Tornado's - 10/16/12

Fun Fact:  Bürgermeister: (Burgomeister, literally master of the town, borough or master of the fortress, Bürgermeister is german for Mayor) is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief magistrate or chairman of the executive council of a sub-national level of administration. All contemporary titles are commonly translated into English as Town Mayor. 

Henceforth, Captain Willy Redbeard would like to be known as "Master of the Fortress". Thank you. 

TORNADO's

Tornado's is a medium sized bar located in Cedar Rapids NewBo District. Established in 2000, they've been on my radar as a place that makes a quality burger. The flood of 2008 likely hit them hard, and I was pleasantly surprised to see them return, in a neighborhood that doesn't have a lot of other business' nearby. 

The Tornado's Story

The Burger

Tornado's offers a menu of 5 or 6 solid burgers, named the FU (or is it F0, I'm not sure), F1, F2, F3, F4, and F5. These are named after the Fujita Scale, which is employed to measure the severity of a tornado based upon the damage that it causes. But of course, I'm sure you already knew that. 

As Presented

My burger today was the F2, American Cheese, iceberg lettuce, tomato, mayo, ketchup and mustard. Standard build for an official Burger Tour burger. My burger was prepared in a reasonable length of time, perfectly cooked, and MAN does it look tasty! It had excellent flavor, very good, but not exceedingly great. 

I gave the burger a 7, the group mostly agreed, as the summary score (13 people attended, 9 submitted burger surveys) is a 7.25/10. 

Under the hood

Comments this week included: 

• The burger itself was really good, not over cooked or under cooked and not too dry nor did it make my bun soggy. The bun was big but not too hearty. It looked like it was freshly made and it was a nice surprise.
• Very good. The outside of the burger had a good singe on it to hold in the juices so they didn't soak into the bun. Wouldn't have minded to be asked how I wanted it prepared, though, as it was well done.
• Likes: cooked perfectly. condiments looked fresh. Dislikes: bun bigger than burger. Burger temperature was not very warm
• Good taste and filling! The bun was good.. And is part of the burger per Burger Time.
• The bun was warm and crispy. The burger was 1/2 pound and cooked to order perfectly. I like the slight pepper seasoning taste. You could tell it wasn't a frozen patty like some other establishments.
• It was a good burger, not too hot, not too cold, not too juicy, not too dry - just right. The patty held together well without being dry.

We also had one Bar Sammich, I believe the F4 burger. Burger Tour is of course about the best burger and not the best toppings on the burger, but I know all too well the siren call of too many spicy, greasy toppings atop a grilled patty. This is why we also rate "bar sammich's", separate from the burgers themselves. The lone Bar Sammich was rated a 6.0/10. Comments included:

• F4 Hot - not spicey hot at all. Burger, cheese, canadian bacon, bacon, BBQ and hot sauce.

Fries

Sides this week were once again mostly fries, with at least one order each onion rings. Sides were given a 6.67/10, with 9 responses. 

Comments included:

• I had fries and they were good, just not great. The fries had pepper on them which is different, but it wasn't that noticable taste wise.
• The fries had good seasoning on them, so they weren't just the same old thing.
• Onion rings - nice and crispy
• Fries. Did not like the sprinkling of pepper on fries. Did not like that pickle was sitting on top of fries.
• Peppered bar fries, crispy and hot. Best fries so far!
• Fries. Good quantity, lightly seasoned and tasty.

Service

Service was rated between 4 and 9, with an average score of 6.44/10. 

Comments:

• Service was good. Food came out surprisingly fast. My pop tasted funny when it was refilled, so I'm not sure if they poured me the right pop or not.
• Good service. I ran out of pop at the end and didn't get a refill, though.
• Waitress was very courteous
• Server was friendly and attentive. She made a few mistakes and was a bit frazzled when it was time to pay. Although she was very friendly and kept our glasses full, she did not make eye contact.
• My soda tasted "off", and I was given reg. pepsi instead of diet on the refill. The refill wasn't real quick either, plus too much ice in the soda.
• The waitress was very nice and provided quick service. We received our food quickly for our size group.

Owner Input

A new, feature here at the tour is Owner Input. One of our reviewers, a newly self professed "burgersnob" had a chance to speak with Tom, the owner of Tornado's. He suggested that, when we are not on the very important business of the tour, that people try:

• The highly regarded ribs, served lunchtime on Thursday and Friday they are served until gone

• Rib Reuben (the only place around you can get one of these)

• Bagel sandwich, which he eluded to being quite addictive

Thanks Tom! 

Conclusion

Rubber meats the road time! Would you eat here, or recommend it to others? Tornado's was given a score of 4.11/5.

Final Comments:

• I've been in this bar before, although it was sometime ago and I must say, it was a nice improvement. I liked the wood beam made up of abunch of 2X4's all attached together as well as the wood decor around the windows. Nice improvements!
• The last time I was in there it was pre-flood. The improvements since then were needed and actually make it feel like a place I would go back to now. Before it was very dingy and not a place you'd think about going for good food.
• Hadn't been there past flood. Was surprised how clean it was.. Flood actually did this place some good!
•  From the outside it looked a little sketchy but it looked brand new on the inside with plenty of seating.
• The place has really been improved since the flood!