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!

Bubble Tea

Bubble Tea is located in NorthPark Mall in Davenport. It opened about 7 yrs ago across from the Sam Goody-turned crap store-turned sports memorabilia store. It was opened by a South Vietnamese native who moved to the area when he was 9. According to Yelp, It's now owned by "Jeremiah is The King of smoothie, bubble tea, and coffee making."

I've passed over it since it opened and still have no desire to try the Taiwanese tea laced with tapioca bubbles. Ever since my unfortunate experience with burping Orbitz,



I just can't consume bubbles. However, when I saw this picture of the colorful, delicate club sandwich Richie devoured during a lunch break, I've decided I must try it out. Or at least try a sandwich, hold the bubbles.

















Though the sandwich was delicious and the ingredients fresh, Richie commented that it took a while to prepare. It seemed as though the workers weren't sandwich artists or enthusiasts. Clearly they are better accustomed to creating teas and fresh fruit smoothies, about which he also raves. Fresh fruit, sandwiches, and tea...by far the healthiest place Richie has ever eaten and also the healthiest choice in the mall. I'll report back after my sophisticated palate has given it a try.

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

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.

Urban Grind

We happened to be downtown one day and saw a little sign above a nondescript door that stated Now Serving Breakfast. Breakfast is, in my opinion, the best meal to eat at a restaurant. So we ventured back to that little yellow sign and found Urban Grind (221 Brady). It's a cute little coffee shop that seems to have a lot of regulars who work in the downtown Davenport area.














They had 2 women working, one doing coffee drinks and the other cooking in the back. They were both friendly women but it seemed like they would "tell it like it is" if provoked. They almost did when some guy tried to tell them how to make an espresso. I liked them.














They have a fairly small breakfast menu. I kept looking at the menu board and wishing we had come for lunch instead, because lasagna sounded pretty good. We ate at the counter because I'm a big fan of Cheers and wish I had a place where I can walk in and everyone yells, Sarah! and then I say something witty. But I digress.

Most of the menu is egg dishes, so I got a ham and cheese omelet with their "famous" rosemary fried potatoes. Richie got a country scramble that had sausage, mushrooms, and onions.













As you can see, my omelet was very pretty and the inside was full of ham. I wasn't a big fan of the potatoes, I think the rosemary wasn't my taste, but I liked their texture? I dunno, just wanted to say something positive. Grapes were grape-y.














The scramble was also full of goodies. It's nice to visit a restaurant that is generous with their toppings.

Neither of us are coffee drinkers, so if you visit drink at your own risk. I wouldn't know good from bad. I'm not even sure what an espresso is.






hey hey hey







Overall it was a pretty nice place. Nothing too impressive. The breakfast was good, fast, and served in just the right portion. Try it sometime if you happen to be downtown for...a drug deal, very important business meeting, or whatever it is people go downtown for.

Donuts & More

For a cozy little place to eat a doughnut, drink a coffee, and read the papes, check out Donuts & More at 1717 Brady Street in Davenport. I haven't found much history info from a basic Google search, but I know it is locally owned and has been there for years. They sell doughnuts out of the small restaurant and also supply a few local retailers and gas stations.
































We stopped by around 10 a.m. and the pickins were gettin slim. They don't have doughnuts you would find at Wal-Mart or Casey's, who obviously appeal to the future diabetics of America by smothering them in frosting and stuffing them with cremes. Donuts & More has lemon or strawberry jelly, one bavarian long john, a few danishes, but mostly just flavored doughnuts and holes. The flavored doughnuts are *expletive*-ing good. Plain and simple. Richie ate a vanilla and orange.













I got a dozen holes- 4 each of double chocolate, strawberry, and sprinkles. I really can't pick a favorite child though chocolate would probably be the step child because it's more of a dessert than breakfast pastry. As you can see, it was a rainbow of deliciousity.









All of that goodness only cost like 3 dollars.

IN the fall they have pumpkin donuts so, oh yes, we will be back. Probably before then. Don't expect a Krispy Kreme experience- they aren't open all day, the coffee is nothing fancy, but they have a drive thru and very sweet worker ladies.

The Buzz Coffee Shop

Again, not so greasy but definitely a cool local place, we hit up The Buzz in Eldridge. It started last year as a coffee shop and has since expanded into an art gallery/ice cream /sandwich shop.
















The artist who has his work displayed there is also the chef. He has come up with some pretty cool sandwiches, but I guess the Reuben is the best. (The menu calls it a "ruben" but I'll get over it) The owner is very sweet and said that if it's not the best reuben you've ever had, he will give you a refund. Well I've never had a reuben, plus i just yacked my guts out this weekend, so Richie tried it out.













It must have been the best, cause he didn't ask for a refund. They have a bunch of other paninis plus two special sandwiches called the Picasso (turkey, swiss, sourdough, with avocado pepperoni dressing) and The Michelangelo (turkey, mushroom, french bread, cheese/basil dressing). Every sandwich comes with a pickle and chips. Nothing is over $5













I had to try something, so i took one for the team and got a watermelon shake. There are a bunch of unique shake, smoothie, and coffee flavors. The watermelon shake was nothing like the sherbet from Whitey's. It was vanilla ice cream blended with watermelon flavor, so it was very smooth and creamy. Im totally rationing it- it's sitting in my freezer so i can eat more tomorrow.














Also I got my nephew a strawberry "pop" (smoothie) and instead of leaving a half filled cup hidden in his toy room, he drank the whole thing. nothing got on his shirt either. miracles do happen.