly 30 years ago, they brought out a bowl of the pickled ham with the family style meal, I had one and I was hooked.  It got to a point where when we sat down we'd order our drinks AND a bowl of pickled ham.  And Billy and I would constantly fight over the last few morsels of this delectable offering from the God of Pigs.  If you would tell me the secret of the taste of the Amana pickled ham is pig urine, I'd still eat it.

Since I was on my way home, of course, I had to pick up a jar to take with me.  I can't tell you how many times I've resisted  picking up a plastic fork and taking it with me so I could eat some on the way home.  I'll admit, I've done that a couple of times.  It's amazing how your dignity vanishes when it comes to the Amana pickled ham.  

The deli area isn't much.  It's a small counter with a menu behind it on the wall, and a small station where the sandwiches are made.  The menu isn't big - they just have the basic ham, roast beef, turkey, etc.  They also have capocolla and hard salami sandwiches.  I really like a good spicy capocolla and Colony Point Deli's capocolla is very good.  

I ordered up a roast beef with provolone cheese on the Amana German rye bread.  They also have a great Amana dark rye, as well as wheat and regular white breads from the Amana bakery.  You get your choice of veggies - tomato, lettuce, onion - as well as either German mustard or yellow mustard, and a vinegar and oil topping.  I ordered mine with all the veggies, oil and vinegar (with Italian spices mixed in) and yellow mustard. Since they're made to order, you have time to walk around and check out what else Colony Point has to offer. (They also have pre-made sandwiches in a case if you don't want to wait.)

Another guilty pleasure in life is Sterzing's Potato Chips.  This is another taste sensation that I acquired while going to the University of Iowa in the early to mid-80's.  I have to tell you, Sterzing's Potato Chips are another horrifyingly addictive guilty pleasure of mine.  Once again, I could dedicate a whole entry for my Guilty Pleasures category on Sterzing's.  But I decided to make it just another part of this entry. 

They make the potato chips in Burlington, IA and have been in existence since 1933 when it started out as a candy factory.  Founder Barney Sterzing began to play around with the notion of making potato chips about the time World War II ended.  The taste and texture of a Sterzing's potato chip is very unique and it's the same recipe they've used since Day 1.   They claim they only use salt and oil in cooking their potato chips, but I have to guess there are small amounts of opium mixed in, as well.  They are just that addictive.  They were a great late night, munchy snack after the bars closed for a guy like me when I was going to college.  But I would always eat too many of those grease-sponged chips that it would make my stomach hurt.  

Barney Sterzing's daughter, Billie, and her husband, Dutch Duttweiler, took over the family business in 1959.  Dutch Duttweiler oversaw an expansion of business that included moving to their present day production facility in Burlington along with an expansion of distribution.  For years, Sterzing's Potato Chips were only available within a 50 mile radius of Burlington, but in the 90's they expanded their distribution and the prominent yellow and red bags can now be found at convenience stores such as Casey's and Kum and Go, as well as many Hy-Vee grocery stores.  

In 1994, the Duttweiler's retired and their daughters, Jill Blackwood (with her husband, Tom) and Judy Arledge took over.  Earlier this year, the third generation family sold their interest in Sterzing's to long time employees Craig Smith and Gary Schmeiser.  Smith started with Sterzing's in 1980 as a route driver and worked his way up to production manager for the plant.  Schmeiser also started as a route driver in 1989, but became the sales manager for the company in 1997.  Smith and Schmeiser aren't planning on any wholesale changes for Sterzing's, saying "Why tamper with success?"

Of course, I had to get a small bag of Sterzing's Potato Chips to go along with my sandwich.  It had been such a long time since I'd had some that I decided to treat myself to some.  

One other thing that makes a trip to the Colony Point Deli a treat are their wonderful home-baked cookies. Of course, they put them right up in front by where you order and pay for your sandwich.  They have all types of cookies including chocolate chip, M&M's cookies, chocolate chips WITH M&M's, white chocolate chip - the list goes on and on.  They also have baked goods including pastries in the case.  I decided to treat myself to a white chocolate chip and macadamia nut cookie for a dessert.  Hey, I was on vacation at the time and I thought I deserved it.  

On the other side of the counter where they have the pre-made sandwiches, they also have homemade pies that you can buy whole or by the slice.  A slice of their lemon pie has been calling my name for years, but I've successfully have dodged all attempts by the ladies behind the counter to take a piece with me.   

The lady called out my name when my sandwich was ready and I took all my goodies including the jar of pickled ham, the Sterzing's and a bottle of water to the counter and ordered up the cookie when she asked if there would be anything else.   The sandwich also comes with a pickle spear and each sandwich also gets a peppermint candy placed underneath the sandwich.  

You can get half sandwiches at Colony Point, but I got a full one this time.  And it's pretty big.  They really lay on the vegetables and the Italian spice-infused oil and vinegar tastes great on the lettuce, tomatoes and onions.  I normally don't get onions on my sandwiches from the Colony Point Deli, but this time I did.  And they were fresh and strong! 

The sandwich had three thick slices of roast beef and a thick slice of provolone cheese on top.  The bread was a little dried out - I knew I should have gotten the dark rye bread.  But it was still good.  I like a lot of yellow mustard on my roast beef sandwiches and they slathered it on.  This is not a sandwich that you can easily eat while you're driving down the road.  Even though there is a small dining area in Colony Point, I sat out in the parking lot and ate a good portion of the sandwich before heading back home.  

The sandwiches at the Colony Point Deli aren't going to be as good as what you'd find at a big city deli such as Manny's Deli in Chicago (look for an upcoming entry on that place on Road Tips), but for out in the middle of the cornfields of Iowa and just off Interstate 80 it's a good place to stop, grab a sandwich and other Amana food stuffs, then head on down the road.  While my sandwich was a little dry with the bread and almost had too many veggies (lettuce, especially), it's still a pretty good value.  The Colony Point Deli a great alternative to Arby's, McDonald's or Subway - all of which are also in the immediate vicinity at that exit.  It's all the extras that you can get at Colony Point that makes this place one of my guilty pleasures in life.

Leopold's Ice Cream - Savannah, GA

It seems like every place we visit, we come across an ice cream shop that is *the* local place to get ice cream.  It's generally a step above Baskin-Robbins or Dairy Queen in quality and taste.  And on our trip to Savannah, we found one such place in Leopold's Ice Cream.

The history of Leopold's begins in 1919 when Greek immigrant brothers - Peter, George and Basil Leopold - founded their first ice cream parlor in Savannah.  Peter had been taught the art of making high quality ice cream in Europe and brought with him a recipe for Tutti-Fruitti, an Italian specialty that was made with different fruits and cream.  The original Tutti-Fruitti recipe that the Leopold's started with 90 years ago is the same way it's made today. 

Peter's son, Stratton, took over the business after his father and uncles passed away.  Before he took over the business, Stratton was already gone from the Savannah area as he had gone out to Hollywood to work in the film industry.  Stratton Leopold has risen from a production manager to a producer to now being the Executive Vice-President of Production at Paramount Pictures.  He's truly a Hollywood heavyweight.  Stratton Leopold's producing credits include The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Mission Impossible III and The Sum of All Fears.  Stratton Leopold was also the producer of the critically acclaimed movie, The General's Daughter.  Here's a picture of Stratton Leopold behind the counter at his ice cream parlor. 

Because of Stratton Leopold's connection to the film industry, Leopold's Ice Cream parlor is decorated with film making equipment, along with a number of pictures of famous people and movie posters.  In the back of the place is a Panavision camera, some editing equipment and film reels.  The tables and chairs were authentic old style ice cream parlor furniture.  The place had a very "retro" feel to it and was a rather cool place to look around.

Leopold's Ice Cream offers nearly 50 different varieties of ice cream- about 30 available all the time and an additional 20 "seasonal" ice creams.  But their claim to fame is their Tutti-Fruitti ice cream which people literally crawl back to Leopold's to taste.  Leopold's ships their Tutti-Fruitti all over the nation to people who have visited the place, become hooked on the ice cream and then want it sent to them.  In addition to ice cream, Leopold's also has a short menu of sandwiches, soups and salads.

There was a good sized after-lunch crowd in Leopold's when we stopped in.   Leopold's featured a large counter with an old fashioned soda fountain.  The teenaged girls working behind the counter called out who they could help next while customers looked through the glass window down into the tubs of ice cream.  Leopold's even offered free small spoon samples to customers.  Cindy asked for a sample of the Tutti-Fruitti, as did a lot of other people while we were there.  From her first bite, Cindy was hooked.  She got a cup of the Tutti-Fruitti.

I'm a big Lemon Custard kind of guy and Leopold's had Lemon Custard, but with a small twist - they add bits of lemon candy in with the ice cream custard.  I had to have a cup of that.  And, oh my God, was it good.  I'm a big Whitey's Ice Cream fan back in the Quad Cities and I think Whitey's Lemon Custard is hard to beat.  But Leopold's may have surpassed it.  The chunks of lemon candy gave it more of a forward lemon taste.  It was absolutely fabulous.

 We tried to get back to Leopold's at least one more time while we were in Savannah.  But we got there just after 9 p.m. and they were closing up for the night.  Really, it took all the will-power NOT to muster another trip to Leopold's while we were there.  I'm still trying to watch my weight, but we also had a number of great desserts for dinner while in Savannah, so going to Leopold's usually never popped up after dinner.  But if we ever get back to Savannah - and we will - Leopold's will be a "must stop" on our itinerary.

French Rose Bakery - Davenport, IA

                     

One of my worst guilty pleasures in my world is a bakery called the French Rose Bakery.  They don't really have a retail location as they sell their goods at one of the Farmer's Markets we go to nearly every Saturday here in Davenport.  And while they don't have a retail location, they are looking to move into one.  And the bad thing about it, it's not very far from our house.  

Cindy found out about the French Rose Bakery a couple years ago and she had an assortment of cinnamon rolls, eclairs, beignets and croissants delivered to our house for my birthday.  From the first bite of the maple eclair, I was in ecstasy.  By the end of the day, Cindy, her kids and I were fighting over the remaining maple eclairs.  

Then when I tried one of the French Rose Bakery cinnamon rolls, I went straight to heaven.  It was one of the best cinnamon rolls I've ever had in my life.  And just like finding a good burger, finding a good cinnamon roll is one of my life goals.  The French Rose Bakery uses nutmeg in the cream cheese frosting on the cinnamon rolls.  They're big and chewy, and there's ample amounts of cinnamon in the roll.  There's three or four restaurants and/or bakeries around the Quad Cities all well known for their cinnamon rolls.  But the French Rose Bakery is head and shoulders above 'em all. 

And their croissants are so light, flaky and flavorful that I would have thought they were made in France.  The first time I tried one of her croissants, I told Cindy, "This is unbelievable!  This is EXACTLY how the croissants in France taste!"  I have never come close to experiencing a croissant in the U.S or Canada as good as the one from the French Rose Bakery.   

The proprietor of the French Rose Bakery is a 20-something young lady by the name of Jennifer Ewert (right).  I've met her a couple times and she's a great kid.  Jennifer studied as a pastry chef at The French Pastry School in Chicago.  She grew up on the west side of Davenport and she uses an addition onto her parents home as her bakery.  Her mother, Mary, and father, Gary, help her out at the Farmer's Market in the parking lot at NorthPark Mall.  They're really great people. 

Jennifer tried selling some of her pastries at a local gift store, but that experiment ended after a few weeks.  She would invariably run out of pastries, disappointing dozens of people - like me -  who would stop in to pick something up.  Her mother told me earlier this spring that they really needed to have a place where she could bake and sell her good tasting stuff.  The last I heard, she was looking at a store front in a strip mall about a mile from our house.  That's not good, especially for my diet. 

Actually, the French Rose Bakery was probably responsible for a 10 to 15 pound increase in my weight over the past couple of years.  At least, that's what I accuse them of doing to me.  But now that I'm on a diet, I have to show restraint when I walk past their booth at the Farmer's Market at NorthPark Mall.  But those maple eclairs keep calling me and calling me! 

A couple three weeks ago, Cindy was out of town for the day.  But she told me to go up and get a half-dozen maple eclairs at the Farmer's Market from the French Rose Bakery.  She wanted to take some to work with her to show some people how good they were.  When I got up there, a lady I didn't recognize was running the stand.  I asked if they had any maple eclairs and she said, "No, I'm sorry.  She ran out of them at 3 a.m." 

I was kind of perplexed - she ran out of them at 3 a.m.?  Now, I know her eclairs are great, but running out of them at 3 a.m.?  What did she do?  Go hang out outside of the bars in the District of Rock Island and sell eclairs to the drunks walking by on their way home?  (Actually, that doesn't sound like a bad marketing idea.)

Instead, I got a cinnamon roll (and showing restraint, I cut the roll into thirds and ate those portions three mornings in a row).  I walked away and as I was nearing my car, I heard Mary Ewert calling for me.  She said, "I'm sorry, I can't remember your name, but you come here all the time."

I said, "Will." 

She said, "I'm Mary."

"I know.  We've met before, " I replied.

And then she began to PROFUSELY apologize for not having maple eclairs this morning.  It turned out that Jennifer had a big order of eclairs for another function and she ran out of maple flavoring for the frosting at 3 a.m.  Oh, OK.

Mary said, "But come back next week and we'll have more!"

Now, that illustrates how nice of people the Ewert's are.  She didn't have to come running after me to tell me WHY they'd run out of maple eclairs.  They were out of them, end of story.  But Mary went out of her way to track me down to apologize and explain herself.  Good people. 

Cindy and I went back the next week to pick up some assorted things for her dad's lady-friend's birthday the next day.  The weather was cold and blustery.  There were about 50% less vendors at The Farmer's Market at NorthPark that day.  And the French Rose Bakery was one of the no-shows.  I didn't blame 'em.  

In addition to her great croissants, cinnamon rolls, eclairs and beignets, Jennifer also has a full menu of cookies, cakes, brownies, dessert trays and cream puffs.  Her mother told us that she hoped to be able to expand her offerings when she moves into the retail space.  Boy, I think she has a lot to offer now!

But for now, Jennifer only sells selected items at The Farmer's Market on Saturday mornings, or they'll deliver to your home or business (in the Quad Cities only) for a $50 minimum order.  I know once she opens her retail bakery location, her business is just going to take off.  She's a little higher priced than some of the other bakeries around.  But the difference in taste and quality versus those other places is why The French Rose Bakery is a little more expensive.  

Man, I have GOT to quit writing these blog entries on an empty stomach!  

(Update - Unfortunately, Jennifer has not only quit selling on Saturday's at the Farmer's Market, but never realized her dream to open her own bakery.  While part of me is sad for her, another part of me completely misses those cinnamon rolls and maple eclairs.  I don't know if she's still doing any baking as her web site is down, as well.  Oh, well.  I'd probably be over 400 lbs. if she was still baking.)

Three Guilty Pleasures of Door County

While one is in Door County, there's all types of temptations that tourists can fall into, food wise.  We ran into three different places that we found to be just unbelievable and also very fattening to the waistline. 

The first place we found was the Door County Bakery (see map).  Actually, Curt Campbell from the Oilerie told us about this place.  He said, "It's the best bakery in Door County, by far."  The owners, Don and Jean Thompson, make breads, pastries and a locally famous chocolate cake called "Ports des Morts" (door of death), named after the small strait between the Door County peninsula and Washington Island.

The Door County Bakery is also famous for their Corsica loaf, a large French loaf made with olive oil and sesame seeds.  They make it in about six to seven pound loafs and then will cut off how much bread you want.  The girl offered us a taste and it was outstanding.  We ended up taking a couple pounds of the loaf.  Since we were traveling, she wrapped it up in foil and plastic wrap.  We kept it in the refrigerator back at the hotel and in the cooler when we were traveling.  But by the time we'd gotten back home to try some, it was pretty much done.  The girl said that it freezes well and if we get back there, we'll have to get it the day we're leaving to go home.  Unfortunately, we moved around for about a week with it unfrozen.  Oh, well.  Live and learn.

The Door County Bakery also has a large selection of pastries to choose from.  We'd had breakfast earlier in the morning and weren't hungry for anything like that, but the stuff they had in the counter definitely got me drooling. 

The Door County Bakery also has a deli and a small gourmet store on the other side of the building.  Cindy and I said we were going to come back and get a sandwich made with the Corsica bread at some point, but we never did.  Next time.

Behind the Door County Bakery was a building that housed a museum/art studio run by WGN Radio personality Spike O'Dell known as The Back Door Studio.  O'Dell, who grew up in the Quad Cities, collected coffee cups of famous celebrities or politicians he's had on his show over the years and had each person sign the cup.  He put them on display in this building.

Here's a shot of some of the coffee cups - both porcelain and Styrofoam - that O'Dell has collected from his guests over the years.  It was kind of neat and sort of hokey at the same time.  But there was sure of lot of 'em to see.

One thing that I didn't know about Spike O'Dell is that he's a pretty accomplished artist.  Cindy sort of knew that he was an artist, but I was just incredulous.  "Spike O'Dell did THIS?!" I exclaimed more than once looking at the artwork he had for sale in the building.  I was amazed at how good he was with a paint brush.  I've listened to O'Dell on WGN for quite some time and I never knew that he was an artist. 

The second place we found that became an instant guilty pleasure for us was Jorns' Sugar Bush outside of Egg Harbor (see map). Jorns' is a family operation that collects and processes it's own pure maple syrup.  We'd seen a billboard while we were out driving around regarding Jorns' and Cindy wanted to go see the place.  We went down a county road and literally drove right by the place.  It was nestled back in behind a farm house surround by a lot of maple trees.  We doubled back and drove into the driveway.

Roland and Donna Jorns are well into their 80's and Roland continues to process maple syrup like his grandfather and father used since the mid-1800's.  Jorns has over 1200 trees that he can tap each spring for maple flow.  During the height of the flow, he can process about 600 gallons of maple syrup a day. 

We made it into the shop and and the Jorns' daughter came out of the processing area and said, "My mother will be out here in a minute.  Feel free to look around."  We found a number of different sizes of maple syrup in bottles and containers, as well as homemade jellies and jams from Door County. 

Donna Jorns gingerly made it out to the small shop and greeted us as she walked in.  She was actually a pretty interesting woman to talk with.  She said her husband has been gathering and processing maple each year for 80 years, since he was a small child in grade school.  She said, "This was his grandfather's land, then it was passed along to his father, who passed it along to us when he passed away."  It's been in the family for about 150 years, she said. 

Donna Jorns told us that they have a lot of seasonal workers in the spring that come out and gather the sap buckets for processing.  She said, however, that finding help has been sort of tough lately.  "Kids are different now a days, " she told us.  "We used to have kids lining up to come out here to work years ago.  Today, it's so bad that we can only tap about a third to half the trees we have because we don't have enough seasonal help to gather the sap."

We ended up getting some of their syrup (a quart), as well as some jam.  Mrs. Jorns told us that she sends maple syrup all over the country.  She said, "When you run out of this, just call us and we'll send you some more!"

Cindy makes the greatest pancakes in the world and I have to tell you, with the Jorns' maple syrup on top, it makes them even better.  Jorns' maple syrup may be the best pure maple syrup I've ever had.  We will be calling them for more at some point. 

And last, but certainly not least, of the holy trinity of guilty pleasures of Door County, was Wilson's Ice Cream Parlor in Ephraim (see map).  This old fashioned restaurant and soda fountain has been serving tourists and residents in Door County since 1906.  We were told by our friends, Scott and Marcia Schroeder, that we had to stop at Wilson's during our trip to Door County. 

Wilson's is open seasonally from late May thru late October.  They're famous for their ice cream which they serve large amounts of each summer.  And when they dish it up, they dish up large amounts for each customer.  Here's a picture of Cindy eating her ice cream cone - a one scoop cone - that was so large, she had them put it in a small bowl so she wouldn't lose any of it. 

Wilson's has a long and rich history, which began when Oscar Wilson moved his family from Milwaukee to Door County in the early 20th century.  The Wilson family ran the place for 55 years before selling out in 1961.  The ice cream parlor/restaurant has gone through a series of owners and changes over the past 40+ years with current owners Roy and Diane Elquist updating the inside by adding air conditioning and screening off part of the outside seating areas.  Wilson's is a plum job for a number of high school and college students each summer.

I actually didn't order any because I was still full from lunch a couple three hours earlier.  But Cindy had eaten light in anticipation of ice cream later in the afternoon at Wilson's.  I had some of Cindy's and their ice cream was good.  Not the best I've had, but good.  We went back one other time after dinner at a nearby restaurant, but the line was so long and there were so many people hanging out that we decided to pass on stopping for ice cream at Wilson's. 

In addition to ice cream, sundaes and specialty drinks, Wilson's also has a food menu consisting of burgers, sandwiches, appetizers and salads.  I heard while we were in Door County their char-grilled hamburgers were pretty damn good, as well.  We may have to go back sometime to try those out. 

We were pleasantly surprised with the variety of food - and how good it is - in Door County.  But the three temptations - Door County Bakery, Jorns' Sugar Bush and Wilson's Ice Cream Parlor - all contributed to the guilty pleasures we found on our trip to Door County. 

Ted Drewes - St. Louis

Ted Drewes is a St. Louis institution.  They sell custard ice cream out of two locations on the south-side of St. Louis and have been doing so for over 75 years.  They've been featured on a number of travel and food shows on cable television over the years.  It's a must-stop when we're in St. Louis for Cardinal games. 

Ted Drewes, Sr. was a tennis star who came from the St. Louis area.  He opened his first ice cream stand in Florida in 1930 and then came back to open two locations in St. Louis the following year.  Only one of the two original stores, the one on South Grand (see map) is in business today.  In 1941, Drewes put in a second location on Chippewa Ave. (see map), which was also Route 66 that went from Chicago to L.A.  Over the years, the Chippewa location expanded and became the defacto flagship store for Ted Drewes. 

Ted Drewes, Jr. took over the family business in the 50's.  He had been approached many times to franchise the Ted Drewes custard, but each time he has declined.  He said that franchising "cheapens" the product and you lose control of the quality of the custard.  Good for him.

In the winter time when the custard stands were closed, Ted Drewes, Jr. would sell Christmas trees in the lots of the two locations.  Each fall, Drewes would go to Nova Scotia to hand pick fir trees to be cut down and shipped to St. Louis to sell in his two lots.  The Chippewa location now stays open up through Christmas to sell custard along with the Christmas trees.

Ted Drewes is famous for their custard ice cream, which is only available in vanilla.  They add flavorings to the vanilla custard to make the different varieties of flavors.  One of the famous offerings from Ted Drewes are their "concretes" - a combination of the vanilla custard, flavors and other ingredients that are then thick-blended and served in a cup.  The cup is turned upside down before being served to the customer to show that the custard is thick and rich. 

When we were in St. Louis earlier this year, we stopped at the Ted Drewes on S. Grand.  I felt kind of bad as our friends, Scott and Marcia, spent a good portion of the late morning and early afternoon running us around to get the old ROKNROL Impala to a place to get it worked on and then to take us out to the airport so I could rent a car.  I asked them if they wanted to join us for a Ted Drewes, like we always do out of habit, but they begged off saying they needed to get back to Iowa. 

Cindy and I then went and had lunch at Arcelia's and we were getting ready to leave and go back to Iowa.  Cindy said, "Aren't we going to Ted Drewes?"  I wasn't all that hungry after a nice lunch at Arcelia's, but Ted Drewes did sound kinda good. 

There was already a steady stream of customers coming into the Ted Drewes stand on S. Grand around 2 p.m.  The stand and parking lot at the S. Grand location is about 50% smaller than the one on Chippewa.  And this one doesn't do the business the one on Chippewa does, that's for sure. 

Here's the menu board for Ted Drewes.  I get the same thing each time I go - the Lime Concrete.  Cindy is partial to the Hawaiian - pineapple, coconut, bananas and macadamia nuts.  I don't care for coconut or bananas so I'd probably starve to death if I was on a deserted island.  But she seems to really like it.  I've always wanted to try the Terra Mizzou - which is a take-off on the Italian tiramisu and inserting the nickname for the University of Missouri into the title.  It's an addition of some sort of secret coffee flavored chocolate and pistachios.  I'm going to try it someday, but I just love the Lime Concretes. 

We both got smalls and our orders were up in less than three minutes.  It took us about 10 minutes to eat them, they're that good.  I almost ordered a second one, but decided against it.  We contemplated grabbing a couple for Scott and Marcia and putting them on ice to take back home to them, but it would have meant running to find a cooler somewhere and then packing them in ice to bring back.  And that wouldn't have been any guarantee they would have stayed fully hard by the time we got back home four hours later.  But we also determined that a Ted Drewes had to be eating in the parking lot at the stand where you got it.

Ted Drewes is tough to beat.  We have Whitey's here in the Quad Cities, but they only offer a couple of custard items.  The rich taste, the thick texture, the head-ache from eating it too fast makes Ted Drewes what it is.  It is a slice of heaven in the Midwest.

Don and Millie's - Omaha

In Omaha recently, I stopped in to have a burger at Don and Millie's in Southwest Omaha (see map).  There are five Don and Millie's locations in Omaha, one in Lincoln and one in Fremont, Nebraska.  They're very similar to the old King's Food Host that used to be around the Midwest in the 60's and 70's. 

Before Don and Millie's there was King's Food Host, and then there was Grandmother's.  King's was started in 1955 in Lincoln by Jim King and Larry Price.  They were famous for this thing called the Cheese Frenchee - a grilled cheese sandwich dipped in eggs and covered with corn flakes.  I never cared for them growing up, but some people still crave those things.  I have the recipe for them here that was given to me by my buddy, Dave Haack, whose grandmother involved in a couple of King's Food Hosts.

I did like the burgers at King's, though.  They had kind of a peppery taste to them.  It was very unique to me considering most of the burgers I'd had in my life to that point were pretty bland. 

Another interesting touch at King's Food Host was that each table had a phone that you'd order from.  The wait staff would only bring out the food and drinks.  You had a menu on the wall above the phone and you called your orders into the switchboard back in the kitchen.  Now, that was really cool back in the mid-60's. 

In the 60's, Dean Rasmussen started Grandmother's in Omaha, which was sort of an upscale King's Food Host.  In 1973, along with his brother-in-law Bob Kerrey (yes, THAT Bob Kerrey), they opened their first Don and Millie's.  The menu was similar to King's with typical burgers and shakes. 

As King's began to fade on the landscape across the Midwest, Don and Millie's eventually added new restaurants in eastern Nebraska.  The last King's Food Host was on Cornhusker Highway in Lincoln.  I don't know if it's still there or not.  I'll have to check one of these days. 

Kerrey eventually left the day-to-day operation of Don and Millie's to run for governor of Nebraska.  He won and eventually became an influential senator from Nebraska for 12 years before retiring in 2001.  Kerrey is now the president of The New School, a long time progressive college in New York City.

I stopped in for a quick burger and a drink at Millie's before I was heading out of town to go to Lincoln.  It was about 1:30 in the afternoon and the lunch crowd was dwindling down.  I placed my order at the counter and waited for my burger to come up.  About five to seven minutes later, they call my number and I grabbed my order and grabbed a booth. 

It had been a while since I'd been in a Don and Millie's and I sort of wondered why with the first bite of the burger.  Oh, it was fresh, cooked perfectly, and had a great taste to it.  It reminded me of the old King's burgers with the peppery aftertaste to it.  (Runza burgers are very similar.)  It didn't take me long to devour the burger and head out the door to my next appointment. 

Don and Millie's are also famous for their tenderloins.  But I like the burgers more.  I don't get out to Omaha as much as I used to, but Don and Millie's was always a favorite stop to get a quick and good burger.  I still won't get a Cheese Frenchee, however.

Garrett Popcorn

Damn you, Marcia Schroeder...

Achilles had his heel, Superman had Kryptonite, I have Garrett Popcorn.  Or I should say, Garrett CaramelCrisp.

Had it not been for Marcia Schroeder introducing me to Garrett CaramelCrisp, I would have never found my weakness in life. 

Garrett Popcorn is - as it says in their logo - a Chicago institution. Since 1949, Garrett Popcorn has been making their outstanding  popcorn, cheese popcorn and caramel corn for hundreds of thousands of people.  To show how popular they are, they have five locations within 1.5 square miles in downtown Chicago.  Their sixth location is in the heart of Manhattan near Madison Square Garden.

I was first exposed to Garrett Popcorn when we were in Chicago last year with Scott and Marcia Schroeder.  While Scott and I were watching Iowa basketball at the ESPN Zone, Cindy and Marcia were out wandering around.  They were walking past a Garrett Popcorn store and Marcia said they really needed to stop in.  Cindy got a bag of the CaramelCrisp and brought it back with her. 

After my first bite, my world stopped.  All relationship to time ended.  The taste of the CaramelCrisp popcorn was nothing like I had before.  I ate it in a frenzy.  I had absolutely no shame as I was gulping down handfuls as fast as I could get it out of the bag.  It was amazing stuff.

Damn you, Marcia Schroeder.

Cindy and I were out walking around downtown Chicago last Saturday and I thought, "Hey!  We need to stop at Garrett's and get some CaramelCrisp."  We found the Garrett Popcorn on E. Madison St. and went in.  Well, we tried to get in, but the place was so packed the line snaked around that you couldn't tell where it started and where it ended. 

We finally got in and had a chance to take a look at all the different types of popcorn they sell while waiting in line.  They also had a number of decorative tins to store the popcorn, such as the Chicago Bears tin on the right.  Cindy wanted to know if I was going to get a tin and I said, "I don't think I want THAT much popcorn."

One of the more popular items they have at Garrett's is the Chicago Mix - half of their cheese flavored popcorn and half CaramelCrisp.  In fact, Oprah Winfrey called Garrett's Chicago Mix (above) one of her favorite things in life on her show one time last year and she created an explosion in business for the family owned company during the Christmas season. 

Scott Schroeder, the executive vice-president and chief financial officer for Garrett Popcorn (and who, ironically, has the same name as the husband of the evil Marcia Schroeder) said that Winfrey's free testimonial was a double edged sword.  Business went up 100% in December of last year, but they had to adjust their production schedule from 8 hours a day to a 24 hour schedule. 

We ended up getting some CaramelCrisp and Cindy wanted a small bag of CaramelCrisp with Macadamia nuts.  We took it back to the room with us and throughout the later part of the afternoon I just sort of snacked on the CaramelCrisp.  But I ate so much of it that I think that was what upset my stomach before we had dinner that night.

It was all Marcia Schroeder's fault.  Damn you, Marcia Schroeder.

Had it not been for Marcia Schroeder, I would have peace in my life.  I'd never have a constant yearning for Garrett CaramelCrisp.  I would still have my dignity without the temptation of Garrett CaramelCrisp.  I curse her name with each handful of that powerful and mind-numbing concoction.

I knew I had to do something to get back at her for exposing my greatest weakness in life.  She had to be stopped.  No longer could she use her powers to coerce people into enjoying Garrett Popcorn.

So I bought a large bag of the CaramelCrisp to take home to her...    

Portillo's

"I'll take an Italian beef, both kinds of peppers, mozzarella and dipped; and I'll take a hot dog, everything." 

That's my order, word for word each time I stop at Portillo's with tons of locations all over the Chicagoland region.  Each time I go into Chicago I have to make one stop at Portillo's.  There's a lot of great hot dog places and Italian beef restaurants, but - in my opinion - none of them do both as good as Portillo's.

Portillo's started in 1963 when 30 year old Dick Portillo (left) set up his "Dog House" - a trailer that didn't have heat, a bathroom or running water.  Portillo set up his trailer on a street corner in Villa Park and worked there part time while holding down a full time job. 

Four years later, the success of the Dog House (right) was so good that he abandoned the trailer (and his full time job) and opened a free standing restaurant at the same corner (see map) and renamed it "Portillo's".  There are now 31 Portillo's in the Chicago area, with two more coming in early 2007.  And there's one in the Los Angeles area in suburban Buena Park (see map).   

Portillo's are famous for their hot dogs first and their Italian beef sandwiches second.  But they also sell charbroiled burgers (of which I've yet to try, but want to at some point), grilled chicken sandwiches and sausage sandwiches.  Click here to see their full menu.

The Italian beef is sliced thin, then placed in the "gravy" - which is basically au jus sauce seasoned with Italian spices.  Keeping the beef in the warm au jus helps make it even more tender.  They place the Italian beef on a six inch cut piece of Italian bread and then you go from there. 

I have mine topped with a slice of mozzarella cheese; and both cooked sweet peppers and giardiniera - the concoction of hot peppers and vegetables that make Chicago style Italian sandwiches what they are.  And for good measure, I have the sandwich dipped in the au jus which makes it messy, but adds great flavor to the sandwich.

The hot dogs are all beef Vienna brand weiners.  They are typical Chicago style dogs - hot dogs on a poppy seed bun, topped with chopped onions, yellow mustard, sweet pickle relish, tomato wedges, sport peppers and a pickle spear.  I don't know if they're better than any other Chicago style hot dog I've ever had, but they certainly don't suck.

And combined - the Portillo's Italian beef sandwich and the Portillo's hot dog are a good way to sample two staples of the culinary history of Chicago.

The Portillo restaurants each have a theme that depicts the early to mid 20th century history of Chicago.  They have a 20's "Prohibition" theme, a 30's theme, a 50's theme (right) and a 60's theme.  The original location in Villa Park has a "nostalgia" theme to it.  There's authentic memorabilia from those time periods throughout the restaurants and each restaurant will play music of that specific period.  Some of the collections are actually pretty interesting.

Portillo's also offers party-packs of food.  Their "beef pack meal" consists of 2 1/2 pounds of Portillo's beef, along with cole slaw, potato salad, bread and both hot and sweet peppers.  It's actually a pretty good deal at a shade under $45 bucks. 

Within 9 of the Portillos locations is a separate restaurant - Barnelli's Pasta Bowl.  Barnelli's menu is wide ranging, serving pasta, salads, sandwiches and even ribs.   It's kind of a neat concept, actually.  If one person in the family wants pasta and the others want burgers or beef sandwiches, you can satisfy the tastes of everyone in the family. 

But I've never ventured over to the Barnelli's side of the place because it's really nothing more than fast food Italian style.  And I stay away from food like that like the plague.

Portillo's Restaurant Group also has two other restaurants - Key Wester, a seafood, Cuban/Caribbean, Italian themed restaurant in suburban Naperville (see map); and Luigi's House, an Italian restaurant down the road from the Key Wester in Aurora (see map).  I haven't tried either one.  Actually, they look like the kind of place that would bring in tourists.  And with a number of malls and shopping areas nearby, I'm sure tourists and shoppers are exactly what they cater to.   

I've been asked by a few people over the year the best place to try a Chicago style hot dog and Chicago style Italian beef.  I tell people to go to Portillo's and kill two birds with one stone.  It's one of my all-time guilty pleasures. 

(Note - The Urbanspoon link below is for the Downers Grove Portillo's location.  However, I've eaten at the majority of Chicagoland Portillo's locations and they are all consistently outstanding with both their Italian Beef sandwiches and their hot dogs.)

Christopher Elbow Chocolates - Kansas City

One night, Cindy and I were talking with our backyard neighbor, Barb Fensterbusch, and she was telling us about a relative of hers by the name of Christopher Elbow who makes exotic, high-end chocolates in Kansas City.  Since we'd just been in Kansas City earlier in the summer, Cindy remarked that she would have loved to have gone there to check his place out. 

Christopher Elbow (left) graduated from the University of Nebraska in 1996 with a degree is Restaurant and Business Administration.  He went home to Kansas City and ran Shiraz restaurant for three years.  In 1999, he went to Las Vegas to work for Emeril Lagasse in the new Delmonico Steakhouse in the Venetian.  Not long after that, he ended up helping acclaimed chef Jean Joho open the posh Eiffel Tower restaurant in the Paris Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

Elbow eventually moved back to Kansas City and found himself at the American Restaurant, a world class restaurant in the Crown Center shopping plaza.  Elbow was the pastry chef and he soon found that he had a flair for making "artisanal chocolates", small chocolate treats filled with fruits or liqueurs.  In fact, he got so good at it, he struck out on his own and opened Christopher Elbow Artisanal Chocolates a couple years ago.

When I was in Kansas City recently, I had just finished meeting with a dealer account of mine in the downtown area.  Remembering that Elbow Chocolates were not far from my dealer, I decided to go down and get a box to take back to Barb. 

Except, I had trouble finding the place.  The address showed that it was on Southwest Blvd. (see map), but where the business should have been was a Mitchell Gold contemporary furniture store.  Finally, I saw a small sign for Christopher Elbow Chocolates above one of the doors of the furniture store. 

I went into the store and looked around.  It didn't look like a place that would sell chocolates, but then looking toward the back of the store, there was a confectionery case and what appeared to be a kitchen directly behind that.  Sure enough, I'd found Christopher Elbow Chocolates.

A young girl came out and asked if she could help me.  They had an assortment of pre-packed chocolates in the case - the smallest was a nine piece assortment in a nice box with a bow on it.  I knew that if I brought a box home for Barb, Cindy would be complaining that I didn't bring any home for her. 

I told the girl that I wanted two boxes and she said, "OK, those are $18.00 each."  I about jumped, but thought better of it.  They also had a number of single chocolates in the case and I asked, "How much are they individually?"

She said, "$2.75 each."  I told her I'd just take the two boxes of nine. 

As she was ringing me up, I asked her if one of the three workers I could see working in the back was Christopher Elbow.  She said, "No, I'm sorry but Christopher's out of town for a couple days."  Oh well.  No biggie. 

Now, I'm not big on chocolate and I'm not very big on filled chocolates, but the boxes I brought home were rather intriguing.  The flavors ranged from a Strawberry Balsamic, to a Pear Cinnamon caramel, to a Venezuelan Spice, to a Passion Fruit.  I told Cindy that I wanted to pick three and she could have the rest. 

She looked at the box of chocolates (which come with a little "road map" to tell what they are) and she said, "Geez, they're almost too pretty to eat!" 

The first one that I took was the Grand Marnier filled chocolate.  I'm a sucker for Grand Marnier in chocolate.  It was very flavorful - probably the best one of that type I'd ever had.

The second one I picked was the Rosemary Caramel.  I fully expected it to be chewy, but my teeth went right through it to the filling and only after I got past the taste of the chocolate and the hint of rosemary did I get to the chewiness of the caramel. 

And the last one I picked was the Vietnamese Cinnamon.  Vietnam supposedly has some of the most strong and pungent cinnamon in the world and this was no exception.  The cinnamon taste didn't overpower the chocolate, it complemented the chocolate.  And the taste lingered for minutes in my mouth.  Wow!   

I took a box up to Barb and she was overly appreciative.  It was the least I could do since she lets us swim in her pool each summer. 

She said that Christopher Elbow's mother was just there to see her a couple weeks prior and she said that his business is growing so fast that he's moving to a bigger facility in Kansas City.  She said, "His mother told me that he's on track to make 50,000 pieces of chocolate this year and he's outgrown that place he's in now." 

Christopher Elbow chocolates are available on his web site, and they're all available at Hall's department store in Kansas City, as well as a growing list of high-end confectionery stores across the nation.  They may be expensive, but they're worth it.   

Missouri Baking Company - St. Louis

One of my largest guilty pleasures in life is the Missouri Baking Company located on The Hill in St. Louis (see map).  Since 1923, the Missouri Baking Company has been making some of the finest Italian baked goods this side of Italy.

Missouri Baking Company was founded by three brothers, the Gambaro's - Stephano, Luigi and Giuseppe.  Stephano's sons, Pasquale (Lino) and Ben, and a daughter, JoAnn, worked at the bakery while they were young and eventually took over the business. 

Today, Lino (above) and Ben - ages 91 and 87 - still stick around the business and help. Ben's children, Chris and Mimi, run the day-to-day operations.  Ben's wife, who is 85, works at the front counter with her daughter while Chris is the head baker. 

The Missouri Baking Company is like any little bakery that you'd find in any Midwestern city.  The only exception is that you won't find a donut or any thing deep oil fried any where in the place. They have that great smell when you walk in.  Situated in their display cases are cookies, rolls, desserts and pastries that look just scrumptious. 

It's always busy at Missouri Baking Company so I took my number and looked over the offerings in the case.  To my horror, they had no tiramisu - the best tiramisu that I've ever eaten.  That was the main reason I was in there.  Well, that and to get a loaf of their great Italian bread. 

When the lady called my number, I went up to the counter and said, "Please don't tell me that you don't have any tiramisu."

She got this pained look on her face and said, "I just sold the last two pieces a little while ago."

I know I immediately got this pained look on my face and I said, "Oh boy...  And I wanted to take some back to Iowa."

She said, "Hang on a second.  Let me go check in the back." 

She left for a moment and then came back.  She said, "I had to ask very nicely, but he just got some tiramisu out and he said that he'd cut you come pieces." 

I thanked her profusely for doing that and she said, "Aw, I just know how to talk to him."  It turned out that I was talking to Mimi Lordo, one of the co-owners; and she was cajoling her brother, Chris Gambaro, the other co-owner. 

I told her that I stop at Missouri Baking Company nearly every time that I come to St. Louis for their outstanding tiramisu.  She said, "How do you transport the tiramisu?" 

I told her that I usually drive and I keep a cooler with ice in the trunk to make sure the tiramisu doesn't melt on the way home.  She was mightily impressed.  I said, "Your tiramisu is the best I've ever had.  That includes other bakeries and great Italian restaurants that I've eaten in over the years.  That's why I bring a cooler with me when I come to St. Louis."

Mimi gave me a quick little family history of the Missouri Baking Company.  She pointed out her father and uncle standing in the back - wearing their pointed little baker hats and white aprons.  She then introduced me to her mother who was working the front counter.  Remember these people are all in their mid-80's to early 90's. 

(Picture courtesy Yelp.com)

I've always loved the Missouri Baking Company, not only because their desserts, pastries and cookies are so sinfully good; but because the place is so old world in it's feel.  And now meeting some of the family who run the place makes me feel like I'm a neighborhood guy from The Hill.   

When I brought the tiramisu home that evening, I got cussed by my wife who is trying to lose the weight.  But she still ate the tiramisu... 

Sonic Drive - In

I eat a lot of crap on the road.  Not necessarily bad food, but "bad for you" food.  I try to minimize the intake of bad food, but sometimes I find myself with a short amount of time between appointments and I have to get something in me, and quick.  And one of the places I seem to find when I'm traveling in Missouri and Kansas is a Sonic Drive-In. 

The first Sonic restaurant was opened in 1953 in Shawnee, Oklahoma by Troy Smith.  Actually, it wasn't called Sonic until 1959 - it was first known as the Top Hat Drive-In.  The Top Hat had a unique service where the people would stay in their cars and order their food off of a billboard menu via a car-side two way radio.  Then car hops would bring the food to the car.

There are now over 3,000 Sonic Drive-In's today.  And even though they tout themselves as being "America's Drive-In", they are only in 30 states, primarily in the south and western part of the U.S.    

I was first introduced to Sonic when I was working for a company out of suburban St. Louis.  One of the office guys, Steve Gollaher, who was a strapping and big 6'4", 225 lb. Missouri farm kid, went to Sonic for lunch one day and brought back his food.  Man, it smelled good (but, of course, at that point in time of day, even a shit sandwich would have smelled good to me).  But what he brought back about made me choke.  It wasn't how bad the food was - it was HOW MUCH food he brought back.  Just for himself. 

A "Super Sonic" Cheeseburger

He had a Super Sonic cheeseburger, basically two quarter pound patties with lettuce, tomato, pickle, onion and mustard on it; a foot-long chili dog (Sonic calls 'em "coneys"); a large order of french fries, and a 44 oz Dr. Pepper (their 44 ounce drinks are called "Route 44's").  And I watched in absolute amazement as he sat there and ate the whole thing before polishing off the last of the Doctor Pepper. 

I told him, "Jethro (that was my nickname for him because he could eat like Jethro Bodine on the Beverly Hillbillies), next time I come here and we do lunch, I'll buy the food if you go and get the same thing for both of us." 

And the next time I came back about three months later, I walked in the door one morning and he said, "We doin' Sonic today, boss?"  Abso-friggin'-lutely, Jethro. 

And he went and got the same thing - except I took a Coke instead of a Dr. Pepper.  Now, I can eat a lot but I was severely humbled that day. 

I got the burger down. I got the chili dog down.  There was no way that I was going to be able to even get CLOSE to begin on the fries.  So Steve ended up eating his large order of fries and MINE, too - in addition to everything ELSE he ate!  The guy was a true machine.

My normal guilty pleasure at Sonic is a Super Sonic Cheeseburger.  I always tip the car hops an extra buck when they bring the food out.  The burgers are very good for fast food.  They do remind me of a Whataburger or an In-'N-Out Burger.  The buns are toasted, the toppings are fresh.  The burger is hot and juicy. 

If I'm on the go and I need to eat, and there's a choice of Wendy's or Sonic, I'll always pull into a Sonic.  They're tough to beat. 

In 'N Out Burger

Here's another west coast burger chain that I get sucked into every time I go out west for business - In 'N Out Burger. 

Started in 1948 by Harry and Esther Snyder, the original In 'N Out Burger location was nothing more than a small building in Baldwin Park, CA.  Harry recognized the need for a drive in restaurant where instead of having car hops bringing the food to you, you drove to the food, so to speak.  It was the first "drive-thru" hamburger stand in California. 

Harry's sons, Rich and Guy, started in the business when they were young.  When Harry died in 1976, Rich became the CEO of In 'N Out Burger.  Rich took the chain from 18 stores to over 90 locations before he died in a plane accident in 1993.  Guy took over and the chain grew to nearly 150 locations by the time he died in 1999. 

Today, Esther Snyder is still the President of In 'N Out Burger, but a major lawsuit has erupted between an In 'N Out vice-president and board member, Richard Boyd, and Esther Snyder's only grandchild, Lynsi Martinez, and some others on the board at In 'N Out.  The lawsuit alleges that Martinez and others are trying to force out Boyd so they can expand.  Boyd wants to keep the number of In 'N Out Burger locations to a minimum to keep the quality high.  It's a mess and it's not good press for In 'N Out Burger. 

The staple of In 'N Out Burger is the famous "Double Double" - a double cheese burger with lettuce, tomato, their special spread and onions.  Killer.  Just killer.  They're cooked on a flat grill and they're always juicy and tasty. 

A colleague of mine told me to get one "Animal Style" - a burger cooked in mustard, with extra sauce, tomato, lettuce, pickles and onions.  It was outstanding, as well. 

There are over 200 In 'N Out locations in California, Arizona and Nevada.  I'm glad there aren't any around here or I'd be eating at them all the time. 

God, I love In 'N Out Burger. 

Fatburger

For over 50 years, Fatburger has been making some of the best burgers in Southern California.  Starting out as a small stand in Los Angeles in 1952, Fatburger has now grown to over 80 restaurants on the west coast, and now on the east coast of the U.S., as well.  They also have locations coming in Texas, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan and a number of other places. 

Fatburger is what it is - a fat burger.  It's big and juicy, cooked to order.  Never made in advance and stuck in a bin.  I've got to get one everytime I go to L.A. 

The other thing that is good about Fatburger are their onion rings.  They cut the onions fresh at each restaurant.  I usually don't go for onion rings at burger joints like this, but I do like their onion rings.

I see that Fatburger is planning on opening in Chicago sometime in 2006.  I'll have to severely limit my visits or I'll be as fat as the burger is. 

Whataburger

Whataburger is a chain of hamburger joints situated primarily through the southern tier of states from Arizona to Florida. 

I first encountered Whataburger on my first visit to Phoenix in 1987.  I thought, "Man, they don't have any thing THIS good in Iowa!" 

So every time I go to Arizona, Texas or Florida, I have to find a Whataburger and get a double meat with cheese.  The burgers at Whataburger are juicy, hot, and delicious. I just can't tell you how good they can really be.

I'm glad that Whataburger isn't any where close to Iowa or the Midwest because I know I'd balloon to over 300 lbs. if there were.  I like 'em that much. 

Runza

One of the biggest guilty pleasures I have is when I go to Nebraska. I have to stop and get a burger from Runza.

Actually, Runza is named after an old German recipe for a psuedo sandwich that is stuffed with beef and cabbage, and is then baked with the shell around it. The picture makes it look much better than it really is. It's not a pleasing taste to me, but with over 60 restaurants - primarily in Nebraska, but there are some in Iowa, South Dakota, Kansas and Colorado - more than a few people must like 'em.

But the best thing about Runza are their burgers. Big, thick and juicy, Runza burgers are about as close to the old King's Food Host burgers that used to be around the Midwest in the 60's thru 80's. There's kind of a black pepper taste to 'em and they taste great for a fast food burger. In fact, the picture at the left is a good representation of how their burgers look when they take them off the grill, unlike many other fast food places whose hamburgers come no where close in real life as to how they look in their ads.

Probably one of the reasons Runza and King's burgers taste so much alike is that both started in Lincoln, NE. Runza started in the late 40's as a little stand in SE Lincoln. As they grew, they branched out all over Nebraska, which has a large German heritage population. When I first moved to the Quad Cities in 1991, they had a Runza in Southpark Mall in Moline. But it didn't last long - I'm sure not a lot of people around here were brought up on the old German recipes and didn't like the Runza. But their burgers were sure good, but they couldn't survive on the burgers alone.

The Runza burger is one of the best fast food burgers out there, hands down. I don't get to Omaha as much as I used to, but it always means one stop at Runza when I'm there. I'm sorry, I'm guilty, but it's damn well worth it.

White Castle

I really do try to limit the intake of crappy food when I'm on the road, but I have to tell you, sometimes the taste sensations are so good and so tempting that the steering wheel of my car just takes right turns when it should be going straight.

One of my guilty pleasures is none other than White Castle.  I get the crave from time to time when I'm in Chicago, St. Louis or Indianapolis.  They have these Jalapeno cheeseburgers and I just love 'em. They're spicy and just addictive.

Except - they don't love me.  I get a somewhat upset stomach after eating them and I feel like crap for a couple hours after I eat there.  But something keeps me going back from time to time - not as much as I used to - but I'll still pull in and order a couple just to satisfy the crave. 

I'm glad we don't have one here in the Quad Cities.

Whitey's Ice Cream

Started in 1935, Whitey's Ice Cream is a guilty pleasure of many people here in the Quad Cities and over in Iowa City/Coralville for a number of years.  They're just too damn convenient as they have locations all over the place here in the Quad's. 

Whitey's is so popular that there isn't a Baskin-Robbins in the Quad Cities.  About the only thing that rivals it's popularity is Dairy Queen and it's just not the same as Whitey's.

Whitey's has a Lemon Custard that they have only during the spring and summer months that is to die for.  It is the most scrumptious ice cream in the world.  And in the fall, they do a Pumpkin ice cream that is very, very good, too. 

When anyone comes to visit from out of town, the big thing is to take 'em to Whitey's.  But, seriously, I had to really limit my Whitey's intake this last summer.  I was there way too much the year before.

But there's really nothing better on a hot summer's night than a cool treat from Whitey's...