Non-Burger Post

If you need something to do on May 23, the Kennedy High School Symphony would appreciate your support. Thanks! 

It's my blog, I'll post what I want! 

Irish Democrat - 5/1/14

MAYDAY MAYDAY!

We've got a situation brewing here at the Burger Tour. Seems one of our staffers was caught on tape (not the intern thank god, you don't wanna know what THAT GUY is into), in a somewhat compromising situation, and that tape went viral. You've no doubt heard about it, perhaps seen it, it's been quite the scandal du jour.

Rest assured, we're taking steps to ban this person for life, along with their children, and their children's children. For three weeks. We'll also be forcing them, via a majority vote of our various and diverse shareholders, to divest their share of all Burger Tour ownership and revenues. It's OK folks, we'll make the bad man go away, and everything will be OK again.

Yeah, it was pretty much just like this. It's good to be the King. 

Not really. We'd never make someone sell out because of a scandal involving a red head in pigtails. Can't blame a guy, her dad is mad crazy rich and a pretty decent fella to boot. We're not the Taliban, we're the Burger Tour!! And besides, I'm not even using "Mayday" in the proper context. May Day, May 1st, is actually an ancient northern festival that celebrates the German holiday of who gives a rat's ass. Tell us about the burger. 


Irish Democrat

Irish Democrat, aka "The ID", like many of our stops, is located on 1st Avenue in Cedar Rapids. It's a quality establishment that has stood the test of time. In fact, as we found out, the bar opened on May 1, 1984. As luck would have it, we were there on the day of their 30th anniversary. There was swag. The Burger Tour loves swag. 

Stuff We All Get

Free Babies!!! Let's hear it for the Swag Wagon!! 

I also feel it's important to note that the property that The ID occupies today is important, nay, sacred ground for me, your MC, your ring leader, your burgermeister, if you will. Before it was the ID, lo those many years ago, the bar was known as "The Web". And, if family legend holds true, it's the bar where my parents met at. So, no Web, no Captain Willy Redbeard, no Burger Tour. All hail, or curse, the bar that led to my eventual conception. Huzzah! 

Recreation of my parent's meeting. Historically accurate, classy, and multi-ethnic to boot! 

The ID is open daily at 11 (11:30 on Sunday for you church types). The bar itself is decorated with an assortment of antiques and other old timey hang on the wall type stuff, which is always popular in these types of establishments. Among the memorabilia is a wide variety of campaign paraphernalia from 50+ years worth of various state and national Democratic candidates. Even if you don't agree with the party's platform, the history that's displayed on the walls inside is always interesting. 

The ID offer's a full menu that includes salads, ribs, burgers, sandwiches and more. And, let me just add a shameless plug: The Cheese Wontons are  a MUST HAVE!!!


The Burger
An even dozen of us showed up for our reviewing duties. Not everyone ate, some were mere well wishers who wanted to bask in the ambiance and greatness of who we are and what we represent. Or perhaps it was the lure of 2 for 1 drinks at Happy Hour. Whatever the motivation, we were happy to see them! 

Blurry bacon cheeseburger. Note the "frilled sandwich pick", always a good sign!

Of the 12, 8 of us shared the results of the day.  For the Irish Democrat - the burger received, was given, earned, awarded a score of 6.38/10. 

Comments on the burgers:

• Burger with crusted maytag blue cheese and pepper jack cheese. I have had it in the past and I remember it being better. The burger seemed a bit small and the bun big. Mine was a little under cooked to medium but that is how I usually like it anyway

• I had the Cuban burger. american cheese, grilled ham, swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickle and onion. The burger was good. Someone mentioned that it reminded them of burger kings flame broiled burgers.. I would have to agree. - I don't know if this is a good thing, or a bad thing.

• Got a patty melt. The meat was unremarkable, and the bun was a little over-toasted. Not bad though.

• If you love the KING, you will worship this burger. Charbroiled like a boss. Asked for Medium and received medium. Classic burger king kind of taste but slightly elevated with the condiments and bun. Meat was seasoned nicely and bacon crisped to near perfection.

• Burger was OK, fairly juicy but not a lot of flavor.

• Bacon Cheeseburger. It was largely uninspired. It was fine, just nothing special about it. Better than a 5, not a 7, so a 6.

Bacon cheeseburger, under the hood. 

Fries & Sides

I do believe the sampled sides were limited to the standard crinkle cut fries, and cottage cheese. Sides as a whole received a 6.57/10, but I suspect the numbers may be skewed due to some weird fetishization of the Cottage Cheese.  

Bacon Cheeseburger attempting to devour the cottage cheese. Note the destroyed plate of nachos. 

Comments: 

• The cottage cheese was creamy, with just the right sized curds. I will dream of this cottage cheese until the day I die.
• Again, the cottage cheese was ridiculously delicious. Of course, I was starving and waiting for my damn ketchup and mayo for the burger so I indulged in the 80% fat cottage cheese gravy.
• Fries. Crinkle cut. Good. - You cannot argue with the wordsmithing that went into this verbose and adjective laden description. 
• Crinkle cut fries. I love crinkle cut, but these were just, meh.
• Very average fries. Nothing to brag about here.

The Cuban Burger, under the hood. 

Service

Not sure what happened in the service department today. Maybe we were sitting in the bar area, and should have been in the dining area. Maybe we were too early. Maybe we were rude. Maybe our server didn't like us. Service received a 4.25/10. Ouch. 

Comments: 

• The server seemed to forget that silverware, napkins, condiments, etc would have been nice to accompany the otherwise good food that was served. The 2 for 1 drink specials were the highlight of the evening.
• The girl was very rude. Acted like we were a bother and wasn't very attentive
• Very slow. Although, I probably should give a higher mark considering I ordered 2 beers and was only charged for 1. Yes, that's a 4 for 1 happy hour for this guy.
• Lots of folks commented on the lack of napkins, ketchup/mustard, cutlery.

Conclusion

While Irish Democrat didn't hit it out of the park, I think it's worth noting that the place does have a sizable fan base here in town, has been around for a long time, and will likely continue to be one of Cedar Rapids more popular, better than a chain restaurant, bar and grille. Despite the average numbers on the burger, I will definitely be eating here again, and I think the group agreed with me. 

Would you eat here again, or recommend it to others? Irish Democrat earned a 3.88/5.

Final Comments:

• Its a bar and its pretty good bar food. The nachos that were ordered were pretty tasty. I like the old time décor.
• Always liked the ID. With all the new bars/restaurants opening up it hasn't offered anything that makes this a MUST STOP place anymore.. Other than the wontons.
• Atmosphere was good, very comfortable, but that was due to the company present. The wait staff seemed interested, but unprepared for a group of 5 or more.
• The atmosphere is always great at the ID. The price was not bad either! I only paid 14$ for my beer and burger and tip was included as well since we had a big group. Not too shabby.

Couldn't have been too bad  - looks like we managed to choke 'em down. 

Dublin City Pub - 7/31/13

So it's come to my attention that, sometimes, I may lay the sarcasm on a little thick. No, it's true. I don't know when to back off, I don't know when a jokes run it's course. So, if I should have offended anyone at Burger Tour today, by perhaps insinuating that they had less than ample love for people of color and of differing national origins, than I truly apologize to those whom I have offended. 

That said, I will continue to refer to Canada, our "Neighbor of the North" as "America's Hat". 

On a happier note:

GUESS.

WHAT.

DAY.

IT.

IS???

It's Hump Day! Which of course, this week, also makes it Burger Tour Wednesday! 


DUBLIN CITY PUB

Dublin City Pub, is located on 1st Street in downtown Cedar Rapids. The location has been home to a number of bars and restaurants over the years, notably "Charlie's on the River" and also "Muddy Waters". The latest incarnation in this location is of course Dublin City. You can read all about their history on their webpage, I'm not in a plagiarizing mood today. Something about marrying an Irish theme to a bar, well...that just makes sense. Good sense. Good Irish sense! 


The Burger

Today, a dozen or so folks made the trek to Dublin City, to see how their burgers stacked up against the rest of the local competition. As far as I am aware, there were 3 different burgers ordered:

• The Shannon Burger - Mushroom n' Swiss. I have fought valiantly against this glorified sloppy joe, yet it just keeps showing up. I give up, the Mushroom n' Swiss may be considered fair game, but damn it, at least be honest about it. 
• The Kerry Burger - Bleu Cheese, bacon, and chipotle mayo. Pretty fancy, hoity toity, pinky finger out whilst sipping tea with the Queen. 
• The DCP Burger - Served on a Kaiser bun with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle, and your choice of cheese. Do you see this? DO YOU??? THIS IS THE STANDARD by which all other burgers should be measured. 

Enough burger based ranting. That guy never shuts up. With six surveys submitted, we award Dublin City a 7.25/10 for their burgers. It should be noted that this represents only 4 votes, as 2 people enjoyed Bar Sammich's today. Bar Sammich's were awarded an 8.5/10. 

As presented. All the proper toppings artfully arranged, and a big heap of waffle fries! Some folks had a frilled sandwich pick; alas, I was not so lucky. 

Comments on the burgers:

• Standard: bun, burger, cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, ketchup and mustard. Nice sized piece of meat. Seemed juicy and fresh, not greasy, overdone, dried out or burnt anywhere. It was delicious :) I have no complaints. 
• Feels like I've had this before...except one other place..

There were no comments on the Bar Sammich's. 

The classic "under the hood" pose, made famous by the CR Burger Tour. 

Fries & Sides

I want to point out that Dublin City offered, in my opinion, a wide variety of sides to compliment their burgers. Regular fries, waffle fries, cheesy fries, onion rings, Irish potato salad, and I'm sure there was probably cottage cheese (ugh!) in the mix there somewhere. Fries and sides were given a 5.5/10. 

Comments: 

 

• Waffle fries. Good, but not great.
• I had waffle fries. Love waffle fries :) Most of them were perfect. Over time they got cold and hard. (That's what she said...I mean....you need to eat faster!)
• Cottage cheese....tried to dress it up a bit...still cottage cheese in the end though (<---This!!!)

Service

Now, as I've said, I always try to give the service at these places the benefit of the doubt. We drop in, usually unannounced, and expect them to treat us the same as their regular lunch crowd. Most places do a pretty good job. Dublin City did an EXCEPTIONAL job, and was given an 8.17/10, which MIGHT be a Burger Tour high score for service!!

• Fast, courteous and split up our meal and check for us!
• Awesome! They pushed together three tables right away, no wait. Took our drink orders immediately. Food came out within a decent time frame for a group of 14/15 people. She made sure we had any extra condiments, napkins etc. They took our trays away promptly when we were done eating, brought our checks and change. Great job girls!

Conclusion

By the numbers themselves, Dublin City has earned a spot in our Top 5. HOWEVER, much like the baseball accomplishments of Sammy Sosa and Mark McGuire, I feel compelled to note an asterisk next to the score, as only 4 votes went into this. So, we'll allow it, but we should probably give their burger another try one day, just to be sure! 

Would you eat here again, or recommend it to others? Dublin City earned a 4.5/5.

Final Comments:

• I really like the atmosphere of the place. For an Irish bar I would like to see Irish whiskey on the walls...nothing really exciting though. I had high hopes on the burger, fixings were really fresh...in the end though same burger..different place.
• They give you plenty of food. Large sized burgers/sandwiches, big pile of a side and a pickle. More than you can eat at one sitting, if you do eat it all you're stuffed. Nice large glasses for drinks, less waiting on the server to refill because it takes quite some time to get to the bottom of it. Nice clean atmosphere. Laid back. Plenty of TVs to catch the latest news. Lots of yummy options on the menu. This is one of my favorite places to eat :)

You can trust us! We're experts in all things experting. 

3rd Base Brewery - 7/11/13

WELCOME BACK loyal reader to the best damned blog about burgers this side of the Mississippi. I don't know who you are, but I'm glad you showed up. We've been out of the burger game for awhile due to things like "work" and "family" and "court ordered community service", but that's now all behind us, and we are free to patronize businesses that serve both food AND alcohol, even if societal mores dictate that we not imbibe due to the hour of the day.

Mental note Einstein, next time you go to the brewpub to review the burger, perhaps you should do it at a time of day when it would be feasible to actually drink one of the many beers that are brewed on site. 

It should be pointed out that this week marks the 1st anniversary of the Burger Tour. It was one year ago this week that my friends, co-workers, well-wishers and various hangers on and lickspittles chose to join me in the quest for Cedar Rapids best burger at Al's Red Frog. In that year, we've managed to review 15 different burgers, and I have high hopes for the 2nd year as well. 

3rd Base brewery

3rd Base Brewery, located on Blairs Ferry Road, is the first and only brewery to be located in Cedar Rapids since the madness of Prohibition was struck from our nations laws. That other place on 1st Avenue has their wort delivered by truck, and finished on site, so it doesn't count as an actually brewery, in this blogger's opinion. I have enjoyed many of the beers that they offer, but as stated, I was not able to enjoy one today, nor are we here to discuss beer, tasty tasty beer. 

3rd Base offers a number of beers on tap, both their own and other breweries, and has a very good menu to choose from. As our review numbers indicate, it's a place worth checking out. 

The Burger

I chose to relax the draconian rules of the burger tour, and allowed people to order as they wished. I'm getting soft in my old age. I counted 16 total reviewers today, and I truly want to thank everyone for  coming out to keep this enterprise of ours moving forward. I could not do it without all of your input. 

OK...so...3rd Base Brewery, with 10 of 16 surveys submitted, has earned themselves 7/10, which earns them a spot in our current Top 5. Bravo! 

The Pub Burger, as presented. Note the careful alignment of the pickle slices , that there is QUAL-I-TEE!

Comments on the burgers themselves included:

• Bbq bacon burger. Hot fresh juicy, crisp bacon. Just awesome.
• Swiss and mushroom!!!!! Big thanks to the dictator for relaxing the rules. It was good! (The Dictator acknowledges your thanks, then subtly gestures to his guards to seize the traitor who dared to speak up!)
• Pub Burger. I neglected to get cheese, a decision I'll regret the rest of my days.
• Burger with pepper jack and bacon, ketchup, mustard. Burger was pretty good, was juicy without being greasy (unlike Starlite burger where i kept tasting the grease hours later).
• I had the mushroom and swiss burger with lettuce, tomato, pickle onion and BBQ sauce. The bun made the burger huge so i decided to take the top part off and that left me with a soggy bottom... ;)
• Had the cheese head burger. The meat was very tender and good flavor with lots of cheese but the bun killed it. The bun was to big and dry. If it were not for the bun it would have been a very good burger.

Some assembly required.

Fries & Sides

Fries were given a 7.18/10. Again, pretty respectable. The fries were shoestring, which are not my favorite, but they were hot, fresh, lightly seasoned, and quite good. Based on comments, it sounds like enjoyed a wide variety of sides, and pretty much everyone was satisfied. Comments:

• Seasoned fries were hot and very good.
• Onion Rings, done just right, very good
• Love the homemade chips! Salty, crunchy and delicious.
• Potato wedge. Crisp and hot, didn't taste like they've been sitting for hours
• Green beans-fresh and cooked just right-good flavor. (Hippie)
• I had the brew city fries, the waitress described them as Arby's curly fries but straight which was pretty accurate. The weren't bad but nothing to write home about.
• Crinkle fries, they were meh.

Service

Despite the waitress being a little slow to get our orders taken, I thought she did a good job. 16 orders, all brought to the table in a reasonable length of time once the orders were actually taken. She kept my soda full, which is sometimes all I need to be made happy. Cheap date that I am. Service was given a 6.64/10. Comments:

• It took some time to get our food but I think mostly for the large group.
• Server was very nice but i did have to sit with an empty glass for about 5 minutes
• Big crowd so took longer than I liked but expected for as many people we had.
• Decent service. Liked that she brought the checks out right away after delivering the food so we didn't have to wait. (Ben's idea. Good show old man!)

Conclusion

All told, a pretty successful stop on the tour following the hiatus. I need to make a point of getting back to 3rd Base sooner, rather than later, and try one of the tasty tasty beers I mentioned. 

Would you eat here again, or recommend it to others? We rated 3rd Base a 4/5. 

Final Comments:

• Nickelodeon on in a bar? 4 TVs tuned to static - epic fail
• If it was not lunch I would have sampled some micro brew.
• Typically good beerz for after work.
• Fix your satellite or turn the TV's off that were scrambled
• Good atmosphere, could have had better selection of TV stations or TVs that actually worked and possibility of a bigger table. Took quite awhile to get our food, but was a large group. I liked the large selections of sides and actually had a healthy option. Would be nice if they offered whole wheat buns. All in all very good. (I need to figure out who the hippie is.....)