This restaurant was, and is, very good. My brother suggested it to me and said that the place is favored by the ilk of Bill Clinton and John Waters. With such celebrity endorsements, how could I refuse to go? So while tooling around looking for a place to eat, I opted for the Hamburg Inn No. 2. I was in for quite a treat.
We stepped into a small diner and was told to sit where we wanted and we took a little chooth (chair one side, booth on the other). After looking at the wall and the myriad of plaques honoring their delicious burgers, I could tell I'll be getting a patty between two slices of bread; the only thing left was how these items were prepared.
I ordered a patty melt and it was excellent. My girlfriend had Philly beef and she enjoyed that. The burgers were simply superb. To add to the deliciousness was the sides. The home fries that I had were very good. I was a little hesitant at first for fear of greasy potatoes, but they came from the kitchen fresh and tasty. I was pleased.
This is with absolute certainty a restaurant that I will go back. The food was just splendid. Who knows, maybe I'll go on Monday.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Monday, August 11, 2008
Gus' Food and Spirits
Last night I ate at a sports bar/grill in Coralville called Gus' Food and Spirits. It is just on a side street and can be seen from Coral Ridge Ave. It is a little out of the way and seems to be set up to service the condominiums set up in the area, but it is definitely worth to go a little out of the way should you be in the area.
The food there is fairly standard grill food; burgers, sandwich's, nachos, and salads all appear on the menu. In addition there are steaks, some wraps and pasta, which was a nice. The food was all very good. I had a patty melt w/ onion rings that was delicious. My girlfriend had the Alfredo and with a side salad and found that to be just as good.
While the food was excellent and fresh, one thing that really impressed me was the layout. This place is quite clearly a bar. It had pool tables a bar counter and those quaint little bar tables just large enough for a picture, some nachos and four glasses. Then there was a little divider and there were booths and tables set up where customers could still watch the sports broadcast (the Olympics last night), and a further yet room with no TVs and you could sit in a very nice place for conversation. As this is the only restaurant in this area, it realized that the clientele would be varied and Gus' provides places for all different wishes. What a great idea.
I am glad that I tried it and I know that I will be going again soon.
The food there is fairly standard grill food; burgers, sandwich's, nachos, and salads all appear on the menu. In addition there are steaks, some wraps and pasta, which was a nice. The food was all very good. I had a patty melt w/ onion rings that was delicious. My girlfriend had the Alfredo and with a side salad and found that to be just as good.
While the food was excellent and fresh, one thing that really impressed me was the layout. This place is quite clearly a bar. It had pool tables a bar counter and those quaint little bar tables just large enough for a picture, some nachos and four glasses. Then there was a little divider and there were booths and tables set up where customers could still watch the sports broadcast (the Olympics last night), and a further yet room with no TVs and you could sit in a very nice place for conversation. As this is the only restaurant in this area, it realized that the clientele would be varied and Gus' provides places for all different wishes. What a great idea.
I am glad that I tried it and I know that I will be going again soon.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Buffalo Wild Wings
This was a bit of a disappointment. I had high hopes for the restaurant, and they missed the mark. I had a buffalito or something that basically was grilled soft shell taco. It was alright, just not all that it was made out to be. I've heard lots of positive comments about the place and was expecting a excellent dish, but it just wasn't it was just pretty good. It could be that I should've ordered wings, seeing as that is why they are well known. When I go back (and it wasn't bad enough that I won't be returning) I'll try those. Who knows maybe those will be some of the best wings I have ever had. Overall I thought it was decent, not too costly restaurant that had quick food. One thing that was nice was how filling everything was. Two tacos and the wedges was almost too much; and that's saying something coming from a large guy like myself. The price for that kind of meal was definitely worth it.
I did like the atmosphere. The sports bar is a place that usually bores me, or is simply too loud to enjoy my meal or conversation. However, this place had the television sound turned down and had a business lunch feel about it. In fact, there was a group from the hospital and a construction/labor group in there, and those were the few that I could easily identify. Seeing the low prices, and the speed of service I would also choose it as lunch during work.
The one thing that really disappointed me was the hot sauce. I like spicy; very intense hot food it my shtick. As such I ordered the second most spicy sauce on the menu. It was a large let down. Now, I know that I rate things milder than most people would, but this sauce was definitely towards the middle of the spicy spectrum. It was enjoyable and had that tangy hot wings flavor, it just was lacking that hot bite that I was expecting. It was good tasting, but don't go there for really spicy wings.
As a whole, I thought the place was good and I will return. I wouldn't be surprised to find myself there some lunch after class with friends. It has a pleasant lunch time atmosphere that is enough to escape from the drudgery of work, yet is simple enough not to be overbearing. It is located in the Old Capitol Mall off of Clinton St.
I did like the atmosphere. The sports bar is a place that usually bores me, or is simply too loud to enjoy my meal or conversation. However, this place had the television sound turned down and had a business lunch feel about it. In fact, there was a group from the hospital and a construction/labor group in there, and those were the few that I could easily identify. Seeing the low prices, and the speed of service I would also choose it as lunch during work.
The one thing that really disappointed me was the hot sauce. I like spicy; very intense hot food it my shtick. As such I ordered the second most spicy sauce on the menu. It was a large let down. Now, I know that I rate things milder than most people would, but this sauce was definitely towards the middle of the spicy spectrum. It was enjoyable and had that tangy hot wings flavor, it just was lacking that hot bite that I was expecting. It was good tasting, but don't go there for really spicy wings.
As a whole, I thought the place was good and I will return. I wouldn't be surprised to find myself there some lunch after class with friends. It has a pleasant lunch time atmosphere that is enough to escape from the drudgery of work, yet is simple enough not to be overbearing. It is located in the Old Capitol Mall off of Clinton St.
Nile Valley
I must say this was quite a find. We, my girlfriend and I, found it while driving past; we thought that the advertised Mediterranean food sounded good and we were correct. It was delicious. We both ordered the buffet, as to get a fuller sample of their cuisine and everything we tried was very good. The falafel was fresh, the babaganosh was excellent, and all the various veggie dishes I tried were approaching perfection. Further, these were sitting on a buffet. I can't wait until next time I swing by to try something fresh and made-to-order.
This restaurant was a very nice change as it is local and inexpensive. While most of the restaurants near the old capitol are either chains or a bit pricey, this one definitely stands out. (That's not to say that there aren't other cheaper, local venues, only that they are a minority) It serves a large variety of vegetarian dishes in addition to some north African/Grecian foods, e.g., gyros, kofteh, etc. One interesting aspect of their food was the heavy use of peanut. It worked well, but was different and a nice change of pace.
It is on Gilbert about a block south of Burlington. I heavily suggest that you try it, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.
This restaurant was a very nice change as it is local and inexpensive. While most of the restaurants near the old capitol are either chains or a bit pricey, this one definitely stands out. (That's not to say that there aren't other cheaper, local venues, only that they are a minority) It serves a large variety of vegetarian dishes in addition to some north African/Grecian foods, e.g., gyros, kofteh, etc. One interesting aspect of their food was the heavy use of peanut. It worked well, but was different and a nice change of pace.
It is on Gilbert about a block south of Burlington. I heavily suggest that you try it, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Taste of China
Well, this is my first review of a resturant. That being said, I'm a little dissappointed. I have tried some really delicious resturants in the past few months while visiting Iowa City, but the events are not fresh enough for me to do the resturants credit. Instead I'm reviewing the resturant I attended tonight, A Taste of China.
My girlfriend and I found this resturant while looking for some chinese. We are crusing along whatever street is hwy 6 in Coralville and spot Taste of China next to Hy-Vee. So, us looking for some new chinese resturant decide to stop. In we walk to be greeted by what looked like a cook reading a magazine and the cashier watching tennis on television. We peruse the menu and go with Steamed Dumplings, Moo Shu Beef and Ma Bo Spicy Bean Curd.
When we got the food we found generic chinese food. No flair, nothing to suggest any excellent culinary skills; merely we were presented with bland chinese food. Not to say that it was bad, just not to our high gastronomic standards. The only thing that really, really disappointed me was the steamed dumplings. I don't know what was going on, it was as if all the flavor had been washed away. My girl and I think they might have been frozen at sometime. They were very poor, or at least on my scale of food preferences.
I want to reiterate that some people may enjoy it. There was a fair amount of non-adventerous eaters (not that there is anything necessarily wrong with that) who came through and ordered: vegetable lo mein, sesame chicken, egg rolls, and crab rangoons. I kid you not at least three people ordered that combination of chinese food. Some added things like General Tzu's Chicken, but nothing out of the ordinary "steriotypical" chinese food.
Anyway, the resturant was alright, just nothing that impressed us. We probably won't be going back. That isn't to say that, in the event of a guest looking for generic chinese food, we wouldn't suggest it.
My girlfriend and I found this resturant while looking for some chinese. We are crusing along whatever street is hwy 6 in Coralville and spot Taste of China next to Hy-Vee. So, us looking for some new chinese resturant decide to stop. In we walk to be greeted by what looked like a cook reading a magazine and the cashier watching tennis on television. We peruse the menu and go with Steamed Dumplings, Moo Shu Beef and Ma Bo Spicy Bean Curd.
When we got the food we found generic chinese food. No flair, nothing to suggest any excellent culinary skills; merely we were presented with bland chinese food. Not to say that it was bad, just not to our high gastronomic standards. The only thing that really, really disappointed me was the steamed dumplings. I don't know what was going on, it was as if all the flavor had been washed away. My girl and I think they might have been frozen at sometime. They were very poor, or at least on my scale of food preferences.
I want to reiterate that some people may enjoy it. There was a fair amount of non-adventerous eaters (not that there is anything necessarily wrong with that) who came through and ordered: vegetable lo mein, sesame chicken, egg rolls, and crab rangoons. I kid you not at least three people ordered that combination of chinese food. Some added things like General Tzu's Chicken, but nothing out of the ordinary "steriotypical" chinese food.
Anyway, the resturant was alright, just nothing that impressed us. We probably won't be going back. That isn't to say that, in the event of a guest looking for generic chinese food, we wouldn't suggest it.
Iowa City Food
I'm a new student attending University of Iowa for the first time this fall. Well, let me caviat "new student" I am a graduate student, law specifically, so I've been around this whole college thing. I did my undergrad at Iowa State in good ol' Ames. There, to have a little fun, I sampled every resturant in town. I can tell you which ones I enjoy and which ones I would avoid. However, as most people don't know me personally, that knoweledge doesn't really help anyone. As such, this time I'm going to record my gastronomic explorations. Maybe this will help people out in looking for something fresh and different,or simply looking for something in the area.
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