Eastern Iowa Baking Co.

After several trips to the new bakery in town, I finally have the time to write out a delicious review!

   Eastern Iowa Baking Co. opened in February in the old floral shop building in downtown Eldridge (2nd & Franklin).  The building was originally constructed as a doctor's office in 1857.

photo from their FB

The bakery is cute and tiny with a small dine-in area.  The morning selection includes baked doughnuts, pastries, and sometimes quiche.  I had a horrible internship selling quiche one time.  *shudders*

I often see the owner, Rhonda Groh baking away as I run by at an ungodly hour of the morning.  She has been a certified pastry chef since 2003.  Her family has been selling her goods at the Freight House Farmer's Market for several years now and will continue to do so.   The tip jar at the bakery is always donated to a charitable cause.

Red has forgone the whole concept of breakfast and always heads straight for the baked goods they also sell daily.  She's had cookies, brownies, cupcakes, and a lemon bar.  There's no way this kid was switched at birth.

Unkempt blonde hair.  Brownie for breakfast.  Definitely mine.

"You mean people actually eat vegetables?"

Lemon bar is sort of a fruit

Richie usually chooses a big cinnamon roll and a medium roast coffee.  Every one raves about the coffee from here and by everyone I do mean several retirees who spend their days roaming around Eldridge.  They would know, dammit.

Although they receive a steady stream of business, we have never had a problem finding a place to sit.  The food is served on nice plates with real silverware.  I think they could use some jazzy music playing in the background.  Not because I like jazz, but because it seems like the right thing to do.

We've never had a bad dish at Eastern Iowa BC and we love the location.  Be sure to check it out sometime and then catch yourself some diabetes at Smilee's Ice Cream, right across the street.  The bakery is open 6 a.m. to 2 p.m.  I'll have to update once we try lunch there!

Grille 350

Let's just pretend it hasn't been an eon since the last update...

The latest issue of River Cities Reader's Dining Guide recently hit the news stands, so we eagerly picked up a copy and made some notes of places we would like to visit.   We were again reminded that we had yet to stop by the restaurant approximately . 3 miles from our front door, Grille 350 (350 E LeClaire Rd Eldridge).  Earlier this year, Lancers Grille went through a renovation and morphed into Grille 350. The e on the end makes it fancy, k? Lancers was nothing to sing about, and I had heard mixed reviews of 350, but we decided to try it out anyway.

The menu is small, but intriguing.  You can order from the adjacent Happy Joe's as well, which in hindsight, would have been a good idea.  Nomelet pizza!
 I am a sucker for mac n cheese, and the "Eldridge Mac N Cheese" had sweet corn, steak, bacon, and green beans?!  I was hoping this could be a side dish because I really shouldn't eat macaroni, but no dice.  I was also tempted by Smokehouse BBQ Candied Bacon options.  Luckily Richie ordered it so I could steal a taste.

Entreese frome thee grille

Though our waitress was prompt and polite enough, the food was slow to come out.  We waited 20-25 minutes but it felt like 60 because we had our toddler crawling on the dirty floor and trying to eat ice cubes.  The bar was pretty packed with sad retired teachers and coaches, but only a few other booths were ordering food.

When our food arrived, I was disappointed by what I saw.  It looked more like cheese soup than homemade macaroni.  I had flashbacks of eating similar looking Hamburger Helper meals in the 90s.  Like buried treasure, I had to search for the steak.  I found about one big piece of what looked like a slice of Steakums guiltily hiding under the mess.

"Sorry, not sorry for pretending to be steak"

 I have to admit, this photo was taken right before we left, after I had eaten about 3 bites of macaroni and picked out most of the green beans and bacon.  I did not get a doggy bag.

 

?

Richie's burger came out branded like a cow.  

"moo?"

The burger was tucked under aged cheddar, BBQ bacon jam, and candied bacon. His expert opinion on the burger? The jam was too sweet. It did not have the smoky or savory flavor that he expected. The candied bacon was caramelized and well prepared. The patty was mediocre and he felt that it was probably frozen and pre-made, as it did not have much flavor or juiciness. His onion rings were crisp and delicious but also probably frozen and dumped in a fryer. For the price tag, he felt the food should have been fresh and on par with Red Robin. And here is Red's burger and sweet potato fries. I eventually coerced her into eating most of the burger.

 I ate most of the sweet potato fries. They were quite good, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.  

                                     

 My overall impression of Grille 350 is that it is a bar that offers food to soak up the alcohol. I appreciate the thought put into the menu, but the food doesn't live up to its description. I mean, I'd eat it if someone else bought it, but I'm not opening my wallet to go there.  The interior is nice and features one billion TVs all tuned to ESPN.  Like Lancers, there just is no reason to make a return visit.

Happy Joe's Pizza

Happy Joe's is such an institution in the Q-C, one that I have grown up with, that it seems silly to even write about it. The pizza chain was started in 1972 by "Happy" Joe Whitty. I have enjoyed many birthday parties at various locations and always happily ate my Little Joe and free Birthday sundae.
















Through the years, I have grown up with Taco pizza, which is, supposedly, the original. They use their thin, slightly crispy crust and coat it with a layer of refried beans. Taco seasoned beef and sausage is scattered on top, blanketed with cheese, and decorated with a green and red confetti of lettuce and tomatoes. The best part, in my opinion, is the crunchy top layer of broken taco flavored tortilla chips.

Now my true favorite from HJ's is the Happy Joe's Special. The Special is dotted with small chunks of Canadian bacon and camouflaged in a layer of sauerkraut. I don't even like sauerkraut, but it seems to complement the sweet pizza sauce and salty ham.

 Crispy, yet chewy crust






However, dear Richie doesn't seem to be a fan of pizza that does not include pepperonis. So last night, I ordered a pepperoni pie to satiate him. Their pepperoni pizza always includes an ample amount of the greasy meat.

I also really enjoy their cheese blend. If you look closely, you can see the beautiful meshing of yellow and white cheeses.

Happy Joe's pizza is slightly addicting. I can be only marginally hungry, yet still inhale 3-4 slices. I think it has something to do with the amount of sugar in their sweet sauce.

I don't think Richie is as big a fan as I. Perhaps the sauce is too sweet for his sour attitude? Irregardless, I will order HJ again. But I recommend a visit to a restaurant for their bountiful buffet or for a low-key birthday party.

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

Nickelberry's Pizza & Dewmocracy

Many native Eldridge-ians are surprised by the sudden change of name of Paul Revere Pizza. It is now Nickelberry's Pizza. Instead of the handsome horse rider, we now are welcomed to the restaurant by a giant Gerber baby wanna-be. What does a baby have to do with pizza? And I'm just gonna say it, no sense beating around the bush... Nickelberry's sounds a little too similar to Dingleberries, which does not excite my palate in the least.














To see if the pizza had changed at all, I gave Nickelberry's a call and ordered a medium pepperoni, our usual Paul Revere order. I was able to add a side of breadsticks for a nickel (ahh it all makes sense now). Well the old pizza patriot box has been replaced by the generic map of Italy or, as they call it, 'Italia.'














The bread sticks are coming! The bread sticks are coming! They arrived as usual, wrapped like an oversized baked potato.














I opened the pizza box and, lo and behold, it looked and smelled the same as Revere's pepperoni.














The bread sticks also looked the same, slightly browned and positioned around a reservoir of buttery garlic sauce.














The final test: Taste. Yep, Nickelberry's Pizza tastes exactly the same as P.R.'s. So what's the deal? I couldn't dig up any info, but it looks like Paul Revere is still a legit pizza chain, so the local owner must have parted ways with the franchise.

You have to have pop (some call it soda, they are backwards and weird) to wash down the grease and allow for maximum pizza burpage. Purpose: to combat the heart burn and allow you to once again enjoy the pepperoni goodness you just consumed.

I found the three new Mountain Dew flavors at Target, so I bought them for a side by side comparison. In the least surprising move ever, Richie drank all three.














The first flavor is White Out- a grapefruit and lemon lime soda. He describes it as 'Squirty.'














Not bad.














The second flavor is Typhoon. It blew him away.


















Actually, it just blew and ended up half full in the garbage atop my massive collection of kettle corn bags and skinny cow wrappers. He said it was too fruity. I took a sip and agreed. It tastes like a very sweet fruit punch with overwhelming pineapple flavor.


















The third flavor is Distortion, which is essentially Mountain Dew with an extra kick of lime. Hee-yah

















Our connoisseur swishes the green liquid to allow for maximum taste bud action.


















It vaguely reminded him of the limey green rivers served at our favorite ice cream parlor, Lagomarcino's. But really, it's just Dew with more fake lime flavor.

Congratulations White-Out! A 12-pack of you is now stowed in our refrigerator to be consumed over the next...oh 5 hrs or so during non-stop Modern Warfare matches. You can vote for your favorite flavor HERE.

Pizza and pop- a classic American pairing, much like Jim and Pam, they are meant to be together.

If you liked Paul Revere's simple and greasy pizza, go ahead and try dingle..i mean Nickelberry's Pizza. Tell them the giant baby sent you.

PIZZA TUESDAY

I decided to declare today "Pizza Tuesday." So I ordered a medium pepperoni from Paul Revere's and a small bubble bread from Winners. Both are in Eldridge and both are locally owned. Paul Revere's is a chain with locations mostly in Iowa. The Eldridge location opened in 1991. It is located next to GiGi's Dance Studio at 1084 E. LeClaire Rd. I imagine GiGi's either smells really delicious or like sweaty pizza.
Paul Revere's is most famous for their 20 inch Terminator pizza. Most people in Eldridge are very familiar with the place, few in the actual Quad-Cities have ventured out to try it, but it's worth the trip. Though, they have a small very 90s looking eat-in dining room. Yes, that's Ryno and Gracie adorning the walls.











I can't get Richie to eat pizza from anywhere else. So why does it stand out among the multitude of pizza joints? The sauce isn't sweet, it's very greasy and garlicy, and it's very cheap.


















The special today was a medium for 10 bucks. They also offer the greasiest, most buttery breadsticks around.






PR pizza (top) and Winners bubble bread (bottom)









But today we decided to try the bubble bread from the newest pizza place in town, Winners.
















Winners opened in March of this year. It took over the old Maid-Rite on LeClaire Rd, almost directly across from Paul Revere's. The inside is sort of retro beach themed, I guess. I mean, they have a checkerboard floor and surfboard on the wall. Anywho, the parking lot is almost always full- a good sign.


















Winners pretty much offers the same food as PR- pizza, pastas, and sandwiches. They do have some different specialties like mac n cheese pizza, which i have yet to try. Their pizza tastes similar to homemade pizza if you know what I mean. Satisfying, but nothing special. We heard the bubble bread was yummy so we tried it out.
















As you can see, it wasn't bubbly at all, so that was a bit confusing. It's really what I would call "cheesesticks", but that wouldn't be.. retro? They are basically grease and cheese on thin crust. they were pretty good but honestly, we prefer PR's breadsticks. If you're looking for a place to dine in with the fam, check out Winner's. (285-pizza) If you want to pick up a yummy no frills pie, check out Paul Revere's, (285-9000) TATER DID!