My wife and I have been on a search for bars in and around the greater Quad Cities area that have good burgers and sandwiches. A place I had been to a number of years ago, but I hadn't been to with my wife is City Limits Saloon & Grill in Rock Island. On a warm Saturday afternoon earlier this summer, we made the trek over to City Limits so I could reacquaint myself with the place.
The origins of City Limits date back to World War II when the Green Forest Tavern opened on the far south side of Rock Island, just north of Milan, IL. The restaurant went through an ownership change - as well as a name change to "Dickie Joe's" - in the 50's before brothers Bob and Carl Anderson bought the place in 1961. The Anderson brothers changed the name back to the original Green Forest Tavern and the two brothers co-ran the small bar until Bob bought out Carl in 1972.
Bob Anderson, Jr. joined his father in the business in 1979, and a year later the Anderson's petitioned the state of Illinois to change the name to City Limits Saloon. Up until then, it was against Illinois law to have the term "saloon" in the title of a business that sold alcoholic beverages. But the place looked like an old west saloon, complete with swinging doors and deer heads mounted on the walls. A year later, they put in a small grill and added that to the name to become City Limits Saloon and Grill.
Bob Anderson, Jr. eventually bought the business from his father in 1993, but just two years later a fire destroyed much of the interior of the bar & grill. Determined to keep the business going, Anderson rebuilt and renovated the interior of the place and added a full kitchen to serve breakfast, lunch and dinner 7 days a week. A 600 square foot addition added more than four times the original seating in 1999, but a kitchen renovation along with large addition including a back porch in 2011 gave City Limits its current 132 seat capacity inside with an additional 32 seats on the outdoor porch.
City Limits is sort of set back behind a gas station just off Highway 67 near its intersection with Illinois Highway 5 on Rock Island's southwest side. (see map) There's a large parking lot on three sides of the building and we parked in what I deemed is the back of the building. Going in the doors off the porch, we encountered the large dining area that was added about 8 years ago. I had not been in the place since this room had been added on. It was a nice room, nothing fancy. But it was well-lit and had an openness to the room.
The bar area is just past the back dining room and features more of a cozy, club-like atmosphere. There was a small after-lunch crowd in the place and we were greeted in the bar area by a server who asked where we would like to sit.
It was really the first warm and sunny weekend of the summer when we were at City Limits that day and my wife said she thought she'd like to sit out back on the porch. The server - a very pleasant and friendly young lady by the name of Aleah - said, "Sure! I love to serve people out on the patio!" She led us back out to the back porch and dropped off a couple menus for us to look through. She was a very accommodating server and gave us some good recommendations during our visit. My wife liked her very much.
They had a number of craft beers listed on a chalk board in the bar area and I made a mental note of some of them. I told Aleah that I'd take a pale ale they had listed, but she came out a little later to say that they were out of that beer. She came out with a beer list and I saw another one that I'd like to have. She went in to get that for me and came back out moments later with a forlorn look on her face. "We're out of that, too," she said apologetically. I just decided to cut my losses and ordered a light domestic as I figured that they had to have that.
My wife was looking through the appetizers on the menu and she saw something that really caught her eye - the portabella mushroom planks. They took large portobello mushrooms and cut them in strips, then they were breaded and deep-fried. A half-pound came in a basket and were served with a side of ranch dressing. Oh, man! Were they great! And they were also very rich. But I was a little shocked with the cost - $12 bucks! I didn't realize they were that expensive until I went to pay the bill. My wife felt bad about it because she didn't really notice the price before she ordered them, either. And because they were so rich, we left a number of planks in the basket. Three or four people could easily share the portobello mushroom planks.
They have a number of burgers on the menu at City Limits including a number of specialty burgers made from chopped steak. The Green Bay burger was topped with cheese, beer-caramelized onions and sauerkraut, then finished off with cheese curds. The Brooklyn burger consisted of their chopped steak burger on grilled rye bread, topped with Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, corned beef and a Thousand Island dressing. And for the big appetite, the Viking burger featured two chopped steak patties topped with both cheddar and Swiss cheese, a honey mustard dressing, and finished off on top with onion rings and bacon on a pretzel bun.
My wife was looking at the sandwiches and wraps section of the menu more than the burgers. They had a number of your typical sandwiches - a reuben, a breaded pork tenderloin, and a turkey club. They also had their "Ultimate" grilled cheese sandwich featuring three different types of cheese along with bacon strips and sautéed tomato slices on parmesan-encrusted bread. City Limits signature sandwich is the "Outer Limits" - an unbreaded pork loin that is liberally seasoned with an in-house blend of spices, then grilled and topped with bacon strips and cheddar cheese.
My wife opted for the spinach artichoke grilled chicken sandwich without the bun. It was topped with Swiss cheese, a tomato slice and a spinach artichoke sauce. It was served on a bed of lettuce and, somewhat surprisingly to me, my wife got a side of the tater tots. She rarely orders tater tots when we're out. Fries, seasoned chips, potato salad, cole slaw and onion rings were also available for some of their sides.
On my initial visit to City Limits a number of years ago, I got the tuna melt sandwich which I thought was very good. However, on this visit I decided to build my own burger and I went with my usual bacon, mushroom and cheese burger. Only on this burger I got pepper jack cheese instead of my normal choice of Swiss cheese, and they had sautéed portobello mushrooms instead of the regular sliced mushrooms. After asking Aleah about the onion rings (she said she thought the tater tots were better), I also got a side of the tots and I asked Aleah if she could bring out some Cholula hot sauce to put on the tots.
My wife thought her grilled chicken breast was very good. It was cooked perfectly and was juicy and flavorful. She was happy she got it without the bun considering she was still munching on the portobello planks. Along with a few tots, she was pretty full after finishing most of the breast.
My burger was, in a word, outstanding. It was juicy and gooey - a multi-napkin burger in its grandest form. The pepper jack cheese wasn't overpowering, the bacon was a nice complement, but the sautéed portobello mushrooms were a great taste combination with the burger. The lettuce leaf and a slice of red onion helped round out the wonderful taste of the burger. The bun was lightly grilled and never was in danger of falling apart from all the juice coming from the beef patty.
We may have a new leader in the clubhouse in our quest to find a great bar burger in the greater Quad Cities area. The burger at City Limits was one of the better ones I've experienced in the area and my wife was impressed with the taste and quality of her grilled chicken breast. Two quibbles, however. We thought it was a tad expensive - especially the $12 portobello planks appetizer. And I was a little miffed by the lack of the craft beers that they showed on the menu, but didn't actually have. But the food, the great service, and the comfort of eating on the back porch on a warm day more than made up for those minor transgressions. We really liked City Limits, but we also wished it wasn't so far of a drive from our home.
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