Road Tips

Short's Burger and Shine - Iowa City

I've had a number of people who have been bugging me about getting over to Short's Burger and Shine in Iowa City, a burger joint just across from the University of Iowa quadrangle (and the Old Capitol). (see map)  I had some time off around Christmas and met my old friend, Jim Kellogg, there for lunch.  I was really looking forward to trying one of the Short's burgers out because so many people had spoken so highly of the place.  

Short's Burger and Shine has been open since 2008 in a building that used to house Short's Shoe Shine - a business that was a fixture in downtown Iowa City for about 50 years before closing in the early 70's.  Three partners - Kevin Perez, who opened the One Twenty Six bistro in Iowa City with his brother in 1999, and who also owns Mama Deli's and Catering in Iowa City; Dan Ouverson who helped resurrect the venerable Mill Restaurant along with his brother-in-law; and Iowa City native and Miami Dolphins placekicker, Nate Kaeding - own Short's Burger and Shine.  In 2010, the trio, along with Perez's wife, Lisa, opened Stella, an American-style cafe near Kinnick Stadium in what was the old Melrose Market.   

Even though it was the Christmas break at the U of Iowa, I found Short's to be packed when I walked in just after 1 p.m.  I found Jim, who is the Director of Student Health at the University of Iowa, sitting at a table near the front.  The building is long and very narrow.  Booths line the walls on the north side of the building back to the bar area, with three-seater tables along the opposite brick wall.  Lattice covers the ceiling and above the brick walls on both sides.  When the place is packed - like it normally is during lunch - it's a little tight in Short's.  

The bar area is situated about halfway back in the building.  Ornate lattice arches hang above the bar with a number of bottles on shelves hung on the brick wall.  If I was in there by myself, I'd probably sit at the bar as it was pretty nice.  

Jim knows his burgers - he was the one who turned me on to the very good Green Gables, one of my Top Ten burgers places.  (Click here to see my entry on Green Gables.)  A food menu was on the table waiting for me and I took a look at the beer menu to figure out what to get to drink.   Short's features a number of Iowa micro-brews on tap and I decided upon the Peace Tree Red Rambler out of Knoxville.  

The burgers at Short's are made with locally-sourced corn-fed Black Angus beef.  They get their beef from a farm near Columbus Junction and the meat is processed at a butcher shop in nearby Riverside.  Their produce they buy from local farmers markets and growers.  The buns for the burgers at Short's are all made fresh daily at a local Iowa City bakery.

They have about 20 burgers on the menu - many of them named after small towns across the state of Iowa.  I grew up near Baxter in Central Iowa, and the "Baxter" burger consists of blackened burger topped with bacon, provolone cheese and a chipotle mayo sauce.  The "Larchwood" burger, named after a small town in extreme Northwest Iowa, features grilled onions, peppers and mushrooms, with Swiss cheese and a red pepper mayo sauce.  Some of the towns we had to look up on my smartphone.  Eldorado, IA is a small unincorporated town just north of West Union and its namesake burger at Short's had a Mexican theme - a burger topped with pepper jack cheese, then garnished with guacamole, salsa and sour cream.  The "Arion" burger, named after a small town I passed many times on Highway 30 on my way from Omaha to Carroll a number of years ago but I certainly don't remember, had a Greek slant to it with a burger topped with feta cheese, cucumber, tomatoes and tzatziki sauce.  

For the health conscious, Short's also has a dozen different variations of chicken sandwiches - all named after Iowa counties; and vegetarian black bean burgers named after various towns with "Junction" in their name.  I sort of liked the nod Short's gave to the rural areas of state on their menu.   

It just so happened that Jim had eaten at Short's recently and had tried the "Colo" - American and Swiss cheeses with grilled onions that was placed on marble rye bread.  This time he ordered the "Essex" burger - a burger patty topped with brie cheese, then finished with grilled peppers and mushrooms with the roasted red pepper mayo.  He got his without the bun and the red pepper may on the side. Fries come with each burger order.

Although the "Baxter" burger sounded pretty good, I found the "Dundee" burger.  It featured a slice of American cheese on the burger, then topped with garlic aioli, sauteed mushrooms and a fried egg.  I said to Jim, "I don't know if I've ever heard of Dundee, Iowa."  

He laughed.  "Dundee is about 8 miles south of Strawberry Point," he said.  Jim should know - he grew up in Strawberry Point.  "It's on the south end of Backbone State Park."   I ended up ordering a "Dundee" with fries.   

Our server brought out burgers out to us a number of minutes later.  Jim's "Essex" burger (below left) was piled high with a mixture of brie, green peppers and mushrooms sitting on shredded lettuce, pickles and a tomato slice.  He told me that one of the reasons he likes the roasted red pepper sauce on the side so he can dip his French fries in it.

 

My "Dundee" burger (above right and at right) was a majestic looking burger with a thick beef patty sitting on veggies, with the ingredients oozing off the top of the burger.  The bun crown had a thick peak in the middle with a crunchy outer shell.  The burger looks damn good, doesn't it?

I had to cut the burger in half just to be able to handle it.  From the first bite, I knew there was a lot of busy tastes in my mouth.  The crisp bacon was very good.  The fried egg - over hard - was superb with the burger, as well.  I could hardly taste the mushrooms with everything else going on, but I did pull one off and eat it plain.  It, too, was very good.  I'm not certain I liked the burger with the tomato and the lettuce - they don't seem to go well with an egg and bacon.  And even though the mushrooms were a stretch with the egg and bacon, it still seemed to work.

The only problem was the burger.  They severely over-cooked it.  Looking back, when I placed my order the server didn't ask how I'd like mine cooked.  I usually get my burgers medium when asked.  But she never asked.  There was no juiciness to the burger as it was pretty lean to begin with.  I know some people like their burgers well-done, but this would have probably been too cooked for those people as well.  What I could taste of the burger meat was all right, but I was very disappointed that it was cooked as badly as it was.  The life was cooked out of what could have been a superb burger.  

Not to be deterred, I went back to Short's for another burger not long ago.  This time - sitting at the bar - I had a "Tingley" burger (named for a small town near the Missouri border in Southwest Iowa).  It was topped with green chiles, guacamole, pepper jack cheese and chipotle mayo.  I asked the server to put the guacamole on the side and have the cook pull it off about three minutes sooner than he normally would. He said, "Do you want it medium rare?"  Knowing how overcooked the first burger I got at Short's was, I thought their idea of medium rare would be a little pink in the middle.  

Not so.  This was all pink in the middle.  I couldn't tell them to send it back because the pepper jack cheese was melted over the top, so I just ate it as is.  Because the beef is so lean, there was still a lack of juiciness to the burger patty. The burger, as presented, looked great.  The green chiles were more of a sauce than roasted chiles like I thought they may be, but that was fine.  I need to have them deep-six the lettuce and tomato the next time I get a burger.  My stomach was a little upset for a time after eating the burger because it was so undercooked, but I felt better toward the evening.  I will say the taste was much better than the burger I had on my first visit.  I guess I need to specify medium on the next visit.  The "Baxter" will be the next one I get when I make my next visit to Short's.  

I understand there's now a Short's Burger and Shine on the east side of Iowa City.  That could take some of the pressure off the downtown Short's.  

After two visits, I'm somewhat mixed about Short's Burger and Shine.  The first burger was severely overcooked.  The second burger was undercooked.  Maybe I went in with too high of expectations on my visits.  On my next trip, I'm getting the "Baxter" and making sure to order it "medium".  And without the shredded lettuce and tomato slices.  I know they're trying and have quality beef and toppings for their burgers.  But I haven't been entirely impressed with the taste of the burgers on my visits.  I'm going to give them another shot and hopefully I'll get over the psychological hump that I'm having with Short's.      

George's Buffet - Iowa City

George's is one of those places that just seems to been there since the advent of time.  The official name of the place is called "George's Buffet", but there's no buffet in the place.  It's an old time bar on Market Street in Iowa City (see map) that caters more to the locals and a more bohemian clientele who have enjoyed George's burgers for a number of years.  Not long ago, I met up with a couple buddies there - Al Kern and Dave Arnold - to have a few brews, a burger and to catch up on some good conversation.

I went to the University of Iowa from 1980 to 1985.  I worked with Dave at an old audio store that is now out of business and he was the one who turned me on to George's.  It proudly wears the "dive bar" tag with distinction, one that is worthy of a place that has been in existence since 1939.  Although there are other bars in the area, George's has been the favorite of a number of people in the northern Iowa City neighborhood around Mercy Hospital for years and years.  It is an Iowa City icon, very much like its neighbor, John's Grocery, just down the block on Market Street.  

How George's got the name "George's Buffet" has brought about much conjecture from people who have visited the place for years.  My theory is somewhat historical - a number of places that served booze, but not food, after Prohibition called themselves "buffets" to soften the still smoldering sentiment of some of the pro-non-drinking public in the years after the 18th Amendment was repealed.  The original owner, who was probably named "George", more than likely followed this path by selling just beer at George's.  (Liquor by the drink was not available in taverns in Iowa until July of 1963.  You could bring in your own bottle and buy "set ups" - mixers for the booze you had the bartender pour from your own bottle.  But beer was the only thing that you could buy over the bar from a tavern from 1933 until 30 years later in Iowa.) 

Those involved with the temperance movement even after the repeal of Prohibition would still look down their noses at places that just sold beer.  But the notion of a place that sold beer AND food somewhat softened their sentiment against such places.  God knows that these people would never darken the door of a place that sold food WITH beer, so it's a good bet that many of these "tea-totalers" never knew that George's didn't have a buffet at all, let alone the fact that they didn't sell food of any type.

Well, that was until the 60's when the then owner put in a little toaster oven and began to make cheeseburgers in it.  I'm guessing it had to be the 60's - or thereabout - because my brother-in-law used to tell me about going there for 75 cent cheeseburgers when he was dating my sister in college.  Located in a small back room off of the bar, the little toaster oven they use at George's can make, I believe, up to six or eight burgers at a time.  There's no grill - either a flat top or a flame grill - at George's.  The menu is pretty simple - burgers and chips.  

I met up with Dave and Al one afternoon and they were already enjoying a Bass pale ale and catching up on what had been going on with their lives.  I had a Bass along with them and ended up enjoying a couple beers before we ordered up our burgers.  We had caught the bartender on a slow afternoon and he was able to come up with three burgers for us in no time.  Or at least as long as it took to make three cheeseburgers in a toaster oven.   

 
The cheeseburger at George's is pretty basic.  It's a hand-patted burger sitting on a slice of American cheese with a sesame-seed bun slathered with ketchup, yellow mustard, pickles and onion.  The taste of the burger at George's reminds me very much of a burger from Dairy Queen.  And Dairy Queen makes very good burgers.  So I guess George's has that going for them.  The burgers aren't all that large at George's, so two burgers could easily be eaten if you came in with a hearty appetite.  It had been a long, long time since I had my last George's burger so it was a nice treat to have.  Along with the Bass pale ale and the great conversation with Dave and Al, it was a wonderful afternoon in my life. 

George's has a lot of history being that it has been a watering hole for over 70 years and for their basic burgers they've been slinging for probably close to 50 years.  While it's not fancy, George's Buffet has a character that is truly Iowa City.  It's laid back, it's bohemian, it's unique and, best of all, George's has been unspoiled by age or progression.  It's exactly the same today as it was when I first walked in there back in the early 80's to have a burger and beer, and listen to some great music on their jukebox.  George's is truly timeless and for an instant that one afternoon, I felt 25 years younger. 

Wig and Pen - Coralville, IA

One of my more favorite restaurants in the Iowa City area over the years has been the Wig and Pen on the Coralville strip (see map).  They feature good pizza and a baked pasta dish called 'Wigatoni' that is just outstanding.  On a recent trip home from being out for a couple days, I was passing by Iowa City around 7:30 p.m. and decided to stop in for dinner at the Wig and Pen. 

The Wig and Pen goes back to my days in college at the University of Iowa in the early to mid-80's when it was known as the Coaches Corner.  It was a popular place with a lot of the local people before and after Iowa Hawkeye sporting events.  I don't really remember ever getting food there when it was the Coaches Corner - it was more of a beer bar from what I remember.  But in the 90's, they changed the concept and renamed it the Wig and Pen Pub, styled after an English-style pub.  They remodeled both the inside and outside of the place, right down to the English-style phone booth by the front door. 

The Wig and Pen still is a place for the locals to meet up at anytime, but it's suddenly found favor with a lot of the college kids that go to Iowa.  On my visit, which was on a Thursday evening, I was expecting to see a number of older local guys sitting in the bar area after a round of golf.  I was overly surprised to see the bar and the tables in the bar area full of college-aged people enjoying Wig and Pen's deep dish pizzas, sandwiches and other good food. 

One of the waitresses took me to a booth just inside the dining room where she gave me a menu and took my beer order.  I generally refuse to sit at a table at the Wig and Pen as they use plastic chairs instead of "real" chairs in the dining area.  The dining room is sort of two rooms - one in the front with windows that look out onto the Coralville strip, the other in the back northeast side of the building.  There's dark paneling with a lot of English beer signs on the walls and a cozy feel to the place.  And they did a great job of re-building the Wig and Pen after the devastating floods of 2008.  The Wig and Pen is pictured in the background on the right hand side of this picture, behind the white building.  They had about seven feet of water through the building and it was shut down for about eight or nine months for clean-up and renovations.   

There's also some discussion amongst the locals as to whether the Wig and Pen is in Iowa City or in Coralville.  They have an Iowa City address, but they're just west of the corner of Hawkins Drive and Hwy 6 West, a.k.a. the Coralville Strip (or 2nd St., to Coralville residents).  I've been told the dividing line for the two cities goes right through the Wig and Pen's bar area.  The restrooms are rumored to be in Coralville while the rest of the place is in Iowa City.  Nonetheless, everyone seems to say the Wig and Pen is in Coralville.

There are two other Wig and Pen locations - one in Iowa City on the east side of town; the other one recently opened in Ankeny, a suburb of Des Moines.  God, I wish they would open one in the Quad Cities.  

I pretty much knew what I wanted before I even went into the Wig and Pen that evening - Wigatoni!  They take a combination of mostaccioli and rotini noodles and put them in a dish with your choice of mild or hot sausage and the Wig and Pen's homemade marinara sauce.  It's then topped with mozzarella cheese and put into an over and baked at a high temperature for about 15 to 20 minutes.  It's absolutely wonderful.  

But I was sort of tempted to get one of Wig and Pen's thin crust pizzas.  They're deep dish pizzas are very good, as well.  It's also tough to pass up Wig and Pen's homemade onion rings, too.  Their "guinea grinder" Italian sausage sandwich is very good (although the green peppers give me indigestion) and their baked reuben is also a very sandwich.  But, no, I came in for Wigatoni - I was getting Wigatoni.

Given that they were pretty busy that evening, it took a little longer for me to get my Wigatoni - well over twenty minutes after I ordered it.  But the wait was well worth it.  Wig and Pen's Wigatoni has ample amounts of mozzarella on top, the chunks of sausage are large and plentiful, and I love the sweet marinara sauce.   The cheese around the dish is caramelized and helps add to the overall flavor of the Wigatoni.  Put a little parmesan cheese and hot pepper sprinkles on the top and it's a meal for the ages.  About the only gripe I have about the Wigatoni is the amount of pasta noodles they use.  They use a lot!  I usually eat around the bulk of the pasta getting the chunks of sausage and the mozzarella while leaving a large portion of the pasta when I'm finished.  It's tough to eat a full serving of Wigatoni in one sitting. 

We've tried to make Wigatoni at home on a couple of occasions, but it never turns out as good as when you can get at Wig and Pen.  I don't know if it's the hot Italian sausage or the marinara sauce or what, but I don't think anything compares to Wigatoni at the Wig and Pen.  I continue to be amazed that for being less than 60 miles away, no one in the Quad Cities has tried to duplicate what a place like the Wig and Pen does for their pizza, pasta and sandwiches.  Then again, it's sort of tough to duplicate the real thing.  That's why I think the Wig and Pen would be an immediate hit in the Quad Cities. 

Mondo's - Coralville, IA

A shout out to my friend, Dirk Keller, who is an avid reader of "Road Tips", and who I ran into one day as I was taking one of my dealers to lunch at Mondo's in Coralville, IA.  Dirk was also taking a business client out to lunch there one day earlier this year just before my hip replacement surgery.  He asked me in the parking lot after we walked out if I was going to write about Mondo's on Road Tips.  I said, "Stay tuned, buddy!"  So here you go, Dirk!

Mondo's is owned by Jim Mondanaro (right) who runs a number of restaurants around the Iowa City and Cedar Rapids area.  Mondanaro also had restaurants in the Des Moines, Dallas and Phoenix areas at one time.  One of his restaurants, Micky's in downtown Iowa City (see map) was and still is one of my all-time favorite Iowa City haunts.  I think it has become too high priced for what they serve at Micky's, but the food is still good and the beer is very cold.

The restaurant, located on "the Strip" in Coralville (see map), sustained heavy damage during the Great Iowa Flood of 2008 and it wasn't certain that Mondanaro would reopen the location.  The restaurant sustained over $1 million dollars in damage to the building and its contents.  Mondanaro didn't have flood insurance for the restaurant.  The last I'd heard on the matter was that it was still up in the air as to whether or not he'd reopen.  But that was last fall.

Here's a picture of the flooding that occurred in Coralville along the strip during the summer of 2008.  Mondo's is toward the upper center of the picture.  This picture was taken not long after the Iowa River levee was breached sending tons of flood water throughout the Strip area.  Even today, almost a year after the flood occurred, there are still businesses that sit closed and will probably never reopen.

Officially, the former restaurant was known as Mondo's Tomato Pie.  When Mondanaro made the decision to reopen the restaurant, he wanted a fresh start.  He changed the decor to a more contemporary art deco look, put in a bunch of television sets, and called the place Mondo's Sports Cafe.  He more than doubled the original number of items he had on the Sports Cafe menu to include more of a Mediterranean flair.

Still, the locals refer to the restaurant as "Mondo's".  In fact, Jim Mondanaro said that he didn't want to call his place a "sports cafe", but it doesn't look anything but a sports bar when you walk into the place.  There are televisions turned to some sporting event throughout the restaurant.  Mondanaro kept some of the same touches that defined the old Mondo's, but with all the sports memorabilia dotting the walls - over 1,000 pieces, to be exact - it's definitely not the old Mondo's.

The new Mondo's opened toward the end of January and I happened to be over in Coralville meeting with Scott Cray from Hawkeye Audio toward the end of February.  I offered to take him out to lunch and he suggested to go down the street to the "new" Mondo's.  I said, "I didn't think Jim was going to reopen."

Scott said, "Well, he made up his mind last fall.  In fact, I put a bid in on his sound system and televisions.  I didn't get it.  I sort of want to go in there and see who did his work."

It turned out that a small custom installer must have done the work.  Scott said, "Oh, these are LG televisions and cheap in-ceiling speakers.  Any one of a number of guys who work out of their trunk could get this stuff from any number of distributors."  Scott said that Jim probably tried to stay on the cheap since all of the remodeling and rebuilding costs were coming out of his pocket.

The lunch time crowd was in full swing at Mondo's as we had about a five minute wait before we were seated.  We were led to a table in a separate dining area on the west side of the restaurant.   We got a menu and I took a look at what the new Mondo's had to offer.

Actually, they had a little bit of everything.  The new Mondo's had gourmet pizza, pasta, seafood, steaks and chicken.  They also had burgers, sandwiches and large salads with various toppings.  I remarked that if Mondanaro was trying to make his new restaurant different than the old Mondo's Tomato Pie, I didn't see many differences - only a number of new items added to the old menu.

One of the items on the menu was a Flank Steak salad - a large salad topped with flank steak.  Being on a diet, I went with that.  Scott ended up getting a salad, too - the Rotisserie Chicken salad.  That's a large salad topped with chunks of rotisserie chicken.  And I offered to bring burgers to the guys at the store, so we ordered a couple of the bacon cheeseburgers to go when we were ready to leave.

It wasn't much more than about 15 minutes before our food came to the table.  I have to say that while I've been on my diet, there hasn't been many exciting things to eat in regard to salads and what not.  But I have to give kudos to Mondo's for their Flank Steak salad.  The flank steak was grilled perfectly and wasn't over-cooked like you find some restaurants do with the thin flank steak.  The lettuce was fresh, as were the tomatoes and mushrooms.  And the parmesan peppercorn vinaigrette was just outstanding.  I didn't think something so healthy could taste so good.

Scott declared his Rotisserie Chicken salad to be equally as splendid.  The chicken was mixed in with organic greens, rice and vegetables and topped with a pesto vinaigrette.  Both of us were able to eat a good portion of our salads before the burgers "to-go" showed up at the table.  With that, we both declared we had enough and I got the check.  With the burgers, salads, an ice tea for Scott and a tip, the bill came to just under $50 bucks.  Sort of high-priced, but I've come to expect that with Jim Mondanaro's restaurants.

Still, the food at the new Mondo's is varied and what I had was pretty good.  I'm sure the main entrees, sandwiches and other items are just as good.  Jim's had both a solid and shaky reputation around Iowa City over the years.  I have to say that the new Mondo's helps solidify Jim's reputation.  It's good to see people come back from somewhat insurmountable odds.

Augusta - Oxford, IA

The state of Iowa is nationally known for having some of the best breaded pork tenderloin sandwiches on the face of the earth.  Now, I have to say that I'm not a big fan of these type of pork sandwiches.  But on the recommendation of my local, yet long distance friend, Burt Gearhart, he told me that I had to try one at Augusta in Oxford, IA. 

Oxford is a small town west of Iowa City, southwest of Cedar Rapids and just to the east of the famous Amana Colonies (see map).  Oxford is a small, non-descript town that reminds me tremendously of my hometown of Kellogg, IA.  There's not much to the town.  I didn't exactly know where Augusta was in town, but I figured it had to be in the small downtown area of Oxford.  After coming off the interstate and taking the trip north to Oxford, I easily found Augusta (see map). 

Ben and Jeri Halperin were living in New Orleans as Ben was working as a chef in some restaurants down there.  Hurricane Katrina pushed Ben and Jeri up to Chicago where Ben worked in a number of restaurants, not finding a particular one that he liked to work for.  When a friend in Oxford told them that a local restaurant was closing it's doors, Ben and Jeri went out to Oxford to inquire about renting the building.  It turned out the rent was reasonable and after some clean-up and refurbishing, Ben, Jeri and a partner, Nathan Ruble opened a year ago.  They named the restaurant Augusta after the street the restaurant is located on.

Ben wanted the restaurant to serve comfort food - Cajun style.  Many items on their menu have a Cajun flair - po' boy sandwiches, crawfish beignets, chicken and andouille gumbo and cornmeal crusted catfish.  They also feature steaks, roasted pork loin and chicken entrees. 

Since 2003, the Iowa Pork Producers Association has handed out an award to the restaurant who has the best breaded pork tenderloin sandwich in the state.  The IPPA focuses more on small family style restaurants and taverns across the state.  Restaurants have to be nominated by two different people and the IPPA officials go out and try the sandwiches.  The winning restaurant receives a plaque of recognition and a $500 dollar check. 

And it also brings in a lot of business.  Since the Town House Supper Club in Wellsburg, IA won the award in 2006, they've served nearly 30,000 of their famous breaded pork loin sandwich.  Other winners include:

2003 - Darrell's Place - Hamlin, IA (I had to look Hamlin up on a map - I'd never heard of it before.)

2004 - Suburban Restaurant - Gilbert, IA (Actually, it's at the intersection of Highway 69 and a county road that takes you into Gilbert.)

2005 - Dairy Sweet - Dunlap, IA (I used to travel between Omaha and Carroll, IA on Highway 30 quite a bit, years ago.  I know I had to pass the Dairy Sweet on each of those trips.)

2007 - Larsen's Pub - Elk Horn, IA (I've been in Elk Horn on a few occasions.  Would have never thought any place in that town would have a good tenderloin.)

I had a meeting in Cedar Rapids recently and I decided to make a side trip to Oxford to have lunch at Augusta.  I walked in and I was the only person in the restaurant, other than a couple of insurance guys talking to Ben Halperin.  Jeri Halperin greeted me and told me that I could sit anywhere.  I took a table toward the front and got a menu from her.  

When Burt visited Augusta last fall, he took along his camera and took a few snapshots of the place.  He sent them out to some friends to show them the place and the delectable sandwich he got.  Here's a picture Burt took of the inside of Augusta.  The tables are topped with table cloths and then a fresh square paper is placed on top of the table cloth each time a table is turned.  There's a small bar that seats two or three people.  They have six beers on tap, including some Goose Island varieties. 

There's not a lot on the menu for lunch items - a burger, a Cajun-style Po' Boy with your choice of catfish, shrimp or roast beef, and a grilled chicken club in addition to the pork loin sandwich.  They feature salads and a kids menu.  But I was in for the tenderloin, which comes with homemade dill pickles, homemade mayo and topped with lettuce, tomato and onions.  You have your choice of either hand-cut french fries or homemade sweet potato chips.  I ordered up a tenderloin with fries.  The waitress asked, "Have you ever had the sandwich before?"

I said, "This is my first time here.  Heck, I went to school in Iowa City for five years and this is my first time ever in Oxford."

She said, "Oh, you're going to love this sandwich." 

I waited for about 15 minutes on my sandwich and the waitress brought it out with a side of ketchup in a small container.  Looking back, I should have gotten a small container of their homemade mayonnaise to dip my fries into.  (That's something I picked up from the Canadians, who, in turn, probably picked it up from the Europeans.  They don't put ketchup on french fries.)

This is just about what my sandwich looked like when it was served to me, only Burt got his with the homemade sweet potato chips.  The pork loin was thick and the buttermilk breaded batter around the loin was light, flaky and flavorful. 

The problem I have with a lot of these breaded pork tenderloin sandwiches is that they take a 12 to 14 ounce, pound the piss out of it, bread it and then deep fry it.  And they're usually too big.  I read somewhere that a true Iowa breaded pork tenderloin had to be three times the size of the bun that is served with it.  Well, the pork tenderloin at Augusta certainly achieved that.  And the breading is usually pretty rich and it's tough to eat the whole sandwich in one sitting.  It's never as good if you take it home and heat it up.  So a lot of it gets wasted.  And I hate to waste food, especially when it's good. 

One other thing that Augusta has going for it, they do their own breaded tenderloins.  I've eaten at restaurants where they have pre-made breaded pork tenderloins and they're usually frozen in advance.  But Augusta's pork tenderloin was definitely pounded out by hand (I could hear them pounding it out in the kitchen) and they have their own breading recipe.  Even though the pork loin was pounded out, it was still pretty thick.  I would have liked to have seen the pork loin before they started to work on it. 

Bottom line - the sandwich was very good.  I didn't care for the mayo on it - even though the mayo was very good - and I didn't use the tomato or lettuce.  A true pork tenderloin is topped with only pickles, onions and mustard. 

As I was paying for my meal, I got to talking to Jeri Halperin.  She was giving me some of the background on the restaurant and how they ended up in Oxford, IA.  It turned out that Jeri was a native Iowan, growing up in far NE Iowa in Clayton County, before she left to go find the world.  We agreed that while places like New Orleans and Chicago are great places to visit, Iowa is definitely home. 

The pork loin sandwich at Augusta was everything that it was advertised to be.  It was a little expensive - $9.00 with fries - but it was worth it.  Every restaurant says they have the best pork tenderloin, but Augusta can really back up their claim.  Augusta is closed on Monday's and Tuesday's, so if you go, make a note of that.  I really want to go back and try the roast beef Po' Boy sandwich sometime.  I'm hoping that with Ben Halperin's New Orleans background it will taste as good as the ones I had at Mother's in New Orleans years ago.   

John's Grocery - Iowa City

An Iowa City institution, John's Grocery at the corner of Gilbert and Market streets (see map) is one of the most unusual stores around.  It's been a renown source for cheap beer for thousands and thousands of University of Iowa students over the years.  And in recent years, it's transformed itself into having one of the most eclectic selections of beer and wine not only in the state of Iowa, but perhaps in the Midwest or even the United States . 

Housed in a building that was built in 1848 in the old Czech immigrant area of Iowa City, the grocery store was purchased 100 years later by John and Erma Alberhasky.  (Here's a picture of John seated behind the deli in the late 70's.) A classic corner grocery store in a neighborhood just to the east of campus, the Alberhasky's continued the tradition for residents and college students living in the area. 

As time went on, the Alberhasky's went away from primarily being a dry goods store and offered deli items and, most importantly, beer. 

Affectionately known as "Dirty John's", the nickname isn't because the store is dirty or dusty.  As the story goes, in 1957 John's Grocery was one of the only places in Iowa City where you could buy a Playboy magazine.  One day, a stack of Playboys were stolen by a group of Central Junior High students and passed around to classmates.  When confiscated by school officials, the principal at Central Junior High called over to John's Grocery to see if they sold Playboys.  He said that he did.  The principal then accused Alberhasky of selling the magazine to minors.  John vehemently denied selling the magazines to the under-aged boys.

Alberhasky remembered receiving a stack of new Playboys earlier in the day and went to see if they were still there.  Nope.  Alberhasky explained to the principal that they were, indeed, stolen and he would have to make sure they were placed in a more secure area in the future. 

From that point on, teachers and school officials at Central Junior High began to refer to John Alberhasky as "Dirty John".  Even the nuns at nearby Mercy Hospital called him "Dirty John".  I understand Alberhasky took the nickname as a badge of honor.

Today, John's Grocery is run by John Alberhasky's grandson, Doug (right), who worked in the store while growing up.  Doug has overseen a number of changes to John's Grocery over the past few years, first by creating a wine department staffed by local wine expert Wally Plahutnik.  And then creating one of the most comprehensive selections of beer anywhere in the United States.   

At any given point, John's stocks over 2000 different variety of beers from over 40 countries around the world.  They feature over 130 different Belgian ales, alone.  They also keep over 100 different types of beers in kegs in the store, as well.  If a beer is available through one of their importer/distributors, they'll have it. 

After an extensive remodeling of the business in 2002, John's now has an enormous "beer room" along with a cold storage walk-in"cave" that keeps the beer at cellar temperatures.  Doug Alberhasky, known as the "Beer Guy", said that even with the new space they're still busting at the seams with the selection of beers they have.

The wine department was also expanded and is now housed in the main part of John's Grocery where the beer used to be placed.  (The beer department is now in an area called "The Annex" which was an old house attached to John's Grocery.)  They now feature over 1500 wines to choose from.  While I value Wally's expertise, I find him to be somewhat abrasive, arrogant and dismissive - very much the quintessential wine snob.  Still, they have some of most interesting and value priced wines available anywhere.      

John's Grocery has been featured in a number of articles over the past few years touting their beer selection and their promoting of beer tastings and festivals in the area.  John's Grocery will also ship beer all over the United States - where it's legal to do so.  They've been getting the word out that they'll ship Bell's Brewery beers to Illinois residents who can no longer get the beers in the state due to a problem brewery owner Larry Bell has with an Illinois state law that ties micro-breweries with distributors.  (Read about that here.)

In addition to the wine and beer departments, John's Grocery also maintains a little deli area that offers sandwiches, meats, salads and cheeses.  In the wine department, an assortment of eclectic cheeses from around the world is offered, as well.  And they continue to stock most of the basic necessities you'd find in most major grocery stores.

On my last visit a couple weeks ago, I picked up a couple sixers of Bell's Pale Ale to add to my collection.  Every time I go in, I feel somewhat obligated to buy something from John's Grocery.  Whether it's a bottle of wine or a six pack of beer, I want to support the Alberhasky's and show them in my own little way that I believe in what they're doing.  And based upon the amount of customers in the place each time I go in, I think they've found the right formula.   

John's Grocery is worth the visit if you go to Iowa City.  Whether you've never been there before, or if you frequented the place while a student at the University of Iowa, you'll still be amazed at the selection of beer and wine they have at John's.  And, undoubtedly, you'll wonder, "How in the hell do they squeeze all of this in here?"

The Sanctuary Pub - Iowa City

This was a tough decision - is The Sanctuary Pub a great beer bar with over 15 beers on tap and over 100 bottled beers - both domestic and imports - to choose from?  Or is it a great pizza joint with excellent thin crust pizza and fresh natural toppings?

Actually, it's a lot of both. 

The Sanctuary is known as having a number of good and eclectic beers to choose from, and they're also known as a place to get one of the best pizzas in Iowa City.

One of the things this blog sort of makes me do is to visit new restaurants - or revisit ones that I used to go to, but haven't been to in a number of years.  The Sanctuary is the latter, in this case.  I used to go to The Sanctuary a lot years ago, especially when one of my dealers had his store right next to the pub on Gilbert Street just south and east of downtown Iowa City (see map).  It's been, probably, four years since I was last in the place. 

Opened in 1973 by Daryl "Woody" Woodson, The Sanctuary has long been a hang-out for the counter-culture crowd in Iowa City.  For years, they have had folk, blues and jazz singers come to play on their little stage opposite the bar.  The little pub has a friendly and intimate feel to it, even when the smoke from cigarettes pours out of the place.

But I like A) their beer selection; and B) their pizza.  Many of the interesting domestic and imported beers I like these days, I first tried at The Sanctuary.  The selection of beers - especially those on tap - will change from time to time, giving people a great chance to try a number of great beers over the course of the year.

Cindy and I drove to Iowa City one evening earlier this week to have dinner with her son, Eric, and her sister, Anita.  No one had really decided where to meet up for dinner, so I suggested The Sanctuary.  Anita said she used to come to The Sanctuary to listen to the music years ago.  "This was my hang-out," she said when we met up at the pub.

Since there's no parking on Gilbert Street in front of the place, we parked in a lot just to the south of small complex of stores next to The Sanctuary.  There is also a city-owned metered lot directly behind The Sanctuary, but they quit enforcing the meters at 5 p.m.

When we got inside the front door, I noticed something different - they'd added on since I was last in there.  Or at least I thought they had.  They had a signs pointing to the "pub" area - or smoking area - of the place, and one pointing to the "cafe" area - or non-smoking area.  I had only been in the "pub" area and don't ever remember the cafe being part of the mix. 

We went in and sat at a booth toward the back of the cafe.  It was early, about 6 p.m., and there were just two other couples in there having an early dinner.  The old brick walls were exposed above the high backs of the booths along the wall.  The lighting was the same as it was over in the pub side, low and understated.  But not having to deal with cigarette smoke was a definite plus.

Our waitress gave us our menus, but I went directly to the beer list, which showed the beers they are featuring for the months of May and June.  While the beer selection doesn't change all that much every two months, they do feature some good seasonal beers during that time. 

The first beer I got was a pint of the Three Floyd's Brewery Alpha King pale ale.  Three Floyd's is a brewery just across the border from Illinois in the far SE side of Chicago.  It's not far from a dealer that I call on down there and have told myself that I really need to go try the food at their little brew pub they have.  And having an Alpha King reminded me that I do like their beers, as well.

We ended up ordering two pizzas - the Sanctuary Special, a good ol' standby where they throw everything on it (spicy sausage, pepperoni, ham, fresh onions, green peppers, black olives and mushrooms); and a simple sausage, pepperoni and jalapeno pizza. 

I ended up ordering a Boulevard Pale Ale for my second beer, which is one of my all-time favorite pale ale's.  But I have to say, the taste of the Boulevard was not as vibrant as the Alpha King pale ale.  I went back to the Alpha King after finishing the Boulevard.  Looks like I'll have to get some Alpha King the next time I go into Chicago.

Cindy and her sister were hungry, so they ordered the spicy spinach/artichoke dip.  It was a creamy concoction that had a spicy bite to it.  Served with toasted bread topped with herbs, it wasn't bad.  In fact, Cindy thought it was some of the best spinach/artichoke dip she'd ever had.

After about 20 minutes, our waitress brought out our pizzas - except she screwed up the ingredients on the one.  She had the cook put mushrooms on the one with the sausage and pepperoni.  Cindy doesn't like mushrooms (which is funny - everyone in her family, including her son and daughter LOVES mushrooms), but she was a gamer and said she'd just take 'em off the pizza.

The pizza was exactly has I remember it.  Thin, crisp crust with a thick crust edging.  The toppings and cheese were heaped on top of the pizza.  I remarked, "Why can't they have pizza like this in the Quad Cities?"

(As an aside, Anita was telling me there is a pizza place in Cedar Rapids called "Cranky Hank's".  They bill themselves as having "Quad City Style Pizza", similar to Happy Joe's, Wise Guys and Harris Pizza - all three of which are not very good, in my opinion.  See my synopsis on Quad City pizzas here.  In fact, the name - Cranky Hank's - is an obvious take-off on the Happy Joe's name.)

The food was too much for all of us and we had to split up some of the remaining slices for Eric and us to take home.  But that was fine with me.  The reheated Sanctuary pizza I had for lunch the next day was every bit as good as when it was served hot and fresh the night before. 

I haven't been too happy with Pagliai's in Iowa City the last couple three times I'd been there.  In each case, the pizza crust was burnt and that burnt taste permeated the pizza.  And they've begun to skimp on the toppings.  They've begun to put very little meat on their pizzas.  They've been very disappointing, to say the least.  I used to think Pagliai's was the best pizza in Iowa City, but now I'm not too certain. 

I have to say that I was very happy with our pizza at the Sanctuary.  Along with the great selection of beers on tap and in bottles, it's one of the more interesting and unique restaurants in the Iowa City area.  And being in business for 34 years now, Woody must be doing something right.

Kinnick Stadium - Iowa City

We went to see the Iowa Hawkeyes play the Purdue Boilermakers last Saturday at the "new" Kinnick Stadium.  Actually, it's the same stadium that has been around since 1929, but it's been updated with a new press box/suites, new bathrooms and concession stands, and larger seats for people's bigger butts. 

Kinnick Stadium is named for Iowa's only Heisman Trophy winner, Nile Kinnick.  A statue of Kinnick on the concourse outside the south end of the stadium is shown at right.  Kinnick was truly a student athlete and went on to enter law school at Iowa.  When World War II broke out, Kinnick left law school at Iowa and entered the Navy.  He was training to be a fighter pilot when his plane went down off the Venezuelan coast in 1943.  His body was never recovered. 

From 1929 thru 1971, the stadium was known as Iowa Stadium.  In 1972, University of Iowa officials officially renamed the stadium in honor of Nile Kinnick.  Through the years, it's steadily grown in capacity and it now seats 70,585 and is sold out this season.

Actually, we'd been getting season tickets through my buddy, Jim Kellogg for the past six or seven seasons.  This year, they were asking for increased contributions from the fans to help pay for the $77 million dollar face lift of the stadium.  If we were to keep the same seats that we had all those years, we would have had to pony up about $800 to $1000 dollars above and beyond the approximate $400 per ticket season ticket price.  We didn't quite have that kind of money lying around, so we passed this season.  Besides, most of the games are on TV around here, so we can watch 'em at home. 

My cousin, Jim Balmer, had two tickets that he wasn't going to use for the Purdue game, so he offered them to Cindy and me.  We took 'em and went to the game.

Jim's tickets aren't bad - about halfway up and on the 45 yard line.  Here's a few pictures from the game:

It was Homecoming at Iowa this weekend and they were honoring two of the Iowa Rose Bowl teams - the 1956 Hawkeye Team and the 1981 Hawkeye Team.  The 1981 team came out first and was led by former head coach Hayden Fry (in tan suit).  Here's a picture of Fry with one of his top assistants during the 1981 season, Bill Snyder (in dark suit).  Snyder went on to coach at Kansas State and led the Wildcats to an improbable turnaround from an annual doormat to a national power in a few seasons. 

The honorary captain for the game that day was former Iowa All-American quarterback, Kenny Ploen.  Ploen was a standout Canadian Football League player who led the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to four Grey Cup titles in his 11 year career. 

Here are the Hawkeyes entering the stadium with their ritual of huddling together as they run on to the field, also known as The Swarm.

Kickoff at Kinnick Stadium on a beautiful fall morning in Iowa City.  Temperature at game time was around 65 and it got into the mid-70's later in the game.  Perfect weather.  Here's a good shot of the west grandstand crowd and the new press box and luxury boxes with club seating. 

Here's a shot of the great Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz on the sidelines.  Although roundly criticized when he first took over, Ferentz may end up being the best coach in Iowa football history.  Not only is Ferentz a great coach, but he's a great guy, too.  He's classy and down-to-earth.  He's a true credit to the University of Iowa. 

Once again, satisfying my scoreboard fetish, here's the main scoreboard at Kinnick Stadium.

Here's the Hawkeyes running the ball in the first quarter of the game.  Iowa made pretty easy work of the Boilermakers beating them 47-17.  It was the worst beating at the hands of Iowa for Purdue.  Usually, Purdue and Iowa play some pretty close and entertaining games.  Iowa just beat them in all facets of the game today.

Halftime and that means entertainment by the worst marching band in the Big Ten - and possibly in the country for Division I-A football schools - the Hawkeye Marching Band.  We've seen a number of other school's marching bands and they absolutely blow the Iowa band out of the water.  I know these kids try their best, but the band directors have got to be the most unimaginative musical directors I've ever encountered. 

However, the one highlight of the band is their Golden Girl - Diana Reed.  The Iowa Golden Girl has been a tradition with the band for a number of years and they usually are pretty damn good baton twirlers.  Reed has been the Golden Girl for five seasons - that has to be some sort of a record.

And here's a great picture of the Golden Girl being held up by Drum Major Jason Hillenbrand.  To get shots like this sometimes you just have to be more lucky than good.

All in all, the "new" Kinnick Stadium isn't much different from the "old" Kinnick.  It's still a good place to see a football game and it holds a lot of history.  Yeah, I miss not seeing all the games, but I don't miss the empty hole in my pocket after a "Football Saturday" in Iowa City.    

Iowa City Tornado

A large tornado hit the Iowa City area last Thusday evening, April 13.  Thankfully, there were no lives lost and only about 30 injuries were reported.  But the devastation is unbelievable.  From the pictures I've seen and the reports I've heard, the damage is widespread from the downtown area to the northeast side of Iowa City. (Photo courtesy of Cedar Rapids Gazette)

The University of Iowa was spared a large portion of the damage.  The Cambus barn (see map) lost its roof, but the buildings on the Pentacrest area around the Old Capitol had little damage to them.  However, due to the extensive damage to the area east of campus - which houses a number of students - classes were canceled the following day. 

The hardest hit area was just on the east side of downtown Iowa City and to the residential area just to the east of that.  Our daughter, Sara, lives on Burlington St. and it so happened that the tornado just missed her place, but damaged a number of homes and businesses to her north and east.  This is a picture taken by Marcia Schroeder as Scott and her were in Iowa City the following day to be with their son, Greg. 

It turned out that Sara was in Cedar Rapids when the storm hit, and she went back to Iowa City that evening to make sure that everything was OK.  She had a large chunk of metal in her parking spot and she told me it was all she and a friend could do to move it out of the way.  The only damage she could see (other than having no power for about 20 hours) was that the windows rattled so hard that the sprayed on texture on the drywall around the windows came off.

The intersection of Gilbert and Burlington was hard hit (Sara lives 1 1/2 blocks to the east of that intersection).  A pizza place, a convenience store and the Iowa City Rec Center all sustained heavy damage.   The law offices of Randy Larson, a guy I've known for years, was also heavily damaged.  The picture to the right, one of Randy's assistants carries files out of the building. (Photo courtesy of the Cedar Rapids Gazette)

One of the most hard hit buildings was St. Patrick's Cathedral on the south side of the downtown area.  There were 75 people inside the church when the tornado hit.  They sought refuge in the rectory next to the church (photo by Marcia Schroeder).  It's not known at this time if the church will have to be razed or if they can salvage the basic foundation of the building. 

The Alpha Chi Omega house at the corner of Washington and Governor was also heavily damaged.  About 35 members of the sorority lived in the house.  (Photo by Marcia Schroeder)  Well, not any longer.  They were moved to an old fraternity that was closed a couple of years ago. 

One of the most high profile buildings in Iowa City, the Dairy Queen on Riverside Dr. was also wiped out.  Here's a picture of a before and after shot of the Dairy Queen that was sent to me.  The Dairy Queen stood there for 54 years and the owners fully intend to rebuild. 

Here's a shot Marcia Schroeder took of three cars under a tree behind the Pentacrest Apartments on Burlington St.  Scott and Marcia's son, Greg, lives in the Pentacrest Apartments, but there was little to no damage to them (in fact, Greg was in Davenport with his parents when the storm hit).   

All in all, storm damage to Iowa City will be probably well into 8 figures before everything is totaled up.  Iowa City Police initially set the estimated damages at $3 million dollars.  However, my friend, Al Kern, who works for WSUI in Iowa City, was told by the owner of the Honda automobile dealership in Iowa City that his business, alone, suffered about $2 million dollars in damage.

Looking at all the pictures people have sent me along with the news reports I've seen, it's difficult to imagine that no one was killed or seriously hurt in the tornado. 

Pagliai's - Iowa City

A special "shout out" to my sister-in-law, Anita, who bitched to my wife, "How can he have a web log about pizza places and not have Pagliai's on there!"

Well, that's because it's taken a lot of time to research the Pagliai family of pizza restaurants.

Pronounced "PAUL-ee-aye's", Pagliai's Pizza is a longtime tradition in the Midwest.  There are several Pagliai's in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Kentucky, Ohio and Missouri. 

The Pagliai pizza joints all trace their roots back to the first Pagliai's pizza that was baked in Ames, IA in 1953.  John and Catherine Pagliai left Italy in the early 1900's and came to Iowa and settled in a small coal mining town called Zook Spur, which was about two miles south of present day Madrid, IA.  They raised three sons, Sam, Aldo and Armond.

Sam had a small neighborhood bar in Ames and he used a recipe his mother had in her family for years for baked dough pie with tomato sauce and cheese on top .  One day in 1953, he served one to the leery patrons of the bar.  It took some coaxing, but the people began to like it and even began to request that Sam make them one when they'd come in.  It's been documented as the first pizza that was served in Central Iowa.

This led to the very first Pagliai's Pizza restaurant in 1957 in Ames' Campus Town area.  A second Pagliai's Pizza opened in, I believe, nearby Boone, soon thereafter.  There was also a Pagliai's in, I believe, Indianola, IA soon after that.  All three are no longer in existence.

(Or the ones in Boone and Indianola may never have been in existence - I'm going off of personal recollections that were told to me and the stories I've gotten are a little fuzzy). 

Aldo, opened a Pagliai's in Charleston, IL in 1964.  Aldo's son, Paul, now owns that one in Charleston.   

Armond opened up a Pagliai's Pizza in Iowa City in the 60's.  He and his son, Armond, eventually co-owned the one there, hence it was officially known as "A & A Pagliai's Pizza".  Armond's younger son, Brian, eventually opened his own Pagliai's in Des Moines, Johnston, IA and Grinnell, IA. 

All told, there are 16 Pagliai's Pizza restaurants.  Some were franchised out, but the bulk of them are owned and operated by members of the Pagliai family. 

While all the Pagliai's I've eaten in are very good, the best one continues to be the Iowa City location (see map).  Unlike the other Pagliai's, all they do is pizza.  No sandwiches, no pasta, just pizza.  It's hard to screw things up when you're only doing one thing. 

Pagliai's was a staple of my diet when I was going to the University of Iowa back in the early 80's.  Many nights walking home from the bars in downtown Iowa City with my old roommates meant scrounging our last available coins and dollar bills together to be able to get a small cheese pizza to eat while we walked the rest of the way home. 

Pagliai's Pizza (at all their locations) is a thin crust pizza with fresh and plentiful toppings.  If I'm not mistaken, each Pagliai's grinds their own sausage.  The sausage at the one in Iowa City is, in my opinion, the best of the all the Pagliai's I've eaten at.  It is wonderful pizza with a cold beer, too.  I like the sausage, pepperoni and mushroom pizza (what a surprise!), and Cindy likes their sauerkraut and pineapple (yuck!). 

The Pagliai's in Iowa City, well, I don't think Armond and Armond have touched the decor of the place since it opened in the 60's.  It is seriously like walking into a time warp.  There's a number of booths and tables throughout the place.  The decor is not tired, per se.  But it's definitely not 21st century.

Friday and Saturday nights, there's lines of people waiting to get seated.  There's no bar, no waiting area (other than outside and in front of the counter in the front dining area).  You just have to stand there and wait.  Thankfully, you can get a beer while you're standing there waiting. 

And the ovens have got to be the same ones they've used since the place opened up over 40 years ago.  The pizza chefs are out in the open for everyone to see and the kitchen area is hustling and bustling all the time.  It's by far the best pizza in Iowa City and one of the best in the whole Midwest.

Geez, after writing all this, my stomach is growling for a Pagliai's Pizza.  Why can't they put one here in Davenport and show people around here what real pizza is?

The Lark

Once, The Lark was one of the premier steakhouses in the state of Iowa.  Located outside of Iowa City in the small town of Tiffin, The Lark was owned and run by Bob and Shirley Thompson and was famous for their steaks, pork chops, onion rings and the great salads and homemade dressings that came with them. 

People from all over used to stop at The Lark for special occasions, as well as after Iowa football games.  When he was the basketball coach at Indiana University, Bob Knight would always eat at The Lark the night before the Hoosiers played the Hawkeyes. 

Jim Kharbush bought the Lark from Bob Thompson in 1999 and ran it for a while before fire destroyed the original restaurant in 2000.  The cause of the fire was a burner in the kitchen left on all night, but some people had theorized that was done intentionally. 

Kharbush moved into a new location in what was a Red Lobster along Highway One on the south side of Iowa City.  He redecorated the place and it was much more ornate and open than the original Lark.  But it still wasn't as good.

Last week, Kharbush (who owns five Ground Round franchises including the one in Iowa City) said that he was selling The Lark.  As of now, there are no prospects interested in buying the business. 

The Lark is still open, but will probably close in the near future. 

Actually, when Bob Thompson sold the place to Jim Kharbush in 1998, The Lark - to me - went out of business.  Almost from the start, the place just didn't seem to have that same "pizazz" you used to get when Bob ran the place. 

However, I will also say that once Bob and Shirley got a divorce in the 90's, The Lark also lost some of its luster.  The place started to get rather tired and worn out.  You could tell that the "woman's touch" was gone from the restaurant.

I'll always have great memories of eating at The Lark - the onion rings, the steaks, great salads, great service.  The Lark and their kind are dying breeds...