Road Tips

The Old Man River Restaurant & Brewery - McGregor, IA

During a road trip up the Mississippi River last fall, we ended up in the river town of McGregor, IA.  My wife was starting to feel a tad peckish and we decided to find someplace locally to get something to eat.  We decided to go to a place that we'd been to a couple times before - The Old Man River Restaurant & Brewery.  

The building that houses Old Man River dates back to the 1880's and was once the offices of "Diamond" Jo Reynolds, an entrepreneur who owned grain elevators, steamboats, and mines along the upper Mississippi River.  The building has been a brewing facility since 2008 when Dave and Marci Strutt realized their dream of operating their own brewpub.  Joining the Strutt's was brewmaster Jake Simmons who was a quality control team member at the Schlafly brewery in St. Louis.  Simmons was actually going to school for his PhD in biology, but realized that he'd rather be brewing beer than finishing his doctorate.  

In 2011, Schlafly came to Simmons and asked if he could brew some specialty beers for them for distribution into Iowa, northern Illinois and Wisconsin.  Simmons readily agreed, but it turned out that Old Man River was at full capacity and had no room to add more brewing vessels.  Dave Strutt and Simmons' father James financed a new brewery on the Iowa River Landing in Coralville, IA as - at the time - there were no active breweries in the greater Iowa City area.  

The new venture was called Backpocket Brewery (click here to read the Road Tips entry on Backpocket) and it was large enough to make not only their own German-style beers, but to make the specialty beers for Schlafly.  (Backpocket brewed a very excellent American Pale Ale for Schlafly for a few years.)  Even though The Old Man River and Backpocket shared ownership and a head brewer, they were two separate entities.  

Because they were focusing more on the Backpocket Brewery, the Strutts and Simmons sort of let Old Man River Brewery go by the wayside.  It closed in the fall of 2015 and sat empty for a couple years.  In August of 2018, Duane and Diane Vorwald purchased The Old Man River, but it needed some work on the place before it could reopen.  They were finally able to reopen in March of 2019.  My wife and I had stopped in on our way back from a weekend trip up to Decorah in the fall of 2019 and we just had beer that trip.  This time, however, we were going to get something to eat.  

We pulled into downtown McGregor around 1:30 and pulled up to the two-story stately brick building with arched windows on both floors at the corner of Main and A streets.  (see map)  In the park across the street, there was a re-enactment of some sort going on.  We stood there for a moment watching people in 19th century garb doing something and it was obvious that we were late to the party and didn't know what was going on.  

We went inside Old Man River and found that the place hadn't changed since the last time we were there. Exposed wooden beams with exposed ductwork were above us while a refinished wooden floor was below.  Large wooden beam supports were placed around the middle of the dining area.  The 3-sided bar area is right up front as you come in the door from A St.  

The sign up front said, "Please Wait to Be Seated" and we stood there for a few moments before a lady with a couple plates of food whizzed by us.  "Sit anywhere, folks," she called back over her shoulder.  It was evident that they were understaffed that day - they had just two people waiting tables and serving beer at the bar.  Later on, I saw that they put a hand-drawn sign over the "Please Wait to Be Seated" sign that said, "Please Be Patient as We're Understaffed."  

It was a cold day and the patio area out back was empty.  It's actually a nice patio with metal chairs and tables attached to the west side of the building.  We've never been there when the weather is warm enough to be able to sit outside, but it looked like it would be a great place to hang out.  Below the decking on the outside of the patio were water troughs filled with dirt that held hop vines.  There were still some hops on the ropes going up the outside of the patio.  

We found a seat at a table near the north entrance of the establishment and we had to tell a couple people who came in that way later on who also waited to be seated to just find a seat on their own.   And it was cold in there - my wife is usually chilly in most places, but even I thought it was cold in the place.  There were a number of people seated at tables and at the bar who kept their coats on.  In the corner behind us was a small stage that is used for live music from time to time 

The menu at The Old Man River Restaurant & Brewery is your basic bar food - burgers, sandwiches, wraps, appetizers, soups, salads - nothing fancy.  Entrees such as steaks, stuffed pork tenderloin, seafood and stuffed ravioli were available after 4 p.m.  A prime rib special was available on Saturday nights.  They also featured pizza with a 14" regular flour thin crust or a 10" gluten free crust available.  

When one of the two ladies running around the dining room finally got to us, I ordered up an IPA they had on tap and my wife ordered some green tea to warm up from one of the ladies.  She brought my wife's tea, but forgot to get my beer.  I finally did get my beer about 10 minutes after I ordered it.  I did cut them both some slack because the place was about half full or more and they were working their asses off.  

I wasn't all that hungry and my wife thought she needed some soup.  I suggested that I order a sandwich and get some fries with it that we could split and she could get a cup of soup to help her warm up.  There was a caldron of tortellini tomato soup on a table near the door out to the patio.  My wife finally deduced that it must be self-serve.  She sort of shrugged her shoulders and went over to ladle out a cup of the soup.  

I ordered a reuben sandwich with the Thousand Island dressing on the side.  We also asked for an extra plate.  When it was brought out, there was no dressing on the side, no ketchup, salt or pepper for condiments, and no side plate.  My wife went up to the same table where the soup caldron was and picked up a small plate that is used to put the soup cups on.   I knew that we wouldn't be able to get either the side dressing or ketchup to go with the fries.  I gave my wife half of the sandwich and we decided to just eat up and cut our losses at that point.  

The sandwich was fine, a basic reuben with oven-roasted corned beef, Swiss cheese and sauerkraut.  They did have some Thousand Island dressing on the sandwich so it wasn't a complete loss.  The fries were very good - crunchy on the outside and flaky warm on the inside.  They would have been better if they would have had some black pepper on them and some ketchup to dip them in.  

Now, my wife and I are pretty understanding and patient when it comes to situations like this where the restaurant is understaffed by one or two people - especially since COVID.  But there were a couple ladies at a table next to us who were not.  They were pretty vocal with their displeasure of slow service and one of the ladies working the floor said, "Ladies, we're sorry.  We are short-staffed today.  We're doing the best we can."  

It was one of those moments when I just wanted to get up, walk over to the table and say, "Just shut up and eat!"  I mean it wasn't fine dining.  

While there were a few problems with our visit to Old Man River Restaurant & Brewery, I was more than satisfied with the food and the beer we had that day.  Service was choppy only because they were understaffed.  And it was sort of uncomfortably cold in there.  It's a neat place - the restored building has some distinctive character and an interesting vibe.  But like a lot of restaurants and brewpubs fighting to hang in there these days, it's got some problems.  If you can get past all that, you'll find that The Old Man River is a good destination to hang out for a while.  

Fall Along the Mississippi

For the past few years, my wife and I have been taking off for a day or two going up the Mississippi River from the Quad Cities taking a look at the changing leaves in the fall.  Between travel obligations and other things going on, we haven't been able to get away when we wanted to this past October.  It had been such a late fall around the Quad Cities - many of the trees in our neighborhood hadn't begun to change until late October - we thought we may have a shot at seeing some colorful foliage if we went north toward Dubuque and up to Prairie du Chien, WI.  

After spending the night in Dubuque, we took off across the river into southwestern Wisconsin.  We had eaten at at supper club near Hazel Green, WI the night before and we were a little discombobulated getting to the restaurant in the dark down a forested road heading toward the river.   We wanted to see it again in the daylight and headed back to the restaurant.  My wife had noticed a road - Bluff Road - from the previous evening and we decided to take it up along the river.  (see map)

It was a cool and cloudy day and the colors just seem to pop out more on cloudy days.  We found a number of trees had lost their leaves, no doubt from a strong cold front with gusty winds that had moved through the midwest the day before.  But the trees that still had their leaves had such radiant colors that they just seemed to pop out along the roadway.  The tree-covered mounds of southwestern Wisconsin looked similar to a fireworks display with bright yellow, burnt orange and deep red plumes seemingly exploding in each direction.  They were even more vivid against the greens of the grass pastures and the trees that were just getting ready to change.  (As always, you can click on the picture to enlarge it.)  

We got off Bluff Road just south of Dickeyville, WI and took US Highway 61 to the Potosi corner at Tennyson and went down the ravine road and into Potosi.  From Potosi, we took Wisconsin state highway 133 up to Cassville and went north from there.  We found a road just north Nelson Dewey State Park - Closing Dam Road - that started out with black top pavement, but quickly devolved into a one-lane dirt road along the bluff.  (see map)  

We thought we had been on the road before, but we realized later on that we had not.  The one-lane road was a veritable tunnel of trees with the railroad track in between the road and the Mississippi River.  Had anyone been coming toward us, I'm not certain where we would have been able to pull over to allow them to get through.  My wife had me stop a number of times along the road to snap pictures of the brilliant colored foliage on the trees that had yet to lose their leaves.  

The reason we knew we had never been on the road before is that it dead-ended near Lock and Dam 10 on the Mississippi.  Enlarging the map on my GPS, it showed that we were directly across the river from Guttenberg, IA.  My wife was a little amazed at that.  She didn't realize how far north of Dubuque we had gone on the Wisconsin side of the river.  

We had to turn around and head back out on Closing Dam Road toward the county highway that got us there coming out of Cassville.  But heading back south on the dirt road offered us a completely different perspective of the colorful scenery that was behind us as we went up the road.  Once again, we had to stop three or four times to get pictures of the surround area with the contrast of the greens, browns, yellows and burnt orange colors we experienced.  

Getting back on County Road W north of Cassville, we took the road up and around to County Road V which we took a left on and went down in the small river hamlet of Glen Haven, WI.  Years ago, my wife and I would take weekend road trips to Prairie du Chien, La Crosse and others cities along the Mississippi River on the Wisconsin side.  One time we found a small dirt road outside of Glen Haven -  Dugway Road - that we absolutely fell in love with the drives we would take on it in the spring and in the fall.  (see map)  We figured it had been years since we were last on that road.  

Now, Dugway Road is similar to Closing Dam Road a few miles south along the river in that it's a one-lane dirt road that was strewn with leaves that had fallen from the trees.  However, there are notches cut into the side of the bluff that allow cars to pull in to allow oncoming traffic to pass by.  

The trees along Dugway Road were spectacular.  There were other cars out enjoying the scenery along the road that day, but it wasn't a traffic jam by any stretch.  It seemed like every 100 yards we were stopping and taking in the scenery.  The crisp fall air combined with the smell of the leaves on the ground made it even more enjoyable.  

Dugway Road comes out just south of Bagley, WI on Country Road A.  Taking A into Bagley, it eventually turns into County Road X which heads up along the river to the entrance of Wyalusing State Park and its stunning views of the bluffs on both sides of the Mississippi River.  We knew that if we went up to Wyalusing (or it's Iowa counterpart - Pikes Peak State Park - just across the river) that the views would be remarkable, but we also knew that both places were probably packed with people and cars looking at the colorful leaves.  Plus, we were suddenly on a time constraint as our main goal for the day was to get to the Edgewood Locker and they closed at 3:00 p.m.  (We made it - at 2:45 p.m.)  

We hit the right day for leaf gazing along the river in southwest Wisconsin.  There's just something about the way the colors jump out on cloudy days.  We ran into some sun on the way home and while the colors were brighter, it also highlighted the drabness of the nearby trees that had already lost their leaves.  The three back roads that we took to look at the trees are great little rustic roads that offer great views of the trees in the fall, but also some excellent views of the river.  We'll probably head back to this area in the future when fall comes around again. 

Pete's Hamburgers - Prairie du Chien, WI

Years ago when Cindy and I first started to date, she used to tell me of family outings to Prairie du Chien, WI and the highlight was to stop by Pete's Hamburgers, a small trailer that served steamed burgers. Cindy and I were in Prairie du Chien about 15 years ago and we stopped at Pete's to get a burger. While I'd never had a burger that was literally boiled on a flat top grill in water with onions, I wasn't overly certain that I cared for the taste at first. After having a Two Mits burger in Elkader - which does their burgers in the same fashion as Pete's - I knew I was hooked. The burgers are moist and juicy, and have a great taste to them.

It had been years since I had a Pete's burger and I happened to be driving through Prairie du Chien from LaCrosse just before the noon hour earlier this summer. I decided to stop at Pete's and get a burger.

There's a long and storied history regarding Pete's Hamburgers, a little place on Blackhawk Ave. in Prairie du Chien just across the street from the somewhat famous Stark's Sport Shop (see map). (Stark's is well-known in NE Iowa and SW Wisconsin as a place where hunters and fishermen can get all their supplies - including liquor.) Back after the turn of the 20th century, Pete Gokay was a member of the Prairie du Chien volunteer fire department. The fire department would hold fund raisers and events and Pete was on the food committee. He was in charge of cooking hamburgers and when there would be a lull in the action, he would put the cooked burgers in a pan simmering with warm water and onions to keep them from drying out from overcooking. When people began to ask for the burgers that Pete had in the pan rather than the ones hot off the grill, he knew he was on to something.

The Foley brothers who ran a saloon in Prairie du Chien knew that Pete Gokay was on to something, as well. They asked Pete to cook his simmered burgers on weekends and holidays. On nice days, Pete would cook his burgers outside the Foley Brothers Saloon at a table he had set up. The burgers - and Foley's - would soon become a big hit with people in and around the Prairie area.

Along with his brother in-law, Jack St. Jacque, Pete went around to county fairs, street carnivals, auctions, wherever large gatherings occured just to sell his simmered hamburgers. By this time, Pete was using a special spice concoction that he'd add to the water before placing the burgers and onions in with it. Finding that moving around his cooking "box" was a little too cumbersome, Pete decided to stay in one place to cook his burgers - right next to Foley's Saloon at the corner of Blackhawk Ave. and Beaumont Rd. in Prairie du Chien. In 1942, Pete custom built a trailer that was placed at Foley's. It turned out to be a convenient way of preparing, cooking and serving his hamburgers.

A few years later, a man from Elkader, IA who was a loyal customer of Pete's Hamburgers thought this type of burger would go over well in his hometown. He convinced Pete to sell him his trailer, but Pete relented only after he built a newer - and bigger - trailer for his Prairie du Chien location. The trailer that went to Elkader was the forerunner of Two Mits.

In the mid-50's, Foley's had sold out and Geisler's Restaurant opened in their old building. Pete Gokay (pictured at left) had a fall out with the new owners and he moved his trailer to the present day location at 118 W. Blackhawk on a site that is owned by Stark's Sport Shop. Pete ran his stand for over 60 years before dying in 1972. His son, Bob, ran the stand until he passed away three years later from cancer. Bob's wife, Phyllis, continues to run the stand today with the help of her 8 grandchildren. Just as it was years ago, Pete's Hamburgers is only open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from sometime in May thru the summertime and into the early fall, starting at 11 a.m. They stay open until 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and until 7 p.m. on Sunday.

Knowing that lunchtime crowds can get pretty big around Pete's, I was sort of pleasantly surprised to see that there were just two people at one of the two windows that are on the side of the Pete's trailer. The menu at Pete's is pretty basic - burgers, no cheese; pop, chips, and bottled water. I made the mistake of ordering two with cheese from the lady and she curtly, but pleasantly informed me, "No cheese!" She did ask me if I wanted onions on them and I said, "Sure!"

People generally line up before Pete's opens at 11 a.m. and they were already cooking up the second batch of the day on the old grill that has the burgers on one side and the onions on the other. A thin layer of seasoned water simmers the burgers on the flat grill with a ridge around the grill to keep the water in. The burgers literally suck up the seasoned water making them moist and tender. The seasoning is there to help bring the flavor back to the burger that is cooked out in the simmering process.

Pete's had tried to do other things in the past like chicken, barbecue and hot dogs, but it's been their tried and true burgers that have kept them open for years. Two Mits in Elkader has cheese for their burgers, and they also sell brats and hot dogs. Actually, the hot dogs at Two Mits are very good.

After serving up the burgers, wrapping them up in wax paper and putting them in the sack, I got a bottle of water to go along with my meal. At $3.50 a burger and $1.25 for the water, the bill came to $8.25. The burgers are pretty small and not as good of a value as you may get elsewhere. But it is Pete's and it's a pretty famous place in the region, especially with the history behind the place.

I took my two burgers back to the car and made sure that I laid out my "smeg towel" that travels with me to sop up any juice that comes off the burgers before it hit my shirt and pants. With a little ketchup and mustard on the burger along with the simmered onions, it's not much to see for a burger. And because the meat is simmered rather than fried, there's no marks on the hand-pattied burger.

While I'm almost certain there's probably not a lot of difference between a Pete's and a Two Mits burger, the Pete's burger seems to be a little drab in flavor. Oh, you can't deny that it's juicy, moist and tender. But like boiling any meat, you do lose some of the taste of the burger. The seasoning helps to bring back some of the flavor, as do the onions. I'm not saying that the taste is bad - it's not. It's different from a grilled burger and one that does require a little getting used to.

I guess the big difference - to me - between the Pete's burger and the Two Mits burger is the cheese. The cheese on top of a Two Mits burger really livens up their burger. It really helps the overall taste and that's why I've given it an honorable mention on my Best Burgers List. Without the cheese, I'm not certain that a Two Mits burger would taste any differently than a Pete's burger.

Still, Pete's is still one of the originals and as they like to tell people there were there long before McDonalds, Burger King, Dairy Queen or any of the other national or worldwide hamburger chains. People around NE Iowa and SW Wisconsin have long believed that a Pete's burger is the best and have thought so for over 100 years now. It's an acquired taste, for sure, but there's also something magical with a slice of Americana about Pete's Hamburgers. If you're ever in Prairie du Chien - or even in the NE Iowa/SW Wisconsin area - on a summer or early fall weekend, you have to stop at Pete's at least one time.

The Angus - Prairie du Chien, WI

The night Cindy and I stayed at The Claytonian in Clayton, IA, we decided to take the short drive up to Prairie du Chien to have dinner.  Cindy's family used to go to a place called The Black Angus, a supper club/steakhouse on the outskirts of Prairie du Chien when she was a little girl.  She asked Eileen, the lady who ran The Claytonian, if The Black Angus was still there.  She said, "You mean 'The Angus'?  Yes!  It's been under new ownership for awhile.  The old owners were letting the place go to hell, but some new blood came in and took over.  And it's just as good as you probably remember it to be."

When Cindy was growing up, the restaurant was known as "The Black Angus".  The Jones family were the original owners of the place, but we'd heard the food and service had started to go downhill at some point.  The Jeffers family came in and bought the place a few years, updated the decor and added a new menu.  They restored the good name of the restaurant - now known simply as "The Angus" - back to its days of glory in the 70's and 80's. 

It took us about 25 minutes to get to The Angus from The Claytonian.  We pulled into the lot for the restaurant, located just across the street from the local airport (see map).  We had a short wait before we were seated, so we decided to have a drink in the lounge.  The restaurant has an old-style lounge with a raised oblong bar and a number of small tables off to the side.  The decor is decidedly laid-back and the lighting subdued throughout the place.  We went over and took a seat at the bar and I got a bottle of Old Style which used to be brewed just up the river in LaCrosse.  Cindy got her usual UV vodka with lemonade.  It wasn't long after we got our drinks before the hostess came over and let us know our table was ready.

She led us through the spacious dining area, past the salad bar and back into a cozy little corner to a two-seat table next to a mirrored-wall.   Not long after that, our waitress for the evening, Bunny - a 60-ish lady who had a lot of sass to her - came over to great us.  I said, "Bunny!  That's an interesting name.  Is that your real name?"

Bunny said, "Oh, heavens, no.  I have such a horrible real name that I hardly ever use it.  I've been Bunny ever since I was a little girl."  I had to find out how horrible her real name was. 

Since we already had drinks, she dropped off some cheese and crackers for the table.  I asked her for the wine list and she came back with one right away.

Actually, the wine list at The Angus was rather surprising - both in the selection and the great prices.  I shouldn't broadcast this, but they had a bottle of the 2004 Jordan Cabernet for $65 bucks.  That's easily $20 cheaper than I've seen it before - and I thought $85 bucks was a cheap price THAT time.  I couldn't resist.  I ordered up a bottle for both of us to enjoy.

The menu at The Angus is your typical Midwestern steakhouse variety, heavy on steaks, chops, chicken, some pasta and some seafood.  Steak and lobster is a big combination at The Angus and Cindy thought about getting that until Bunny told her it was $45 dollars.  Bunny suggested to Cindy that she get the 8 oz. beef tenderloin filet with the shrimp scampi.  Cindy said that would satisfy her need for both surf and turf.  She ordered a baked potato with "the works" on top. 

I was intrigued by a couple of things, one of which was a 10 oz. beef tenderloin filet topped with parmesan cheese and a garlic butter sauce.  I ordered that - rare - and got a side of The Angus' famous hash browns with melted cheese and onion.  After we ordered, Bunny invited us to partake in their salad bar.

I will say the salad bar was great.  Not only for the items, but how fresh everything tasted.  Cindy got a cup of their potato soup that they had that night along with a plate of mixed greens and some veggies.  I got the mixed greens, veggies, then went back and got a plate of their marinated beets.  The beets were good, but not as good as the beets at Bud's Skyline Inn in Moline.  Topped with their homemade dressings, the salad bar at The Angus was top notch. 

The Angus grills their steaks over a gas flame in an open area that is in full view from the dining room.   I just happened to go back to the restroom as we were waiting for our main entrees to show up and I walked right by the grill area.  I had to get a picture of this huge filet they were grilling up.  It turned out this was my filet.

When Bunny brought our meals to the table, I was surprised - pleasantly surprised - by the size of the filet on my plate.  I mean, it looked big on the grill, but on the plate next to the hash browns it looked huge!  It was much more than a 10 oz. filet, that's for sure.  The parmesan on the top was sort of crystallized and the garlic-butter sauce was a great compliment to the taste.  The steak was cooked a perfect rare for me - big tenderloins are usually difficult to cook given their thickness - with a cool, red center but a nice charred taste on the outside.  It was very tender and a steak knife went easily through the meat.

Cindy was also happy with her beef tenderloin filet - she got hers medium.  (The grill chef at The Angus obviously knows what he's doing.)  And she got five large and plump shrimp scampi.  She offered me one and it was scrumptious.

I had a little bit of the hash browns with the grilled onions and cheese and they were good, as well.  Coupled with the hefty salad I had earlier along with the beets, the large filet was more than enough for dinner.  And, of course, the big treat was having the Jordan Cabernet with the meal.

Bunny came over and asked us if we wanted any dessert.  I sort of winced and said, "I don't know.  I'm pretty full."

Cindy, on the other hand, said, "Well, let's see what they have for dessert."  Bunny went through the line-up and she came to a blueberry flan.  I sort of groaned in sort of a half "Oh boy!" - half "Oh no!" response.  Cindy said, "We'll take the blueberry flan with two forks."

I like flans, but I'm not certain that I ever had a blueberry flan.  Just like any dessert that has lemon in it, I'm a sucker for anything that has blueberries in it.  And it certainly was very good.  And rich.  We had trouble finishing it.  When the last crumb was off the plate we sort of looked at one another in amazement - both with the taste of the flan and the fact that we actually ate the whole thing.

Bunny came over to give us our check and I said, "OK, Bunny.  You're already going to get a nice tip from us, but I'll tack on another five bucks if you tell us your real name."   I was thinking that it was something like Hortense, Gertrude or Bertha.

She said, "Well, my given name is Marjorie Catherine."

I sort of look at Cindy then gave Bunny a funny look.  "Marjorie Catherine isn't that bad.  I was thinking it would be a lot worse than that!"

Bunny said, "I was raised in a strict Catholic family and I just hated the name Marjorie Catherine.  Someone in our family gave me the nickname of Bunny and that's what I started to answer to.  I've been Bunny ever since."

 And Bunny did get a good tip from us - 20% plus an extra fiver for revealing her real name to us.  Her service was top-notch.  And that mirrored the whole experience at The Angus.  The food was great, the ambiance was wonderful and we had a great dining experience.  I love the old type of supper clubs like The Angus and try to seek them out on our travels in the Midwest.  I would have to rank The Angus as being one of the best - if not THE best - supper club we've encountered over the years.  Cindy said, "I TOLD you it would be good!"