Return to The Buzz

We returned to the local coffee shop The Buzz because they have once again expanded, remodeled, and revamped the menu.
The entire cafe moved down into the building just east of its former location. They now have a long counter, bigger kitchen and much more seating space.














What first enticed my return to the Buzz was the banner announcing that they now sold Donuts & More donuts. As luck would have it, they also serve hot breakfasts. The menu offers a good variety of breakfast choices including pancakes, french toast, and eggs. Donuts be damned, I wanted eggs instead.














We arrived around 9:30 and found a few other casual diners hanging out. The owner, Rob, is a very friendly guy and he chit-chatted us up after we ordered.




























The food took awhile, but it was worth the wait. There really is no where else in Eldridge where you can sit down to a nice hot breakfast. I ordered Eggs Benedict and they came with these beautiful golden hashbrowns with a nice crispy top layer. Perfect hashbrowns are a work of art.













The eggs were cooked perfectly and the hollandaise was very rich. Even though it tasted great, I restrained myself and used just a dab.


















Richie ordered a 3 egg omelet with toast. You can choose fillings and he opted for bacon, mushrooms, and cheese. Naturally, he enhanced it with hot sauce.














I have 2 complaints. To the loud woman yakking obnoxiously about your husband and huge house: NO ONE CARES. Secondly, they don't serve breakfast all day. All Breakfast All Day is my motto.


The Buzz is quickly becoming a charming full service restaurant, something this town is seriously lacking. For burgers and bikers, go to Del's. For homemade sandwiches and breakfasts, Buzz on over to the BUZZ.




THUG LYFE

Crabby's

Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? Richard Squarepants?!

















Richie and Bateman hopped in their boatmobile and bubbled their way to Crabby’s in Coal Valley, located somewhere between Bikini Bottom and the Rock River.














Crabby’s is owned by a distant relative of Mr. Krabs, proprietor of Krusty Krab. Crabby’s is also apparently terrorized by Sheldon Plankton, who burned down the original Crabby’s in 2006. That little green bastard.














Always consistent, Richie ordered a flaming krabby patty layered with jalapenos, an obscene amount of onions, bbq sauce, and cheese. He was somewhat baffled at the lack of crab in the menu. Crab legs were the only option.



























Richie’s chum, Bateman, who is not pink and does not live under a rock, ordered a Chicken Philly. He had never before eaten a Philly Cheese Steak. Maybe he does live under a rock.













Both were quite Squidward about the food, finding nothing special about it. The atmosphere was nice and cozy, like a big log cabin, hopefully Plankton doesn’t burn this one down. Though not highly recommended, if you’re a drinker or pool connoisseur, it might be worth a trip down to sponge up some alcohol and fair bar food.

Wise Guys

"As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster. To me, being a gangster was better than being President of the United States"

When you want a good pie, you gotta go some place where they know pizza. Italians are supposed to know pizza. And the Italian mafia are "goodfellas, wiseguys." So a pizza place named WiseGuys (2408 E 53rd) better have some good pizza, or they risk getting whacked.

WiseGuys is another one of the Quad-Cities' style pizzerias that has been around for awhile. Not as long as Frank's or Harris, WiseGuys opened in 96, around the time the 53rd and Elmore corridor was being heavily developed.













As far as I can tell, Wiseguys differs from the others in their crust. It's a little thicker and doesn't have the cornmeal bottom. They do, however, tend to stick to mozzarella and other white cheeses, and they load on the toppings. Not very Italian, but very Quad Cities.



He better be whacking people with that stick










I fully expected a guy name Paulie to take my order in a rude manner and give me the dick eye while I waited. But instead, it was a gangly white teenager surrounded by pretty blonde waitresses picking up their orders. Bummer.

Also sort of a bummer, the lack of creativity in naming the pizzas. I thought maybe I could order the Bugsy Big Boss Bacon or Machine Gun Mushroom. They did have one pizza named the Big Marv which sounds like a pizzafied Big Mac, with 1000 Island dressing, beef, pickles, and cheese. However, I ordered the Inferno- a gut burning pie topped with Italian sausage, pepperoncinis, onions, jalapenos, and hot pepper jack cheese.














The restaurant is no hideout, featuring a salad bar, ample seating and a sports bar-ish atmosphere, but I took our pizza to go, with a side of garlic bread.














Unwrapped it and BAM! My medium pizza looked more like a sidekick than a boss. Richie was expecting an assault on his taste buds, but he didn't seem to find it hot enough. The pizza he uses as his reference point is the Volcano from Poor Boys and I guess this one didn't compare. I have very low tolerance for heat, so I picked my pieces apart to avoid the jalapenos, but I could feel a bit of a burn in my sinuses. Nothing I couldn't handle though.













The garlic bread wasn't nearly garlicky or flavorful enough for either of us.














I liked it. I mean, it's pizza, who wouldn't? It's not the capo di tutti capo, but it's a decent associate. Richie, being the pistol he is, is not from the old country and once again complained that QC-style pizza is overwhelmed with toppings and cheese. I would like to rat Wisguys out for their prices. It felt a little like we were being extorted... more than 30 bucks for a pizza and bread?

If anyone has any suggestions for a good New York style pizza place in the area, give me holler.

The Airliner

Dropping in on Iowa City once again, we flew to the Airliner (22 S. Clinton) for lunch.


















The Airliner has been around since 1944 when the Rinellas decided to open up a place similar to their favorite Midway restaurant, also called the Airliner.

Since then, it has been the site of many Hawkeye hangovers and hookups. I would liked to have visited when Tom Brokaw was a handsome young co-ed and frequent guest.














This particular lazy Sunday was quite slow, so we boarded the Airliner without a wait and sat in a comfy booth near the kitchen. The lunch special was 1.75 per slice of pizza, which is "famous." The original owners were Sicilians who learned the pizza trade in NY.

















They had five ready made pizzas for people who ordered slices. It's hard to judge a pizza by a slice that's been sitting around for awhile. My sister thought it was decent but nothing special. However, I hear their deep dish really takes flight.


















Richie and I didn't fly all the way in from the QC for a coach class lunch. There are many other 1st class options on the menu. Many are Italian dishes, but there is also bar food like burgers and buffalo chicken.

Is anyone surprised that my co pilot ordered a burger? He didn't want to utilize the barf bag and try the AirBus challenge which includes eating a 2 LB burger with fixings and fries. So he flew an F-16, a 1/3 lb burger with cheddar cheese, bbq sauce, and two onion rings.













Our stewardess served our food on schedule and we took off for full belly land.
The burgers approach into Richie's stomach was a smooth one. The fries were a bit turbulent and lacking in crunch and flavor.















I got out my passport to try a Greek chicken salad- spinach, Feta cheese, olives, tomatoes, and chicken breast. Came with a carry-on bread stick.













I jetted right through this salad, everything was fresh and tasty.

















The atmosphere was pretty LAX for a bar, several games were on the 12 flat screens, but we could hold a convo without shouting. I imagine nights and game days are quite a departure from this, especially with their dirt cheap drink specials.

With so many dining options in the downtown terminal, I'm not sure we would return on our next layover in the I.C. Be that as it may, we left happy, with our bellies full of baggage.

Bent River Brewery

Yes I will attempt to review Bent River Brewery without having tried a beer. Obviously, the appeal of going to such a place is the locally brewed ale, but bars often offer a promise of deliciously greasy food and over-the-top hamburgers at rock bottom prices.

















Bent River Brewery is located in Moline on 5th Avenue. They opened in 1997 and started brewing in 1999. They look to have some interesting flavored beers, but again, that is nothing I would know about, so take a gander...








Click here for their handcrafted beers









The brewery is located in a historical building from 1922 that once housed Henry Rehman Restaurant, Moore's Hardware, and Roger's Maytag.





























On Tuesdays, people often gather at Bent River for their burger baskets. For the entire day, the baskets are just $3 and pints of brew are just 2.50. But wait, there's more good burger news-- the special is also available daily from 11am-2pm. You can't get a more filling lunch at such a reasonable price. Unless, God help you, you eat 3 double cheeseburgers from McDonald's.














Richie and Bateman were about 15 minutes late for the burger basket special. That's the price you pay for eating at odd hours. Nonetheless, they forked out the additional 4 bucks for a burger and accompanying fries.













To spice things up, Bent River has concocted some flavorful condiments. The Wasabi ketchup will appeal to those who like things hot and sweet. If you're one of those people that eats ranch with everything (weirdo), try the Cajun ranch dip.

Richie ordered the Stackhouse burger, 1/3 pound of beef obscured by a pile of fried onions and cheese and flooded with the River's Beer-B-Que sauce.



























Bateman elected to give his tongue a zing with the Big Sky Burger, 1/3 lb of beef peppered with pickled jalapenos, red onions, pepperjack cheese, and doused Cajun ranch sauce.














The burgers packed an appealing punch of flavors and filled their bellies with sustenance for grappling with Dracula and gathering magical items.

The menu was revamped for 2010 and includes some atypical pub fare such as fancy schmancy salads, fried green beans, Shepherd's Pie and a half dozen entrees featuring portabella mushrooms.

You can GET BENT daily from 11am-3am. A must stop for beer and burger buffs.

Firehouse Pizza and Pub

Richie recently played a show in Normal IL at a pub/pizza place called Firehouse Pizza and Pub. (107 East Beaufort)


















It is a small chain is native to central Illinois. According to their Facebook page, the chain was started 5 yrs ago by a fireman who wanted to replicate his favorite college pizza.












Do not be alarmed by the leering fireman. He is there to save your taste buds from the fires of eternal damnation.
















If you're selling pizza in a college town, you have to have some sort of unique selling point. I'd suggest shirtless firemen waiters, but this particular Firehouse went with buying a million TVs. The booths have little flat screens and the walls have gigantic projection TVs. Diners will not miss whatever pitiful Illini/Bears/Cubs game they want to watch.













In addition to the sports filled environment, they also occasionally have live music in the pub area, as they did the night Richie was there.






Behind the mic






The pizza boasts a unique flavor. Firehouse has concocted a very sweet tasting sauce. What's the secret behind this? Probably massive amounts of sugar. If you are a pizza purist, you can order traditional style sauce instead. You are also probably overly picky and opinionated.
















I told Richie to bring home pizza or don't bother coming home. I did not specify what kind. So... the best thing in the world besides chocolate is pickles. I think 99% of the human race can agree on this. Knowing this important fact, Richie ordered the Cheeseburger Supreme pizza because it is topped with pickles! It also features hamburger, bacon, onion, cheddar, mozzarella, and mustard.
















The sauce was, indeed, very sweet and reminiscent of ketchup. Therefore, it was suited for this type of pizza. The crust is thin and crispy, though you can get NY hand tossed as well. The toppings were loaded on, covered with cheese, and each slice had it's own pickle chip. Though I ate it cold at 5:45 in the morning, pre-run, I thought it was delicious.
















Their other specialty pizzas include BBQ chicken, Hawaiian, Garlic, Ranch, Taco, BLT, and Margarita. They also have typical appetizers like wings, onion rings, and garlic bread. I was stoked when I viewed the menu online and saw that they have pigs in a blanket. Such refined tastes I have.

The pizza is great and I think Richie enjoyed the atmosphere. You can forgo the pub side and just sit in the restaurant to avoid aggressive drunks/tipsy business majors from ISU.



Live music YaY