Mesa Pizza

By the time we made it to Mesa Pizza in Iowa City, we had already completed a long journey.  Richie, Red, Baby E, and I tiredly hustled our way through the streets of Iowa City searching for a quick bite to eat.  Irritated, we had dejectedly settled on Which Wich...which is delicious, but not what we were looking for.  Then I spotted a beacon in the distance, a small sign on a narrow storefront boasting the name Mesa Pizza.

Red walked in and took two steps back when she saw the murals on the walls.   There was a real Tremors vibe going on.

  Or maybe Beetlejuice?  Dune, anyone?

"I've been to Saturn! Sandworms, huh? Hate 'em!'"

  We continued on and found Kevin Bacon...no, I mean a bounty of pizza awaiting us.

Better than Kevin Bacon!

 This was no ordinary pizza.  These pizzas were loaded with colorful toppings.  And their were so many choices! U.S.A.!

 I could hardly contain my excitement when I saw a pizza slice with a french fry on it... a french fry!  I don't even like french fries!

 Red asked for 'just cheese." (Why do 3 year olds hate awesome food and restful sleep?)  Luckily, it's not terribly difficult to convince a toddler that mac and cheese pizza is he best food ever.

Since I follow a made up diet that allows me to eat only meats and sugar, I chose a slice that had the most meat on top.

Protein! No whey?!

Looking at the menu, I am not sure what I ate.  It was similar to the Triple Smoke, a barbecue pizza with smoked ham, bacon, and steak.  However, my slice clearly had large chunks of sausage and a tomato sauce. It even had part of a french fry!  French fry!

 After our slices were chosen, they were warmed up in a cute little oven.  This made the bottoms fairly black and crispy, so we ended up eating the tops off with our forks.  I thought the meats and cheeses tasted very good and were seasoned well.  I really liked the tomato sauce, it wasn't too sweet or spicy.  I would have liked more cheese, as it was just a thin layer of mozz.  Red also enjoyed her mac n cheese slice.  It did not have a tomato sauce, but a white sauce that was just a tad garlicky.  A good choice for picky kids...which is every kid, right?

Richie got two slices, a chili cheese fry and BBQ bacon cheeseburger.

"It's like food made into other food"- Red

At least that's what we determined them to be.  The man boy working behind the counter didn't seem to know or care.  College life.

 Richie said the pizza tasted good but was not filling.  The chili formed the sauce on the left slice, while BBQ covered the right.  Unlike us girls, he liked the crispy-framed chewy crust.  After hoofing it back to our car, he was still hungry, as was I, so we stopped for some candy on the way home.  Gas station snacks...

So overall, this is a bit of a mixed review.  Loved the inventive flavors but didn't love the thin crust or price (3.75). Our advice- add some more toppings- let's not be stingy.  And maybe hire a decorator who doesn't work with a spray can.

Bandana's Bar-B-Q

After running a race in Marion, I was famished and craving something filling, so we stopped at Bandana's Bar-B-Q in Coralville.  I was unaware this was a chain until I googled them today, but apparently they have about 30 restaurants sprinkled throughout the Midwest.  Bandana's first opened in Missouri in 1996.  They use a real wood pit smoker that is smokin 24 hours a day.  The meats smoke for 11-14 hours before they're ready for their adoring fans. 

The decor has a fake rustic feel, like eating in a really clean poorly lit barn.  I was craving a diet Coke, but the server informed me they only had Pepsi products and sweet tea.  .  I had water.
The menu is quite extensive and includes calorie counts on each platter. Seems like a good way to lose business. The barbecue nacho appetizer was enticing until I peeked at the gluttonous calorie count. Yikes. Of course men don't worry about such things, I doubt it even registered with Richie. I don't know who thought "Wet Bandana" was a good name for a barbecue plate, it sounds like a term straight from Urban Dictionary, but I ordered one anyway. It's a jumble of turkey and chicken steeped in spicy sauce.

The lunch plate came with one side, so I chose my favorite green legumes. Richie struggled with his choice and eventually decided upon the pulled pork sandwich, cloaked with coleslaw, and a side of baked beans.

Scarlett chose to eat crayons and two Tootsie Pops, but we also ordered Beans and Weenies for her amusement. See? Amusing.

Apparently it was too cute to eat.

 My food was eaten in such haste, I barely remember my nose running from the spicy barbecue sauce slathered on top. The turkey was juicy and the chicken was pretty moist as well. The green beans needed more meat. Literally. I want mine coated with bacon grease.

 Richie fell in love with the vinegar based Carolina-style sauce that had quite a zip to it, but determined the pork was a tad on the dry side. He was also unimpressed by the baked beans, which is no surprise to anyone who has tasted his homemade brown sugar loaded version. For a barbecue chain, Bandana's is certainly a step above the rest. The meat has a good smoky flavor, but seems to be missing some of the love you'll find at smaller bbq joints. Nonetheless, it will satisfy your hankering for smoked meats and thousands of calories.

Which Wich

Finally rolling out a new blog post.  Taking a one year old out to eat isn't exactly a barrel of fun.  Who knew?

This past weekend we headed west to Hawkeye country for an overnight stay in Coralville, Iowa.  Desperate for food on a busy Friday night, we finally ended up stopping at a strip mall in a mall parking lot.  I had heard of the chain Which Wich, but again, this one is slow to expand in Iowa, so it's new to us.

 What makes Which Wich different from any other sandwich place?  Well it doesn't smell like a boy's locker room.  It also lets you customize your sandwich in a variety of ways by marking your choices on a paper bag into which your sandwich will delicately be placed.  As someone who likes a weird combination of tastes that could cause the snotty food workers to give me a stink eye, I liked the anonymity of the bag.  They do ask you to write your name, but you could write any version of the Seymour Butts gag if you choose. Which wich also has a lot more options than your average sandwich joint, hence the "no holding up the line" paper bag trick.

 After marking our choices, we grabbed a table and waited for our big Come on down! moment.  Richie got called first so he grabbed his Wicked Wich and got to munching.  The Wicked is a 5 meat monstrosity that includes 3 cheeses to really get your heart pumping and failing.  He also asked for horseradish, crispy onion thingys, and a kitchen sink.

My tame looking salad came out next, just the way I asked.  Double the ham, scrambled eggs, feta cheese, and yellow mustard.  Chef don't judge.

 Red has a pretty limited taste palate, so we hoped pizzawich minus the crusts would satisfy. It did. 

Which Wich was created by a veteran in the food business who was burnt out on the quality and lack of variety in quick service sandwich shops.  I would say he did a great job of improving the food and atmosphere.  The food costs a little more than your 5 dollar footlong, but it's worth bypassing the slimy meats and tasteless cheeses.  If you happen upon a Which Wich, stop by for a brown bagged treat. 

Short's Burger and Shine

Short's Burger and Shine opened in 2008, however, it's history began in 1920. That's when H.D. Short opened his shoe shine in that location. As the menu explains, for over 50 years, Short ran a successful shoe shine business. The current owners of the bar and grill got permission from the family to name the business in his honor.






















Though dark and narrow like most other Iowa City bars, Shorty's has a classy feel to it. The booths and bar are dark wood and the bare brick gives it a charming antique-y feel. We came in around 1 p.m. and were able to score a roomy booth.


































Short's is all about serving local foods. The beef is bred in Columbus Junction and prepared in Riverside. (For vegetarians- The cows live blissfully ignorant lives in Columbus Junction until they're murdered in Riverside). They don't mention the chickens' origins or where the black beans are cruelly harvested for their veggie burgers. Whole potatoes are slaughtered daily for fries.
















The service was fast and friendly. Each item on the menu was named after a county (chicken), city (burgers), or junction (black bean burger) in Iowa. The burger creations were truly spectacular and we spent a good deal of time just reading through the menu like it was a smutty romance novel.





















Eventually, we did have to wipe our chins of drool and choose just one. Richie, of course chose a big ass burger, the Dundee, and I chose a chicken sandwich, the Dickinson, hold the mayo.





















The Dundee is probably the most indulgent burger on the menu. All burgers are cooked medium well, and this one was saddled with sauteed mushrooms, thick cut bacon, garlic aioli, fried egg, and golden American cheese.



































The Dickinson is a spiced blackened chicken breast with rich provolone cheese and crispy slabs of bacon. It's normally served with a slather of chipotle mayo.

















The fries were abundant piles of pretty dark golden sticks. They were well seasoned and slightly soggy from grease. Though I'm not fond of fried foods, I found myself slathering these in ketchup and shoving fistfuls in my mouth.

Richie used the famous Short's Sauce on his fries. The sauce is a vinegar base mixed with pepper and tomato paste. Definitely kicks those fries up a notch.

















Both of us left quite content and full to the brim. Even the buns were tasty, very soft and filling. It feels good supporting a local business that, in turn, supports local farmers and grocers. Even better when the food is best we've had all year.

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.

Quinton's Bar and Deli

Quinton's is a somewhat unique concept for a restaurant. It's a bar and deli. Yes you can drink beer here, but you won't find buffalo wings or potato skins on the menu. The inside looks like a typical college bar, dark and dingy with pop art on the walls and 'clean enough' restrooms.













We stopped in around noon on a Sunday. College students had not yet begun to move in, so there were only a few groups of bros crammed into booths.













The menu is loaded with delectable deli sandwiches. You can choose from healthy fare such as smoked turkey with alfalfa sprouts or you can go heavy with a Philly cheese steak.













My mum and Kait both ordered the T.A.C., your choice of bread with turkey, avocado, cream cheese, and mayo. It came with a bag of Rachel's kettle chips for 6.50. I don't know who Rachel is or how she got into the chip business, but I'm glad she did.



























The half sandwich with soup combo also costs $6.50. Here's a pic of Wisconsin Cheese soup sprinkled with bacon bits and served in a bread bowl. Midwesterners demand warm liquefied cheese and we require it served in an edible vessel, dammit.













I ordered the Cobb salad which is really like a plate of bacon garnished with some greens. It also came with a huge dollop of smooshed avocado in the center. I'm not into big green smooshed things, so I ate around it and the cucumber slices.













Kurt ordered the Beef and Brie, smoke beef with tomatoes, sprouts, Russian mustard, and brie. In Soviet Russia, mustard garnishes you!













They of course had a few vegetarian options as well. With their large menu, Quinton's does a smart job of catering to the college crowd.





I don't usually have a lazy eye.






Our plates were clean in about 7 minutes. You know a meal is good when everyone is eating off each others' plates. All-in-all Quinton's is nice place to stop for a hearty sandwich. It's located at 215 E. Washington in Iowa City, and they have locations in 3 other Midwest college towns.

Bread Garden Market

Begot from the Bread Garden Bakery and Cafe, the Market opened in Iowa City on South Linn st. in 2008. It's conveniently located right next to the City Library. The Bakery/Cafe expanded it's concept of selling fresh homemade food into offering gourmet and specialty groceries.

Walking in, it has sort of a mod warehouse feel. Kind of like an IKEA for food. There are tables and registers right up front for diners. To the left is the bakery section with goodies and breads. Walking further back will take you into the produce, meat, and groceries.














Adjacent to the dining section is the salad bar and deli. The freshness of the offerings in the salad bar was enticing, so we paused there for a quickie.













An empty plate...patina rasa... oh the things I will do to you.














Step one: Prepare a lovely bed of greens.














Step two: Create a romantic atmosphere. Scatter fragrant blossoms across the bed.














Step three: Tease with cheese and bring the meat














Step four: You know what to doooo.

Step five: Fresh, fast, and cheap... Leave satisfied.













In all seriousness, I would've made sweet music with that salad if I could have. I give myself partial credit for creating the masterpiece with spinach, tortellini, chickpeas, green olives, beans, and feta. You can also get various sides as part of the salad bar, so I snagged some of my sister's mac n cheese. It was the best I've ever had. Like it was made by Paula Deen, goddess of butter and cheese. Unfortunately, it was not all-you-can eat, so I couldn't go back for more. It was, however, very cheap at 6.50/lb. My salad weighed in at almost 1/2 lb, so I got a filling lunch for 3.25.

For more on their bakery and deli menus click here