Road Tips

Best Burger List - 2012

It's the end of 2012, but never too late for updating Road Tips' Best Burger List for the year.  I've done some things a little different.  I still have the Top Ten Burger List, as well as the High Honorable Mention and Honorable Mention selections.  There's now a "Gourmet Burger" list, as well as a list of "Best Chains" combining the best local, regional and national chain burger places.  There's also a listing of "Americana Burgers" - places that have been around for years and adored by locals.  And I now have a list of those burger places that I wish were still around.  By clicking on the highlighted link, you can go directly to the Road Tips entry on each place.

Top Ten Burgers -

1 - Duffy's Cherry Cricket - Denver. (Pictured left) Still the best.  Period.  

2 - Krazy Jim's Blimpy Burger - Ann Arbor, MI.  It's been 8 years since I've been to Krazy Jim's and I would love to go back again at some point.  But from what I remember of how great the burger was on my initial visit, I'm almost certain it is still the same.   

3 - Westport Flea Market - Kansas City.  After my visit earlier this year, I've been back one more time to make double damn sure the first burger I had wasn't an anomaly.  The second one was just as good as the first one I had.  It's the type of burger where you go, "Mmmmm..." during the first bite.  

4 -  Monk's Bar and Grill - Wisconsin Rapids, WI.  They dropped in the poll because I had a mushroom/Swiss cheese burger there earlier this year that didn't taste all that good.  But their regular cheese burgers are still outstanding.    

5 - Thurman Cafe - Columbus, OH.  Even with just one visit, the Thurman Cafe was still one of the best burgers I've ever had.  Thick and juicy, the Thurman burger is full flavored and served with a fresh-baked bun.  One of these days I'll make it back for the "Red 'shroom" burger.

6 - Booches - Columbia, MO.  A long time institution near the University of Missouri campus, Booches has been open since 1884 and was once a "men's only" establishment until the 1970's.  Their flat-grilled burgers are to die for.

7 - B&B Grocery - Des Moines, IA.  Appearing the Top 10 for the first time last year, a couple more visits to B&B to try their burger has solidified their standing.  The burgers are large, meaty and juicy.  And don't forget that their sandwiches are "killer", too!  (Pictured at right, a B&B Grocery double cheeseburger.)

8 - Bulldogs Grill - Wauconda, IL.  A newcomer to the Top 10 list.  Bulldogs Grill is a small cafe in a small town north and west of Chicago.  It's definitely a destination and sort of out of the way, but the trip is well worth it.  

9 - Burger Barge - East Peoria, IL.  Consistency problems have plagued Burger Barge in the past, but the past few times I've stopped in has yielded the great tasting burger that I first found a number of years ago.  The Illinois burger - topped with a fried egg and a slice of ham - is my favorite.

10 - Green Gables - Hudson, IL - My trip earlier this fall moved them back into the Top Ten.  Green Gables also had consistency issues (thanks to an overzealous worker) a few years ago that they've since overcome.  The flat grill taste of the burgers is one of the best in Midwest.  

High Honorable Mention - (in no particular order) - 

Sobleman's - Milwaukee, WI.  Formerly a Top 10 burger, if there was an 11th place, this would probably be it.  Located in a historic old tavern building just west of Milwaukee's downtown area, Sobleman's has a great burger and cold beer to go along with it.  

Louie M's Burger Lust - Omaha, NE.  One of my favorite burgers from the place with my favorite name for a burger joint.  Lou Marcuzzo's funky little place south of the downtown area of Omaha has been cooking up great specialty burgers for years.  

Tom & Eddie's - Chicago Suburbs.  (Pictured left) A newcomer on the scene of hamburger joints, Tom & Eddie's is the brainchild of two retired McDonald's execs who wanted to take their knowledge of making burgers a couple steps further.  Their "fast casual" concept has garnered a following in the short time they've been open.  It also doesn't hurt that their burgers are damn good, too.  

Lion's Tap - Eden Prairie, MN.  It may be the best burger in the Twin Cities.  Flat grilled and tantalizingly juicy, it's tough to beat a Lion's Tap burger.   

Moonshine Store - Moonshine, IL.  See below in the Americana section. 

The Ritz - Arnolds Park, IA.  The runner-up in the 2012 "Best Burger in Iowa" contest.  After having the burger at The Ritz earlier this summer, I wondered how in the hell they could get beat out by 2/10ths of a point.  Great burger, great bun, fun atmosphere.  They also have excellent pizza at The Ritz.  

Dinkers Bar - Omaha, NE.  I was sort of embarrassed that I hadn't heard about Dinker's before this year.  This cash only establishment makes a great burger and their sign out front says, "Omaha's Best Burger".  I don't know about that, but they're definitely in the top 3 when it comes to best burger in Omaha and one of the top places I've found in the Midwest.

Solly's - Glendale, WI.  Also a former Top 10 burger, Solly's "Butter Burger" is an artery-hardening burger of goodness. I haven't been in Solly's for a couple years and I really need to do a better blog entry than the original one I have.  I think there's a couple other places in Milwaukee that have a better burger, but Solly's is a longtime favorite of Milwaukeans.   

Smoking Harry's - Creston, IL.  If you can get past the fact that this little bar in the small town of Creston, south of Rockford, is not very fancy and only features a long bar in what was probably the living room of an old farm house, then you can enjoy one helluva burger.  Smoking Harry still sneaks smokes in the bar when patrons aren't there, so you may smell cigarette smoke in the establishment.  But don't let that deter you from enjoying a great burger served on a wonderful bun. 

Creekside Bar and Grill - Davenport, IA.  I still think their mushroom/bacon/Swiss cheese burger (pictured at right) is one of the better ones I've had in my travels.  I wish they would have a flat grill instead of a flame grill, but the burgers are still top notch.  It's still one of the biggest secrets in the Quad Cities.  

Rusty Duck - Dexter, IA.  The winner of the "Best Burger in Iowa" contest in 2011, this small steakhouse west of Des Moines makes their burgers by grinding up excess cuts of steak meat.  The Ultimate Cheeseburger is huge, so you need to bring a healthy appetite - or another person with you!

Blue Door Pub - St. Paul, MN.  The cheese-stuffed "Juicy Lucy" is the signature burger of many Twin City burger joints.  There are places that are more famous for their cheese-stuffed burgers, but - in my opinion - none are better than the Blue Door Pub.

Stella's - Bellevue, NE.  An old favorite in the Omaha area.  Stella's has been in business since 1930 making great burgers.  It's a small place that caters to blue collar workers, company executives and some of the top brass at the nearby Offutt Air Force Base.  

Starlite Room - Cedar Rapids, IA.  (Pictured left) The oval shaped burgers at the Starlite Room have been satisfying the hunger of Cedar Rapidians for years.  The half-pound, flat-grilled "Super Cheeseburger" could be the best burger between Interstate 35 and the Mississippi River in Iowa. 

Zombie Burger - Des Moines, IA.  George Formaro's fun and hip burger joint features a number of funky and eclectic burgers made from smashed patties - sorry, BASHED patties - and South Union Bakery homemade buns.  A double burger is my norm, but a triple is do-able.  

AJ Bombers - Milwaukee, WI.  Right up there with Sobleman's for the best burger in Milwaukee, AJ Bombers has a char-grilled burger that isn't overpowering in smoky taste.  The juicy burger is definitely helped by a great tasting bun - one the of hidden characteristics of a great burger.  Prepare to use at least six napkins when eating an AJ Bombers burger.

Town Hall Tap - Minneapolis, MN.  A surprising find of a great burger joint on the south side of Minneapolis.   Town Hall Tap is the offshoot of the Town Hall Brewpub.  With it's open windows, large bar and outside seating, Town Hall Tap is a great summertime place to have a burger and a cold beer.  The burger is just excellent.

Honorable Mention - (also in no particular order) - 

Serious Burger - Appleton, WI.  The owner's legal troubles now behind him, Serious Burger is still going strong in the Fox Valley region.  I just had a burger there earlier this fall and it was still as good as the first visit I had.

Top Notch Beefburgers - Chicago. A legendary Chicagoland burger joint for the past 70 years.  The ground round steak they use is a different taste and one that thousands have enjoyed for years.

Cafe Bolero - Chicago.  A Cuban restaurant with a great burger?  Yep!  The burger with mixed up chunks of jalapenos, onions and cheese is very good.  (Pictured at right)

The Nook - St. Paul, MN.  The owners suffered a devasting fire two years ago, but they've rebuilt and reopened serving an excellent "Juicy Lucy" burger.  It's only second to the Blue Door Pub in the Twin Cities.

Grinnell Steakhouse - Grinnell, IA.  This "grill-your-own" steakhouse just off of Interstate 80 south of Grinnell has a mighty fine char-broiled burger that they cook up in the kitchen.  It's meaty, juicy and flavorful.   

Jack's Locust Street Tap - Davenport, IA.  One of my all-time favorite dive-bar hangouts has a great burger.  But you have to go during the day, Tuesday thru Friday because that's when Karen works and no one else can make them as good as she does at Jack's.  I need to do a better blog entry on Jack's than the one I have now.

Burger Jones - Minneapolis.  Owned by the same people who run the world-famous Manny's Steak House, Burger Jones is an upscale burger joint that features good burgers, a great beer selection and good service.  Why anyone in the Twin Cities want to go to a Red Robin when they can get a much better seasoned burger at Burger Jones?

Dotty Dumpling's Dowry - Madison, WI.  While I don't think they're as good as they were in their old location, Dotty's still makes the best burger in Madison.  They have a great beer selection and their jambalaya is actually pretty good, as well.  

Major Goolsby's - Milwaukee, WI.  (Pictured at left) One of the top sports bars in Milwaukee, their flame-broiled burgers are big and juicy.  A long-time mainstay at Summerfest, a Goolsby cheeseburger just melts in your mouth.  

Two Mits - Elkader, IA.  See American section below.

Charlie Beinlich's - Northbrook, IL.  This little longtime burger joint/tavern almost looks out of place with all the upscale stores that are around the immediate area.  Their burger is very good - the best in the northern shore suburbs of Chicago.  

Alfie's Inn - Glen Ellyn, IL.  And old time supper club-style place, Alfie's ground sirloin burger is one of the best in the western suburbs of Chicago.   

Duffy's Tavern - Utica, IL.  An long time, old style tavern in Central Illinois that serves a great burger along with a good selection of cold beer.  It's a destination point for many motorcyclists and you may have to wait for a table on a warm day.  

Newt's - Rochester, MN.  Minnesota Monthly magazine called Newt's the 17th best burger in Minnesota a few years ago.  They need a recount.  This is a damn fine burger.

Hackney's - Glenview, IL.  The original Hackney's on Harms features their excellent "Hackney Burger" served on dark rye bread.  I'm partial to the original, but actually all the Hackney locations make a very good burger.   

Oddfellow's Burger Kitchen - Ames, IA.  A newcomer to the restaurant scene in Ames.  Their green chile/cheeseburger (pictured right) I had on my first visit was outstanding.  I'm hoping they're able to make a go of it.  

O'Connell's Pub - St. Louis.  Still the best of the best in St. Louis, a town that really isn't known for burgers.  This old style tavern/eatery serves up an excellent burger in a place that probably hasn't been updated since the 30's.  

Paradise Pup - Des Plaines, IL.  A little place near O'Hare in suburban Des Plaines, I think they use a little too much cheese on their burgers.  But it's a gourmet cheese that helps the overall taste of what is already a very good burger. 

Blue Moon - Madison, WI.  Locals in the Madison area will debate what is better - Dotty's or the Blue Moon.  I'm still sort of partial to Dotty's, but I don't think you can go wrong with a Blue Moon burger.

Gourmet Burgers -

Atwood Cafe - Chicago. (Pictured left) I've tried a number of gourmet burgers over the years, but I was just floored by the taste and quality of the burger at the Atwood Cafe in downtown Chicago.  It's not cheap, but the taste of the burger was one of the best I've ever had.  If I included gourmet burgers in my Top Ten burger list, Atwood Cafe would probably be in the top three.  

Merriman's Market Cafe - Waikoloa Beach, HI.  If the burger at Atwood Cafe is the No. 1 gourmet burger on my list, Merriman's burger would be 1A.  The thing that still sticks out in my mind is how fresh the tomatoes were that were on the burger.  I've never had tomatoes that tasted as good as the ones I had in Hawaii.

DMK Burger Bar - Lombard, IL.  DMK burgers are outstanding.  I've only eaten at the western suburban location, but I'm certain the other location is just as good.  

I ♥ Burgers - Las Vegas.  This was a great find by one of my colleagues.  Nestled into a corner of the shopping area at the Venetian, the Standard burger with a fried egg, pepper jack cheese and roasted green chilies that I got was just outstanding.  I ♥ Burgers is on my "must eat at" list when I get back out to Vegas next month.  

Blanc Burgers + Bottles - Kansas City.  Blanc Burgers is branching out into Omaha and their burgers are just outstanding.  They also have an outstanding selection of beers to choose from.  Expensive, but damn well worth the price.  

Bru Burger Bar - Indianapolis.  (Pictured right) A newcomer to the restaurant scene in Indy, Bru Burger Bar combines great gourmet burgers made from a mix of natural-raised sirloin, chuck and brisket, and a list of great craft brews.  The burger and the service was just outstanding.    

Jack Fry's - Louisville.  Still sort of a pretentious and somewhat snooty place, they have a great burger at Jack Fry's.  I've been there a couple times to order the burger and both times I sort of got looked down the nose by the server when I ordered the burger.  Getting past that, it's tough to beat the taste.

Stack'd - Milwaukee.  Although it is somewhat expensive, the Stack'd grass-fed beef burgers are very good.  This trendy place also has a great beer selection and their onion rings are pretty damn good, as well.

Best Americana Burgers -

Hinkle's - Madison, IN.  Located in a small historic town along the Ohio River, Hinkle's has been serving White Castle-style burgers for nearly 80 years.  It's popular with the late night crowd as they stay open 24 hours a day on Friday and Saturday.  The history and quaint nature of the place is worth at least one trip. 

Canteen Lunch - Ottumwa, IA.  (Pictured left) People from Ottumwa are fiercely loyal to their little 12-seater diner that features loose-meat beefburgers.  The secret to a Canteen burger?  Order them "moist".  

Powers Hamburgers - Fort Wayne, IN.  Another White Castle-clone that dates back to the 1930's, Powers Hamburgers is an institution in Fort Wayne.  They're small and have a pretty good taste.  

Maid-Rite (Mr. Dan's Sandwich Shoppe) - Newton, IA.  Of all the Maid-Rite-style sandwich shops out there, I'm partial to the one in my hometown of Newton, IA.  This is the longest continuous Maid-Rite in existence, even if they're not technically a Maid-Rite any longer.  

Nick's Hamburgers - Brookings, SD.  Students at South Dakota State University have known for years that Nick's makes the best burgers in town.  And they keep coming back even years after they graduated from college to have a burger at Nick's.  They've recently remodled and upgraded their little place, but they didn't take the charm out of the place.  

Taylor's Maid-Rite - Marshalltown, IA.  Debates about who has the best Maid-Rites have raged for years.  Taylor's was the third Maid-Rite in existence (behind the original in Muscatine, IA - now closed, and the one in Newton,IA) and many still think it's the best.  

Moonshine Store - Moonshine, IL.  (Pictured right) Not only is the Moonshine Store a big slice of Americana, their Moonshine burger is worthy of a High Honorable Mention.  These flat-grilled, thick and juicy burgers are excellent.  But you have to get there before 12:30 because the grill turns off at precisely then.   

Gross' Burgers - Danville, IL.  A few people may be turned off by the outward display of patriotism - and don't let the name of the place fool you.  The smashed burgers cooked on a flat grill have a unique taste and are pretty damn good.   

Frank's - Zeeland, MI.  Frank's has been serving delicious burgers since 1940.  Once a popular teen hangout in the 50's and 60's, Frank's now caters to the baby-boomers now in their 60's and 70's.  We were, by far, the youngest people in the place when we were in there.   

2 Mit Burgers - Elkader, IA.   Much better than the original Pete's Hamburgers in nearby Prairie du Chien, WI, these flat top, boiled burgers are moist, juicy and flavorful.  It's a completely unique burger.  

George's Buffet - Iowa City, IA.  George's is a unique type of tavern near the University of Iowa campus.  Starting out as a speakeasy in the 30's, then starting to sell beer after Prohibition, they called themselves a "buffet" to ward off the temperance crowd that picketed beer joints.  The burgers are actually nothing special, but it's worth the trip for just the old time dive ambiance.  

Triple XXX - West Lafayette, IN.  Named after brand of root beer and not a porno movie house, Triple XXX has been serving burgers since 1929.  Their "chop steak" burger is actually ground sirloin grilled on a flat grill that has been seasoned with years and years of cooking burgers for students at nearby Purdue University.   

Best of the Chains -

Schoops -  (Pictured left) The Northwest Indiana-based chain of hamburger joints have been serving up their flat-grilled style of burgers since 1948.  

Five Guys Burgers - Huge juicy burgers and a sack full of thick cut French fries, it's no wonder Five Guys is one of the fastest growing burger chains in the nation.

Whataburger - It's been years since I've been to a Whataburger, but it remains one of my favorite of the "made-to-order" fast food places.  A Doublemeat with cheese continues to call my name. 

Fuddruckers - Although they've gone through some hard financial times over the past few years, and they've closed a number of locations, Fuddruckers is still tough to beat.  Big juicy burgers with a great "fixin's" bar.

In 'n' Out - The West Coast icon.  I try to hit an In 'n' Out when I make it out to Las Vegas for trade shows.  It's probably my favorite of them all.

Smashburger - This Denver-based chain of burger joints where they smash the burger patty to give it a nice crusty outer shell will top over 200 locations in the U.S., Canada and Costa Rica in 2013.  While I'm still not big on smashed burger patties, Smashburger is very good.   

Meatheads - Based out of Bloomington, IL and now with 10 locations (and soon to be 11) in Central Illinois and the Chicagoland area, these guys are in direct competition with Five Guys.  The burgers at Meatheads are pretty good, not as good as Five Guys, but a very good alternative.

Runza - I loved the old Kings Food Host burgers and the closest place I've found to their burgers are the ones at Runza.  Runza's burgers are one of the best kept secrets in the Midwest, but you can only find them in Nebraska.   

Don and Millie's - Found in Omaha and Lincoln, Don and Millie's also has a burger that is similar to the old Kings Food Host burgers.  I like to stop at Don and Millie's from time to time to get one of their juicy, made-to-order burgers.

Rest in Peace -

Newstead Tower - St. Louis, MO.  While this place is now closed, I understand that the burger they served at Newstead Tower is now available at its sister restaurant, Five Bistro.  The burger featured locally sourced hormone-free beef and was an outstanding burger.  

The Kitchen - Stillwater, MN.  I had the chance to get a burger at The Kitchen in the Twin Cities suburb of Stillwater before they closed up.  It was just fabulous.  Unfortunately, I had the chance to go back and found that they had closed down.   

Cardinal Lunch - Newton, IA.  Growing up in Newton, IA, the Cardinal Lunch was attached to the Stockton's grocery store and it was a treat to get one of their flat-grilled burgers where they basted the face of the bun with a butter sauce and grilled it next to the burger.  There was no taste like it.   

The Overrated Burgers -

Nitty Gritty - Madison, WI.  I've been there twice.  The first time, they overcooked the burgers so bad that it was inedible. (Pictured right)  And that's not to mention the large hair I found dangling from a piece of one the burgers I was served.  The second time was not much better.  I can't see what the deal is about the Nitty Gritty. 

5-8 Club - Minneapolis, MN.  Cheese-stuffed "Juicy Lucy's" are the rage in the Twin Cities and the debate rages as to who has the better of the two who claim they have the original - 5-8 Club or Matt's Bar.  The two times I've tried 5-8 club, the cheese cooked right out of the burger.  Matt's would have made this list, as well, as they are just so inconsistent on the visits I've had.  But the last time I went in there a couple years ago, I had a great burger.  So, I guess it's hit or miss.   

BLT Burger - Las Vegas, NV.  I've probably eaten at BLT Burger at the Mirage five or six times, and only because of convenience.  The first two times I had their burger, I thought it was good, but not the best.  After subsequent visits, I wondered why anyone would be willing to spend that kind of money on this average of a burger.  Chef Laurent Tourondel needs to focus on his specialty - French bistro food - and not worry about putting his name on an overpriced and very average burger.

Cheeseburger in Paradise - Middleton, WI.  A chain of about two dozen restaurants owned by singer Jimmy Buffett, Cheeseburger in Paradise is nothing more than a money grab for unsuspecting tourists.  Usually found in locations near malls or area attractions, the burgers are far from paradise.     

Cozy Inn - Salina, KS.  "Where's the beef?!"  You need to check out my entry on the Cozy Inn and see the puny amounts of misshapen beef patties they tried to pawn off as a historic piece of Americana.    

Ross' Restaurant - Bettendorf, IA

One of the landmarks of eateries in the Quad Cities is a long time diner called Ross' Restaurant in Bettendorf.  Famous for their 24 hour dining, loose meat hamburgers and "The Magic Mountain", Ross' is an institution in the Quad Cities hosting famous people and politicians over the years.  I'm sort of surprised at myself for not talking about Ross' earlier.  Well, better late than never.  

The story of Ross' Restaurant begins back in the late-30's when Harold Ross began to work at Scudder's Maid-Rite Shop in Toledo, IA.  Looking to open his own Maid-Rite location, Harold moved to Bettendorf, IA and opened a franchise there.  Things were starting out well for Harold - until World War II came around.  He stepped away from his restaurant and joined the Navy.  Ross became a cook in New Guinea during the war saying afterward, "That was fine with me.  I wasn't mad at anyone."  

After the war, Harold came home and married his long-time girlfriend, June Scudder, the daughter of Charles and Nina Scudder, the owners of the Maid-Rite shop in Toledo.  The original Ross' Maid-Rite shop was just across the street from its present day location (see map) where a gas station now stands.  In 1965, Ross moved his restaurant across the street.

Somewhere along the way, Harold - who could be a somewhat cantankerous cuss - got fed up with the Maid-Rite corporation.  Suddenly, his Maid-Rite loose meat sandwiches became "Rossburgers".  Quite honestly, I won't eat at any of the Maid-Rites in the Quad Cities because Ross' has the best Maid-Rite style sandwiches in the area.  Harold and June ran the restaurant until they retired in 1975.  Their daughter, Cynthia Friedhof, and her husband, Ron, bought the business from Harold and June, and have run it ever since.  Their daughter, Melissa, is involved in the business, as well.

Ron Friedhof is responsible for possibly the most iconic food dish in the Quad Cities, the Magic Mountain.  The Magic Mountain starts off with a couple pieces of Texas toast that is covered with Rossburger meat.  You then have your choice of French fries or hash browns on top of that, then the whole thing is capped off with a healthy dose of melted cheese sauce.  Customers can then opt for a snow-capped Magic Mountain - topped with chopped onions.  The Volcano is basically a Magic Mountain topped with Ross' spicy chili.  At 6:30 at night, that may not sound very good.  But after a night of drinking, thousands of Magic Mountains and Volcanos have been consumed at 2:30 a.m. 

(People in Springfield, IL say that Friedhof took the idea for the Magic Mountain from their iconic "Horseshoe sandwich".  The Magic Mountain is similar, but the Horseshoe sandwich - which has been around since the late 1920's - has ham or turkey instead of ground beef.  Either way, both are cholestoral bombs.)

A number of famous people have visited Ross' over the years to try a Magic Mountain.  Moline native Louie Bellson and his wife, Pearl Bailey, have been to Ross'.  Bill Murray has visited (his paternal aunt and uncle lived a block over behind us and we got to know them pretty well at neighborhood gatherings), as has world-renown opera singer Simon Estes.  Bette Midler has had a Magic Mountain, and because of Iowa's "first-in-the-nation" status a number of presidential candidates have stumped for votes at Ross'.  However, probably no one more famous than the President of the United States has been in Ross'.  Completing a campaign pledge to Ron and Cynthia Friedhof in 2008, Barak Obama stopped at Ross' during a trip to the Quad Cities in 2011.  Here is Obama and Cynthia Friedhof during his visit with Obama holding one of Ross' massive cinnamon rolls. Melissa Freidhof made Obama a Volcano that day.  No, he didn't eat the whole thing. (Picture courtesy The Atlantic Wire.com)  

Cynthia Freidhof and her daughter also took the Magic Mountain on the road with a televised appearance on the Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC after Obama's visit.  Click here to see the Rachel Maddow segment of Cynthia and Melissa Freidhof making a Magic Mountain and Volcano.  It also includes a snippet of when Cynthia Friedhof first talked to Barak Obama in the summer of 2008, and his subsequent visit to their restaurant three years later.  It's actually a pretty interesting video.  

On a fall afternoon, we decided to head down to Ross' and get Rossburgers for lunch.  We went inside and  we took a booth along the east side and was greeted by a waitress with a couple of menus for us.  We'd recognized her from waiting on us before.  A number of waitresses at Ross' have worked there for years and years.

The inside of Ross' is colorful and well-lit.  Large windows illuminate the dining area during the daylight hours.  The dining room features a number of booths with some tables interspersed in the room.   

There is a classic counter at Ross' - actually two of them.  There's a small L-shaped counter that seats 7 and next that is another counter that has high-backed chairs and seats around a dozen people.  More booths and tables are in the same area as the counter.  

The menu at Ross' features breakfast 24 hours a day, a number of sandwiches and salads, regular hand-pattied burgers, and meals such as fried chicken, grilled pork tenderloins, and breaded shrimp.  Ross' also has a blackboard that lists the daily special along with what kind of pies they have that particular day. 

But Cindy and I were there for Rossburgers that day.  Actually, I've had Rossburgers for breakfast many times before.  I usually order the breakfast special number 5 - two eggs with bacon, and a Rossburger with cheese.  But I just wanted a couple Rossburgers with cheese on this visit.  Cindy got the Rossburger basket - French fries and cole slaw come with the basket.  The waitress asked us if we wanted ketchup on the Rossburgers - some people still like the old time way the original Maid-Rites were served with no ketchup.  We declined the ketchup.  

It doesn't take too long to get the Rossburgers to the table.  They're wrapped in wax paper to be able to catch the crumbling meat as it falls out with each bite.  Sometimes, I'll get a Rossburger and a bowl of their very good chili and pour the excess meat into the chili.  It's just killer.

This particular Rossburger was no exception.  If you're a regular reader of Road Tips, you'll know that I'm rather partial to the Maid-Rites they have at the Newton Maid-Rite.  While it's not an exact copy, the Rossburgers are about as close I've found to the Newton Maid-Rites anywhere in Eastern Iowa or Western Illinois.  

Cindy said that her cole slaw was pretty bland, but I did help her with some of her fries.  The fries they have at Ross' are crispy on the outside and fluffy inside.  I normally don't eat fries with burgers all that much, but I will order the fries at Ross' from time to time.  I figured getting a couple Rossburgers with cheese were enough for me, but just a few fries didn't hurt.

At the cash register, sitting in cellophane on a tray, are Ross' giant homemade cinnamon rolls (below left).  Large cinnamon rolls are sort of a signature item with most breakfast places in the Quad Cities.  The ones at Ross' are certainly no exception.  When I make homemade chili, I'll go down to Ross' to get a couple cinnamon rolls to get something sweet to go along with the spicy taste of the chili.  Yep, cinnamon rolls with chili.  I got that when I was going to school at the Newton Community School District all those years ago.  They'd serve cinnamon rolls with chili for school lunches and I loved the taste combination of the two.  Still do.  Ross' has some of the best homemade cinnamon rolls around.   

Since it's situated next to the Interstate 74 bridge - and there are plans in the works to replace the two-lane double spans with two four-lane spans beginning sometime in the next three to five years - Ross' Restaurant is looking to move their location.  Already, property has been bought up around the restaurant and many buildings have been razed for the project.  It's only a matter of time before the Friedhof's have to move and look for property to build a new Ross'.  But you can bet the new place will still have the same down-home feel as the present building possesses.  Ross' is truly an icon in the Quad Cites. 

Barbiere's Mama Mia's Ristorante - Milwaukee

I've found a number of pretty good pizza places in Milwaukee over the years.  One of the first that I tried nearly 10 years ago came upon the recommendation of a dealer I used to call on years ago at a place just across the street from his store with the decidedly Italian name of Mama Mia's.  It had been some time since I'd treated myself to a pizza on the road and I decided to give Mama Mia's a long-awaited revisit one evening on a recent trip to Milwaukee.  

Actually, the full name of the restaurant is Barbiere's Mama Mia's Ristorante.  And to confuse you, there are actually two factions of Mama Mia's that share the same DNA, but not the same ownership.  The Mama Mia's story starts in 1954 when Alvin Fernandez and Tony Barbiere opened the first Mama Mia's restaurant at the corner of 49th and North Ave. in Milwaukee's Uptown neighborhood, right near the present day location of McBob's Irish Pub.  Business flourished and Fernandez and Barbiere opened a location in the Kops Park/Cooper Park neighborhood in West Milwaukee.  The third location - the one on Silver Spring Dr. that houses the Mama Mia's I went to - opened in 1963.  Somewhere along the way, Tony Barbiere and Alvin Fernadez split up with Fernandez taking two of the Mama Mia's and Barbiere taking the Silver Springs location.  There is still a Mama Mia's restaurant owned by Alvin Fernandez's daughter in suburban Wales, WI, thus the "Barbiere's Mama Mia's" for the one on Silver Spring.    

Pictured right - Tony Barbiere on the right in the original Mama Mia's restaurant in 1954. 

There are also some Barbiere family-owned restaurants in the immediate Milwaukee area.  Up in the picturesque lakeside community of Port Washington, Tony's son, Jude Barbiere, owns the Mama Mia's Italian Restaurant, while Tony's brother, Sal, started the Barbiere's Italian Inn on West Bluemound Road in 1963.  Sal's son, Steve, took over the ownership of that restaurant when Sal retired in 1973.  And in 1997, Steve retired and sold the restaurant to longtime employee Mark Dempsey.  A second Barbiere's Italian Inn opened in South Milwaukee about three years ago.  

There was also a Barbiere's Mama Mia's in suburban Shorewood, north of Milwaukee, but that has since closed up.  Tony Barbiere is still listed as the owner of the Mama Mia's in North Milwaukee.   

It had been a long day of travel that started out in Madison with stops in Appleton, Green Bay, Manitowoc and north suburban Milwaukee.  It was around 8:30 when I pulled into Mama Mia's located at the border between Milwaukee and suburban Glendale.  (see map)  As you walk into the restaurant, there's a large dining room off to the right and a bar off to the left.  I decided to eat at the bar and watch some sports on TV.  Directly beside the bar is another dining room that looks like its used for a lunch buffet or overflow dining.  I was the only person in the bar and I got a menu from the bartender/server.  Even though they have a number of Italian entrees on the menu, I knew exactly what I wanted.  I ordered a 12" Italian sausage, pepperoni and mushroom pizza with the Mama Mia's original thin crust pizza.  My server asked me, "You want some butter garlic bread with that?"

I had heard that Mama Mia's butter garlic bread is to die for, but I knew I probably wouldn't be able to eat the whole pizza, let alone a pizza and butter garlic bread.  I declined her offer.

Another couple had come in to pick up a pizza to go.  It wasn't ready yet, so they sat at the bar near me and had a drink.  I heard them talking to the bartender about a trip to Hawaii they just came back from.  I politely interrupted their conversation and asked where they went to in Hawaii.  The lady said, "Maui!"  

I told her that we had spent a week on Maui about two and a half years ago.  "I'd swim back to Maui, if I could," I told the couple.  They agreed with me that Maui was the bomb.     

Works of art take time, so it was 20 minutes and into my third beer when the pizza showed up in front of me. The misshapen corn meal crust showed that it was made from scratch.  There were ample amounts of fresh mushrooms, pepperoni slices and chunks of Italian sausage on top of the pizza.  I waited awhile to let the pizza cool down for fear of burning the top of my mouth.  The first bite was a crunchy, flavor-filled explosion in my mouth.  I'm not big on corn meal crust pizza, but this wasn't bad.  I did think the crust was a little too stiff and crisp for me, but it wasn't a deal breaker. Another minor quibble is that I thought the pizza sauce was a little too sweet for my taste.  Some parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes helped take some of the sweetness out of the taste.  But the toppings, including the mozzarella cheese, were fresh.  It was as good of a pizza as I remembered from my first visit years ago.

I was able to finish just over half the pizza and had the young lady box up the final three pieces for me.  I had a refrigerator and a microwave in my room and I had the remaining pieces for breakfast the next morning.  The crust had soaked up the grease and sauce, and was not as crunchy and stiff as the night before.  I remember liking it better with a softer crust.

I may want to try the other Mama Mia's restaurants to see if their pizza is similar to Barbiere's Mama Mia's in North Milwaukee.  I don't think it's the best pizza I've had in Milwaukee, but it is still very good.  It's different from many others in the area, a sort of pizza signature, if you will.  Some people probably prefer the corn meal crust and the sweet tomato sauce over the others, but not me.  Still, past that, I certainly can't say anything bad about the pizza at Barbiere's Mama Mia's.   

(Update - After 60 years in business, Mama Mia's closed their doors in the fall of 2014. Their location in Mequon is still open.)

Kirkwood Station Brewing Company - Kirkwood, MO

On a recent trip to St. Louis, I had a late day meeting with the guys from one of my dealers.  Knowing that we'd go out for beers and food afterward and talk a little more business, one of the guys was telling me about a place that he had gone to after a concert a few weeks prior.  He said, "I'd heard about this place, but I'd never been there.  Actually, the beer and the food was pretty good."  The name of the place was Kirkwood Station Brewing Company in the near St. Louis suburb of Kirkwood - a nice little upscale community with a number of shops and restaurants in its downtown area.  I thought that sounded good to me.  

Kirkwood Station Brewing Company has been in business since 2009, but they've only been known as Kirkwood Station for a little over a year.  When they first opened, they were called Highlands Brewing, named after an old upscale resort that was in Kirkwood over 100 years ago, Meramec Highlands Resort.   However, the Highland Brewing Company in North Carolina filed suit against the Kirkwood brew pub for copyright infringement.  In the summer of 2011, a judge ruled that Highlands Brewing Company had to change their name, so owner Mike Willerton held a contest through Facebook asking patrons to rename the business.  Their new name, Kirkwood Station, pays homage to the nearby historic Kirkwood Train Station.

Dave Johnson oversees the brewing operation at Kirkwood Station which features nearly 20 year-round and seasonal beers on tap.  Johnson was formerly the assistant brewer at O'Fallon Brewery, and before that he was the brewmaster at Buffalo Brewing Co., a brew pub in midtown St. Louis.  In addition to their craft brewed beers, Kirkwood Station also offers the usual domestic and imported beers for those who prefer those brands.  

Kirkwood Station Brewing Company is located just east of the corner of E. Jefferson and N. Kirkwood Ave (S. Lindbergh when it's not going through Kirkwood) in a building that used to be the old Alandale Brewing Company before Willerton bought the business. (see map)  There is parking on the street in front of the business, but there's also a large parking lot just to the east.  But because there are a number of eating establishments in the immediate area, that lot can be full - like it was when I drove in there around 7:00 p.m.  However, a couple people were leaving and I only had to wait a couple minutes for a parking place to open up.

Kirkwood Station has an outdoor seating area in front of the restaurant/brew pub.  It was a nice night and we contemplated sitting outside for a moment, but the close proximity of Jefferson Ave. and the traffic going back and forth told us that it probably would be sort of loud from time to time.  

Coming into Kirkwood Station, they have a large blackboard with a listing of the beers they have to offer that day, along with food specials and upcoming bands that will play at the brew pub.  In fact, Kirkwood Station is sort of split in half.  To your right as you come in is The Tunnel, Kirkwood Station's live music venue that also serves as a secondary bar and dining area.  The Tunnel is named after the locally famous Kirkwood Tunnel that was built back in 1883.  The Kirkwood Tunnel, also known as the Frisco Tunnel after the St. Louis and San Francisco rail line, was 400 feet in length, 20 feet high and 12 feet wide.  When he bought the brewpub back in 2009, owner Willerton stated that he wanted to make his place the "Blueberry Hill" of live entertainment on the southwest side of St. Louis.  (Blueberry Hill is a hip and funky restaurant/entertainment establishment in the Delmar Loop area of St. Louis that features the Duck Room, their main stage entertainment room where local legend Chuck Berry plays once a month.  Click here to see my entry on Blueberry Hill, but I really need to get back there to do a more in-depth look at the place.)

We took a seat in the main bar/dining room to the left as you come into Kirkwood Station.  There was a lively crowd in the brew pub that evening, even for the middle of the week.  We were given menus and not long after our waiter for the evening, Kevin, came by to greet us.  One of the guys who had been there before said, "We only had appetizers the first time we were here and the beer seemed decent."  He looked at Kevin and said, "What are you guys known here for food?"

Kevin said, "Ah, I'm probably not the one to ask that.  This is my first night working here.  I mean, I've been here three days so far getting trained, but this is my first night of waiting on tables.  I've had the burger and it's pretty good.  And some of the appetizers are good.  But I'm not going to B.S. you and tell you what we're famous for."  

We weren't certain what we wanted to order for our first beer, so we asked for a couple minutes to take a look at the beer menu.  As he walked away, my guest said, "Well, that's great.  It's his first night.  But at least he didn't bullshit us."

The bar/dining room area features a large bar that snakes across the east side of the room.  Three long shelves on either side of a middle partition hold a large number of liquor.  There were a number of flat panel televisions interspersed throughout the room.  Thick wooden tables with sturdy chairs were spaced across the floor and a handful of booths lined the wall opposite the bar.   

The brewing facility was in a room with large windows to the left of the bar as you were looking at it.  With the high ceiling with exposed rafters and the wooden floor, it was sort of loud in the place.  One of the guys said, "Maybe we should have gotten a table outside.  It's loud in here and it's not even half full."

Kevin came back and I ordered up their India Pale Ale.  It's more of an American-style IPA with a forward hop taste.  One of the guys ordered the Brown Ale, also an American-style brown brewed with 9 different types of malt.  The other guy got the Altbier, one of their seasonals that they had that particular evening.  It's a German-style that uses a warm-fermenting yeast during the brewing process.  

We decided to order up some appetizers.  My guest who had been there before said they had the crab dip appetizer when they were there before.  It's served warm with tortilla chips.  I also saw that they had fried pickles on the menu.  I asked the guys, "You guys ever had fried pickles before?"  They both said they had not.  I told them of my experience of having fried pickles at J.K. O'Donnell's in Fort Wayne, IN.  I said, "If these are even half as good as the ones I've had in Fort Wayne, they'll still be delicious."  They agreed to give 'em a try.   

While we waited for the appetizers, I took a good and long look at the menu.  Kirkwood Station featured a number of salads, sandwiches, and a handful of entrees including a 12 oz. ribeye steak, barbecued ribs, chicken Florentine, a shrimp basil pesto capellini pasta dinner.  They also had four or five different types of burgers and they also had pizza.  In fact, one of the guys said, "I saw their pizza when we were here before.  It looked good.  In fact, I may have to try that tonight."  

Kevin brought out the appetizer plates just before we were ready to order.  The crab dip had creamy and buttery texture and taste with lumps of crab meat throughout the warm mixture.  Chopped fresh parsley was sprinkled on top.  The chips were fresh, but we ran out of chips before we finished the dip.  We weren't shy as we finished up the dip by spooning it into our mouths.  It was that good.  

The fried pickles were equally as good.  They had a nice light batter around the pickle slices that were cut long and thin.  The ranch dressing dip was a nice complement to the fried pickles.  They weren't as good as the ones at J.K. O'Donnell's in Fort Wayne, but were still very good.  One of the guys said, "I don't think I've ever had fried pickles before.  These are damn good!"  

It was time to order our food and one of the guys order a pizza, the other ordered the Kirkwood cheeseburger - a half-pound patty with your choice of cheddar, American, pepperjack, Swiss or provel cheeses.  I thought about getting either the reuben sandwich or the Highlands Cuban - slow roasted pork and sliced ham topped with melted Swiss and jack cheeses, garlic dill pickles and mustard and served on a baguette roll.  But I'm always disappointed in any Cuban sandwich I've had outside of Miami.  There's nothing like the sweet bread they have for their Cuban sandwiches down there.  However, I took a complete turn and I ended up going the comfort food route, getting Patsy Ann's Meatloaf - a slow roasted meatloaf with a tomato glaze and served with garlic mashed potatoes with gravy and veggies.    

About three minutes after Kevin took our order, he came back and told us, "Well, I've just been told that the pizza making machine is down.  No pizzas until it can get fixed."  We were all sort of taken aback and sort of surprised.  "Pizza making machine," the guy who ordered the pizza asked incredulously.  

Kevin said, "I don't know.  That's what I was just told by one of the cooks in the kitchen when I placed the order."  (Turns out it was the pizza oven that had gone out.) 

My guest took a look at the menu that Kevin brought back with him and he ended up ordering the crispy chicken club sandwich - a battered and fried chicken breast topped with a slice of ham, melted cheddar and ranch, then bacon and served on a bun.  

The food came out in a timely fashion and even though I was a little full from the appetizers (they were pretty rich), I was ready to dig in.  The meatloaf (below left) had the gravy on it and not on the garlic mashed potatoes.  I sort of wanted to try the meatloaf without the gravy as I thought it would go on the potatoes.  A side of fresh steamed broccoli sat opposite the potatoes.  The meatloaf was good, not necessarily outstanding, but I really couldn't tell because of all the gravy on top.  But I ate all of it.  And because I was somewhat full from the meatloaf and appetizers, I hardly made a dent in the potatoes and the broccoli.  What I did have of the potatoes, however, yielded a nice garlic taste.

The Kirkwood cheeseburger (above right) came with a large beef patty and two slices of melted cheddar cheese.  My guest had a choice of a number of sides and got the creamy cole slaw.  After eating about half of his burger, I asked him how it was.  "It's very good.  They cooked it perfectly," he said as he showed me a bit of pink in the middle of the burger.  

Across from me, my guest who had the crispy chicken club sandwich also said it was good.  He got fries as his side - the big, thick steak fries that are the best to have.  He said, "Well, I sort of had my heart set on pizza, but this is still pretty damn good." 

Finishing up the evening, we had one last beer before going our separate ways.  The food at Kirkwood Station Brewing Company was pretty good.  For as varied a menu they have, it's difficult to do a lot of things well.  But I was happy with my meat loaf, but if I were to get it again I'd ask for the gravy in a bowl on the side.  The others guys liked their burger and/or chicken club sandwich.  And Kevin did a fine job for his first night working the tables.  (He was doing such a good job for his first night we surmised he had waited tables before.)  As we left, one of the guys said, "Yeah, I'd come back here.  This was pretty good all around." 

The Boat House - Davenport, IA

One of our favorite places to dine is a place called The Boat House just a five minute drive from our home along the Mississippi River in Davenport.  This past summer, it was difficult to get to The Boat House as the City of Davenport had River Drive - a main four-lane artery to and from the downtown Davenport area - torn up and closed down for nearly four months.  But the construction that inhibited access to their entrance at Bridge St. and River Drive (see map) opened up to two-lane traffic in both directions in the late summer.  Earlier this week the city opened all four lanes again when construction was completed.  Not long after they opened River Drive to two-lane traffic, we made our way over to The Boat House for dinner.  We hadn't been there since we had dinner with friends of ours on New Years Eve last year.

The building in which The Boat House sits started out in the 1960's as the club house for the Lake Davenport Sailing Club at what is known as Onieda Landing.  Actually, I don't know if there is such a thing as Lake Davenport as the river in front of the building is officially known as "Pool 15", just upstream from Locks and Dam 15.  Under the water is a series of rapids that made navigation through the area almost impossible until the Locks and Dam system was installed in the mid-1930's for the Upper Mississippi River.  (The river makes almost a 1000 foot drop from its source at Lake Itasca in Minnesota down to St. Louis.) 

Looking out at "Pool 15" from a riverside booth at The Boat House. 

"Pool 15" is the shortest of all pools along the Mississippi River and the stretch from just upstream of the Quad Cities down to Muscatine, IA is the longest stretch of the river running east-west.  (When my wife moved to Davenport nearly 20 years ago, she had the hardest time figuring directions because she was taught in school in Cedar Rapids that the Mississippi River runs north-south.  Not through the Quad Cities.  You go south into Illinois when you cross from Iowa.)

In the 80's, the Lake Davenport Sailing Club built a new club house further up the river and the original building became a restaurant.  When I first moved to the area in 1991, the place was a Cajun restaurant - actually, a very good Cajun restaurant.  The Cajun restaurant moved to downtown Rock Island in 1993 (and subsequently went out of business), and a couple years later local restaurateur Jim Sweet came in and opened the Boat House.   Sweet was the former owner at the highly acclaimed Captain's Table restaurant in Moline, at that time one of the finest places to eat in the Quad Cities.  After selling The Captain's Table, trying to capture some of the same magic at The Boat House proved to be tough for Sweet.  Along with his son, Dave, they ended up putting on an addition to the restaurant more than doubling its seating and adding a bar.  The new addition featured booths with splendid views of the river not more than 10 feet from the flood wall.  Today, Dave Sweet and his sister Lori Bentley along with Mark Klundt run The Boat House.   

Above left - the original dining room at The Boat House.  Above right - the addition with the bar area.  (Picture on right is from The Boat House's Facebook page.)  With their big windows, the dining/bar area is a great place to watch eagles fly around on sunny days during the winter.    

In the warmer months, The Boat House also has a wonderful patio that looks out onto the river and across to Arsenal Island and the Rock Island Arsenal.   (Picture at left from The Boat House's Facebook page.)  On beautiful nights, the patio is usually packed.   And since its located right along the riverfront bike path, it's a popular destination for people riding bikes in the summer time. This particular recent evening we ventured to The Boat House, it was nice out, but we knew as soon as the sun went down it would get cool on the patio.  We decided to sit inside the dining room/bar area in one of the spatious booths they have.  

As we looked through the menu at The Boat House, our server for the evening, a nice young lady, came over to greet us.  I ordered a beer and Cindy decided that she just wanted iced tea.  The lunch menu at The Boat House is more geared toward soups, salads and sandwiches, while the dinner menu features steaks, seafood, barbecued ribs, and The Boat House's wonderful slow roasted prime rib.  Actually, I was looking for for the soup and sandwich thing that evening and they do offer a handful of their sandwiches during the dinner hours, as well.  Their reuben sandwich is one of the better reubens I've ever had. 

They also have a wonderful Bavarian steak soup at The Boat House.  It's a thick tomato/beef stock soup with chunks of ribeye steak and vegetables.  I usually get a cup of the steak soup on my visits to The Boat House.  Their New England-style clam chowder is also very good.  It's the same recipe that Jim Sweet used when he ran The Captain's Table.  For some reason, a number of restaurants in the Quad Cities have very good clam chowder, some of the best outside out New England.  

Cindy was also sort of thinking along the lines of light eating.  She particularly likes the creamy garlic dressing at The Boat House.  Tonight, she was thinking of getting a salad and some fish.  She thought about getting a half order of the stuffed sole filet - a sole filet that is rolled with spinach and three different types of cheese, broiled and finished off with a homemade creamy chardonnay sauce.  She also thought about getting the mahi mahi - you can get it with your choice of Cajun seasonings, lemon peppered or plain.  But at about $20 bucks, she thought that was too expensive.  

She saw that they had a crab cake sandwich on the menu, but didn't know if she wanted the sandwich.  Then she saw literally the same thing as one of the many appetizers The Boat House has on their menu, only without the bread.  She ended up ordering a dinner salad with the garlic dressing and the in-house-made crab cakes that featured capers and Cajun seasonings and served with a remoulade-style sauce. (The Boat House calls it a "European-style" cocktail sauce.)  I went with a bowl of the Bavarian steak soup and I had to have one of their very good reuben sandwiches.  With the sandwich, you get your choice of four different types of potatoes, rice or the vegetable of the day.  I ended up getting fries.  

Our first part of the meal came out with the steak soup and the salad.  My steak soup was in a large bowl brimming with a hearty broth.  I like lots of pepper in my steak soup and I may have put in two table spoons of black pepper before I stirred it in.  The steak is slow cooked with the veggies and tomato/beef stock.  The Bavarian steak soup at The Boat House is simply phenomenal.

Cindy's salad featured fresh greens with a small roma cherry tomato, a slice of cucumber and a sprinkling of The Boat House's homemade croutons.  The garlic dressing is thick and creamy, and it contains a lethal amount of garlic - lethal for vampires.  I have to take a bite of the salad dressing just so I can even be near Cindy later in the evening as you can literally reek of garlic for hours afterward.  The dressing definitely gets your attention without being too overbearing.

Cindy's crab cakes and my sandwich came out after we finished the soup and salad.  Her crab cake appetizer featured three decent sized crab cakes with a tomato slice.  She said they were very good, but very rich.  She offered me a small taste of the crab cakes with the remoulade sauce.  The crab meat was fresh in taste and the sauce had a nice little spicy spike to it.  Cindy declared her crab cakes and salad as "the perfect meal for this evening."  She said she certainly didn't need any more than that.   

My reuben had a pile of tender corned beef topped with Swiss cheese, sauerkraut and 1000 Island dressing between two pieces of toasted dark rye bread.  One of the things I like about The Boat House is that they put the dressing on the sandwich and then bring out a small container of dressing with the sandwich.  I started asking for my reubens served that way when I eat them at other places.  I sort of like dipping them in the dressing although there's usually already enough dressing on the sandwich.

Isn't this just one of the best looking reuben sandwiches you've ever seen?  They certainly didn't skimp on the succulent corned beef, and the sauerkraut was fresh and tasty.  Just like other times I've had the reuben at The Boat House, I certainly wasn't disappointed. 

 

 

While the prices at The Boat House can skew a little more to the higher end of the scale, especially with their entrees, I have to think back to remember if I've ever had a bad meal at the place.  Quite honestly, I can't remember any problems on any of our visits to The Boat House over the past 17 years.  They've always been accommodating to us and the service has always been fine.  We don't go as often as we used to, but with River Drive fully open again, we may find ourselves turning into Onieda Landing for a meal at The Boat House a little more often.  

(Update - The Boat House closed in early 2014 and was replaced by a restaurant called The Waterbar (my wife hates the name).  We've been there three times and we've had two bad experiences and one good one.  One of these days - if they're still open and we feel like torturing ourselves with slow service and mediocre food - we'll go back and I'll do a blog entry on The Waterbar.)

Green Gables - Hudson/Lake Bloomington, IL

I'm in the midst of updating my Best Burgers List for 2012 and one place that has been on and off the list since its inception about five years ago has been the Green Gables at Lake Bloomington, north of Bloomington, IL, near Hudson.  I've talked about Green Gables in the past, but had really never done an in-depth look at the place.  While driving between St. Louis and Chicago recently, I was in the area around lunch time.  I got off I-55 and drove north to the Green Gables. 

Located at the corner of E. 2500 North Road and N. 1750 East Road about 15 miles from Bloomington and 6 miles from Hudson (see map), the original building that houses Green Gables was built as a gas station back in 1929 by John Hinthorn.  That was the same year that the city of Bloomington built Lake Bloomington, a 635-acre reservoir to supply water to the city and surrounding communities.  Over the years and through three other owners, the Green Gables expanded to include a country general store.

In 1952, Ross and Marilyn Elvidge bought the establishment and added a bar to the place.  Green Gables continued to pump gas until the Elvidges took out the gas pumps in the late 70's.  In the late 80's, Ross Elvidge retired and his daughter, Julie MacPherson, and her husband ran it for seven years.  Another Elvidge daughter, Sandy Holder, and her husband, Mike, bought the business from her sister.  They continue to run Green Gables today.  

I was first turned on to the Green Gables by my buddy, Jim Kellogg, who used to live in nearby Hudson.  We had gone down to Hudson to see him and his wife, Lori, one day and they took us out to Green Gables.  At that time - about 13 years ago - it was one of the finest burgers I'd ever had.  Subsequent visits to the place reconfirmed my belief that the burgers were still some of the best.  

However, on a trip to Green Gables in 2007, there was something decidedly different about the taste of the Green Gables burger.  It wasn't as good as it had been in the past.  When I reported back to Kellogg that I thought the quality of the burgers had gone downhill.  Thinking I was full of crap, but admitting that he hadn't been out to Green Gables for awhile, he went out there with some friends and they, too, said that the burgers weren't that good.  So, here's the story of the magic grill at Green Gables.

When Ross Elvidge decided to put in a bar, he bought a small flat top grill that was used to cook hamburgers.  Only cleaning off the residue meat and juice, the flat top grill got a build-up of seasoning over the years giving the Green Gables burgers a signature taste.  In 1988 when Ross Elvidge was getting ready to retire, he decided he would just close up Green Gables.  He had a number of offers on the grill and he ended up selling it to someone who wanted it for the years and years of seasoning it had built up on it.  When his daughter, Julie, later decided to buy the business from her father and reopen Green Gables, she had to buy the grill back!

Then a number of years ago, an over-zealous worker decided to clean up around the restaurant.  He cleaned the flat top grill right down to the metal taking the years and years of seasoning of the plate.  After that, the burgers were pretty pedestrian - and I got one of those burgers.  It took months and months for the seasoning to build back up on the flat grill.  I went back in to Green Gables in 2008 and while the burger was better than the time before, it still wasn't as good as I remember it to be on my first few visits.  It had been that long since I was last in Green Gables until earlier this fall and I was hoping that the burger would be back to "normal". 

I was told one time that the secret to the grill was that they used to pour ketchup on the flat top and that's what seasoned the burgers.  But Sandy Holder says that nothing is done to either the grill or to their burgers enhance the taste.  They use no seasonings on their burgers during the cooking process - not even salt and pepper.     

The interior of Green Gables is nothing fancy.  The grocery store is still in operation behind the bar area with a number of tables and chair set up in there for larger parties of people.  (Believe it or not, there was a marriage rehearsal lunch going on with about 16 people seated around a large table in the grocery store.)  In addition to regular grocery items, Green Gables also sells beer and liquor, as well as lures and bait for fishing at nearby Lake Bloomington.  

The bar area features about nine or ten stools at the bar, and little booths back in the corner.  There's a pool table next to the bar.  With a white ceiling and a gray/white checked tiled floor, the place is bright in the daytime.  

I took a seat at the bar in front of the grill and a lady took my order for a double cheeseburger.  She took a couple of small balls of ground beef - an 80/20 mix - and put them on the grill.  Letting them sit for a moment, she smashed them down with a large metal spatula, spraying the juice of the meat onto the grill.  This gets the burgers thin and a double burger is usually about right for most guys and some gals.  As the burgers were taken off the grill, the lady cooking the burger would use the spatula to scrape excess beef bits and juice down into a metal trough on the front of the grill.  And that's it - no wire brush, no cleaning cloth.  They turn the grill off at night and start it up again the next morning.   

The burgers come wrapped up in wax paper.  Ordering "everything" gets you lettuce, tomato, onions and pickle.  Ketchup is available on the counter and mustard is available upon request.   

The burger patties were thin and had that wonderful sort-of-burnt-meat crust on the outside.  My first bite into the first Green Gables burger I'd had in a long time told me that the grill was magical once again.  The taste of the burger was exquisite.  It had that nice flat top grilled taste with the meat cooking in its own juices.  There was still some juiciness to the burger as each bite yielded drips down onto the wax paper.  The bun was soft and added a nice overall flavor to the burger.   But the meat, on its own, was the star of the burger.  The Green Gables burger solidified it's lofty ranking on my Best Burgers list.

And it's a pretty good bargain, too.  A double cheese burger is $3.29 and it's better than many burgers I've had at fancier places where the burgers cost three times as much as the ones at Green Gables.  

Look for my Best Burger list for 2012 to come out shortly, and one burger you'll be sure to see high on the list is the one at Green Gables.  The magic grill is back and hopefully will continue to get better and better as time goes on.  Green Gables is definitely a destination, but damn well worth the trip.  

Iron Barley - St. Louis

A place in the greater St. Louis area that has been on my radar for quite some time - Iron Barley - has gained a measure of national notoriety over the past couple three years after it was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on the Food Network, and Man vs. Food on the Travel Channel.  I had first discovered Iron Barley in an article in (I believe it was) Gourmet magazine a number of years ago, but I had never gotten around to go have a meal there.  I had a meeting with a potential dealer on the south side of St. Louis recently and found out that Iron Barley was located just off of Interstate 55.  I made it a point to stop for lunch when I was down that way.

Iron Barley began in 2001 when longtime chef Tom Coghill decided to trade in his corporate chef's hat for a bandana and offer a down-home, Southern style of food fare in a unpretentious setting.  Coghill had been a chef at the Hyatt which was formerly at Union Station, then at the old Adam's Mark hotel in St. Louis.  He then went to Frazer's, an eclectic restaurant in the Benton Park area of St. Louis, just across Interstate 55 from the Anheuser-Busch brewery.  While at Frazer's, Coghill began to experiment with cooking food in an iron skillet using his co-workers as "guinea pigs".  Most of the concoctions that he came up with were done by the seat of his pants, but some of the better ideas he came up with showed up on the menu when he opened in May of 2003.  The name Iron Barley comes from Coghill's pairing of iron skillet-made food with his love for the finest in locally and Midwestern micro-brews that he offers at his place.

Pictured at right - Tom Coghill  (Picture courtesy Riverfront Times)

Coghill struggled for quite some time getting his little place the exposure that it needed.  He was having to cut hours and staff when Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives showed up in the fall of 2007 to film a segment on his funky little place.  Between the time the piece was filmed and when it was aired in March of 2008, Coghill was contemplating closing his doors.  But after it was shown on The Food Network, and the subsequent showing of his place on Man vs. Food, business has been brisk.  Coghill was quoted in an article in the Riverfront Times that his appearance on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives "saved me".  

Coghill smokes his meats with oak wood giving it a backyard type of flavor with his chicken, seafood, beef and pork.  The "Sammiches" feature old style comfort food favorites such as a hot beef sandwich to the more bizarre Ballistic Elvis - strawberry jam with crunchy peanut butter, grilled bananas, and topped with American cheese and hot pepper flakes on Texas toast.  (For a couple bucks more, you can have it topped with bacon.)   And the Iron Barley is famous for their hot dogs, most significantly the Monte Cristo - 2 1/2 grilled hot dogs topped with strawberry jam and Swiss cheese.  I understand their chili dogs - also 2 1/2 grilled hot dogs with a liberal amount of homemade chili on top - are pretty damn good.

It was just before noon when I pulled up in front of the Iron Barley on E. Virginia Ave., just off Exit 203 on Interstate 55. (see map)  The neighborhood looks a little mixed and signs in front of the place warned people to not leave valuables in plain sight in your car.  I walked through the front door and it puts you in the bar area with the dining room off to the left.  The first thing that sort of took me aback was that it wasn't that large of a place. The dining room featured brick walls with barn board molding along the top.  The tables and chairs are nothing fancy - it's truly a bar that has food.  

The bar area at Iron Barley features a few tables and chairs along the wall with a seven seat bar on the opposite side.  The kitchen is in the back with a pick up window that allows you to see inside.  The decor at Iron Barley is probably best categorized as "funky chic".  I immediately liked it.  

I ended up sitting at the bar and picked up a menu that was sitting in a holder at the bar.  It was a basic menu printed on paper, nothing fancy, just like Iron Barley.  But the food is a different story.  Other than the aforementioned smoked meats, "sammiches" and hot dogs, Iron Barley has some soup and salads, lunch "sammiches" that are served up to 4:00 p.m. (Those include a strip steak sandwich topped with chili mayo, and a fried egg sandwich with two eggs topped with lettuce, tomato, bacon, American and provel cheeses with Russian dressing on toasted rye bread.)   The entrees at Iron Barley are an interesting mix of American and International foods such as Oak roasted pork chops, schnitzel and spaetzle, and a Spanish seafood stew called Zarzuela that has shrimp, mussels, clams, squid and pieces of whitefish in a tomato saffron sauce with wagon wheel pasta.  

My bartender/server came over to greet me and she told me of three specials they had that day - a homemade lasagna, chili mac and cheese (Iron Barley's homemade chili mixed with elbow macaroni and topped with cheese), and a barbecue brisket sandwich.  A homemade pasta salad came with the brisket sandwich along with their homemade caraway cole slaw.  I had looked through the menu before she came over and when she said "Barbecue brisket sandwich", I sort of forgot about everything else.  When I stepped out of my car, I could smell the pungent oak wood smoke in the air.  I took the brisket sandwich special.  Or wait - I mean, "SAMMICH"!

Not long after I ordered, my sandwich with sides was set down in front of me.  The sandwich was served open face on a toasted hoagie bun which was covered with a liberal amount of sliced brisket.  The sauce was cooked in with the sliced meat.   

From the first bite, I was hooked.  Now, I really wish that I could discern spices in food better than I do, but the taste of the sauce with the meat was very different from most other barbecue sauces that I had.  I could tell there was some chili powder in the barbecue sauce as it gave the taste of the meat a little kick.  But there were some other spices in the sauce that confounded me.  All I knew is that I liked it.  The brisket was thin and tender and I ate the beef off the bread to be able to experience the whole flavor.  

The caraway cole slaw had a sort of pinkish color to it, but it had a fine flavor with a hint of caraway.  But the  pasta salad was a big hit - large chunks of tomatoes and artichoke hearts with wagon wheel pasta in a creamy Italian dressing.  It had a great taste and went well with the smoky, spicy taste of the barbecue beef sandwich.   

Iron Barley also has a once a month Beer Club of tastings of local and Midwestern craft beers on their patio in the back.  The beers they have on tap, as well as in bottles, is an interesting mix.  I understand that their beer tasting - usually featuring five or six different beers - is a popular event. 

Iron Barley was everything that I hoped it would be.  Interesting food, eclectic beers, and a fun and funky sort of personality to the place.  I'm not certain I'm going to be able to sign up the dealer in South St. Louis, but I can see me coming back to the Iron Barley to try something else at some point.  I was extremely happy with my sandwich - whoops!  SAMMICH!  And the sides were very good, as well.  A trip to Iron Barley has been a long time coming for me and the wait was well worth it.

Waterfront Deli - Bettendorf, IA

My wife and I have a Monday night tradition when I'm in town to go out on a "date night".  We usually go get something to eat, then eventually end up back home and catch a movie or television show that we've taped on the DVR.  Lately, we've been getting into funks about where to go out to eat.  Most of the places we like are getting expensive or they offer too much food and we're just miserable afterward.  One particular Monday evening a while back, we didn't know where to go until I decided to drive to a place we hadn't been to in quite sometime - the Waterfront Deli in Bettendorf.  

I've lived in the Quad Cities for over 21 years and the Waterfront Deli was in business for 10 years prior to my arrival.  Mike Chupka was the longtime owner of the restaurant and he ended up selling the place about seven years ago to Ray and Christine Brandt.  Chupka was the first general manager at the Symposium Cafe (click here to see my entry on the Symposium Cafe) before he went over to open and co-own Rivals Sports Bar in Davenport.  The Brandt's daughter, Nicole, is the manager of the Waterfront Deli.  

The Waterfront Deli is located on State Street in Bettendorf, the eastbound one-way that goes through downtown Bettendorf (see map).  It is situated next to an abandoned strip mall and a plot of land where - in my opinion - the best Dairy Queen in the world once stood.  (They had a great pork loin sandwich as well as great burgers.  The owner had a falling out with Dairy Queen and he lost his franchise affiliation.  He changed the name of the place to "Usta Be's" as he was having to answer to patrons who were coming in and asking if his place used to be a Dairy Queen.  He was open for only a couple more years before closing and the building was razed a number of years ago.  But the sign is still there.)

We got into the restaurant just after 6 p.m. and like most evenings it was pretty dead. (They close at 7:00 p.m. through the week, 4 p.m. on Saturday and are closed on Sunday.)   They do a brisk business throughout the day with both dine in and take-out orders.  You order at the front counter from a number of signature sandwiches they have at the Waterfront Deli, or you can build your own sandwich with your choice of five different types of meat, six different types of cheese, five different types of veggies, and six different types of bread.  They also have soups, salads, and interestingly, hot dogs including their own "Chicago style" hot dog topped with tomato, cucumber and hot peppers.  I've never had a Chicago Dog at Waterfront Deli.  I guess Portillo's spoils me enough with their great Chicago style hot dogs. 

They have a number of signature sandwiches at Waterfront Deli including the Touch of Class - pastrami, turkey, Swiss cheese, sliced fresh mushrooms, onions, tomato and alfalfa sprouts on marble rye.  I almost pulled the trigger on that sandwich this particular evening.  They also have a good reuben sandwich - the Riverside Reuben with your choice of pastrami or turkey, topped with melted Swiss cheese, sauerkraut and a horseradish/1000 Island dressing served on sour dough bread.   

But my favorite sandwich they have on the menu is the 1020 Sandwich.  (1020 State Street is their address.)  You have your choice of roast beef or turkey - I always get the beef - topped with cheddar and Swiss cheeses.  Then they pile on shredded lettuce, tomato slices, onions, fresh sliced mushrooms and alfalfa sprouts, then finish it off with honey mustard on a toasted onion roll.  That's exactly what I ordered.  

Cindy was always partial to their Waterfront Hoagie - ham, turkey, American cheese, chopped lettuce and tomato on a poppy seed hoagie bun.  She ended up ordering that.  You get a choice of potato chips, potato salad or cole slaw with the sandwich.  I took the potato chips and Cindy asked the girl at the counter, "You used to have this great pasta salad with the dill in it.  Do you still have it?"

The girl said, "The garlic dill pasta salad?  Sure, we still have that."  Cindy asked if she could get a side of that instead of the others and the girl said there would be a small upcharge and Cindy said it would be no problem.  Actually, I remember the garlic dill pasta salad and I went ahead and ordered a side of it to go along with the potato chips I got with the sandwich. 

There was only one other couple in the restaurant, so we took a table next to a large window in the larger of the two dining rooms they have at the Waterfront Deli.  The wooden ceiling has exposed rafter beams with lights and ceiling fans hanging down.  The wooden walls are sort of rustic and gives the place sort of a country feel.  Some people may say that it's designed to be more of a waterfront warehouse, but to me it's like eating in a barn.  On the walls throughout the Waterfront Deli are original watercolor paintings of local landmarks and buildings by local artist T.F. Hempel.  Hempel's works are very good and we spent a little time looking around at some of the pictures on the wall as we were waiting for our sandwiches.

A handful of people came in and picked up sandwiches to go.  Some had called ahead and the sandwiches were waiting for them.  It took about 10 minutes for our sandwiches to make it out to our table. 

The 1020 sandwich was exactly as I remembered - a soft and pungent onion bun, slightly toasted, piled high with thin sliced roast beef.  The honey mustard is a nice compliment, and even though I don't care for alfalfa sprouts all that much, the combination of their taste with the fresh mushrooms gave the sandwich a somewhat pleasant earthy taste.  It's a very good sandwich.  

Although she liked the sandwich, Cindy was a little perplexed with her Waterfront Hoagie. "I remember it being bigger than this.  But, then again, it's been a few years since we've been here.  They may have made it smaller instead of raising the price."  But she did remember how good the garlic dill pasta salad was.  The pasta salad has more of a dill taste than garlic and has a light oil base to it.  "This would be easy to make at home," Cindy said as she ate the pasta out of the small cup.  "I should make this sometime."  

In all the years we've been coming to the Waterfront Deli, we've always had good sandwiches and the pasta salad is excellent.  But it can get a little expensive - it was $7.50 for the 1020 sandwich and $6.95 for the Waterfront Hoagie.  Still, the Waterfront Deli is a unique little place that is consistently good.  And I'll pay a little more for that. And, obviously, for as long as they've been in business, others will, too.   

(Update - October 2013: After 33 years along State Street in Bettendorf, the Waterfront Deli has moved due to the upcoming construction of the new Interstate 74 bridge across the Mississippi.  They have moved to 1813 Kimberly Road in Bettendorf (see map) across from Duck Creek Golf Course in a building that was most recently housed La Flama Mexican Restaurant, but was called Papi's Bar and Bites before that.  I'm sure the sandwiches won't change at all from the former location.  But maybe the 1020 Sandwich will become the 1813...)   

Hillside Stables Restaurant and Inn - Sabula, IA

Since the name of this blog is named Road Tips, one of the purposes of the blog is to find and report on unique restaurants and places that are sometimes hidden or not well-known.  We found one of those places on a drive up the Mississippi River to look at fall foliage - Hillside Stables Restaurant and Inn outside of Sabula, IA.  (see map) 

Actually, we sort of knew about the restaurant as we had passed it on a couple of occasions in the past as we traveled along the Great River Road.  This particular Sunday, we had driven up the Illinois side of the river to look at the changing colors.  But looking back across the river to Iowa, we saw much more of a color splash on that side of the river.  We decided to cross back over just north of Savanna, IL and head toward Sabula and south.  But Cindy was hungry and I got out the GPS to see if there was any suggestions for food in the area.  We could have eaten at the new location of Manny's Pizza in Savanna, but we weren't really up for that.  I saw Hillside Stables Restaurant and Inn pop up and I wondered if it was that little place just off the side of Highway 67 south of Sabula.  When we pulled up to the restaurant about 10 minutes later, it was exactly the restaurant that I thought it was.  

Hillside Stables Restaurant has been around for over 12 years and was built and owned by Volker and Carol Nass.  Volker Nass was a retired pilot from the German Air Force and he met his wife, Carol, who was a former air traffic controller.  The two retired to Eastern Iowa and in the mid-90's built a house tucked back in a hillside off the highway.   They built the Hillside Stables in 1998 as they had a love for horses, and for friends to board their horses.  Their friends were coming over on a regular basis to have Volker's wonderful German food and to just hang out, so the Nass' decided to build a restaurant.  In 2000, Hillside Stables Restaurant opened with a little 45 seat building, complete with a bar area.  

 
A few years later, thanks to the business they were doing, the Nass' expanded the restaurant by putting in a room in the back that effectively doubled their capacity (pictured right).  They also added a little "Bier Garten" off to the side of the original building.

In March of this year, the Nass' sold the house, stables and restaurant to Angela Gianetti-Snyder, a Moline, IL native.  Gianetti-Snyder had just gone through the tragedy of losing her husband, Staff Sgt. Scott Sndyer, to cancer in the summer of 2011.  Wanting to start her life over, she bought the property from the Nass' and moved from the Quad Cities up to rural Sabula to run the stables, restaurant and inn.  

Actually, there isn't too much of an "inn" at Hillside Stables.  There are two separate apartments - one behind the restaurant, the other over at the stables - that feature two bedrooms, a living area, full kitchen, laundry facilities, satellite television and other amenities.  But we were told they rent for $89 a night and would be a nice little getaway for a night or two.  

We pulled into Hillside Stables Restaurant around a quarter to two that Sunday afternoon. (Sunday is the only day they serve during the day.  Hillside Stables is closed on Monday's, open 4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday thru Thursday, and 4:30 to 9:00 on Friday and Saturday evenings.)   It was well past the noon lunch rush they normally get when the church crowds show up.  Only five people were in the place when we walked in, occupying two tables.  We were greeted by the owner, Angela, and shown to a little alcove that featured antique-style tables and chairs.  She handed us a couple menus and we took a look to see what they had to offer.  I was really thinking of just getting a burger or a sandwich.  That is, until I got to looking at the menu.  

They had a number of German specialties on the menu including schnitzel dishes, sauerbraten (the Sunday special), and sausage dishes.  They also had a number of steaks on the menu, as well as pork, chicken and a couple of seafood items.  Cindy said, "I wonder what they're known for here."

I said, "Well, from the looks of the menu, they're known for their German food and steaks."   

When Angela came back to take our order, Cindy asked, "What are you known for here?"

Angela kind of stammered and said, "Well, our German food and steaks primarily."  

I kind of gave Cindy a smirking look and she looked back and me and said, "No, what I was getting at, is what are your signature dishes?"  

Angela said, "Well, any of our schnitzel dishes are good.  And we have the sauerbraten today.  But, if you're looking for steaks, the rib eye is sort of our signature steak."  She looked quizzically at Cindy and asked, "Is that what you were getting at?"

Cindy sort of shook her head and she said, "Yeah, I'm sorry.  I just thought there was some item on the menu that you were known for.  Sometimes little places like this are known for one thing."

Angela said, "Well, we're definitely known for our German food."   

Angela asked us if we had anything to drink.  After Cindy's somewhat convoluted discussion with Angela, she decided she needed a bloody mary.  "I think I drank too much last night," she said recounting the evening before when we had gone out with friends for drinks and Mexican food.  "I think I need a bloody mary."  

Hillside Stables had two German beers on tap - Spaten Lager and a Hacker Pschorr weisse (wheat) beer. I got a mug of the Spaten.  After she brought the drinks out, I had a sip of Cindy's bloody mary.  It was very good.  I said, "I'm gonna get me one of those!"  

For lunch, I was torn between the jagerschnitzel - two breaded pork cutlets covered in a mushroom gravy sauce; or the sauerbraten - tender shredded roast beef with a ginger cream sauce.  Cindy was torn between the weinerschnitzel - two breaded pork cutlets served with lemon wedges, and the sauerbraten.  When Angela came back to take our order, Cindy told me to go first.  I insisted she go first.  She ordered the weinerschnitzel and I got the jagerschnitzel. (I was hoping she'd get the sauerbraten so I could have a taste of it.  She was hoping I'd do the same thing.)  We got our choice of potatoes and they had spaetzle on the menu.  We both got spaetzle.  The vegetable of the day was green beans, but I wasn't too enamored with.  I asked Angela if I could get a side of the red cabbage.  She asked, "Do you want it instead of the green beans?"  Sure! 

Lastly, we had our choice of salad, soup, cottage cheese and a couple of other things as a starter.  If Hillside Stables Restaurant is famous for anything, it's their homemade mustard garlic dressing that they sell to the public by the jar.  People not only use it as a salad dressing, they order sides of it to dip food and bread into.  Cindy was intrigued by the dressing so she ordered a salad with that.  I wasn't as adventuresome and I got a bowl of cottage cheese.   

Oh, and I ordered a bloody mary for myself.  I said, "I had a taste of hers and it's good."   

Angela said, "I'll have the lady who made her drink come out and make yours. (She was in the back helping in the kitchen.)  If you say it's good, I don't want to screw it up!"  

Here's Cindy's salad with the garlic mustard dressing.  While it wasn't a big bowl of greens, it was enough to get the meal going.  Cindy tried the dressing and she sort of perked up and said, "Yeah, it's good.  Not exactly what I expected, but good."  

She gave me a bite of the salad and while it did have a little bit of a vinegary mustard taste, the garlic wasn't overwhelming.  "I'm used to garlic dressing as being a little more powerful than this," Cindy said.  "I think the mustard cuts into the garlic taste."  Still, she was happy and wanted to get a jar of it before we left.  (We forgot to get one.)

Quite actually, the homemade buns that Hillside Stables Restaurant had were superb.  They were sort of a rye/dill mixture, but there were a couple other flavors that were prevalent that we couldn't quite figure out.  I was going to ask Angela what else was in the buns, but completely forgot because we ate them so quickly.  

Our meals came out after about 20 minutes and I'll have to say that they certainly didn't skimp on the portions. Cindy's weinerschnitzel cutlets were thin, but still pretty big.  A large bowl of spaetzle was accompanied with a small container of an onion/garlic gravy.   

My jagerschnitzel was swimming in the mushroom gravy.  The spaetzle off to the side was also covered in the gravy and I had a small bowl of red cabbage on the side.  This was a LOT of food.

My schnitzel was tender and easy to cut.  The light breading on the outside gave it a good taste, but the mushroom gravy was just superb with the pork cutlets.  The spaetzle had a great chewy consistency and was equally outstanding.  But the red cabbage was the winner.  Although it was a small portion, the red cabbage was some of the best I've had anywhere.  Cindy tried some and she said, "Oh, my God.  That IS great!"  

Cindy was devouring her weinerschnitzel.  She said, "This is wonderful."  She then reminded me of a meal that we had on a vacation up to Canada a number of years ago, a little resort on Lake Superior with an Austrian restaurant called the Salzburger Hof.  We found the place one afternoon and even though they weren't open for lunch, the owner still made us weinerschnitzel.  Cindy said, "This place, this meal reminds me of that place."  We had promised the owner, Ann Elsigan, that we'd be back at some point, but we haven't.  "That's where we need to go for vacation next summer," Cindy exclaimed.  

We were both having trouble finishing our meals.  I ate the last bite of the last pork cutlet and said, "That's it!  I'm finished!"  The next thing I knew, I was mindlessly picking at what was left of the spaetzle with the mushroom gravy sauce and at the red cabbage.  

Cindy was doing the same thing.  "This is so good, I can't quit eating," she said in a guilty voice.  We both figured that we wouldn't be eating dinner that night. (And we didn't.)  We were stuffed.

After Angela tried to entice us with dessert - on which we quickly passed - we got to talking about what brought her up to Sabula.  "After my husband passed away, I needed to do something else," she explained.  "I left a home in Moline with a white picket fence and decided to come up here and do this."  When we asked if it was working out for her, she said, "Oh, yes,  Absolutely.  This is actually better than I anticipated." 

She said that through the week the restaurant is pretty slow.  "We don't get people that get out and drive to restaurants like they used to years ago," she explained.  "But our weekends are pretty big.  Last night (a Saturday night) we were packed in here from the time we opened to the time we served our last meal." 

The Hillside Stables Restaurant and Inn is only an hour drive north of the Quad Cities, and Cindy and I both thought that when we get the hankering for German food - GOOD German food, we now have an alternative to driving an hour and a half to the Amana Colonies.  The food was just excellent, the restaurant was cozy, quaint and charming, and Angela made us feel like we were eating at home with friends and family.  Hillside Stables Restaurant was a great find.  

Gross' Burgers - Danville, IL

I regularly read a handful of blog sites similar to Road Tips for fun and to get ideas of places to visit that I may have not known about before.  I like to look through the blog sites of Iowa Foodie, Slackingfool, An Herbalist Eats, Des Loines, Chicago Barbecue King (a.k.a. "Smokin', Chokin' and Chowin' with the King"), Food Dude, and the irreverent Suits in Strange Places, a blog written by a group of traveling salesmen who search out the unusual and out of the way places to eat when they're on the road.  One blog that I look into from time to time is a site run by a young couple from the Quad Cities - Greasy Joints.  One place they visited earlier this year was a hamburger joint in Danville, IL - Gross' Burgers. (Click here to see their post.)  I was sort of taken by their description of the place and decided to stop in on my way to Indianapolis for the annual CEDIA Expo in early September.  However, it was Labor Day and Gross' was closed.  I had to wait to return another day.  On a trip out to Indianapolis recently, I made the stop at Gross' Burgers and this time they were open. 

Gross' Burgers has been around since 1982 when it opened as a place called Grunts.  A local young man who was in the United States Marine Corps, Brad Gross, was looking to do something when he got out of the service. He was brought up in the restaurant industry as Gross' father ran one of the first pizzerias in the area.  The opportunity to buy Grunts came up while Gross was still serving our country and he did just that.  When he got out of the Marines over 25 years ago, Gross changed the name to the not-too-enticing Gross' Burgers.  But Gross remembered how good the burgers were at Grunts and he would continue to carry on the tradition.  

Gross' Burgers is found off of Interstate 74 on Illinois Highway 1 (Georgetown Road) at Henderson Street in south Danville. (see map)  There's a parking lot in the back that holds a number of cars.  But make sure you don't park in the drive-thru lane that is on the north side of the building.  I was able to park up close to the building on the south side.  

Going into Gross' Burgers, you can immediately tell from the decor that Brad Gross continues to support America's military men and women.  American flags, military posters, military gear including old rifles and even a bazooka hung from the bright white walls.  A 24-hour military clock hung next to the menu.  Historical articles on military figures were framed on the wall along with pictures of local servicemen.  The tables had a metal top and the metal chairs were high-backed and had a padded seat.  It was like a spic and span military grade mess hall inside the place.  

The menu at Gross' Burgers is located above the front counter and they feature burgers, both with American cheese and without, as well as pizza burgers and mozzarella cheese burgers.  You can double down on the burgers with two patties.  Or if you want something different than burgers, Gross' Burgers also features a fish sandwich.  The only side they offer are their special garlic-seasoned Gross fries. (Small containers of garlic seasoning as well as a cajun seasoning are available on the tables.)  They also offer a handful of milkshakes along with the regular offerings of soft drinks.  Their special menu item is the American Special - a triple cheeseburger, an order of Gross fries and a 32 oz. drink for $7.00

The kitchen area is located just behind the front counter and it is just as clean as the dining room.  The flat grill is back in the corner with fryers toward the front.  The prep area for the burgers is directly behind the grill.  

I ordered a double cheeseburger with everything - which is onions, pickle and mustard.  I got a bottle of water with the burger.  I declined when asked about getting some Gross fries to go along with the burger. The price of the burger and water was under $5.00

The beef at Gross' Burgers is ground fresh everyday and fashioned into little balls that are probably 3 oz. each.  The burger balls are placed on the grill and immediately smashed down flat.  They're cooked in their juices giving them a crisp outer edge on the meat.  I still have a problem with how some places smash their burgers, but I'm starting to slowly come around to the taste.  I will say that the smashed burgers are usually crispy on the outer side, but keep the juices inside the meat.  

My number was called out and I got the burger at the counter.  The burger was placed in a styrofoam container and put into a plain white bag.  The burger meat was thin and crispy - it almost looked like it was burnt - and it splayed out from under the bun in all directions.  It reminded me somewhat of a Steak 'n' Shake burger.  

The bun was your regular run-of-the-mill commercial baked variety.  But it was light and somewhat fluffy.  A slice of American cheese was melted on the top of both patties of beef.  

Since ketchup is not included on the burgers after they're grilled, large bottles of ketchup are placed on the tables for the burgers and fries.  They are pretty generous with the ketchup, as well.  At left is a picture of the ketchup squeeze-bottle next to a 16 oz. bottle of water.  It was the largest squeeze-bottle of ketchup that I'd ever seen.  There had to be a quart of ketchup in the bottle.  

The burger, itself, was good.  I wasn't initially sure that I liked it all that much, but as I got into the core of the burger the taste got significantly better. The crispy outside of the burger patty yielded a juicy inner core.  Two patties equaled about one regular sized hamburger that you'd get most other places.  But because they were so flattened, there was a lot of meat that hung out over the bun masking how much meat was in each patty.  

The burger at Gross' Burgers was good - certainly above average.  I'd give it a B+ in taste and quality.  I'm still not sold on the thin, flat-pressed burgers.  But I can see where people in and around the Danville area have thought that Gross' Burgers are some of the best they've had.  It's certainly an acquired taste and one I wouldn't mind trying again at some point.  But in order to get more of that juicy, meaty taste, I may have to get a triple.

Sarello's - Moorhead, MN

The long trip I took after the CEDIA Expo in Indianapolis with Jean-Philippe from Focal Loudspeakers found ourselves ending up in Fargo, ND to see our dealer, Arctic Audio.  The owner, Rod, is a long time and very supportive dealer for the line and we thought it would be fun to take he and his wife, Ellen, out for dinner.  Now, the Fargo/Moorhead area has some pretty interesting places to eat (click here to see a list of area restaurants I've eaten at in the Fargo area.), so it's always a treat to find a new place each time I come to visit.  One place that Ellen suggested we go eat was just across the Red River of the North in Moorhead - Sarello's.  For nice restaurants in the Fargo area, they've never steered me wrong.  

Sarello's is owned and run by Tony Nasello and his wife, Sarah.  (The name "Sarello's" is the combination of Sarah's first name and the Nasello surname.)  Tony was a native of Toronto, ON and the son of Sicilian immigrants. He got his degree in Hospitality Management and Culinary Arts and began to work for corporations such as Disney World and Hilton.  He got a job working on a luxury cruise liner for the Holland America company.  It was there in the early 1990's that he met Fargo native Sarah Anstett.  The two sailed around the world working together on multiple cruises before getting married and deciding to settle down in Sarah's hometown.  

(Pictured at right, Tony Nasello - picture courtesy Virtual Tourist.com)

The two had dreamed of opening their own restaurant similar to the type of food and service they provided on the large luxury cruise ships on which they worked.  They found a location just behind the Moorhead Center Mall in a building that used to be a little coffee shop and opened their doors in December of 2000.  The couple expanded their business in 2003 to include a lounge and wine bar.  

Tony refers to himself as "The Lost Italian" and the Nasello's hosted a local radio program for four years that talked about Sicilian and Northern Italian cuisine.  Nasello is the head chef at Sarello's and he's helped by station chef's Ben Walker and Chris Marteny.  

After a meeting at Rod's store, he, J.P. and I drove across the border to Moorhead.  Rod had me take a left on 4th St., then a right into and through a parking ramp, across Center Mall drive and a left into a strip mall behind the mall (see map).  Had he not been with me, I surely would have been lost.  Ellen was waiting there in the lounge for us and we were seated immediately in the dining room.  

The dining room has a number of brightly colored paintings on the wall, each highlighted by direct orb lighting.  Recessed can lighting in the middle of the dining room cast a relaxing hue on the tables down below.  Each of us were given menus and even though Rod had brought a bottle of wine, I took a look through the wine list because it was evident right off the bat that we would be making short work of the wine he brought.  

Sarello's had a special that evening - a halibut filet, grilled and topped with a medley of vegetables and finished with a light cream sauce.  Mashed potatoes also came on the side.  That sounded good, but Ellen began to tell me about the lobster ravioli - homemade ravioli stuffed with Fontana, parmesan and ricotta cheeses, tossed with lobster meat and scallions in a lobster cream sauce.  She didn't have to convince me that the lobster ravioli was probably the best thing on the menu.  

They also had a classic beef tenderloin filet mignon on the menu, as well as a pork rib-eye chop.  They also had a parmesan and pepper walleye entree, as well as a seared Mediterranean salmon with a roasted red pepper and artichoke sauce, and their signature sea bass dinner that was cooked with a citrus white butter sauce.  But Ellen had me sold on the lobster ravioli.  She and I both ordered that, while J.P. took the halibut special and Rod got the parmesan and pepper walleye.  

We each had ordered appetizers - I ordered a cup of the wild mushroom soup (below left).  The soup had a light cream/butter taste to the broth with bits of pureed mushrooms throughout.  It was actually pretty damn good.  J.P. ordered the red curry scallops, only the waiter came back and said that they were out of scallops and could substitute shrimp instead.  He took that instead.  I would have been able to show you the shrimp a spicy red cream curry sauce with sliced carrots, mushrooms and snap peas, but the picture I took didn't turn out.  He said his was also very good.  

Rod had an order of the Sicilian Arencini balls (above right) - deep fried balls of risotto, ground beef, peas and parmesan cheese, with a red pepper and artichoke puree, caramelized onions on top of the Arencini balls and finished with a couple small pools of saffron, lemon and garlic aioli.  

Ellen got one of the salad specials that evening - the beet carpaccio salad that featured thinly sliced sweet red beets topped with sliced avocados, chopped walnuts, fresh greens, crumbled blue cheese, and then finished with a red wine and honey gorgonzola vinaigrette.  She said it tasted as wonderful as it looked.  

As I suspected, we made quick work of the bottle of wine that Rod brought along, so I took a look at the wine list again and found a nice bottle of the Ramey 2008 Cabernet.  Even though we were all having seafood for dinner, we all agreed that we needed to stay with the red wine.  

Our meals came out not long afterward and we were ready to eat.  J.P.'s halibut (below left) was a lightly grilled filet sitting in a pool of a light cream sauce and topped with a myriad of cooked veggies.  A tower of mashed potatoes sat next to the fish and veggies.

Rod's walleye was encrusted in a mixture of parmesan cheese, Japanese panko bread crumbs and black pepper and pan-fried. It was topped with a lemon garlic aioli sauce.  I'm not big on breaded fish, but this looked pretty good.  Rod confirmed that it was "excellent". 

But Ellen and I thought we got the best deal of the evening - the lobster ravioli was just a slice of heaven.  There were about eight large pillows of homemade ravioli stuffed with cheese laying in a shallow bowl and topped with chunks of lobster meat, scallions and fresh parsley.  The cream sauce was light and delectable.  It was a wonderful and scrumptious meal.  

J.P. ate a good portion of his halibut, but left a lot of the veggies.  I asked him if his meal was all right and he said, "Oh, yes.  It's wonderful.  I'm just still full from the lunch we had in Chicago (we'd flown in that afternoon) and the shrimp were so filling.  I'm trying to concentrate on finishing the fish."  

Tony Nasello came out to greet us and ask how our dinners were.  I couldn't lie - the lobster ravioli was outstanding.  Everything about Sarello's was outstanding, from the service, to the food, to the wine selection, even the atmosphere in the restaurant.  Rod and Ellen did it again, they turned me on to another great restaurant in the Fargo area.  

We didn't finish up until after 10:30 and we felt pretty bad for the people in the place since they closed at 9:00 p.m. (Sarello's closes at 10:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and is closed Sunday and Monday.)  We apologized to the waiter for keeping him so late and he said, "Aw, it was fun.  I don't mind when I'm dealing with fun people."  He got a nice tip and I offered to buy him a drink after we paid.  He heartily accepted.  

Sarello's was a very pleasant surprise and it's another restaurant in the Fargo area that is just outstanding. It's sort of tough to find, but the end result is worth it.  I'm still amazed at how many good to great restaurants there are around Fargo.  It's no wonder I really enjoy going to Fargo. 

Seriously...  

(Update - I found out from my dealer and his wife that the Nasello's felt the restaurant was taking too much time away from raising their family and they have closed Sarello's.  Tony Nasello still has his radio show and they also continue to do catering work.  Sad - this was a great place to eat.)

The Ritz - Arnolds Park, IA

On our last night on vacation in the Lake Okoboji area of Northwest Iowa this past summer, our friends, Craig and Kathy Evert, came and picked us up at the Pioneer Beach Resort where we stayed.  They took us around to a couple bars in the area - the Softail Saloon in Superior, IA, a large biker-friendly bar in a small town just to the east of Spirit Lake, then to The Gardens in Arnolds Park.  For dinner, we ended up at a place called The Ritz in Arnolds Park.  I had inquired about The Ritz earlier in the week and I heard they had both great pizza and a top-notch cheeseburger.  The dilemma - can I have both for dinner?   (Photo courtesy Sioux City Journal)

The Ritz is a long time institution in the Iowa Great Lakes area. For over 30 years, the bar/restaurant has sat on the south side of East Lake Okoboji, next to the bridge that connects the north side and the south side of the little bay where East Lake Okoboji meets West Lake Okoboji. (see map) Prior to becoming The Ritz over 20 years ago, it was known as the The Hunter's Inn.  Taylor and Rich (aka "Coyote") Genrich are the owners of The Ritz (below left).  (Photo courtesy Sioux City Journal) 

The Ritz is popular in the summertime because of its large outdoor patio that overlooks the lake.  It can easily accommodate over a hundred diners and is well-lit at night.  The indoor bar area of The Ritz features a long bar, a number of tables and chairs, and a pool table area on the far end.  The sliding doors allow for easy access to the patio, or, when they're closed during colder weather, a nice view of the lake.  The place ain't too fancy, so don't expect fine dining at The Ritz.  

It was just before 9 p.m. when we sat down at a table on the patio.  The sun's dwindling light was casting a dark red hue across the sky over the lake.  It was a beautiful evening to sit outside and have dinner.  

Our server for the evening, Kara, came over to greet us and drop off some menus.  She took our drinks order and we took a look at what they had to offer at The Ritz.  The menu features your usual bar-type food - appetizers, salads and sandwiches - but they're also famous for their homemade pizzas and their famous "Lue's Cheeseburger".  The cheeseburger is what caught my attention as it was a finalist for the Iowa Beef Industry Council's  3rd Annual Best Burger in Iowa contest held earlier this year.  The burger is named after Rich Genrich's mother, Lue Bradshaw, who used to run a place called Lue's Driftwood Inn in Okoboji for a number of years.  

Lue Bradshaw's burgers were famous for years around the lakes area.  She used fresh ground beef for her hamburger patties with toasted buns, two differenty types of cheese and ran it through the garden with the usual veggies.  She served thousands of them during the time her establishment was open.  

When Rich and Taylor Genrich introduced Lue's Cheeseburger to the menu at The Ritz, it was clear it was not the same as what his mom served at her little place.  A couple years ago, the Genrich's changed the way they made the burger going from a pre-formed patty to using fresh ground beef like Lue Bradshaw used to do.  Suddenly, what was a good burger became a great burger, so much so that it was nominated by customers of The Ritz to be one of the top burgers in Iowa.  A couple of judges came into the place in March and had a burger.  They must have liked it as it turned out that the Lue's Cheeseburger missed being the Best Burger in Iowa by only 2/10ths of a point!  (The winner this year was the burger at the Coon Bowl III in Coon Rapids, IA)

While we were deciding what to get, I looked over at a table of middle-aged ladies who were having a good time.  On the table was this huge bowl of margaritas that served as a community drinking vessel with long plastic straws.  I went over to the table and asked the ladies what it was.  One of them said, "Oh, this is the fish bowl!  The is the margarita and the other one over there has Long Island Iced Tea in it!"  The fish bowl is a 64 oz. size and The Ritz estimates they sell between 800 to 1000 fish bowls each summer.  I have to say, the ladies at the table were feeling no pain.

When it came time to order, we each decided to get a burger, but Craig said we needed to also order one of The Ritz's "Garbage" pizzas - it has a little bit of everything on it.  That was a great compromise for me as I was really wavering between the burger and the pizza and I wasn't certain I could wait to come back and try one or the other.  

While the others got the regular Lue's Cheeseburger, I got a Lue's cheeseburger with Swiss cheese, sauteed mushrooms and bacon.  When Kara brought out the burgers and the pizza, we were ready to eat.  The burgers came with a boatload of fries that I knew I wasn't going to eat.  A festive toothpick held the top bun to the burger and it was loaded with mushrooms, ample amounts of cheese and couple pieces of bacon.  

The burger, itself, was very, very good.  It was good and juicy with a great flavor.  The bun was soft and chewy, while the mushrooms, cheese and bacon all helped excite the taste buds.  It was very worthy of its lofty standing as a finalist in the Best Burger in Iowa competition.

The pizza at The Ritz is a thin crust, party cut, caramelized plate of lusciousness.  Looking at the pizza, I thought they possibly left it in the oven too long, but it wasn't burnt on the bottom at all.  The toppings were all fresh, the sausage they use had the big chunks with a ton of flavor, the pepperoni was salty and had a nice spicy bite to it, and the sauce was a sweet and tangy mixture that tasted great with a beer.  I had a couple three pieces of the pizza and it was just fabulous.  

It was a fun night hanging out at The Ritz with our friends.  It was a great close to a wonderful vacation.  We've already talked about going back up to Lake Okoboji in late August again next year and we know that we may have to go to The Ritz a couple times, once to get another burger, then again for a pizza.  Both were top-notch and superb.  The Ritz is truly a bar (emphasis on the "bar") and restaurant.  It's not fine dining, but it's certainly fun dining.  (Photo courtesy Iowa ABD.com)

The Capital Grille - Indianapolis

One of the restaurants I've had on my bucket list of places to eat for quite sometime is The Capital Grille.  This Rhode Island-born - Florida-based national chain of upscale steakhouses is known for their great food and service, served in classy and elegant settings at 45 locations around the U.S.  During the recent CEDIA Expo held in Indianapolis this past September, the guys from Focal Loudspeakers took us out for dinner at The Capital Grille.

(A quick note - The Capital Grille restaurants are not to be confused with The Capitol Grille in Nashville.  I was confused by the one in Nashville until I realized they spelled it with an "o" and not the "a" in the Capital Grille restaurants.  You can click here to see my entry on The Capitol Grille.) 

I always thought The Capital Grille began in Washington, D.C, but it turned out the first one was founded in 1990 when restaurateur Edward "Ned" Grace opened the doors of his posh steakhouse in Providence, R.I.  Grace also owned Bugaboo Creek Steakhouse, a chain of Canadian-mountain lodge inspired restaurants found throughout New England, and Hemenway's, an upscale seafood restaurant in Providence.  Hemenway's was named after Grace's grandfather who, in addition to being an entrepreneur who owned a beverage company, a railroad and a record company, introduced soft-serve ice cream to the world at the 1939 New York World's Fair.  Before that, Grace also owned the historic Old Grist Mill Tavern in Seeconk, MA for a number of years.  (The Old Grist Mill Tavern was destroyed by a fire after a semi-truck carrying bananas slid out of control earlier this summer and ran into gas and power lines causing a huge fireball that engulfed the restaurant.)  

At the time that Grace opened the doors, the area around the original Capital Grille was rather run down and people wondered if Grace had lost his mind opening a lavish new steakhouse in the middle of a blighted area.  At the same time, the economy was in a mild recession, but Grace envisioned his new restaurant as a destination for both political and business leaders in Rhode Island.  His hunch turned out to be spot on.  Within a couple of years, The Capital Grille was profitable and growing.  

By 1994, Grace took both Bugaboo Creek and The Capital Grille public and two years later he sold the restaurants to the LongHorn Steakhouse which took on Grace's corporate name, RARE Hospitality.  Grace was a director and a vice-chairman of the company.  In 1996, The Capital Grille expanded into Boston and Washington, D.C., with four more locations opening in 1997.  In 2008, RARE Hospitality was acquired by the Darden group of restaurants whose holdings include Red Lobster, Olive Garden (two restaurants where I refuse to eat), and Bahama Breeze.     

The Indianapolis location opened in April of 2007 and is located inside the upscale Conrad Hotel in downtown Indianapolis. (see map)  We were staying just down the street and around the corner from The Capital Grille, so it was less than a three minute walk from the front door of our hotel to the front door of the restaurant.  A storm was looming in the distance and we were happy to be inside. 

 

We had a large group - 18 of us total - and usually the food and service suffers in a large group.  I enjoy eating with my colleagues from North America and France, but I would rather have my first experience at The Capital Grille be with a much smaller party.  Beggars can't be choosers, the old saying goes, so I was just happy that I had the chance to eat at a Capital Grille.  

 

Our large group was shepherded through the restaurant that had dark walnut walls with large portraits of prominent Indiana residents looking down at the people eating in the front dining area.  We passed portraits of actress Irene Dunne and former Indiana governor Robert Orr as we walked through the room.  Our group was seated at a large table in the smaller dining area in the back.  (There are also a couple rooms off to the side of the front dining room that can be used for either overflow or private dining.)  Knute Rockne, the former Notre Dame football coach, looked down at me from a wall above our table.  Across the room, a portrait of Ermal Marsh, the founder of the Marsh grocery store chain, hung prominently on the wall.  (A couple of us at the table had to look up who Ermal Marsh was.)

We had two servers covering our table that evening along with a couple bus boys.  The young lady, whose name escapes me, welcomed us to The Capital Grille.  Menus were placed in front of us at our settings and she told us that it was an open menu night, meaning that we could order anything we wanted.  Most of the times with larger groups restaurants will want to have a pre-determined menu to take pressure off the kitchen when they have to prepare a number of dishes at the same time.  

My boss had the wine list presented to him by one of the guys at Focal and he took a look at a number of South African wines since he had just been to some of the vineyards there earlier in the year.  He found that The Capital Grille had bottles of the Ernie Els Proprietor's Blend, a full-bodied red wine that he and his wife tried when they visited the famous golfer's winery in what would have been the summertime in South Africa.  It was a damn fine wine and we had many bottles of that wine that particular evening.  

Steaks and seafood are the primary items on the menu at The Capital Grille.  They do have a handful of signature items such as the Kona coffee rubbed dry-aged sirloin steak, the cedar plank salmon with the tomato fennel relish, and the sliced beef filet tenderloin with Cippolini onions and wild mushrooms.  That sounded pretty damn good to me.  

One the specials that evening was a wagyu sirloin.  That sounded pretty interesting to me, as well as did the dry-aged sirloin steak au poivre with a Courvoisier pepper cream sauce.  Oooo...  I do love a good steak au poivre.  When the servers came back to see if we had any questions, I asked if I could get the wagyu sirloin, only with the au poivre sauce.  "Absolutely, sir," was the quick reply.  I was set to order.

I started out with an appetizer of thinly sliced wagyu beef carpaccio with wasabi arugula.  I then ordered a wedge salad with the blue cheese dressing.  And I went with the wagyu sirloin au poivre - rare.  As usual, all the Europeans and Canadians in the group were ordering steaks because, as I've pointed out, the beef usually ain't as good in other places as it is in the states.  

The wagyu carpaccio featured seven thin, but large slices of rare beef with arugula drizzled with a wasabi-based dressing and topped with thin slices of parmegiano cheese.  No one else wanted any, so I had the whole plate to myself.

Actually, some of the appetizers that were ordered were pretty good sized.  Above right is the pan-fried calamari with spicy cherry peppers.  The little peppers had a nice little bite to them and the calamari was outstanding.  The first plate went so fast at our end of the table that another one was quickly ordered up.  

My wedge salad came out with others who ordered salads or the French onion soup.  I was sort of torn between getting the caprese salad or the wedge, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that instead of tomato chunks on top of the wedge, they had a couple slices of fresh tomato off to the side.  Real applewood smoked bacon bits were placed on the cream and chunky blue cheese dressing.  It was a very good wedge salad.  And the wedge wasn't too large where I couldn't finish it.

A severe thunderstorm was raging outside when our main entrees made it to the table and most of the people had steaks.  Below left is the 22 oz. Delmonico bone-in ribeye steak that one of my colleagues ordered.  That was a big steak.  But it wasn't as big as the one the director of world wide sales for Focal ordered.  He got the 24 oz. dry-aged porterhouse.  It completely covered his plate.    

Above right is my wagyu steak before they brought out the au poivre sauce.  It wasn't very large, probably about 10 oz.  But that was fine.  With everything I'd had up to that point - and the number of sides that we had to share on the table - I was going to be fine with that.  

Here's a shot of the wagyu sirloin with the au poivre sauce.  The steak was tender and could have actually been cooked to a medium rare and still been able to keep the consistency in the tenderness.  The au poivre sauce had a wonderful taste to it and the peppercorns gave each bite of steak a little zip.  Compared to the other steaks at the table, it was pretty puny in size.  

The funniest thing that happened during the meal was that the guy from Focal who ordered the 24 oz. porterhouse steak, Arnaud, literally devoured the whole thing in about five minutes.  Arnaud is not a big guy, but he obviously has a big appetite.  Most of us weren't even a quarter of the way through our steaks when someone looked over and said, "Jesus Christ!  Arnaud!  You ate that whole thing that quick?!"  We were amazed and astonished at the same time.  I had never seen anyone eat anything so big so quickly in my life.  Like I say, they just don't get the same beef in France like we do in the states.  

The sides we ordered to share on our end of the table included the lobster mac 'n' cheese, which was just all right.  Actually, I don't think I've ever had a lobster mac 'n' cheese at any upscale place that offered it that I really cared for.  The au gratin potatoes with layers of various cheeses were pretty good, as was the creamed corn with real bacon bits.  Overall, it was a pretty fine meal.  I was stuffed and didn't partake in dessert, but one of my colleagues from Montreal, Francois, had the chocolate hazelnut cake that he said was, "Fantastic!"  

Well, I certainly can't say that I was disappointed with my meal and the experience I had at The Capital Grille.  The food was very good, the service was impeccable and the atmosphere was sophisticated, yet warm and friendly.  There's a lot of steak places to choose from in downtown Indianapolis, but it would be tough to beat the meal I had at The Capital Grille.