Crust Stone Oven Pizza and Pub

Not a fan of Quad-Cities style pizza, Richie was eager to try the new restaurant, Crust Stone Oven Pizza and their "European" style pizzas. Oh la la.  On Bix Saturday, we pulled into the parking lot and weren't sure if they were open or not.  As we walked in, we saw that it was only the 3rd Saturday they were open during lunch hours.  Their normal business hours don't begin until 4 p.m. on all other days of the week.

 We were offered either a table inside or on the patio, so we opted for the chilly air conditioned dining room.  The interior is pretty swanky looking- black and white, dim lights, photography on the walls.  Each wall was adorned with a couple of TVs turned to either ESPN, the Cubs game, or some snooze fest volleyball Olympic game.  Sad choices, so I stared at the walls instead.  And these randoms

The menu is small, but appealing.  The appetizer and sandwich section offers fancified french fries and cheese curds, a chicken sandwich, a burger, and mac n cheese.  The pizza offerings are your typical pepperoni, margherita, and sausage, plus a few interesting flavors- chorizo potato, three pigs, and chicken artichoke.  View the menu here.

Being the good carnivore he is, Richie ordered the three pig pizza which is topped with pancetta, capacolla, and soppresatta a.k.a. a bunch of pork.  Don't ask which meat is which.  The pizza is baked in a stone oven with temps of up to 900 degrees.  Need to get rid of a dead body?  The pizzas cook in about 90 seconds.  My mac n cheese held us up, but we still received our food very quickly, in about 10 minutes.

The macaroni had a nice crust on it, dotted with bacon. Mmm more pig. The inside was very hot and filled with melted gouda cheese, bacon, and peas.  It was creamy, flavorful, and the peas made me feel like I made a healthy choice.  (I didn't)

I shared my order with Scarlett, who also gave it a tiny thumbs up, though I think she prefers Easy Mac. 

Richie devoured about half of his pizza.  The crust is very thin and chewy, so it wasn't hard to do.

He actually thought it was a little underdone and could've used a few more seconds in the oven.  He didn't eat the top crust, but I did, and I enjoyed the taste and texture had a bit of char flavor.  He happily reported that the meats each had a bold, distinct flavor.  However, they were a bit salty to his palate and decided he would try pepperoni next time.  Nonetheless, he claimed that it was delicious and real pizza, "unlike that Quad-Cities style stuff."  Whatever.

He also downed a mug of Steven's Point Root Beer.  For 4 bucks you should get to keep the glass.  He likened it to Barqs because it had a bitter bite to it.

We had no issues with our waitstaff, and I read about a cool thing they did, but a friend of mine who went on the restaurant's second day said his waitress was very rude and ignored his table to talk with her friends.  He also said that management dismissed his complaints.  If you aren't given good service, be sure to complain.  Maybe they will listen or maybe they will continue to be douchey.

Governor's Pub and Grill

Governor's Pub and Grill, located in Bettendorf, Iowa (3470 Middle Rd) has been around for many years.  They fairly recently remodeled the exterior and now boast a large patio with ample seating.

  They do not, however, have a website or any historical information available.  So it shall remain a mystery as to why it's called Governor's and why Ben Franklin gets his drink on there.

Governor's seems like a typical bar and grill, dim lighting, high seat tables, TVs tuned to ESPN, and a large bar.  However, as well as providing a well-stocked bar, they focus on serving a variety of quality food.  My grandpa was particularly fond of their ribs, of which Richie partook.

I have to admit, service is always pretty slow.  We were not terribly interested in the NBA playoffs on TV (Oklahoma City has a team?), and neither of us wanted to dip into the public popcorn cesspool.  However, it picked up once our waitress noticed us and got our drinks out.  

We started with an order of fried pickles, because, you know, veggies are important.  The pickles had a crispy seasoned exterior hugging the delicious dill. 

I am a creature of habit, and generally always order the pretzel stack.  This time was no exception.  It's a classy way to eat a giant pretzel, sliced in half, sandwiching a good portion of smoked turkey, melted cheese, lettuce, tomato, and dripping with honey mustard.  Much more satisfying than nibbling a Super Pretzel while balancing a small tub of nacho cheese in your lap, in a flip-up seat at the ballpark. 

The special that night was their 'famous' ribs, served with a side of onion rings.  Governor's uses a "special" barbecue sauce which I assume is an original recipe, but then again, it could be KC Masterpiece dumped into an unlabeled bucket.

Richie thought they were decent for bar ribs, but nothing like slow cooked and falling off the bone.  the onion rings were good, but count em- one, two, three.  He also noted that the beans were pretty tasty, but sub-par when compared to his own recipe. 

Overall, Governor's is always a pleasant experience, but nothing to-die-for.  Probably a nice stop for the casual drinker.  It seems to be a gathering place for Bettendorf's 'Athletic Booster crowd', so avoid on Sundays during football season.

Jimmy's Pancake House

The best meal of the day, by far, is breakfast.  The food is rich, heavy, and full of added sugars, but you have the whole day to work it off.  Anytime I hear of a place that serves breakfast all day, I begin to salivate and daydream of eggs, crispy bacon, and syrup drenched pancakes.  Obviously a place named Jimmy's Pancake House really got my engine running as I envisioned a flapjack heaven run by a friendly, slightly overweight guy in a paper hat.

I finally got to see what it was really like after a late morning doctor's appointment and ultrasound where I discovered that  the baby girl in my belly was craving a greasy mess.  So we headed into Bettendorf and found the small cafe on 18th street.


Jimmy's is very clean and very green inside. Like, literally, bright green.   We found an empty table and received prompt drink service. The waitresses seemed to know all of the other patrons. Pretty soon, they'll be yelling RICHIE! when we walk in and a witty exchange about HT customers will ensue.

The majority of Jimmy's menu is breakfast. That's what I like to see. At a pancake house, you most definitely want to try the pancakes, even if they make your stomach swell and arms itch. So I ordered poached eggs with ham, hashbrowns and blueberry pancakes.

Can't really complain or rave about the eggs. They always taste the same. The ham was thick cut and lightly fried. Hashbrowns were plentiful, light, and fluffy. They were a departure from the usual diner style nests of grease. However, I prefer the crispy greasy potato piles.

Richie went all out with a Mexican skillet. Covered with scrambled eggs, the skillet smuggled in chorizo, onions, peppers, salsa, and hashbrowns. Based on his empty plate,I'm going to guess that he enjoyed the spicy breakfast explosion. But no worries, he left room for the mini mound of pancakes and syrup.

So what about the piece de resistance, pancakes?! I would deem Jimmy's Pancake House to be worthy of their name. The flapjacks were classic beige cushions with a slight sweetness from a dusting of powdered sugar. Mine were delicately dotted with an ample amount of fresh tart blueberries. We both flooded our plates with maple syrup, though they may have offered other flavors, I was too enamored to ask.

The pancakes were the perfect shade of golden brown, and the texture was delicate and spongy. Pretty much what God's pancakes would taste like in heaven.

In a few years, the griddle will be nice and broken in and Jimmy's will get that homey coffee smell ingrained in the walls.  Then it will become an official greasy joint.  For now, it is a pleasant cafe with hearty breakfasts and fresh lunches.  But be prepared to wait for a table!

Sports Fans

(Indulge me as I celebrate baseball season)

"They'll come to Iowa for reasons they can't even fathom."

Sports Fans in Bettendorf Iowa is, surprise!, a sports bar. However, it's not your typical grubby little place that slings beer and serves sub-par food.














Sports Fans is, dare I say, a family bar. It has a giant bar in the middle of the restaurant for the dudes who want their beers, but it also has a lot of table seating for groups to come in, enjoy the food, and play some trivia. We decided to "grab some bench" at the bar, directly beneath three HDTVs. Unfortunately the news at noon was on, so we ate while enjoying the latest crime and weather reports.














As you can see, there was another TV directly behind us on the wall. That's because this place is filled to the brim with TVs. A lot of people go to Sports Fans to watch Cubs and Cards games, and I'm sure they will be there for the Final Four this weekend. Of course, a few of the TVs are reserved for trivia. When we visited, one bro "Dann-o" was kicking ass against the creatively named "Robert229".














“Hello again, everybody. It's a bee-yooo-tiful day for burgers.”













Though they are pretty well known for their midwest style pizza, we opted to take other routes through hungrytown. The menu is very large for a bar, with lots of pizza, burger, salad, and sandwich options. Plus homemade soup to boot.

It might be... it could be... it is! A grand salad














I took a swing and connected with the Santa Fe Salad. Greens, roasted peppers, tomatoes, and red onion with fajita style chicken. Also, two slices of garlic bread.

Now batting, Richie Young...
And straight up the middle like a bullet... here's the Crazy Cow burger which also included roasted peppers and onions and mozz cheese.














If you build it, he will eat it





















this zesty burger went down faster than Don Zimmer









He very much enjoyed this homemade coleslaw, moreso than any other slaw he's tried. Ew is all i have to say about coleslaw...just ew. Might as well eat lawn clippings mixed with mayo...



"Is it just me Patrick, or is the grass longer here than it is at Wrigley?"
"Well, we're playing on turf today Ron."



















"The only thing we had in common was that she was from Iowa, and I had once heard of Iowa."







You can put it on the board...yessss, we enjoyed our lunch at Sports Fans. They were very busy, but our servers were polite and prompt. Be sure to check out their amazingly cheap daily lunch specials "Tomorrow. Noon.. Be there, buffalo-butt breath."

Waterfront Deli

On a sunny Friday afternoon I decided to venture out to Bettendorf to visit my sister and two nephews. Downtown Bettendorf is a hotbed of dive bars frequented by biker babes, so we opted for the more kid-friendly Waterfront Deli at 1020 State Street. Don't be fooled by the name, it's not reallllly on the water front. It's close and you can kinda see water from the front, so I'll let it slide for now.



























There was a bit of a line at the counter, but it moved quickly and I felt overwhelmed trying to make a decision based off the menu board. They have special sandwiches or you can build your own. Of course, they also serve soups and salads. If you've never been there before, you might want to grab a to-go menu and peruse your choices before braving the line.









































My sister ordered a roast beef, plain, on sourdough. very exciting. I ordered one of the specials, a ham and dill. It was ham with pickles and dill cream cheese on sourdough. My nephew Noah decided on the fear monger's latest victim- the perilous hot dog. Terrorist of the food world.
They had some potato and pasta salads but, being the mayo-phobes we are, we opted for a side salad and Lay's potato chips.













I also bought a sugar cookie for Brody to gnaw on.














The sandwiches came out quickly, and honestly, they looked good, but the hot dog looked amazing. It also tasted amazing. Noah was nice enough to share, his eating technique seemed to indicate he was mostly after the ketchup anyway. Or maybe he was scared of choking?



























The skin had a nice snap to it and the bun was so soft with a nice flavor from the celery seeds.













The sourdough sandwich bread was also palatable, very soft and fresh. Roast beef and ham were both flavorful and spiced well. Pickles were nice and crisp, but I think they were Vlasic. Not that I'm complaining..a pickle is a pickle. The dill cream cheese on my sandwich was a nice creamy addition. Better than the usual plain ol' slice of Swiss.














The decor was somewhat whimsical/historical. They had photographs and art of historic buildings in the Quad-Cities. Much to the delight of Noah, they also had toy fire truck and tractors hanging from the ceiling. I heard "look firetruck!" about a dozen times.
My sister lives maybe a mile away and she kept saying how pissed she was that she had never before eaten there. The bread alone makes the trip worth it.













The Waterfront Deli has been a great lunch destination since 1981, but for how much longer? The new I-74 bridge is set to displace dozens of businesses in downtown Bettendorf including our beloved Ross'. Let's hope they find new homes.

Dewey's Cafe at the Library

Just a quick post about a cozy little place inside the happening Bettendorf Public Library...














I worked at the library from 2004-2006. I distinctly remember the wonderful aromas that would waft through the library around 11 am. They originated in Dewey's Cafe, located off the lobby of the library (2950 Learning Campus Dr.).














Dewey's Cafe (formerly the Novel Cafe until 03) is owned by the very friendly Brinson family, who are often found in the cafe, cooking and serving customers. Their soups are very well known and appreciated by patrons and you can click here to see their daily soups and other menu items. Though I haven't had one for a while, their sandwiches are great, prepared with very fresh ingredients and flavorful breads.



























My last stop there was on library related business, so I just had time to grab a drink and treat to go. I'm not much of a coffee drinker, frankly all the choices scare me, so I ordered a hot cocoa. But that too presented me with many choices- white or dark, flavored, whipped cream or no? I went for dark, no flavor shot, and no whipped cream. The consistency was light and frothy, not syrupy at all. It definitely had a more bitter and authentic taste than the powdered stuff or gas station cocoa. Kids probably wouldn't like it, but I enjoyed it much better than ol' Swiss Miss. I also recommend trying their Chai tea. It has a nice vanilla flavor.



where's the chocolate?


hiding beneath the froth







I plan on doing a hot cocoa throwdown, comparing several different coffee shops. My tongue eagerly awaits.


On a whim, I decided to grab a delicious looking brownie with cheesecake swirled throughout. At first taste, it was just okay, I'm not really a brownie edge person. The middle was definitely better because it was fudgy and chewy. It was pretty rich, but not so much that I wouldn't have eaten all of it if I could.




Looks appetizing, just sitting on my car seat and important papers



Definitely stop by Dewey's sometime. The atmosphere is very chill, no one seems hurried, and everyone is relaxing, chatting, or reading. It's a nice departure from the chaos within the library.