CR vs QCA: restaurants

[srams21]

So, let's take on the CR vs QCA debate by looking at each criteria on a different day. Today we look at restaurants and dining out. The other criteria we will look at in the next couple days include:

Entertainment, employment, cost of living, crime, uniqueness/culture, and other areas. But, today, it's all restaurants.

Where is the best place in each city(metro area counts) to grab a slice of pizza, a burger, a steak, or some ethnic food? Which city has better options? These are the areas we are looking at kids.

-Pizza
-Burgers
-Steak
-Fine dining
-Breakfast spot

QC is obviously huge on QC style pizza and you can find it at Harris Pizza and many other places. CR has a better variety of pizza places. Need Pizza, Tomaso's, Ruby's, and Zoey's come to mind.

For fine dining, Cobble Hill leads the way in CR according to Yelp. In QCA, the Duck City Bistro and Bass Street Chophouse come to mind.

@torbee @Tom Paris @Menace Sockeyes @McLovin32 you guys need to chime in here. I want to see some good arguments boyz.

 

[McLovin32]

Pizza--Absolutely Zoey's and Need IMO. Both those places are phenomenal. Never had the QC pizza.

Burgers--Saucy Foccacia is pretty g'damn tasty.

Breakfast Spot--Riley's is the obvious one here. A newer place just opened up recently close to me called gumption (where BBQ this used to be on Boyson Rd). It's pretty solid too, although the owners of it are douche bags.

 

[Wahawk56]

Qc food sucks.

 

[Moral]

Qc food sucks.

This.

 

[fredjr82]

Pizza--Absolutely Zoey's and Need IMO. Both those places are phenomenal. Never had the QC pizza.

Just had Sweet Basil's on Mt Vernon on Saturday. It was good. Similiar to Need.

 

[McLovin32]

Just had Sweet Basil's on Mt Vernon on Saturday. It was good. Similiar to Need.

I’ve heard good things about that place. I’ll have to check it out.

 

[HawCory]

I had some phenomenal chicken strips from the WalMart on Elmore in Davenport the other day.

 

[iCRUNCH]

Antonellas, Huckleberrys, Crust
Central Standard, Steel Plow
Bass Street, Johnnies
Hemispheres, Duck City, Stevenson’s
Raw, Front Street, Bier Stube
QC Coffee & Pancake House, Jimmy’s Pancake House

 

[Tom Paris]

So, let's take on the CR vs QCA debate by looking at each criteria on a different day. Today we look at restaurants and dining out. The other criteria we will look at in the next couple days include:

Entertainment, employment, cost of living, crime, uniqueness/culture, and other areas. But, today, it's all restaurants.

Where is the best place in each city(metro area counts) to grab a slice of pizza, a burger, a steak, or some ethnic food? Which city has better options? These are the areas we are looking at kids.

-Pizza
-Burgers
-Steak
-Fine dining
-Breakfast spot

QC is obviously huge on QC style pizza and you can find it at Harris Pizza and many other places. CR has a better variety of pizza places. Need Pizza, Tomaso's, Ruby's, and Zoey's come to mind.

For fine dining, Cobble Hill leads the way in CR according to Yelp. In QCA, the Duck City Bistro and Bass Street Chophouse come to mind.

@torbee @Tom Paris @Menace Sockeyes @McLovin32 you guys need to chime in here. I want to see some good arguments boyz.

Pizza - Alfano's...my favorite anywhere.
Burgers - Cafe Indigo - place is a hidden gem
Steak - probably Bass Street
Fine - I don't do a lot of this...maybe Faithful Pilot
Breakfast - Mickey's Country Cafe by a landslide

 

[srams21]

Antonellas, Huckleberrys, Crust
Central Standard, Steel Plow
Bass Street, Johnnies
Hemispheres, Duck City, Stevenson’s
Raw, Front Street, Bier Stube
QC Coffee & Pancake House, Jimmy’s Pancake House

Went to Central Standard once and was somewhat unimpressed. Duck City Bistro is really good though.

 

[srams21]

Pizza - Alfano's...my favorite anywhere.
Burgers - Cafe Indigo - place is a hidden gem
Steak - probably Bass Street
Fine - I don't do a lot of this...maybe Faithful Pilot
Breakfast - Mickey's Country Cafe by a landslide

I will have to try Alfano's next time I am down there. I have never heard of Mickey's.

 

[Tenacious E]

So, let's take on the CR vs QCA debate by looking at each criteria on a different day. Today we look at restaurants and dining out. The other criteria we will look at in the next couple days include:

Entertainment, employment, cost of living, crime, uniqueness/culture, and other areas. But, today, it's all restaurants.

Where is the best place in each city(metro area counts) to grab a slice of pizza, a burger, a steak, or some ethnic food? Which city has better options? These are the areas we are looking at kids.

-Pizza
-Burgers
-Steak
-Fine dining
-Breakfast spot

QC is obviously huge on QC style pizza and you can find it at Harris Pizza and many other places. CR has a better variety of pizza places. Need Pizza, Tomaso's, Ruby's, and Zoey's come to mind.

For fine dining, Cobble Hill leads the way in CR according to Yelp. In QCA, the Duck City Bistro and Bass Street Chophouse come to mind.

@torbee @Tom Paris @Menace Sockeyes @McLovin32 you guys need to chime in here. I want to see some good arguments boyz.

For the quad cities, I have the following thoughts from yesteryear, although I am not sure how many of them are still open:

pizza - bettendorf happy joe's
burgers - governor's used to have a nice burger back in the day
steak - red crowe grill
fine dining - red crow grille
breakfast spot - indigo

 

[Uwe.Blab]

what is QC pizza?

 

[Tom Paris]

I will have to try Alfano's next time I am down there. I have never heard of Mickey's.

Mickey's is on the way to LeClaire from Bettendorf...on Valley Drive right off of Great River Road. Torbee taught me about that Mickey's. The omelet guy may be a grand master.

Alfano's has great thin and also does the thickest Chicago Deep Dish I have ever seen.

http://mickeys-countrycafe.com/
http://www.alfanopizza.com/

 

[torbee]

So, let's take on the CR vs QCA debate by looking at each criteria on a different day. Today we look at restaurants and dining out. The other criteria we will look at in the next couple days include:

Entertainment, employment, cost of living, crime, uniqueness/culture, and other areas. But, today, it's all restaurants.

Where is the best place in each city(metro area counts) to grab a slice of pizza, a burger, a steak, or some ethnic food? Which city has better options? These are the areas we are looking at kids.

-Pizza
-Burgers
-Steak
-Fine dining
-Breakfast spot

QC is obviously huge on QC style pizza and you can find it at Harris Pizza and many other places. CR has a better variety of pizza places. Need Pizza, Tomaso's, Ruby's, and Zoey's come to mind.

For fine dining, Cobble Hill leads the way in CR according to Yelp. In QCA, the Duck City Bistro and Bass Street Chophouse come to mind.

@torbee @Tom Paris @Menace Sockeyes @McLovin32 you guys need to chime in here. I want to see some good arguments boyz.

I don't eat in CR, so can't do a good compare and contrast. Friends of mine who have lived both places complain that CR leans to heavy on chain restaurants, even more so than the QC.

I will say this about the QC dining scene though - way, way, way too many sports bars and pub food entrants and not enough good ethnic and original concept ideas.

A few of my faves:

• I don't think any metro area in Iowa can compete with the QC for cheap-but-delicious Mexican food. My personal favorites are La Finca in downtown Davenport and La Rancherita in uptown Rock Island, but there are literally a dozen or so very good options were you can get a delicious and filling meal for less than $10.
  
• For Asian food, my go-to is Lemongrass in Moline for Thai and Tantra in Davenport for Chinese. The new Thai place in downtown Rock Island also has very good food, especially their Khao Soi curry. The sushi scene here sucks now that chef Henry left - pretty much only cheap-o buffets and mediocre faux "upscale" sushi bars.
  
• Pizza - QC style pizza is a love-it, or hate-it proposition. I personally love it, and you have to admit not many areas this size have their own, homegrown pizza style. My favorite remains the original Frank's in Silvis, but honorable mention to Fat Boy's in central D-port.
  
• Upscale - my favorite is Hemisphere's Bistro (formerly Red Crow). Always unique stuff on the menu and an amazing wine list. Blue Ribbon Steak House is very good, but not super unique (like pretty much any other upscale steak house in any city). I'm also a big fan of Crane & Pelican in LeClaire, it's a super unique dining experience housed in an old riverboat's captain's mansion and the ladies who run it are big farm-to-table proponents and have a small and ecclectic menu.
• Bar/Pub/Sports Bar - Almost too many to mention, and most are average-at-best. I do like Steel Plow in Moline. The food is also very good at Front Street Brewery in Davenport, but good luck getting a table on the weekend.

I'm sure I'll have some more thoughts, if you couldn't tell, this is one of my favorite topics and I have the waistline to prove it!

 

[QChawks]

what is QC pizza?

The worst pizza imaginable

 

[Wahawk56]

I will have to try Alfano's next time I am down there. I have never heard of Mickey's.

Mickey's is gross. You may like it As most that post on here do, but the food is gross and what's ordered is usually the same food they put out on the buffet line.

 

[torbee]

Pizza - Alfano's...my favorite anywhere.
Burgers - Cafe Indigo - place is a hidden gem
Steak - probably Bass Street
Fine - I don't do a lot of this...maybe Faithful Pilot
Breakfast - Mickey's Country Cafe by a landslide

Great call on Cafe Indigo. That place has amazing food - and despite many people thinking it's kind of a "froo-froo" place, the burgers might be the best in the QC.

 

[torbee]

Mickey's is gross. You may like it As most that post on here do, but the food is gross and what's ordered is usually the same food they put out on the buffet line.

Mickey's non-breakfast food indeed sucks donkey sack.

But the morning guy is a freaking omelet savant. Literally makes the best omelet I've ever eaten, and I've had omelets on two continents.

 

[Tom Paris]

Mickey's non-breakfast food indeed sucks donkey sack.

But the morning guy is a freaking omelet savant. Literally makes the best omelet I've ever eaten, and I've had omelets on two continents.

I only go for breakfast, and his omelets are pretty much perfect. I go with those or the Haystack.

 

[srams21]

I don't eat in CR, so can't do a good compare and contrast. Friends of mine who have lived both places complain that CR leans to heavy on chain restaurants, even more so than the QC.

I will say this about the QC dining scene though - way, way, way too many sports bars and pub food entrants and not enough good ethnic and original concept ideas.

A few of my faves:

• I don't think any metro area in Iowa can compete with the QC for cheap-but-delicious Mexican food. My personal favorites are La Finca in downtown Davenport and La Rancherita in uptown Rock Island, but there are literally a dozen or so very good options were you can get a delicious and filling meal for less than $10.
  
• For Asian food, my go-to is Lemongrass in Moline for Thai and Tantra in Davenport for Chinese. The new Thai place in downtown Rock Island also has very good food, especially their Khao Soi curry. The sushi scene here sucks now that chef Henry left - pretty much only cheap-o buffets and mediocre faux "upscale" sushi bars.
  
• Pizza - QC style pizza is a love-it, or hate-it proposition. I personally love it, and you have to admit not many areas this size have their own, homegrown pizza style. My favorite remains the original Frank's in Silvis, but honorable mention to Fat Boy's in central D-port.
  
• Upscale - my favorite is Hemisphere's Bistro (formerly Red Crow). Always unique stuff on the menu and an amazing wine list. Blue Ribbon Steak House is very good, but not super unique (like pretty much any other upscale steak house in any city). I'm also a big fan of Crane & Pelican in LeClaire, it's a super unique dining experience housed in an old riverboat's captain's mansion and the ladies who run it are big farm-to-table proponents and have a small and ecclectic menu.
• Bar/Pub/Sports Bar - Almost too many to mention, and most are average-at-best. I do like Steel Plow in Moline. The food is also very good at Front Street Brewery in Davenport, but good luck getting a table on the weekend.

I'm sure I'll have some more thoughts, if you couldn't tell, this is one of my favorite topics and I have the waistline to prove it!

I knew you were a big fan of this topic!

I think QC is better food-wise than some people in this thread have suggested. The big cons to me compared to CR are lack of variety (in pizza places and ethnic foods come to mind). And, as you mentioned, QC has tons of sports bar eateries.

Have you been to the Barley & Rye Bistro in Moline? I had a friend recommend that place a while back.

 

[torbee]

I knew you were a big fan of this topic!

I think QC is better food-wise than some people in this thread have suggested. The big cons to me compared to CR are lack of variety (in pizza places and ethnic foods come to mind). And, as you mentioned, QC has tons of sports bar eateries.

Have you been to the Barley & Rye Bistro in Moline? I had a friend recommend that place a while back.

Barley and Rye is very interesting. I've had outstanding entrees there and very meh entrees. It's a bit pricey for the inconsistency IMO, but its got a cool atmosphere.

Another place with a cool atmosphere and good food (not great, but very solid) is Me and Billy in downtown Davenport. Has a very hip, urban vibe.

 

[Tom Paris]

Barley and Rye is very interesting. I've had outstanding entrees there and very meh entrees. It's a bit pricey for the inconsistency IMO, but its got a cool atmosphere.

Another place with a cool atmosphere and good food (not great, but very solid) is Me and Billy in downtown Davenport. Has a very hip, urban vibe.

What do you think of Bier Stube? My wife and I go fairly often to the one in LeClaire and it has really grown on me. There aren't too many German places around and it's been pretty solid.

 

[torbee]

What do you think of Bier Stube? My wife and I go fairly often to the one in LeClaire and it has really grown on me. There aren't too many German places around and it's been pretty solid.

When it first opened in LeClaire, I thought it sucked. Food was mediocre, they didn't seem to do a great job cleaning their tap lines (beer was often skunky and/or flat) and the service was only so-so.

I don't know if they got a new manager or what, but the last several times I've been there, it's been much better. They make a pretty killer reuben and I love the sausage and cheese plate.

 

[Uwe.Blab]

seriously, what is QC pizza?

 

[Tom Paris]

When it first opened in LeClaire, I thought it sucked. Food was mediocre, they didn't seem to do a great job cleaning their tap lines (beer was often skunky and/or flat) and the service was only so-so.

I don't know if they got a new manager or what, but the last several times I've been there, it's been much better. They make a pretty killer reuben and I love the sausage and cheese plate.

I'm a fan of their schnitzels and potato pancakes.

 

[Wahawk56]

seriously, what is QC pizza?

I was a fan until I started eating healthier. Now, it tastes like salt with a side of extra salt.

 

[Tom Paris]

seriously, what is QC pizza?

 

[Tenacious E]

The crust is hard and malty, and the sausage is all pellety like rabbit poop. Definitely go with good ol' happy joes taco or pepperoni (their sausage is terrible too):

or

 

[WisestIowan]

That looks like La Pizza House in DSM.

https://b.zmtcdn.com/data/reviews_photos/ea8/73fa3a6d4d06a6aade8cc3ea8835fea8.jpg

 

[Tenacious E]

Although cut in strips, that is way too delicious looking to be QC pizza. The crust looks thin and not thick and hard AF. Sausage looks to be intact and not ground up into tiny particles.

That looks like La Pizza House in DSM.

https://b.zmtcdn.com/data/reviews_photos/ea8/73fa3a6d4d06a6aade8cc3ea8835fea8.jpg

 

[torbee]

seriously, what is QC pizza?

\
From WikiPedia entry:

Quad City-style pizza is a unique pizzastyle[1]that originates from theQuad Citiesregion of Iowa and Illinois in the United States. The crust has a nutty taste, the tomato sauce is spicy, the toppings are under the cheese, and the pizza is cut into strips.

Contents
[1Preparation

• 2By region

• 3Comparisons between establishments

• 4See also

• 5References

• 6Further reading

Preparation[edit]
Quad City-style pizza dough contains a "spice jam", which is heavy onmalt,[2]which lends a toasted, nutty flavor.[1]The pizzas are hand-tossed to be stretched into an even quarter-inch thin crust with a slight lip ringing the edge. The sauce contains both red chili flakes and ground cayenne, and the smooth, thin tomato spread is more spicy than sweet. The sausage is typically a thick blanket of lean, fennel-flecked Italian sausage[3]sometimes ground twice and spread from edge to edge.[4][5]The pizzas are cooked using a special gas oven with an average cooking time of about 12 minutes. The pizza is cut into strips,[1]as opposed to being cut in slices. An average 16-inch pizza has about 14 strips, and a 10-inch pizza has about 10 strips.[3]

By region[edit]
The dish originates in the Quad Cities region of the United States.[6]Purveyors as of April 2015 include:

Establishment Location Notes
Bad Boy's Pizza Moline, Bettendorf
Benny's Pizza Milan
Clint's Pizza Moline
Danny Boy's Geneseo
Fat Boy's Pizza Davenport
Fields of Pizza Moline
Frank's Pizzeria Silvis
Gunchie's Davenport
Harris Pizza Bettendorf, Davenport, Rock Island
Huckleberry's Pizza Rock Island Not strip-cut
Pizza & Subs Rock Island Not strip-cut
Pizza Shack Davenport
Poor Boy's Pizza and Pub Rock Island
Riverbend Pizza Place Port Byron
Roots Pizza Lincoln Square and West Town, Chicago
Saint Giuseppe's Heavenly Pizza East Moline
Slugger's Pizza Silvis
Spinners Pizza Milan
Sports Fans Pizza Bettendorf
Stashu & Son's Moline Not strip-cut
The Yankee Doodle Moline
Uncle Bill's Pizza Davenport
Wise Guys Pizza Davenport

The dish has been prepared in other areas of the United States, includingMesa, Arizona[7]and Chicago.[2][8]The Arizona location has closed.[9]

Comparisons between establishments[edit]
In 2016, a group of Quad City residents reviewed and compared two popular brands of Quad City-style pizza, Harris and Wise Guys. The review used a numerical rubric to take into account the key aspects of the style including the nutty crust, spiced sauce and double ground fennel-seasoned sausage. Harris Pizza scored an 81/92 while Wise Guys scored a 75/92, indicating Harris to be a better model for Quad City-style pizza.[10]

See also[edit]

• Chicago-style pizza
• Detroit-style pizza
• List of pizza varieties by country
• List of regional dishes of the United States
• New

 

[WisestIowan]

Although cut in strips, that is way too delicious looking to be QC pizza. The crust looks thin and not thick and hard AF. Sausage looks to be intact and not ground up into tiny particles.

Its fantastic. I get capicola, mushroom and meatball.

 

[Tenacious E]

Its fantastic. I get capicola, mushroom and meatball.

from where?

 

[WisestIowan]

from where?

La Pizza House in DSM. That's the pic I put up.

 

[Tenacious E]

La Pizza House in DSM. That's the pic I put up.

I was thinking it was a QC pizza that you were saying looked like LPH. I knew it looked too good to be QC style...

 

[Brown Dog]

Lucky's on 16th in CR is great for breakfast. And agree with the earlier poster on Saucy Focaccia. Their burgers are outstanding! While CR certainly has earned it's reputation as a chain town, there are a ton of good, local restaurants.

 

[Bro D]

Pizza - Ugh.. Casey's unfortunately. As far as QC style pizzas, Sports Fans I guess. Antonella's is pretty solid
Burgers - 11th St
Steak - Bass St is good but is way overpriced and takes forever to get out of there. Never been a fan of Johnny's. Don't ever to to Mo Brady's. Never been to Tappas. I don't know the answer
Fine dining - Duck City or Hemisphere's
Breakfast - Mickey's (Torbee correct -> Best omelettes I've ever had) or Flip's (Best Eggs Benedict)
BBQ - Big Mouthz or Lynn's
Mexican - La Rancherita Rock Island. El Mexicano moline... So many mexican restaurants its ridiculous

Places I like -> Me and Billy, Barrel House, Cafe Fresh, Lemongrass,


Haven't liked Bier Stube since they left Davenport unfortunately. God I miss that place

 

[Herky T Hawk]

I don't have much experience eating in Cedar Rapids, but lived in Davenport for 3.5 years. I think the QCA has an advantage because of the nature of the metro area. You have 4 distinct cities with different "lifestyles" in each of them. Three of those ties have decent downtowns too.

Here's what I know the QCA has in no particular order.
1. Pizza. Take your pick of the "crappy" QC Style Pizza. Plus it is the home of Happy Joe's.
2. Mexican. Tons of amazing Mexican restaurants, many of which are mom and pop places.
3. Brew Pubs. Bent River, Blue Cat, and others.
4. Bier Stube. Quality German food without going to the Amana Colonies.
5. Maid Rite. Muscatine is considered part of the QCA and is the originator of the Maid Rite.
6. Whitey's Ice Cream. Another QC original.
7. Drunk Food. Does it get any better than a Ross' Magic Mountain to stave off a hangover?
8. Thai Food. Exotic Thai and Tantra are both good Thai fusion places. There may be others that I don't know about.
9. Hungry Hobo. Best sandwich shop bread in the business.
10. Tons of Bar and Grills, many of which aren't national chains.

That doesn't include any of the several high end places that are available. The things I listed are all places that a kid straight out of college, like me at the time, could afford to eat at regularly. Which makes sense since most of the QCA is "blue collar".

 

[Hawk_4shur]

Lived in CR area my entire adult life. Love living here, but it will NEVER be known for it's cuisine. You find the occasional spot with a great burger, or a terrific breakfast place ... you might even find a really good pizza somewhere, but CR is "chain city".

That being said, I love Riley's for breakfast (all day), Tings Red Lantern for Chinese, and Zepplin's has great burgers. Most people love Zoey's pizza, but for the money I'd rather have two breakfast pizza's from Casey's.