The Vine, in Coralville

For lunch we headed over to The Vine in Coralville.

It's been a long time, so long that I can't even remember the last time, since either of us have eaten at the Vine in Coralville. I happened to eat at the one in Iowa City earlier this summer and was less than impressed. Thus I was entering the venue with less than hopeful expectations.

The Vine is a sports bar first and foremost. With its location so close to both the basketball arena and the football stadium, it's a favorite for many sports fans. Plenty of Hawkeye garb hangs from the ceiling and from the seat I was sitting at I had a view of nine different flat screen tv's....and there were more on the other side of the restaurant. For your real sports fanatics I guess.

I was surprised to realize that as our waitress took our order, this was the first time we'd been asked on the Tour of Burgers how we'd like our burgers cooked! We both went for the medium rare not actually expecting there to be any pink in the burgers at all (as a general rule I've found that most places will cook your meat one step up from what you actually order). I went with the Sourdough Jo - beef patty served on sourdough bread with asiago, swiss and mozzarella cheese, and caramelized onions and mushrooms. Bryan went with the California Jo - beef patty served up with swiss, bacon and guacamole.

We were happily surprised when our burgers arrived. Not only was the service quick for how full the place seemed to be...but there was pink in our burgers! What small things can make one so happy.

We spoke very little as we devoured these tasty, tasty burgers, both of us shaking our heads in disbelief at how damn good they were. We both give The Vine in Coralville a big two thumbs up. And they get bonus points for recovering so quickly and so well from this summer's flood. If you've not been to the Vine in awhile, it's time to head back!

As a side note, for any of you Boulevard Brewing Company fans, there's a seasonal beer on tap at The Vine right now, the Nutcracker Ale... I also highly recommend giving this a taste test, I was again pleasantly surprised.

Stay tuned for more burger adventures as the Tour of Burgers continues!

Iowa's Best Burger Cafe

After a brief hiatus from burger eating (even the best of us need a little break from burgers!), we ventured a little ways out of our originally designated zone. On the way to my parents' house for pre-Thanksgiving celebrations, we found ourselves at Iowa's Best Burger Cafe, a tiny little hole in the wall joint located discretely inside a gas station. Yes, you heard me right folks, a gas station. Just off I-80 at the Kellogg exit (#173) to be exact. So that puts this little terrific burger cafe about 70 miles west of Iowa City. From the interstate, the most recognizable landmark is the Camp Here sign high in the air.

We went inside to find a cute little cafe area in the back of the gas station. A gal who appeared to be working there told us to have a seat and she would come take our order.

We both went with the #7 with cheese - a 1/2 lb burger with fries and a 20 oz soda, all for $5.39.

We took a few minutes to look around the place. Very quaint and quite cute. Decorated with olde tymey water colors meant to bring back memories of the good old days.

Within 10 minutes our burger baskets arrived on our table and the juicy fragrance filled our noses. It was all I could do to get some photos in before we chowed down! Plus, when was the last time someone brought not only ketchup and mustard but a bottle of mayonnaise to your table with your burger? Mmmmm.....

As for the burger itself...oh my, where to start? The 1/2 pounder was really two 1/4 slabs of meat fried up to perfection on one of those grilling machines.

(See the little silver machine to the right of the refrigerator? That's the grilling/frying machine). The meat was stacked on a pillowy white bun and topped with tomato, lettuce, onion and pickle. And it was heavenly, just heavenly. I don't think Bryan and I actually talked to each other during the whole consumption process except for a few grunts of happiness. We could not have been more pleased with this cafe!

When we went to pay at the cash register, we were greeted with the story of Iowa's Best Burger Cafe:

And even better, this is the only gas station/cafe I've even encountered that has TWO single stall women's restrooms and only one men's. Ha ha ha ha!!

I don't know that this will be this will end up being our "Ultimate Burger", but right now as far as I'm concerned, it tops the list. Is it worth driving 70 miles out of Iowa City for this burger? Well, I guess that depends on just how much you like your burgers, but if you're passing by the area, definitely give this place a go, you won't be disappointed!

The Mill

This week's stop on the Tour of Burgers was The Mill.


The Mill is well known for its hosting of a variety of music events. More nights than not you're likely to see a great band playing in the back room. It's also a popular college hang out. One of the clubs I was in as an undergrad always held its meetings there over beers.



We happened to be at the Mill a couple weeks ago and noticed they have a burger basket special as part of their happy hour and decided to check it out.



We arrived shortly after the 5 o'clock whistle, bundled again against the cold rain. We ordered a pitcher of beer and our burger baskets...we both got cheddar cheese and the burger came with lettuce and tomato with fries on the side. The burgers arrived in due time and the baskets were appetizing on first glance.

But taking off the bun to add ketchup and mustard revealed this...

..a tiny little piece of meat that doesn't even come close to filling the bun. Sadly it tasted almost as good as it looked... The tiny burger was grilled to a level of "well done" that can only be classified as crispy. The fries were pretty ok and made up partially for the bad burger.

You may have noticed on the happy hour specials they also listed $3.50 pitchers of PBR. The only way I think anyone should get this burger basket is if you're a poor college student who doesn't really care about taste and who doesn't get heartburn from PBR. Get yourself a burger basket and a PBR pitcher, and for under $10 you can have a relatively full belly and a decent beer buzz. If however you're like us, don't waste your time on the burger basket at the Mill...get the pizza!

George's Buffet

Friday night we bundled up against the cold and the blowing snow and biked on down to George's Buffet, the third stop on the Tour of Burgers.

We arrived to a mostly full bar and were greeted by one of my favorite bartenders, Helen (she helped me celebrate in fine style my 30th birthday, and for that I'll never forget her!).

We placed our orders for beers and burgers and shortly thereafter three of our friends, Andrea, Dawn and Ryan, showed up to join us.

We sipped and chatted, but the big moment arrived when our burgers, wrapped in white paper, showed up on our table.

There is something so simple, so classic about a George's cheeseburger...the beef, grilled to perfection (actually it's probably fried) garnished with ketchup, mustard, pickle, onion, garlic, and of course cheese, on a fluffy pillow-white bread bun with sesame seeds on top...it nearly melts in your mouth with tasty goodness. Nothing fancy about it, but somehow George's burgers will always be one of my favorite burgers in town.

Stay tuned next week for our newest adventure: The Mill.

Mickey's

Tracy and I recently went to Mickey's to add their burgers to the tour, as we are never disappointed by their burgers. That said, I ordered a burger with bacon and pepper cheese, Tracy had bleu cheese bacon burger. Both were ample servings of beef and proportional-sized bun. Lots of tasty crinkle cut fries to boot. Mine was devoured in 3 minutes due to tastiness and the fear of roving wolves who might try and steal my food (Tracy is never able to get good shots of my food because of this). Tracy ate slower... she lost a fry in the process.

Service was decent for the time we went, we juuuust got in before a big rush so we got seats immediately. The full bar makes for a good combo with your meal, burger and beers. There are also several other burger selections that make a repeat visit a must. A recomendation from past burgers... Cream Cheese... sound odd? TRY IT... you will not be disappointed.

First Stop on the Tour - Short's Burger & Shine

Today marks the first day of our Tour of Burgers. As we were both free for lunch, we headed to Short's Burger and Shine, a new restaurant in town that serves only burgers (please note that sadly this has taken the place of the former Baldy's). And as you know, you're really no one in downtown Iowa City unless you have a really big awning.


They have really redone the inside of the place, it looks really nice, very dark, but nice. They've moved the service area to the back of the shop so the front area is really opened up.

We arrived just before the noon rush and got our orders in as quickly as possible. Bryan went with a make your own combo - cheeseburger with bacon. I decided on the Eldorado - burger with guacamole, sour cream, salsa, pepper jack cheese and all the normal toppings. I have to admit I was a little bit surprised that a place that specializes in burgers didn't even ask us how we wanted them cooked, but it was lunch rush and people were starting to pack the joint.

Although it's hard to read from the menu picture, Short's also offers five different combos of black bean burgers. One of their other big boasts is "hand cut fries" and buns specially made for them by a local bakery - the Bread Garden.

We received our food in a reasonable amount of time. Our food was relatively tasty. You could tell the buns were super fresh, but they were also bigger than the hamburger, and part of getting the whole thing right is having the proper meat to bread ratio going on. The hand cut fries were also fresh, but a little bit on the soggy side...maybe they should have stayed in the fryer just a wee bit longer.

Overall we thought this new place was worth trying again...maybe next time the fries won't be quite so soggy and with so many different options maybe we'll find a better experience there next time.