The Return of the Burger Tour!: Irish Democrat

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.