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.

Front Street Brewery

I apologize in advance for the lack of beer in this post about a brewery.  We are just in it for the food.  

Front House Brewery is housed in a building that has worn many hats.  It used to be a vegetable warehouse, a car repair shop, and a printing company.  It became Front Street Brewery in 1992.  Front Street references River Drive which runs just outside it's doors and separates the building from the mighty Mississippi River and that lovely smell.

Both of us have been to Front Street Brewery before, but never at the same time.  We decided to visit on a relatively quiet Tuesday evening.  The restaurant is long and narrow with booths along one wall and a bar on the other.  They also have a nice beer garden area in the back.  The booths were full, so we grabbed a table right in the front of the restaurant.

I remembered enjoying fried pickles on my last visit, so I was a bit dismayed to not see them on the menu.  Dismayed is a nice way of saying this hangry prego lady was pissed. It was a long day and I was about ready to eat my hand, so the Slow Roasted BBQ Pork Nachos sounded particularly pleasing.  Richie ordered the Cajun Burger.  I think he was sold as soon as he read "candied bacon."  Having just watched the movie "Bears," Red wanted to eat fish like a bear.

Yea...like that.

 Luckily they have fish and chips on the kids menu.

 Our food arrived in a timely manner and I was immediately overwhelmed by my plate of nachos.

 This was a 1/2 serving.  Maybe the cook can't math?

How do I...hands?...fork?...dump into mouth? The chips are layered with pork, BBQ, roasted sweet corn with onions and beans, and melted cheeeeeeze. They normally come with jalapenos, but my stomach would have NOPED on out of there.

I attempted to eat politely with a fork, but what's the point?  I eventually threw that aside and dug in with my hands.  The pork was moist and tender.  The BBQ is a Chipotle Mustard blend that was sweet and tangy.  There was more than enough cheese to make a vegan cry. When the waitress took away my plate it looked like I hadn't touched it, but touched it I had.  Mhmm.  I also snagged some of Richie's sweet potato fries.  He said they were too sweet, so I guessed they'd be perfect for my palate.   They were.

Between roaring like a bear and trying to lick the window, Red ate one of the fish fillets.  I call that a victory.

Richie's burger was a hot mess.  I mean that in the best way possible.

The burger was crowned with pepperjack cheese, jalapenos, spicy mayo, and candied bacon.  He said the flavors blended well together and created a spicy masterpiece of a burger.  The burger itself was juicy and cooked well.  The fries were a nice contrast to the spiciness, but they got too sweet for his tooth.  How anything can be too sweet to a guy who drinks 6 cans of Mt Dew in a day is beyond me.  

Front Street has earned itself a return visit by this dining duo and their bear child. The food was delicious, filling, and priced fair.  I presume that Front Street would appeal to people who are both food and drink connoisseurs.

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.

Bones Barbeque

We first discovered Bones BBQ at the Freight House Farmer's Market a few years ago. Like a ghost, they  disappeared and left no trace of their smoky, delicious whereabouts. Fast foward to 2012, like a mirage in the distance, a tiny barbeque shack on the side of Brady Street appears. A real smoker sits behind, spouting smoke and sending the scent of cooked meat into passing cars. Lo and behold, Bones was back and better than ever.

Ok, so a shack on the side of the road sounds a little sketchy, but sometimes those places have the best food. Sometimes they have the best food poisoning as well, so buyer beware. Bones is more of a cute lil cabin and did not give anyone food poisoning.

We haven't been able to determine open and closing hours yet, it's a bit of a crap shoot with a consolation of McDonald's. Drive up and the simple menu is on a board.

Looking for a sandwich? You've got 3 basic options, pork, chicken, and beef. For an additional $2, make it a meal deal with 2 of their 4 sides, coleslaw, baked beans, potato salad, or potato chips.  Steak sandwiches are available on Fridays.

If you want your babybackbabybackbabyback... ribs are available full or half slab or in a dinner with 5 bones and 2 sides. A la carte sides are available in single servings, pints, and quarts.

The sauce is served on the side of the sandwiches. It's a sweet and spicy tomato based sauce. Best served haphazardly drizzled over the sandwich. The meat has always been the star, as it should be with barbeque.

The chicken is juicy, tender and has a light smoky flavor.  I've yet to had subpar dry chicken from Bones, a common occurance at most other establishments.

The beans are a bit spicy and seem to be made with their signature barbeque sauce and lots of pepper. The buns were pretty standard, nothing to get in the way of the starring ingredients.

The Quad-Cities has a serious lack of decent barbeque places, but with Bones and Bare Bones in Illinois, things seem to be heating up. However, both places have limited hours and my taste for bbq has no limits.

They may have a had a bite or two.

Bare Bones BBQ

Ain't nothin like some good barbeque.

Bare Bones BBQ is located in the old Waffle House restaurant near the airport in Moline (2401 69th Ave). I can't even tell you the last time I had good barbeque. Probably when we visited North Carolina in 2009. Good BBQ in the QC is scarce as a hens teeth, but I spotted this place during an airport pick-up and immediately notified Richie of the grand discovery.


Once again, he took his new partner in crime, Bateman, to the restaurant to check it out, but luckily I scored some takeout.


Richie was fixin to put some brisket and beans in his bread basket.


So tender and rich, the brisket was *almost* melt-in-your-mouth.


Beans were sweet and adorned with small pieces of brisket. Because who doesn't want meat with your meat? Sauce is sweet and spicy, but not too hot. It's always served on the side.


I reckon he inhaled this feast in nearabout 2 shakes of a lamb's tail.


Bean porn


Cornbread...the bane of my existence, the reason for his. Richie declared it hunky dorey fluffy.


Bateman inspecting his cornbread specimen


Ain't bringin a doggy bag home tonight.
Luckily, my pork sandwich takeout arrived unscathed, and though I wasn't fixin on eating it all, it was gone in a snap. Pork was juicy and the perfect complement to the sweet sauce. Their buns ain't no Wonder Bread, they were very soft and flavorful.

I can't find much of a web presence for Bare Bones, but be sure y'all skedaddle over to Moline for some quality Southern barbeque.

Smo-King Pit Barbecue

Yet another surprising mall joint, Smo-King Pit Barbecue was one of my favorite restaurants in Peoria. It's located in Northwoods Mall in the otherwise deserted hallway down from the equally deserted Sears.
Smo-King Pit first opened in Peoria Heights in 1997 under the name Citchen's Cafe. They moved to the mall (2200 War Memorial Drive) just a few yrs ago. Despite their location, all the meat is slow cooked over a hickory wood fire pit. They claim to have "award-winning" ribs, but who doesn't claim that?














The inside of the restaurant is very cute and woodsy. You can almost forget you're in a subpar mall. The workers seem to be a tight knit family and are always very polite and appreciative of their patrons... even this tattooed hoodrat.

















The menu is typical of a barbecue joint. Ribs, briskets, pork, you know...meat. I would usually get the pulled pork platter- a sandwich with two sides for 8.99. They pile the meat on a relatively generic bun. But the bun is just a background player. The generous portion of pulled pork is juicy, smoky, and topped with a thick midwest-style bbq sauce which they make in the restaurant. You can buy a bottle for $5.99



























Richie usually orders the brisket, but on this particular visit, chose the ribs.














Four bones and two sides for $6.99- a cheap way to satisfy your craving for ribs without sacrificing your taste buds. As for the sides, the baked beans are a little runny for my tastes, but I must say that their green beans are outstanding. Salty and spicy with bits of bacon, probably laden with sodium, about as unhealthy as one can make green beans. God, that looks good.

















And apparently, it was, as evidenced by this picture of Richie gnawing on the bone.

They are also known for their homemade cheesecakes, which I, for some reason beyond me, never tried. They have 28 flavors, but rotate 4-5 daily.

Next time you find yourself at Northwoods, I beg you to forgo Charley's Subs and whatever smelly pizza buffet occupies a corner in the food court, and take a stroll down towards Sears. Take a left turn at the mattress store that somehow stays afloat, and walk towards the big (inanimate) pig. Finally, suffer through the contemporary praise music and enjoy your barbecue.

Woodlands Barbecue and Pickin Parlor

You can't go to North Carolina and not eat good barbecue. Because our last bbq place was just O.K., we tried Woodlands Barbecue and Pickin Parlor in Blowing Rock. The smoke rising from the roof was a good sign of things to come.














The decor of the restaurant attempts to give off a woodsy feel, and I suppose it succeeds. Normally I hate any place that tacks a bunch of random signs to the walls, but I did find this pig stained glass window to be whimsical.



























We were escorted to the lower level and found ourselves a picnic table. Luckily, the table was just big enough for us, so we didn't have to sit with any strangers like we did at the Hampton store. I'm not sure what it is about barbecue that lends itself to sitting with strangers, but with our social skills, it's nearly unbearable.














Woodlands serves traditional barbecue as well Mexican fare. I think it makes sense, because you're starting with a nice moist hunk of meat that could be spiced just any way. However, we all chose bbq. CLICK HERE FOR MENU
It should be no surprise that I chose chopped chicken. Once again, sauce is on the side, so I added just a tiny bit because I wanted to get the smoky taste of the meat. It was very pleasant and juicy. Pickles were awesome and chips were meh. The whole deal cost just $4.50


















Richie got a sliced pork plate with corn, fries, and cornbread. I hate cornbread so much, just looking at this picture makes me shudder.















He also thoroughly enjoyed his pork but was a little thrown off by the meat being in slices instead of shreds. He liked the cornbread but said the fries needed more seasoning. His blood pressure disagreed.














We were in and out of there pretty fast, which was fine for lunch, but sometimes I just like to sit and relax at a restaurant. Seems like a place that is almost always hopping with people. I noticed that they will smoke ANY meat you bring into them. I would try just about anything smoked.
This was definitely the best barbecue I have had in a long time, and now I'm salivating just thinking about it. I'll have to try RJ Boars in Rock Island soon.