Lagomarcino's

I wish I could go back in time and visit Lagomarcino's in the early 1900s. Just being in the original is like taking a shot of nostalgia. You feel all warm and fuzzy and wish you could experience the place like your grandparents did. The original is located on 5th Ave in Moline and opened as a candy store in 1908 by Angelo Lagomarcino, an italian immigrant. The business is still owned by the family. Since then, they have expanded into ice cream, sodas, and lunches. They are pretty famous for their hot fudge sundae which is served with the hot fudge on the side, so you can pour it on as you eat. Interestingly, the hot fudge recipe was bought off a traveling salesman in 1915.














We visited the Lago's in the Village of East Davenport, which used to be a pharmacy, then a Happy Joe's until 1997 when it became Lago's. While the Moline location has the same furnishings from 1908, the Davenport store has the same feel because it was furnished with booths and lights from old soda fountains in Iowa.














Lunches are light, featuring sandwiches on their delicious light rye bread, with chips, salads, or fruit platters. The desserts are truly decadent and rich, most of the menu is their original sundae concoctions. View the menu here and see for yourself.













We all tried different sandwiches, club, tuna salad, and roast beef. then, of course we tried different drinks, a raspberry malt which everyone fought over...













banana lemonade...













and a Lago- a soda that tastes like root beer with cherry grenadine. Of course they also have the sweet and syrupy green river- a bright green lime flavored soda.













Both Lago's continue to sell their fabulous chocolates and candy. It's expensive- 20$ a pound, but it's the best in the area. the chocolate is unbeatable. I always get a small bar for about $1.50. We also got some mint malted milk balls.

Anyone coming from out of town needs to stop here to try some ice cream or soda. It's a one of a kind Q-C experience.

DeWitt Dairy Treats

Another excursion to DeWitt lead us to Dairy Treats (401 11th st), a cute little walk-up ice cream stand. It used to be a Tastee Freeze, but when they left, local owners took over, renamed the place, and changed up the menu a bit.
We went after dinner, so we checked out the ice cream menu. The ice cream is typical soft serve, but they mix up a special flavor each week. This week was cherry. However, I was excited to find that they still have butterscotch dipped cones! 80 yr old men and I can rejoice. They are becoming harder to find at Dairy Queens.

This is a small butterscotch dip in a sugar cone.













Am I the only one who sees Chris Farley's face in the butterscotch? looks like he's spewing out the mouth?

Richie got a small black raspberry malt which, as you can see, was very small but also very cheap- like 2 bucks. It's called portion control, and Americans should maybe practice it more often.













The ice cream was satisfying and the food being cooked inside smelled like a delectable carnival.














Great place to stop for ice cream in DeWitt, and probably the only place. Support local business!

Mary Sue's

Many people have seen Mary Sue's Cafe as they drive down Harrison Street, but few have actually stopped to eat there. So Saturday morning we decided to stop and try it out with Richie's parents, who were visiting from out of town.
Mary Sue's is obviously a breakfast joint for the locals. They serve it "all day" which means until 2 p.m. when they close.
When you first walk in the restaurant, you are bombarded with red, white, and blue. Christmas lights, stars, and flags...so many flags.















That's when I noticed the real name of the restaurant is actually Mary Sue's All-American Cafe.














That theme is prevalant in the decor as well as the menu where you can still find the post 9-11 freedom fries! Check out all the yummy breakfast choices...














It's a very homey place, the owner of the restaurant was also our server. I just looked in the Polk Directory and the owner is not Mary Sue, it's actually Carolyn. She was doing it all, including helping some old guy catch his bus.
Now on to the food. I ordered silver dollar pancakes which were a lot bigger than I expected. They were fluffy and perfect as pancakes can be. She offered to add chocolate chips or blueberries, but I declined. Instead, I rolled my scrambled eggs into the middle and ate them like burritos













Richie ordered "the Disaster" which is hashbrowns and scrambled eggs covered in sausage gravy.














He demolished it and proclaimed himself "Master of disaster"














We all left full and satisfied. This is such a cute little place for people looking for fast homemade breakfasts. Even though we weren't 'regulars' everyone was very sweet and no one stared at Richie's arms. Just a local hangout with nice people.
Here's a few pics of us enjoying the American atmosphere.

Sunrise Cafe

North of the Quad-Cities you'll find a quaint little town called DeWitt, IA. DeWitt is most known for...it's Pizza Hut? There's really no reason to go there except to see a cheap movie at the Opera House. This morning I decided we would go to their ice cream stand. Well that ended up being closed until 1, so we drove through the downtown area and found a place called the Sunrise Cafe (906 6th Ave).

It's nestled in a little strip mall, and let me tell you, it was hoppin with the after church crowd. They boasted giant cinnamon rolls and the whole place smelled like yummy breakfasts. We got some bewildered stares from the older folks who no doubt were wondering why such a pretty lady was with a such a creepy dude. JK! it was probably the tattoos.

























Down to business. The waitresses were super sweet and friendly. The restaurant was very country looking and outdated, but they made a effort. The hanging baskets were nice.

Richie ordered the Farmer's breakfast which is a scramble with hashbrowns, sausage, veggies, and cheese. He also added some scrambled eggs and hot sauce on top. he creatively describes it as 'tasty'













I don't like heavy lunches, so I ordered the blackened chicken salad with honey mustard. The chicken was warm and juicy, the tomatoes and peppers were nice and fresh. Much better than I expected.














We both ate for less than $15 dollars and left with full bellies. I would call our little excursion a success. Sunrise is open daily for lunch and dinner as well. While you're there, check out Barnes Foodland's delicious bakery