Resturant Review: Red's Alehouse

Red’s Alehouse

Finally made it to Red’s Alehouse and discovered what many have known for a long time, Red’s is a must stop in the Iowa City/Coralville and now North Liberty area. I would classify Red’s as a place that promotes their beer but delivers on their food. Red’s menu is dominated by flat bread pizzas and sandwiches but its surroundings and service are closer to a fine dining experience. When looking around its clear Red’s is the place to be. Our waitress was attentive, friendly and knowledgeable. Qualities that are harder and harder to find these days.  Buffalo chicken and ranch dressing are two things that I don’t particularly care for, but when I took a bite of my wife’s flat bread pizza I wasn’t sure I even wanted to try my meal. It was awesome and that’s taking into affect I went into it thinking I wouldn’t like it. The balance of flavors and heat was perfect. I would order this in a heartbeat.

 

 

My Daughter had a burger with feta and you can’t go wrong with that.

 

 

My choice for the evening was the The Braiser - pork belly, brussel sprout slaw,

aged white cheddar, smoked tomato BBQ. I mean come on, with that combination how can a guy go wrong. The brussel sprout slaw was a pleasant surprise and added a nice crisp freshness to the burger. Red’s take on coleslaw was also a pleasant surprise they use purple cabbage and a red wine vinaigrette that may not be for most but I found it a nice change to the common coleslaw.  

 

 

There are times when after a meal you just sit back and think to yourself; that is sitting just right. My trip to Red’s did just that.

 I have devised a new rating system for restaurants that I will unveil with Red’s that goes like this. I consider the meal and the experience and compare it to what it cost to what I would be willing to pay for it.   Just a word positive numbers may be rare and a 0 is not bad. I came up with this system at the last place I ate in which the entrée was $17 and I would have willing paid $10 for the meal so it earned a -7. Red’s earned a +4 on my initial visit.

 Red’s Alehouse

405 N Dubuque St, North Liberty, IA 52317
(319) 626-2100

 Price range: (everyday, a night out, a special occasion only) a night out

Overall rankings all based 1 to 5

Atmosphere:  4.5

Service:         5                                                        

Food:            5

Value:          5

Overall          5

 

Review: Ghurtie's Gourmet Frozen Yogurt Cafe

Ghurtie’s Gourmet Frozen Yogurt Café

 I believe this is my very first non restaurant review and Ghurtie’s is good enough to warrant this. I first was introduced to this type of concept in LA at Pinkberry the standard bearer in the froyo industry. With that said there are no Pinkberry’s even close to here. Over the years various copy cats have popped up in Iowa, all coming up very short, until I discovered Ghurtie’s this place is just as good and it not a chain. The toppings available are extremely fresh and plenty to choose from. The staff is friendly and the place is clean and inviting. It is a little out of the way for the average visitor to Iowa City but it is worth the trip. You have to check this place out. I’m even giving you directions!

 Hours & Location

Monday-Saturday
11:30am - 10:00pm
Sundays
12:30pm - 9:00pm
Location

Ghurtie's is located in Oakdale Park at the intersection of 12th Ave and Oakdale Blvd.

2180 Norcor Avenue, Coralville, IA 52241

Directions

From Hwy 965: Head East on Oakdale Blvd. (through the U of I Research Park). Take a right on 12th Avenue and then a quick left to reach the Ghurtie's parking lot.

From Hwy 6: Head North on 12th Avenue (the Applebee's intersection). Turn right into Oakdale Park (before reaching the12th Ave./ Oakdale Blvd. intersection).

For I - 80 Travelers take either Coralville exit:

1) Coral Ridge Mall exit will allow you to head North on Hwy 965 and then follow the 965 directions (above).

2) 1st Ave. exit will require you to head North on 1st Ave., follow Holiday Rd. as it circles West off of 1st Ave. Take a right at the 12th Ave. stop and head North to Oakdale Park and Ghurtie's.

 

Updated Resturant Review: Throttle Down

Throttle Down was a place that I promoted heavily when it first opened. I now have to take back all of the good things I said. Please don’t go there because of any of my past recommendations. Throttle Down has been on a consistent downhill spiral for some time now. It’s one thing to write a bad review after one bad visit but I’m up to three now and there won’t be a 4^th.  In my original review I said that they should concentrate on being a restaurant and not a bar because the food was that good. It is evident that after I believe was a change of ownership it’s all bar. Perhaps if one would drink enough the poor food and service would not be noticeable. I really pains me when a place that you loved becomes a place you can never go again.

Pizza rankings update

Thought I would repost as #2 and #4 are two new addittions to my top 5 pies.

1.       Pizano's Pizza (Chicago)

 A thin crust pizza in Chicago tops the list of my favorite pizza, strange coming from the deep dish capital of the world. The crust is the best part, I swore there was cornmeal in the crust but they assured me there was none, still puzzled by that. The décor was kind of neat felt like a gangster could have walked in at any moment.

 

2.       Psycho Suzies  (Minneapolis)

Sometimes it’s all about the crust and that is the case here; a great corn meal crust combines with the house chunky sweet tomato sauce. A great place to build your own pizza while enjoying a view of the Mississippi.

 

3.       Wig and Pen (Iowa City)

The flying tomato pizza and the onion rings are out of this world. Not sure if they serve anything else. That is all I’ve had and don’t plan on trying anything else.

 

4.       Gusto Pizza Co. (Des Moines)

All I can say is fresh, quality ingredients, incredible marinara and unique and interesting pizzas.

 

5.       Breadeaux (Mount Pleasant, IA only)

I’ve had other Breadeaux’s but none compare to the one in Mount Pleasant not sure why? I have said it before that I think Roger has some special ingredient that makes you eat the pepperoni until it’s gone. If I’m ever in a pizza eating challenge this is the one I want.

 

6.       Giordanos (Chicago)

Even though I am more of a thin crust kind of guy now the deep dish monster here is delish.

 

7.       Pagliai's Pizza (Iowa City)

An Iowa City Tradition I have an aunt and uncle that live outside Tucson Arizona that bring a cooler the size of a coffin with them and fill it with pizza from Pagliai’s to take back with them.  

 

8.       Bordenaro’s  Des Moines

 

This is one of those places that the normal person would drive right past not much for looks but some good pizza. The pepperoni had just the right bite to it and the taco was good as well. A not so much crisp but what I would call a firm crust. Firm enough to pick up everything piled on the taco pizza. Saw some onion rings delivered to a table as we were leaving, looks like a must have next time.

 

9.       Bambinos West Des Moines

A great pie with a West Des Moines where you drive out in the country past cows to get there. Thought it was funny that the lady that owns the place has a business across the street that is in Norwalk. 

10.    Torino’s (Fairfield IA.)

A good what I call greasy pizza, but not in a bad way. The highlight Torino’s is the free ice cream that comes with the meal. Not only is it free it is possible the best soft serve ice cream around.

11.   Dino’s Washington IA.

An old standby that introduced me to the thin crust world.

12.   Mazzios’s Burlington IA.

The best Canadian and sauerkraut going, I really appreciate the owner and the way he has taken care of me over the years.

 

Resturant Review Gusto Pizza Co.

Gusto Pizza Co.

 

Made a stop at Gusto Pizza Co. in Des Moines and had some great pizza I had no idea what to expect and was pleased. I was encouraged to try the meat balls and I’ll be honest I am (was) not much of a meat ball guy but Gusto has changed that, can’t wait to have some more. Here they are in all their glory.       The marinara Gusto serves is awesome and came with the meatballs and with the cheese bread, It just plain tastes fresh. The pizza had a good crispy crust and topped with what you could tell were quality ingredients. I ordered the “The Duke” which consisted  of Russ & Frank's Sassy BBQ sauce, smoked brisket, mozzarella, colby jack, red onion and cilantro. When I saw brisket I was sold, because I love brisket. Personally I like barbeque sauce less and less and could have used less of the Russ & Franks but overall some good brisket and a great pie.

Besides the meatballs the Spartacus was the surprise of the night is came with  a Red sauce, Graziano's Italian sausage (yum), pepperoni, mozzarella ,and banana peppers.

 

 

This was my favorite of the two. Overall a great place for pizza that has made my top 5 pizza places I’ve ever been.

Service is hard to rate due to the fact you order at the counter but overall a place I’d go back to in a heartbeat.

Gusto Pizza Co.
1905 Ingersoll Ave, Des Moines, IA, 50309
515-244-8786

Price range: (everyday, a night out, a special occasion only) everyday

Overall rankings all based 1 to 5

Atmosphere:  4

Service:         4                                                                                   

Food:            5

Value:          3.5

Overall          4.5

 As far as a pure pizza place goes I would give it an overall rating of 5 out of 5

 

Resturant Review: Cosi Cucina

Cosi Cucina

 Made a second trip to Cosi Cucina in Clive and was shocked to find out that I had not reviewed it the first time. Cosi Cucina has a very nice atmosphere, sophisticated but not stuffy, romantic yet not sappy. The service the first time was exceptional, this time a little let’s say weird. The waiter was trying to be funny and failed, and included himself in a toast due to the fact it was national wine day. But as far as service goes he was good. As far as the food goes it is as good as it gets, whenever a person can go to a place and say that they just had the best of something they have ever had that’s good, but when a person can say they just had the best two that’s great. Not too often I would get excited about a salad but the Candied Almond salad left a lasting impression with its feta cheese, blackberry vinaigrette dressing and oh yes the candied almonds. I am a true meat eater but it would not take much to convince me to just have the salad. One of the dishes at the table was the Balsamic Chicken pictured here.

 

It was as good as it looks.  The green beans were amazing! The other dishes were the Ziti Cucina and a tomato linguini both excellent but the dish of the night right shown here

 

 

is causing me to have dreams at night. The Potato Ravioli is the best pasta dish I have ever had. It included bacon and steak tips in a rich brown sauce. I wish I could have more. Overall the serving sizes were generous and when you include the price with the quality of the food the overall value it outstanding, possibly my favorite restaurant in all of Iowa right now.

 

1975 NW 86th St Clive, IA 50325
(515) 278-8148

 

Price range: (everyday, a night out, a special occasion only) a night out

Overall rankings all based 1 to 5

Atmosphere:  5

Service:         4                                                        

Food:            5

Value:          5

Overall          5

The Blackstone revisited

 

This will be my first re-review of a restaurant. Over the week end I made my first return trip to the Blackstone in Iowa City, (one of the very few places to earn a perfect 5 on my grading scale. The atmosphere hadn’t changed which is good but the food and the service was even better than I remembered. After my fist trip I said I wanted to have an main entrée on my next so I was looking that one of the streaks. But they also had a Rueben special that looked wonderful (pictured below). I asked the waitress and without hesitation she said get the Rueben, you can get the steak anytime. Later I said to her you know I was impressed because the steak was about double the price and it would affect your tip. Her reply I just care about the customer and good food. Needless to say I tipped at the steak price. For me the Blackstone is the perfect combination of a fine dining experience at an affordable price. You should try it just not on the nights I want to go so I can get in. The best place to eat in all of Iowa City.

Resturant Review: The Radish

The Radish

The Radish is a strange name for a restaurant and yes they do serve a radish with every meal. Upon arrival I had high hopes for the place as it was located in what used to be a house. As we waited for a table the place looked pretty nice complete with a wine selection in plain sight. However that is where the night ended for us. We ended up getting placed in a secluded corner of the restaurant which sounds good in theory. Our table was in an isolated spot right next to the one, unisex bathroom with a nice cold draft running under the table. So under the circumstances the atmosphere for me that night not good. For the service, it almost started out good I do like a waitress that does not need to write the orders down. However the first thing we ordered they were out of, along with the second and yes, the third and it was not that late. The most disappointing thing about the service was that our waitress always had an excuse for the things that happened and threw anyone and everyone else under the bus. It was the guy who seated us that should have told us what they were out of. A Daddy Daughter Dance was the reason they were out of everything by 7:00 pm and when we had to go get our check it somehow was the fault of the bus girl. The radish is a fine dining establishment with fast food service. At this point the food would have to be perfect to be average. I had the walleye if it was my first walleye, it may have very wall been the last. I tried some mashed potatoes that were cold, the bread on both sandwiches was way too hard.  On the positive side the hash browns were good and the red apple coleslaw was amazing; the best coleslaw I’ve ever had. But it was too little too late. With prices of the entrees $20 and up my expectations increase the radish this night was more like a turnip bitter and hard to swallow.

 The Radish

721 E 1st St Grimes, IA 50111
(515) 986-1900

 Price range: (everyday, a night out, a special occasion only) special occasion ony

Overall rankings all based 1 to 5

Atmosphere:  2

Service:         2

Food:            2

Value:           2

Overall          2

Resturant Review Mullets

Mullets

When it comes to judging a place for atmosphere and or décor a person has to decide to either judge on what they like or if the place pulled off the look they were going for. Mullets definitely pulled off what they were going for. Within reach of where I was sitting there were pictures of Patrick Swayze, Mario Lopez, and Billy Ray Cyrus all sporting, yes mullets. I actually caught myself looking for someone with an actual mullet. The service was very good and the waitress knowledgeable she did mess up one of the orders but completely owned up to it. We started out with ½ orders of both nachos and onion rings. I always appreciated the option of half orders of appetizers. The onion rings were the thin stringy type which can tend to be greasy these were not at all. When we ordered I said no nachos for me but when they arrived I could not help but try them. They were without a doubt the best nachos I have ever had. They were layered with just the right amount of cheese and toppings. At the table we had a Wild West burger with bacon and bbq sauce, a cheese burger, a set of sliders, a strawberry gouda turkey sandwich, and possibly the highlight of the meal were the sweet potato tater tots that were served with a marshmallow sauce that was to die for. It was immediately classified as a dessert. An overall great place to eat with a great view of the Des Moines skyline.

 

Mullets

1300 SE 1st St Des Moines, IA 50315
(515) 244-1443

 

Price range: (everyday, a night out, a special occasion only) everyday

Overall rankings all based 1 to 5

Atmosphere:  4

Service:         3

Food:            4

Value:           4

Overall          4

Resturant Review: 61 Chop House

 

61 Chop House

The decor is nice but somehow the tables and booths don’t match the rest of the theme, if that make any sense at all. But what the heck it’s about the food and the service. We’ll start with the service unfortunately the service we received was well below average. The initial contact was good but it was a slow steady decline after that. Our waitress managed to hit on both of my service pet peeves, my water sat empty forever and I had to wait an eternity for our check when we were done. Speaking of the check we found out later that she ran the tip through our debit card as a separate transaction.  Hopefully she just had an off night and the other servers are better. Because overall the food was pretty good, I did have one head scratcher however. The place is owned and run by a “certified executive chef” and they serve frozen French fries that I do not understand. The menu made it very clear that the Barn Burger (pictured here)

  is what the 61 Chop house is known for so that is what I ordered. It was billed as one of the top ten burgers in Iowa for 2011. It was very good, the secret barn sauce and the onion straws were a nice touch, was it the top ten in the state? Possibly. The other diner’s at our table had a tenderloin and the prime rib which were both reported as very good. By the looks of the place and the website it looks like the 61 Chop House is very active in the community which is nice to see. Looks like in January they are revamping their menu, I’ll go back and try it again. Perhaps we will have a different waitress or by then she will have improved. I tried really hard to not let our service experience effect the food and overall score suffer. Service really does set the tone for a great dining experience.

 Price range: (everyday, a night out, a special occasion only) everyday

Overall rankings all based 1 to 5

Atmosphere:  3

Service:         2

Food:            4

Value:           3

Overall          3.5

 

213 South Wapello Road Mediapolis, IA 52637
(319) 394-9222

Resturant review: 801 Chophouse

801 Chophouse

 

Recently I got to experience 801 Chophouse in Des Moines. I’ll admit I am nervous going in to any place that is out of my league. But thanks to Stacy and Jared our family got enjoy a dining experience that we may never get again. Upon entering 801 I was immediately taken back by the aroma that filled the place. I was originally going to say smell, but that would not do it justice. I remember saying that this was the best smelling restaurant I had ever been to hands down. The aroma of grilled steaks filled the place. I could have just sat there for hours and been happy just taking in the fragrance of grilled prime beef. As for the place it’s self it was very nice lots of beautiful woodwork, adequate lighting and the like. Not as stuffy as I anticipated. ( if you see me ask me about the men’s restroom.) Besides being with my family the highlight of the evening after thinking about it was the level of the service. So refreshing to have someone wait on you who know what they are talking about. Our waitress explained everything very well and brought out and explained the cuts of steak. We had the porter house, the Delmonico and a New York strip all very good. For the sides we had some of the best scalloped potatoes I’ve ever had, the garlic mashed potatoes were exceptional, the steam broccoli was cooked well, and the gnocchi was good. The overall winner of the sides at the table was the fresh Iowa creamed corn.   We finished the evening with some cheese cake and a soufflé served with chocolate, raspberry, and a vanilla bean sauces that were amazing. The soufflé you have to order at the beginning of the meal because it takes almost an hour to create and is rumored to contain 16 eggs. The soufflé itself was worth the trip. The value score is the only thing for me that held 801 back. Overall a great experience.     

 Price range: (everyday, a night out, a special occasion only) Special occasion

Overall rankings all based 1 to 5

Atmosphere:  5

Service:         5

Food:            5

Value:           3

Overall          4.5

 

801 Grand Ave # 200 Des Moines, IA 50309
(515) 288-6000

Book Review: Note to Self by Joe Thorn

In the last 25 books I’ve read on Christianity this is one of the best. I am the type of reader that likes to highlight the good parts of a book. After about 10 chapters of Note to Self I decided highlighting was pointless because of how much I was marking. When I started this book my thoughts were this would be good for anyone, because it was so simple and the chapters were so short. But as I got into it the deeper and deeper and more convicting it became. I have never been able to find a daily devotional that I liked in the 10 years I’ve been looking, with Note to Self I think I just found it.  When reading “Christian” things we need to do read for more than just information, we need to read for transformation and this book does that for me.  

Mike's Iowa Resturant Guide

Time to share my master Restaurant list sorted by town and rating. Bon appetit!

The 5's get their very own picture.

John's Shamrock Barbecue	Ainsworth	2
Hickory Park	Ames	2
Gators	Burlington	3
Martinis	Burlington	2.5
Thirsty Camel	Conseville	2
Wigg N Pen	Coralville	4.5
Wildwood Smokehouse	Coralville	4
Bandana's	Coralville	3
Cosi Cucina	DesMoines	5
Jethro's	DesMoines	5
Skips	DesMoines	5
Simons	DesMoines	4.5
Tumea & Sons	DesMoines	4.5
Bambinos	DesMoines	4
Royal Mile	DesMoines	4
The Flying Mango	DesMoines	4
Miller High life Lounge	DesMoines	3.5
Monterrey	DesMoines	3
Bang Bang	DesMoines	3
Fongs	DesMoines	3
Smokey D's	DesMoines	3
Tasty Tacos	DesMoines	3
Woody's Smoke Shack	DesMoines	3
Zombie Burger & Drink Lab	DesMoines	3
Taqueria Sonora	DesMoines	3
Felix & Oscar's	DesMoines	2
Ginos	DesMoines	2
The Q	DesMoines	1
Torinos	Fairfield	3
Top of the Rock	Fairfield	2.5
Black Stone	Iowa City	5
Jimmy Jacks	Iowa City	5
Shorts Burger and Shine	Iowa City	4.5
Linn Street Café	Iowa City	4
Brown Bottle	Iowa City	3
Hamburg Inn	Iowa City	2.5
Deano's Place	Lockridge	3
Mount Hamil Tap	Mount Hamil	3.5
Little Mexico	Mount Pleasant	4
Costos	Mount Pleasant	3
Keos	Mount Pleasant	3
Papa Georges	Mount Pleasant	3
Press Box	Mount Pleasant	3
Mi Pueblo Real	Mount Pleasant	2.5
Jerry's	Mount Pleasant	2
Butch's River Rock Café	Oakland Mills	2.5
Goldie's	Prairie City	3.5
Throttle  Down	Tiffin	2
Casa Tequila	Tiffin	2.5
Johnnie B's	Wapello	3.5
Café Dodici	Washington	3
Denos	Washington	3
Rubes Steak House	Waukee	3.5
Tinders	Wayland	2
Uncle Ronnie's	West Burlington	3