The Belgian Village Inn Drive-Thru

Faithful readers (mom? no?) may recall that we previously sojourned to the olde town district of Moline to visit the Belgian Village Inn restaurant and pub. We learned about the Belgian neighborhood and how the place came to be known for Loretta Ceurvorst's giant loaves of bread and, later for her famous VanDeRueben sandwiches. As demand for their sandwiches grew, the family decided to open another location to serve carry-out and drive-through orders. The Belgian Village drive-through restaurant with carry out and seating inside is located at 532 19th Ave., Moline.




























Before posting, I thought I should attain some background information on Belgium, so I snatched a children's library book aptly titled, Belgium. I was instantly smitten when I read, "it takes 3 Belgians to make a party." I continued to read and, in my mind, likened Belgium to the fat guy at the frat, drinking too much, munching overly sweetened waffles, and claiming to have invented french fries. The one that, when sober, recounts improbable stories about extinguishing massive fires with piss, like Belgian folk hero Mannekin Pis . As we all know, it's easy to seduce such characters, and Germany took advantage of that not once, but twice.

But apparently, Belgium's got balls now...


















and delicious foods.

Bateman and Richie took their bromance to the next level with a lunch date at the Belgium drive-through location.













If Belgians like their food savory and sweet, then Richie must be part Flemish. He ordered the gigantic VanDeRueben on raisin bread. The sweet bread is blanketed with thousand island dressing, then draped with thin slices of corned beef, swiss cheese, and sauerkraut.



























Bateman took the more conservative route with light rye bread. n00b.








Impressive bite!





The lunch culminated with a (Belgian?) chocolate chip cookie. Fun Fact: Brussels Airport sells more chocolate than anywhere else in the world. I'd love to have a layover there!



















So check out either location of the Belgian Village Inn for a hearty sandwich and sweet treat! They'll make just about any reuben variation that you could dream of. Alstublieft!

Belgian Village Inn

Head to the Olde Towne center (560 17th Ave) in Moline for a unique restaurant in the old Belgian neighborhood. For a full history of the Belgian Village Inn and the surrounding area, check out this article by Bill Wundram. The inside of the building is very small and cozy, with dark wood booths, and flemish decor.


































The original owners, the Ceurvorsts bought the current location in 1977 and began to serve soup to the Belgian immigrants. The workers demanded bread, so they started baking HUGE loaves to go with the soup. Naturally it progressed to sandwiches served on this HUGE bread, which they still bake daily. The most famous sandwich is the VandeRueben- rye bread with thousand island dressing, corned beef, ham, sauerkraut, and swiss cheese. you can also get it on their delicious raisin bread. This thing is massive and not meant for one person. Not even one obese person could polish this off in one sitting.













It doesn't come with sides, but of course you can order fries, potato salad, soup, etc. if you like.

I ordered a Sweet Turkey Melt- mild rye with honey mustard, turkey, provolone, and grilled onions. It was about half the size of the VandeRueben, but still more than enough for me.


















The menu also includes typical pub fare such as tenderloins, burgers, and brats. I definitely recommend getting something on their delicious bread.

Soooo while I was dissecting my sandwich, I found an odd little plastic thing in my onions. I thought maybe I won a prize? It was a little plastic lid they use on mayonaisse. I told my waitress and the owner Shawn Manning (son-in-law of the original owners) came over to apologize and comp the sandwich. I told him I was going to eat it anyways because it's just plastic and I'm sure I've eaten some plastic before. So despite that little find, I enjoyed the Melt and took half home in a doggy bag.















A carry out only Belgian Village is located on 19th Ave. Supposedly both locations sell over 200 Vandereubens daily- on a slow day !