Sip N Stir - Sept 19, 2012

Had I known, when I scheduled today's Tour stop 2 weeks ago, that YESTERDAY (Sept. 18) was actually National Cheeseburger Day (henceforth and forever known by the initials NCB), the Tour stop would have been scheduled one day earlier. I suppose we can argue that we are celebrating the fact that we are only 364 days away from NEXT YEAR'S NCB. So there's that. 

Additionally, today IS the 10th Anniversary of Talk Like a Pirate Day. Which of course explains....

AVAST YE MATEYS! Twelve and eight of ya land lubbin' bilge rats signed aboard as we dropped anchor on our way to plunderin' of ye Sip N Stir. This be the crews largest keelhaulin' to date, and a big YO HO ME HEARTIES to everyone who shipped out, includin' our guests from thar land of Wisconsin (insert lame cheese related pirate joke here, or something). 

Me Roger be mighty Jolly, fer yer Captain is here to announce to ye scurvy dogs that there be a new leader for the title of CR's Best Burger! 

Whew! Glad that's over! 

Sip N Stir

Yes, I stole this image from their website. Sue me. 

Sip N Stir,and their iconic round tables with the fiberglass umbrellas, has been on 1st. Avenue in Cedar Rapids for about as long as I can remember. I think I even tried to go in there once, MANY years ago as a minor, out looking for entertainment whilst "cruising" First Ave. Little did I know that I'd one day work mere blocks from the place, and be appreciative, nay, enamored by the wonderful offerings of their kitchen. 

"Iconic" - Use it when you can't think of any other adjectives

The Burger

My burger today was skillfully designed using the Sip's "Build Your Own Burger" template for beef-er-iffic success. Bacon Bun (like I'd say no to that!), 1/2 lb. burger (medium), pepperjack cheese, lettuce tomato, pickle, onion. 

SUCCESS begins here!

I won't go into a lot of detail about my burger, except to assure you, good reader, that it was delicious. Cooked to perfection with just a little pink in the middle, PLENTY of cheese to ensure cheese and burger mingling with every bite, and a bacon bun providing JUST enough tangy, smoky saltiness to enhance every morsel, PLUS just enough veggies on top to give it just enough crunch and coolness to really bring out the flavor. Additionally, the scourge of Iceberg lettuce appeared to have missed the Sip, as each burger was served with a full leaf of what I believe was the vastly superior variety of Romaine lettuce (but only when lettuce was requested of course!). 

Captain Willy Redbeard's Bacon Bunned Burger

Now, as I stated, 20 people attended, and at this writing, 15 people have responded to the survey. Of those, 100% had the burger, and there were no bar sammich's this week.  Those responses gave the Sip N Stir's burger a score of 8.47/10, a new HIGH SCORE  for the CR Burger Tour. WELL DONE SIP!!! 

It should be pointed out as well that many people had bacon on their burger (either pepper bacon or whiskey bacon). Both were positively commented on (in person and on the surveys) many times, and added quite a bit to the overall burger experience! 

Comments this week included: 

• Burger with pepperjack and a bacon bun. LOTS of cheese, cooked "medium" as most people ordered.
• Burger was better than most, maybe a little large for lunch but should not complain, priced nicely.
• Huge patty half pounder. cooked to order. Very juicy birger. the bacon...whiskey bacon was the best ever. this is the best to date for me. fixins were fresh.
• This burger was delicious. The bun and bacon made this burger for sure. The whiskey bacon was phenomenal and was surprisingly sweet with a very powerful taste.
• Loved the bacon bun. It was like a biscuit and I love biscuits. The whiskey bacon was really delicious as well. The meat on the burger was juicy but not too juicy.
•  I think the thing that I enjoyed most about the burger was the bun, it was very delicious and bacony. Also the burger itself was rather large and juicy which was nice.

Fries

Usually, when we do this, most folks order fries. I ask people to rate "the sides", but it usually ends up being fries. Today seemed to be an exception, as there was a mix of fries, onion rings, cottage cheese, and potato salad. Got to hand it to the Sip for offering variety! Sides received a score of 6.83/10. 

Comments included:

• Fries. Standard shoestring potatoes. Good, but not great, I tend to prefer a crinkle cut.
• Onion Rings, large real onions, fried in light oil. Better than most.
• Had homemade potato salad, it was good but could have used a bit more flavor.
• The homemade chips were stupendous.
• Really good cottage cheese garnished with ripe tomato pieces...very large serving.
• Cottage cheese - It was too lumpy and plain. Not sure where they got this...a dumpster? Thankfully the burger compensated for the side big time.
• They were decent fries nothing special, not to good not to bad. I did have two onion rings though which I would have given a 7 as they were very delicious.

Service

We had two servers today who were very competent. Tables were arranged for us quickly, drink orders were taken and refilled quickly, food orders were taken in a rapid, efficient manner, and everyone's bill was delivered and processed in a reasonable length of time (note to group, bring cash to these things, small bills, tip appropriately!). 

I should tell you that I have a small "in" at the Sip, and had let them know we were coming: "12+ people, ordering burgers, be prepared". They knew we were coming, and I got some feedback from their staff afterwards. I want to share it as I feel it REALLY speaks to the excellent customer service that the Sip offers. Normally, the Sip handles 25-30 lunch orders, today they took on 62. The cook, " felt bad about having to sacrifice presentation for service, but when she found out y'a'll were ON your lunch hour, not just popping in, she said just get em served so they can get back to work! She also said she was excited and flattered that you all came, because it will give us an honest, fair assessment of the restaurant."

I'm going to include the Service rating, but I don't want anyone to get TOO worked up about it. We were a BOMB, dropped on their staff, and they did a good job getting us all fed, watered, and out the door. I have no complaints with them! Service was given a 6.73/10. 

Comments:

• Service was slow, burgers came out at an inconsistent rate. Giving them a pass on this since there were a BUNCH of us, we all ordered the same thing. Orders were mostly accurate and checks were handled quickly.
• 20 people but they were still quick and happy
• Staff was slow but the server was hot and not openly irritated at the ambush of 20-ish people
• Great service, they were quick and responsive. We had quite a few people and they handled it well i thought.
• For having a large party our server handled things fantastically. She was on the ball with orders, refills, and our checks...which was impressive for 20 people dividing up bills.
• They were very accomodating to our big party.

Decor

One of the neatest aspects of the Sip is the classic vinyl album covers that decorate the walls. Nothing contemporary here, this is what's left of the music that your parents or grandparents listened to. 

At least it's not yet another bar, with yet another Iowa Hawkeye banner hanging inside. 

Wayne Newton, Elvis, Don Ho, Frank and Nancy Sinatra. Classics. 

Conclusion

And finally, we come to the recommendation portion of this week's entry! Would you eat here, or recommend it to others? This week, we awarded Sip N Stir a 4.27/5. 

Final Comments:

• Atmosphere was good, burger was the best I've had so far. Price was less than previous spots but quality was way higher.
• Amazing juicy burger with a crispy bacon bun and crunchy, sweet, cripsy whiskey bacon. What's not to LOVE!!!
• Waitress was great, kitchen was slow. Overall a great lunch, especially since there was no iceberg lettuce!!! :-P