My wife and I have a part-time ritual where we like to go out to a place on some Sundays and get a burger and a bloody mary. We've found a few places around the Quad Cities that are open on Sundays (which aren't chains) where we can have a good burger and settle back with a bloody mary and a beer or two. Some places that we had in our rotation suddenly either closed on Sunday after the pandemic, or opened later on Sunday. But one place we've been to three or four times so far is toward the top of our list - and it doesn't even have to be on a Sunday. This place is Coal Creek Inn in Coal Valley, IL.
When we first started to do our Sunday bloody mary/burger excursions, we liked going over to Bourbons in Coal Valley, a small town on the far southeast side of the Quad Cities. However, after the pandemic, Bourbons was one of those places that didn't open until later on Sunday. Across the park from Bourbons was a small steakhouse/supper club joint called Joe's Place. We had always wanted to try the place, but it seemed to have sporadic hours and it finally closed during the pandemic.
Local commercial realtor Pieter Hanson listed the property and he saw a lot of potential in the building that would help the surrounding areas of the small downtown area within Coal Valley thrive. He turned to Nick Bowes, the managing partner at Bent River Brewing Company in downtown Moline, and Bent River's managing brewer Steve Ratcliff to join him in resurrecting the building and putting in a new restaurant/beer bar.
The group bought the building in 2021 and renovated the whole building including the two apartments above the restaurant/bar. New kitchen equipment, new tap lines, new electrical systems - basically a wholesale overhaul of everything was done to the building. By spring of 2022, everything was in place and Coal Creek Inn opened their doors. The restaurant/bar was named after the creek that flows behind the property in Coal Valley.
My wife had a day off not too long ago and I told her that I was sort of hungry around lunch time. She said she was sort of hungry, too. "What are you hungry for," she asked me. I told her that I was hungry for a burger and maybe we should go over to Coal Creek Inn and have lunch. She was more than agreeable with that.
It's about a 20 minute drive (sometimes less) from our house across I-74 into Illinois. Coal Creek Inn is located just off US Highway 150 in Coal Valley. (see map) Head in parking on the street in front of the restaurant is usually available with a small side lot reserved for motorcycles in warmer weather. Coal Creek Inn is situated in a two story building with the top floor as an apartment.
Walking in the door is the bar area of the restaurant. The room is small and cozy with bleached barn boards on the walls, corrugated tin facades on the bar with wooden floors and dark wood planked ceiling. Seating is available at the bar or at high-top tables. With the lighted signage and the flatscreen televisions, the dark room has a distinctive glow.
There is a larger back room for dining. It has some decorative wallpaper with a light blue paint scheme where the decorative wallpaper falls away. We've sat in the dining room a time or two before, but we prefer to sit at one of the high-top tables in the bar area.
Our server that day was a familiar face - Aubry who my wife immediately recognized from her waiting on us over at Central Standard in Bettendorf a few times in the past. She was running the front of house at Coal Creek Inn and doing the hiring for all the help. And because there's a connection between the bar and the brewery, I ordered up a Bent River IPA while my wife just went with water. I thought about getting a bloody mary, but we were going to be traveling later in the day and I didn't want to get too far on the drinking before we had to leave.
The menu at Coal Creek Inn is pretty simple, but features a number of burgers, sandwiches and appetizers. Sides include cottage cheese, cole slaw, fries, tots, and mac 'n cheese. They grind their own beef at Coal Creek Inn and it includes a blend of chuck, ribeye and brisket. All burgers and grilled chicken sandwiches are served on a brioche bun.
About the only thing that I have gotten when I go to Coal Creek Inn is the portobello mushroom/Swiss cheese double-smashed burger with tots. It's so good that I see no need to even try anything else on the menu. The burger patties each have a thick slice of Swiss cheese and large slices of sautéed portobello mushrooms laid on top of the double-smashed patties. The bunch was spongy, but not thick, and it held together very well with the juicy nature of the burger patties. Oh, man, is it ever a great burger! And this one that particular day was no exception. It was definitely a multi-napkin burger.
And I don't know what it is about the tots at Coal Creek Inn, but they are some of the best I've ever had. I'm sure they get them from a food purveyor, but they have such a great crunchiness on the outside with a fluffy inside. The only thing that they don't have at Coal Creek Inn is Cholula hot sauce, something I love to add to any type of fried or roasted potatoes. But they do have Tabasco, so I was able to spice the tots up just a bit.
My wife has tried the chicken breast sandwich and the fish and chips on previous visits to Coal Creek Inn. They had a lunch special that day that consisted of a single flat-grilled burger with a choice of a side. And that's what she got on this visit. For her side, she got the cole slaw after Aubry told her that they made it in house. The burger came with sliced red onions, a tomato slice, lettuce and pickles. My wife thought the burger was excellent and she really liked the cole slaw, as well. "They do make a good burger here," she said after downing a bite.
And they certainly do make a good burger at Coal Creek Inn. The place is not fancy, nor is it pretentious. It is basically a great little neighborhood restaurant with a great beer selection, excellent bloody marys and great burgers, all in a comfortable bar setting that is suitable for youngsters. It was great to get caught up with Aubry who continued her stellar service with us again. It's a bit of a drive and a bit hard to find, but once you get to Coal Creek Inn, you'll be glad.
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