Iowa City, Part II

I said a couple days ago that I'd soon be writing about all the wonderful food we ate in Iowa City over Memorial weekend. It's time.

We went to Iowa City for the express purpose of eating all the food that my husband loved in college. I'd been to a couple of them, but most were new to me. It was a fun weekend.

We started out with cheeseburgers at a tiny dive bar called George's. My husband says he knew vegetarians that made exceptions for George's cheeseburgers. Apparently at one time this place was called George's Buffet, but it's about the farthest from a buffet you can get. I think the food options were hamburger, cheeseburger, and chili. That's it. I was impressed. While too heavy on the mustard, it was an excellent cheeseburger. Definitely go if you're in the Iowa City area.

Next was a beer & some little beer battered cheese at Brother's. It's a pretty typical college bar in every way, but the outdoor patio was nice and the cheese was good.

Dinner was a calzone at Sam's Pizza. This place was the inspiration of the entire trip. I'd been there before. My husband raved about the calzones all the time, and when I had my first, I thought it was good, but nothing special. But the next day, I wanted another one. Three days later, I still wanted another one. A week later, still wanted another. In fact, I'd like one right now. See for yourself - doesn't it look delicious?

Yep, I know you want one...

Before going back to the hotel, we stopped for a drink at The Sanctuary. I wish Minneapolis had a place like this.

The next day, we hit up The Vine for their famous Maple Hot wings. Yum. I don't have pictures, but you should go there. If you want a more traditional restaurant atmosphere, go to the Coralville location, but if you want a more tavern-like atmosphere, go to the original one in Iowa City.

In the meantime, we made several trips to The Dublin Underground. It's a tiny little Irish pub that serves a beer called Dempsey's. It's actually brewed in Wisconsin, but it was tasty nonetheless. If you ever find it in a liquor store or on tap, try it. Again, why doesn't Minneapolis have a place like this?

We finished off the trip with lunch Monday at Micky's Irish Pub. It's nothing special, just a small bar & grill with good sandwiches.

Oh, and the funniest part of the trip:


You saw that right - that's a grilled cheese cart.