Big Dave and Holly's

Wordless Wednesday

(Almost)

Another top notch tenderloin. This one coming to my stomach from Big Dave and Holly's in LeClaire.  Grilled well, not overdone like others I have tried.

And a post would not be complete without a beautiful burger shot.  

or two

Also grilled to perfection with a crisp outside and juicy innards

Big Dave and Holly's- still a great little joint for fast homemade food and ice cream!

Smokey's Country Diner

Being from the Iowa side of the river, the Illinois Quad-Cities is a bit foreign to me. We finally ventured over to East Moline, which is, well, East of Moline. We followed 7th Avenue which magically turned into 17th Avenue, where we found Smokey's Country Diner.

Welcome Hansel.  Welcome Gretel.

 We were greeted in a small front room with one booth and a couple tables. We went ahead and slid into the large booth by the door. They have a larger dining area in the next room.

 The lengthy menu includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and all meals are served all day.

I want to take this home to read it over and over.

 Picking my dinner was the hardest decision I've made in a while. Rough life, right?

I elected to continue my tenderloin quest and bravely stepped forward to challenge another promising piece of pork. I also got cheese fries because... CHEESE FRIES!

Richie ordered...a monster burger. Surprise?! Bateman went with the mammoth sized Mac Daddy plate, barbeque pork in a cave of macaroni and cheese with, oh, just a niggle of baked beans and scant serving of coleslaw.

 Red insisted on getting a waffle that I knew she would not eat. She is 50% bread, 20% chicken nugget and 30% fruit snacks.

 Richie's burger came out tasting fresh and homemade.  All three(!) patties were juicy and flavorful enough for him to claim that it rivals Lee's on 14th for the best burger in the QCA.

  

And here's another giant tenderloin to add to my collection.

Love me tender

 I ate about 2/3 of this pretty piece of pork. It was seasoned well and grilled perfectly. In my valuation of all the tenderloins I have had thus far, this is #2 on my list. Still gotta go with 11th Street Precinct as top pig. The fries were a bit on the soggy side, but they were thick and appeared to be fresh cut. The cheese sauce was an excellent addition. I didn't touch the coleslaw because it's coleslaw.

 The waffle was soft and fluffy but remained untouched. Red did gnaw on the bacon and consumed most of my toasted bun. (With lots of ketchup)

  
  I spy an uneaten waffle in the background.

 We received a bounty of food and feasted like kings and queens and then...the bill came and we felt a bit like paupers.  I have to say, it's fair for the amount of food you get, but not what one usually expects of a family restaurant. Nonetheless, the food will bring us back in the near future.

Pizza Throwdown

Just stopping by for a quick post about PIZZA. 

 What makes pizza so delicious ? Yoga mats? No that was Subway. Apparently it's MSG. And no one cared and we all continued to eat pizza. In fact, 13% of Americans consume pizza on any given day! That's a statistic from the USDA 

Over the past few months, Richie has partaken in many a pizza. First, I treated him and Red to a heart shaped pizza from Papa Murphy's for Valentine's Day. If you can operate an oven, Papa Murphy's is pretty much pizza perfection. It's seasoned perfectly and the toppings are well distributed (until you drive it home in your car and take a hard turn).

Just tilt your head to the left, k? Heart!

Then we headed downtown to Falbo Brothers Pizza (2nd and Main Davenport). It's a Midwest chain that started in Madison WI. Here is their cute story. They have pizza slices most of the day and a full menu, including gluten free crust.
 Richie and his friend shared a Cajun Firebomb. My stomach wouldn't touch that with a ten foot pole. Last time I ate spicy food, I ended up in the ER. NEVER FORGET

They ordered a deep dish but got served thin crust. So I guess the service wasn't the best.  It was jazz night when we visited. Despite all those darn seniors making noise, we both give Falbo's food thumbs up.

 Then we have Monical's Pizza. A point of contention in our relationship. He loves it, I hate it. He grew up with it, so I imagine that is some of the appeal. This is also true of our opinions on Quad-Cities style pizza. I grew up with it and I love it. He does not.
 Monical's is a chain located mostly in Illinois and Indiana. They serve scant pizza toppings on crackers. But that's just my opinion. SOME people put this bright pink french dressing on top and call it delicious while inhaling an entire medium. Some people. *shakes head*

Chef Boyardee makes a better pizza.

Finally, we have The Slice.  The Slice Pizza opened in downtown Moline (1401 5th Ave) back in January.  They offer a lunch buffet, a full pizza and sandwich menu, and pizza slices are available from 9 pm to 3am on the weekends.  The name is a tad misleading as a couple people stopped in while we were there and wanted to know if they could just get a slice.  No dice.  I could hear the cook's frustration as he once again explained, "it's just a name."

                                 

                                                           Le Menu

  I knew Richie would, yet again, want the spiciest pie on the menu, the Cajun Gumbo.  I ordered an unbreaded tenderloin with fries.  He also got an order of 5th Avenue Bread, which is a fanciful way of saying "pizza crust with garlic and lots o cheese."  

Red was quite amused when the cook began tossing the pizza crust in the air.  It truly is an art.  The cook then brought us out fancy white plates and nice silverware, a stark contrast to what I would expect of a pizza joint on the corner.  

Our food came out about 15 minutes later.  Here is our bounty:

                               

My tenderloin is hiding under that mass of pickles.  I am still half heartedly on a quest to find the best tenderloin in the QC.  This was not it, but I have no complaints.   It was thin and grilled with a touch of spice. 

The 5th Ave bread ended up being the big hit.  Richie called it addictive and finished over half of the pan.  He also took in two slices of gumbo pizza while telling me, "you definitely wouldn't like it."   He thinks pizza sauce is mixed with cajun spices to create the "cajun gumbo sauce."  The crust had a nice chewy consistency, not too thin, not too thick.  Hmm, that's how I like my men.  

So there we have four pizza joints.  As if you needed help finding pizza, right?  

Lee's on 14th

Don't worry, we are still alive. We still eat food, but it's usually microwaved or served in a white paper bag. Our weights our down, but our cholesterol and BP are through the roof. Truthfully, Richie has been to a lot of delicious food places lately, but refuses to write a blog, so I had to wait until we actually went somewhere together.

Holes in the wall (hole in the walls?) aren't easy to visit when your child is a picky eater who despises high chairs. So we finally decided to leave her in the car while we ate and got lunch at Lee's on 14th. (Is she joking?)

 (Yes.)

Photo from Road Tips       < Check out his blog!

Lee's used to be a little joint called the Waffle House, but not affiliated with the amazing chain. It reopened with new owners and the new name in 2010. They are only open Monday through Saturday from 6:30 a.m. - 2 p.m. You pretty much have to be old or jobless to eat there.

The place is very small but well lit and clean. It can get a little warm in there with all of the cooking going on, but a fan created a nice tropical breeze. We sat at the counter and perused their one page lunch menu.

It is a typical diner menu with grilled sandwich baskets, a couple of cold options, and fries for the side. Richie, of course, had to conquer the cheeseburger basket. Their single burgers are 11 ounces of beef, so only the truly brave and noble should try the double. Being neither, he opted for the single.

 I ordered the grilled tenderloin with a side of cheese fries. I am on a mission to find the best grilled tenderloin in the QCA. Stay tuned.

The cook is in full view of the counter, so we sat mesmerized while he prepared our meals. Let me set the scene for you.

A young rugged man wearing a black t shirt and cargo shorts emerged from the steam carrying a giant burger patty and slapped it hard on the grill. Then he grabbed my loin, gently laid it out, and covered it with a press. Getting hot yet?

Next he snatched a bag of crinkle cut french fries from the freezer and cast them into the sizzling fryer. I spent the next five minutes eye stalking my pork and thoroughly creeping out the cook. Nonetheless, our food was promptly delivered to the counter and to our mouths.

My tenderloin was BIG. I finished about 3/4 of it, sans bun. It was juicy and topped with God's gift to the sandwich... pickles. The crinkle cut fries were cooked perfectly, a delicious potato pillow wrapped in a crispy case. The melted cheese was the golden icing on the cake.

Richie describes his colossal burger as juicy and flavorful, despite only being comprised of beef, salt, and pepper. The bun was also delicious...as it should have been... I saw the cook slather about half a stick of butter on that thing. 

It was so huge, he was barely able to finish.

I'm sure that, on a better day, he could conquer the double. Like maybe on a day he exercises. J/K! Richie doesn't exercise.

Lee's on 14th is definitely where all the cool cats hang out during the day. The food is good, price is fair, atmosphere is homey, and service is stellar. My tenderloin was filling and satisfying, but I still think 11th Street's was a God send. Burger aficianados should definitely check out this cracker box short order diner, as it is in the running for best burger in the QC (according to Richie).

CLICK HERE for another review from Road Tips and HERE for a similar tenderloin quest.

11th Street Precinct

Several persuasive friends finally convinced us to visit 11th Street Precinct in the Village of East Davenport.  I'd sort of been avoiding it because I assumed it was just an average bar. I hate bars, they are loud, have the same foods, and terrible lighting.  I hate people in bars, they are loud, smell like beer, and have terrible manners.  We have eaten at bars and never bothered to review them because food always tastes a bit sour when 50 year old drunks are leering at your tattoos.     

 We stopped in pretty early on a weeknight, so it wasn't too crowded or loud.   We found a table in the window and were promptly greeted.  The menu was a bit more expansive than a typical bar with appetizers, salads, pizzas, and pastas.  With a menu that big, I worried that they might not have a specialty, but they claimed to have award-winning tenderloins.  When was this awards ceremony for tenderloins?  I would have gone, dressed to the nines.  I went ahead and ordered one because it would be unIowan to not.   

Richie heard good things about their black angus burgers, so he ordered the bacon cheddar burger.  I Googled black angus to figure out why they superior to normal beef, and it has to do with fat distribution throughout the cut of meat.  So there you go.  

As for an appetizer, we went with Chicago style fries topped with cheese and giardiniera.  Apparently you can make anything Chicago style by throwing peppers and crap on it.

The food took a while to come out but maybe it just feels that way when you have a one year old mashing fruit loops all over the place.

The fries came out topped with lots of rubbery melted cheese, but no giardiniera.  Our waitress brought some out for a side.  

Maybe it was my extreme hunger that day, but that was the BEST pork sandwich I have ever had.  It had great grilled flavor and was very tender.  Not wanting to look like a porker myself, I saved half of it to eat later.  The pasta salad looked suspiciously like the boxed brand, but actually tasted different and better.

Richie's burger was another story.  He was quite disappointed.  Thought it was a little overdone and the toppings were sparse and added no flavor.  For the first time EVER he only ate half the burger.  He did happily demolish the rest of it the next day though.

On the other hand, he really like the light and crispy onion rings.  They have stripes, which completely baffles me as to why.

So if you happen to find yourself in the Village, you might want to stop by 11th Street and try the tenderloin.  There are other cheaper, faster options such as the Deli or  Lagomarcino's, but this is the best evening/sit down option in that area.  Then again, it will be crowded on the weekends and it will cost you a pretty penny, so drive down a ways and check out Front Street or Boozie's for cheaper options and better burgers. 

Richard's on Main

So on a recent trip to the wonderful Peoria, I ventured downtown to partake in some delicious bar food at Richard's on Main. Richard's is a cool place to listen to some decent tunes, drink some beers if you're into that, and eat some awesome food. Also not bad to meet up with some friends, watch them get drunk, and laugh at all the ridiculous shit that comes from such, which is what I usually do.





Now, lets clear something up. On a recent episode of Man vs. Food, Adam went to Springfield, IL which in itself is ridiculous as there are plenty of other cities in the greater Illinois area to go to that probably had much better food eateries. Anyways, he had what was called a horseshoe sandwich. Supposedly this sandwich was invented in Springfield, but let me tell you, it wasn't perfected.
I give you the pork tenderloin horseshoe. This beast is composed of two pieces of Texas toast, topped with a chopped fried pork tenderloin. On top of that is a massive amount of french fries, and the cherry on top is a generous helping of cheese sauce.








The only problem with these is that I have yet to eat an entire one. But it usually works out since by the time i get to the progress in the picture everyone usually is about done telling their stories and drinking their beers.


So if you find yourself in Peoria and are in need of some comfort food, head downtown to the Apollo Theatre, and follow the finger down the stairs. May the good times follow