Where to eat in the Quad Cities and Burlington, Iowa

My husband is on a cycling team and every Memorial Day weekend we have to travel to Burlington Iowa (via interstates 80, 74 and 34) and onward to the Quad Cities for a series of races.

Except for the pizza and calzones at Huckleberry's in Rock Island near the team hotel, we've found very little that really excites us, probably because we're just rushing from place to place. We will be staying in Burlington two night and one night in Rock Island.

Although we've lived in the city long enough to consider ourselves Chicagoans, we both grew up in Iowa and are quite familiar with the joy of the pork tenderloin so that's not a huge draw (but if you know of something great, we'd be interested in hearing about it).

Thanks for any suggestions.

I am topping this again because the trip is getting close and hope someone can assist. I hope that is not unacceptable.

Here is a previous thread on Quad Cities dining.

My feelings for Lagomarcino's remain unchanged.

E.M.

Thanks.

I used to travel to the QC as a kid to visit my grandparents. Highlights for me were when we got to eat at Frank's Pizza in Silvis. Not high on ambiance, but I still have fond memories of the crumbled sausage and square-cut pizza. Another family favorite was Whitey's Ice Cream. Whitey's had the thickest shakes/malts I have ever tasted. Delicious! A yahoo yellow-pages search turned up several locations through the QC area - I don't remember which location we used to frequent in East Moline.

Franks Pizzeria
711 1st Ave, Silvis
309-755-8321

What better way to celebrate strenuous athletics than with barbecue?

I stumbled on Jim's Rib Haven, a better-than-decent barbecue place in Rock Island, last year. It took a lot of gas-station-advice to locate the place. Their baby backs are pretty delicious. They also serve something called a "bony box," which I've only encountered there-- maybe it has other names elsewhere-- that looks like a meat cube pierced clean with a rib bone. (Its shape resembles a kite spool that you hold with both hands.) The meat, when I had it, was tougher than your average rib meat. I wasn't so into it, myself.

Here is an article on the place.

Here are some pics:








Jim's Rib Haven
531 24th Avenue
Rock Island, IL
(309) 786-8606

We've got the car packed and are about ready to leave. Thank you so much for those timely suggestions. I can't wait to try Jim's and Whitey's!

Happily, we're going a day early so we can go to Iowa City to have dinner at one of my favorite restaurants in the world, the Motley Cow, followed by breakfast at the Hamburg Inn before heading to Burlington.

I'm not really good at photography but I will try to take some pictures of anything worthy.

Second the motion for Jim's Rib Haven! To say that this is some of Illinois' best barbecue would not be enough praise. This is some of the best 'Que I've had anywhere!

Be sure to get the potato salad. Not usually my thing, I prefer fries with my 'Que, but this stuff was amazing; sweet and tangy with nice size chunks of potato. Excellent Beans, too. For your meats, stick with the classics, Ribs, Pulled Pork, Brisket. Never tried the "Bony Box", but based on daveco_hen's description, I wouldn't bother. There's enough other good stuff on the menu to make an unforgettable meal.

Buddy

The Pastuer has great Vietnamese food. The owner, Sunn (pronounced "Soon") and his wife are there every day and are very attentive and friendly.
The summer rolls, the catfish, the beef on iron bridge are all good. Everything on the menu is pretty good.
Tell them Craig Curry sent you.
Pastuer is near the corner of avenue of the cities and 32nd (I think). Check the phone book.

El Pavito is a nice mexican food, dive place. Good authentic tacos last time I was there. It's on Avenue of the Cities in Moline.

Pizza and Subs on John Deere Rd. by the Arthur's. Great Calzones

Arthur's has great subs.

Be sure to stop at Whities.

Stubbs Eddy in Davenport has good food and Jazz.

Hope I caught you in time

I went to Augustana so I miss some of those places.

Thank you again, everyone. Curry71, unfortunately I didn't see your post until we came back.

Jim's Rib Haven was excellent. I have taken some photos and will post them later if they look at all decent. We split an order of the back ribs and got sides of baked beans, cole slaw and the potato salad. Since I'm taking a rum springa from being a strict vegetarian, I sampled some of the ribs and they were wonderful. They were moist but not mushy. They came away from the bone easily and the sauce was divine. I loved the smokey flavors. The sides were all well done and equally tasty. I would have purchased some sauce to take home but our hotel room didn't have a fridge. We followed it up with a trip to Whitey's for dessert. I had the hot fudge sundae with chocolate chip ice cream. The ice cream was well balanced and not over-spun. The chocolate chips were more shardlike but had a good semi-sweet flavor. The only low part was that the hot fudge was only lukewarm. This didn't stop me from eating the whole thing.

Did you have some Millstream beer out in Iowa City?
Great stuff, but hard to find outside the area.
C

We did have Millstream and brought some home with us! We also had a wonderful meal at the Motley Cow, which I'll have to write about later. I love that restaurant so much.

A little late, but for your next trip try:

Belgium Village in Moline for one of the most amazing Rueben sandwiches ever (get a half size)

Jumer's Castle Lodge in Bettendof is wonderful

Rudy's Taco's is very good (village of east Davenport on the Miss River is my favorite location)

last but not least, Iowa Machine Shed in Davenport - their stuffed pork chops are out of this world!

Daisy11 wrote:Another family favorite was Whitey's Ice Cream. Whitey's had the thickest shakes/malts I have ever tasted. Delicious!

Is Whitey's the place that serves milkshakes with sundae toppings on them? I had one of those (peach) on my one trip to Bettendorf and it was pretty great. It had an unusual name.

Google leads me to this story about a place called the Drive-In in Colorado that is run by someone named Bettendorf and serves a "Boston Soda" whici is described as a shake with a sundae on top. I think that sounds about right ("Boston") so now my question is "Can you get one at Whitey's?"

germuska wrote:

Daisy11 wrote:Another family favorite was Whitey's Ice Cream. Whitey's had the thickest shakes/malts I have ever tasted. Delicious!

Is Whitey's the place that serves milkshakes with sundae toppings on them? I had one of those (peach) on my one trip to Bettendorf and it was pretty great. It had an unusual name.

Google leads me to this story about a place called the Drive-In in Colorado that is run by someone named Bettendorf and serves a "Boston Soda" whici is described as a shake with a sundae on top. I think that sounds about right ("Boston") so now my question is "Can you get one at Whitey's?"

My mom actually used to get a Chocolate Boston Soda at Gertie's (the original location on 59th & Kedzie) and it definitely did not have a sundae on top of it. It just looked like a regular ice cream soda to me, so I dunno....

We have to make a road trip out to the middle of Iowa for a graduation, and are going to break up the first part of a the travel with a stop in the Quad Cities(about 100 miles from my house) on the first night(good excuse for some black-jack).

I am wondering about 2 of the casinos there(Isle Casino & Hotel , & Jumers Casino & Hotel), and if anyone has eaten, or stayed at either. Other dining rec's would be appreciated for a dinner that night as well.

thanks.

Hey Jimster---

Don't know if you're into Asian food, but Pasteur Restaurant in Moline, a Vietnamese/Thai blend of creative goodness, ranks right up there with similar Chicagoland restaurants of that cuisine.

The owner has run this chic-looking place at this location on a desolate strip in Moline for 19 years, I believe, and it's the high quality of the dishes served that gets people coming back. We've been there four times in the last year, the last time two days ago. Their curries are brothy, fragrant and wonderful. Spring rolls rank up with any place here. Their rice noodle beef salad, bun bo, is tasty & fresh.

I assure you, you won't find any place like this in the Quad Cities. And owner is a real trip, working the tables & trying to guess when you visited him last.

Pasteur Restaurant
2037 16th St
Moline, IL 61265
(309) 797-6336

thanks for the tip, We all like asian food alot, so I will put this on my list.

Rustling up this old thread in hopes of finding something interesting in Burlington, IA for this weekend. We're going out for a Mr. X family event so I'm not sure if we'll have any time for restaurants. But dinner on Saturday night might be open if we don't go to the Burlington Bees minor league game. Any suggestions for dining in Burlington?

Dinner on Saturday night in Burlington was had at the Burlington Bees minor league park. Having attended a major league game at Wrigley the day before, prices were jaw-dropping: $7.50/ticket for seats in the first row directly behind home plate, beers were $2.50-$3.50, food prices ranged from $2-$5. Mr. X had a brat and the remaining two of us had the "Bee's Rite" sandwich - their take on a Maid-Rite loose meat sandwich. I've not had a Maid Rite sandwich, so don't know the difference. The ballpark version was fine, if a little boring. I did not notice the pork tenderloin sandwich offering until my second beer run. More importantly, I did not ask about a Lippy Dog, an option only available Wed-Sat. The game was followed by fireworks on this particular Saturday night. Although not a high culinary destination, I highly recommend the Burlington Bees experience to all.

Erik M wrote:My feelings for Lagomarcino's remain unchanged.

In another thread Erik M. wrote:. . . if I could only take one meal in the Quad Cities, it would be at the original Lagomarcino's. I'd order a ham salad sandwich on the housemade light rye, a cup of tomato soup, and a single scoop sundae with the housemade (and world famous) hot fudge. On my way out of the door--should there be any left--I'd grab a bag of "coal." ["Coal" is a hard licorice candy that they carry, but that is no longer made. The last time that I was in, they informed me that what they have is all that exists. Anywhere.]

At any rate, that sandwich is on my very, very short list of favourite food items in the whole world. Heck, I just recommended a meal that I, personally, would consider for my "last meal on earth."

Lagomarcino's is a fine old place, in business at the same location for over a century. I don't know if I'd consider it for my last meal but if I'm ever near the Quad Cities again I'll be certain to stop.









I enjoyed my ham salad on house-baked rye quite a bit and the glass of Lago was interesting. Lago is a Dr Pepper-like beverage introduced at Lagomarcino's in the 1930s. The chocolate soda was outstanding. No room for dessert unfortunately.

Lagomarcino's Confectionery
1422 5th Av
Moline IL
309-764-1814
http://www.lagomarcinos.com/

That block of 5th Avenue in Moline might hold the Quad Cities' most interesting food and drink. Directly across the street from Lagomarcino's is Bent River Brewing, a better-than-expected brewpub.



Bent River Brewing Company
1413 5th Av
Moline IL
309-797-2722
http://www.bentriverbrewery.com/

A few doors west of the brewery we were surprised to find Little Rangoon, a Burmese restaurant.



Much of the menu is devoted to Chinese standards but there are a handful of authentic Burmese dishes.



I don't have a lot to compare it to but their tea leaf salad was very pleasant, with a great mix of flavors and textures. I'd be more than willing to try their other Burmese food.



Little Rangoon
1401 5th Av
Moline IL
309-736-7770

In another thread DaveG wrote:City Limits - great breakfast (wonderful biscuits and gravy). Rock Island

Didn't make it for breakfast but I had a very good breaded pork tenderloin at City Limits. They're known for their Limit Loin—grilled unbreaded pork with bacon and Swiss cheese—but we chose the classic breaded version instead.





Good quality meat, well prepared. I prefer their thicker cut instead of the more common ultra-thin style. Pretty good garnishes including a nice spicy mustard. I imagine the Limit Loin is worth ordering too. Nice place.

City Limits
4514 9th St
Rock Island IL
309-786-4889
http://www.citylimitssaloonandgrill.com/ (Warning: obnoxious music)

Jim's Rib Haven looks promising, with its great old smokestack and a large photograph of a dapper Mister Jim hanging in the entryway.



Unfortunately those are about the only good things I can say about the place. We had a truly horrifying meal, easily the worst barbecue I've had in many years. Maybe we should've ordered the ribs but we were scared by the pile of already-cut bones sitting in big plastic tubs right by the microwave. A slab goes for $24, not a bargain.

The unshaven snout sandwich has already been discussed in the Worst Thing You've Eaten Lately thread, with good justification. I hate to think how many days old this meat was. One bite and done.





Pulled pork sandwich was hardly better, smelling and tasting of stale fat but not of smoke (I wonder if their impressive smokestack is only for decoration these days). The worst pork sandwich I can recall. Another one-biter.





Sides were poor but not as disgusting as the meat. Potato salad was probably the sweetest version I've ever tried, definitely not my style. Beans seemed straight from the can with the addition of a few hacked up pieces of bell pepper. This was the only dish I could manage more than a bite of (I was hungry). Sauce had the unnatural viscosity of a commercial product. The hot version was the same with quite a bit of ground black pepper added. Yikes!

Jim's Rib Haven
531 24th St
Rock Island IL
309-786-8084

HI,

That is a pretty dismal meal.

How much did the largely uneaten and unshaven pig snouts go for? I just can't imagine those nose bristles would be as tasty as crisply fried fish fins, which I happen to really like.

It really is too bad, Popeye's in Springfield was closed when we passed. At least there was the chance they had a good snout to hopefully erase the memory of this icky one.

<shudder>

Regards,

I'm truly sorry to hear about your bad experience, but mostly I'm sorry to hear about the slip (high speed crash?) in quality at Jim's. The two or three times I've been there it was outstanding. Huge, meaty ribs, tender, juicy brisket, and moist succulent pulled pork. Admittedly, I did not try the snout sandwich, and certainly will not now, for sure.

Sides varied for us. The beans were good, not great. The fries were an excellent, fresh cut version, and the slaw was good too; very fresh, rustic homemade style. Your bad review of the potato salad may have been the most troubling part of all. While the portion we were served was definitely on the sweet side, it was not cloying or overpowering of the other ingredients. In fact, what really impressed me was how the potato flavor stood out unlike so many other commercial varieties that rely more on the mayo than on the spud.

Tis a sad, sad day for the Quads if Jim's has allowed their quality to run into the ground like this.

Oh well, just one more excuse for avoiding I-80 through Iowa and taking I-55 to I-70 on our way to Kansas City. At least in Springfield I know I can get some good 'Que at The Dr. of BBQ.

Once again, my condolences.

Buddy

Lagomarcino's(I see the Moline location is referenced upthread) in Davenport was fantastic on a visit this past Saturday after a few pizza stops. I had never heard of them despite being in business over 100 years, & having a James Beard award.

I loved Lagomarcino's, old time soda fountain, candy counter up front, etc. All items ordered were top notch, and half the price one would pay in Chicago for a lesser product. Ice cream was high buterfat, rich and silky.
After 2 pizza stops the 3 of us snacked on:

egg cream:



rootbeer float:



strawberry sundae:



turtle sundae:



$11 with tax and before tip....

Lagomarcino's
2132 E. 11th Street
Davenport, IA.

http://www.lagomarcinos.com



Planning on going to the Moline location this Saturday after some more pizza stops.

jimswside wrote: All items ordered were top notch, and half the price one would pay in Chicago for a lesser product. Ice cream was high buterfat, rich and silky.

This does look good. But (not taking anything away from Lagomarcino's) Margie's, for example, is similarly superannuated and has absurdly cheap prices for 18% butterfat ice cream covered in house made sauces. The decor and cramped clutter creeps me out, but the quality and value is there.

Simple but nice pork chop sandwich off the grill Saturday @ Golicks Meat Market, Davenport, IA.








Actual meatmarket wasnt very impressive, standard fair, alot of shelves empty. Really must have been a neat market back in the day. Pork chop sandwich was really nice, really simple, but perfectly grilled and alot of flavor. Grill seems to be inoperation for lunch with brats, polish, hot dogs as well.

Golicks Meat Market
1141 E. High Street
Davenport, IA.

Took a quick run west of the QC on Saturday and hit Wilton Candy Kitchen in Wilton, IA. Touted as the oldest continually operating soda fountain in the world.

Really a let down after the magic of Lagomarcinos the week before. perhaps time has just passed the elderly owners of this quaint shop by. Kind of sad as it is a nice shop & a classic. Ice cream was served with no flair, and the quality just wasnt there. Sundaes were served with no whip cream or cherries, in a styro cup, and it was just a tough place to order and then uncomfortable to eat there(staff bickering). I did have a glass of their hadacol off the soda fountain, kind of a vanilla gingerale drink that was ok.


Like I said upthread a major let down, I gave up after taking just a few pictures.









raspberry sundae:



Wilton Candy Kitchen
310 Cedar Street
Wilton, IA.

http://www.wiltoncandykitchen.com

2 Straight Saturdays in the QC, so far more hits than misses for sure.

I wish I had some recommendation for the Quad Cities, but I don't make it there often enough. I get to Burlington more, but I can't remember anything special.

In between the Quad Cities and Burlington is the small town of Muscatine, and the Clam Shell Diner named for the clam digging industry that once existed there. It was visited by Alton Brown from Feasting on Asphalt about 5 years ago, but has no online listing as of the last I had checked. I get the idea it has changed hands a few times over the years.

I drove past one September and only found this place with a note reading it would open for the season.

Clam Shell Diner in Muscatine by Tyrgyzistan, on Flickr

It looks like whoever operates it now just set up a facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Clams ... 5941309003