Harris pizza – Rock Island Illinois

August 6, 2016

I kept reading about Quad City-style pizza, so I did a little more research and found out that these pizzas have malt in the crust, usually the sauce has chili flakes and is a tad spicy, the sausage is ground and goes under the cheese, and these pizzas are typically cut into strips instead of slices.  I also found that there were many places that have Quad city style pizzas.  So since this seemed like a popular thing to get in the area I figured we ought to try it out. From what I found it looked like Harris pizza has been around for quite a while so I figured it was the one to try. When we arrived they seated us pretty quickly and took our drink orders which mom and I both ordered Pepsi’s and dad got a Hanks root beer in a glass bottle which they also brought out a cup with ice. We looked at the menu for a little bit, but since a Quad cities pizza seemed like sausage was the most common type we quickly decided to just order a large sausage pizza. So soon after when our waitress returned that’s what we ordered. As we waited I thought this place seemed like it’s probably a very popular local pizza place.

 

We waited for a while and then our waitress brought plates and then not too long later our pizza was delivered.  It was quite big probably a 16 inch and cut in strips like Quad city style pizzas should be. Some of the strips were long which made them a little bit harder to eat but it was doable. The sausage was ground and under the cheese.  The sauce didn’t seem too different to me but tasted alright.  I thought my first try at a quad city pizza was good and we had a decent pizza, but I don’t think it was as different as it sounded, it basically tasted like a good pizza and it was just cut differently. I won’t exactly go out of my way for a quad city pizza, but I would be alright with eating another.

 

3903 14th Ave, Rock Island, IL 61201

Machine shed – Davenport Iowa

August 5, 2016

When we arrived the place was absolutely packed and they said a 30 to 45 minute wait so we figured we might as well wait. So we waited out front and checked out their tractors they have parked in front and watched them shuck corn. Eventually our buzzer went off and we headed in. When we finally got to our table we had quite a bit of time to look at the menu. I decided to get the two-piece fried chicken dinner with mashed potatoes and gravy ($9.99) and so did mom. Dad ordered the meatloaf dinner ($13.49). We had a waitress and a waitress in training. When we ordered the waitress in training made it sound like just me and mom got our choice of family-style sides.  The choices were coleslaw, cottage cheese or apples we chose coleslaw and apples. But they didn’t really ask dad what he wanted even though his dinner came with the same things, but I don’t think he wanted any of them anyways.

 

 

Soon after our waitress in training delivered a bowl of coleslaw and apples along with basket of bread was to our table.  I really enjoyed all of these, the bread was warm and homemade and I also enjoyed the apples which we had warm.  After we ate all this we were offered more, but we declined.  In a bit after this our meals arrived along with corn on the cob. 

 

The fried chicken was good, but I’ve definitely have had better.  The mashed potatoes and gravy were very good to go along with my meal.  The corn was very fresh and tasted very good, which you would expect in Iowa.  Mom I think thought about the same as I did. 

 

Dad’s meatloaf was piled high and he really enjoyed his meal.  At Machine shed you’ll get a good meal and won’t leave hungry all at a reasonable price.

Address: 7250 Northwest Blvd, Davenport, IA 52806

 

 

 

Cellar 19 Wine & Deli – Council Bluffs Iowa

August 5, 2016

On the second day of our trip we were driving from Lincoln, Nebraska to Davenport, Iowa and we stopped at this place in Council Bluffs, Iowa for lunch. At lunch this is an order at the counter place and I guess a sit-down place at night, but since we were there for lunch we went up to the counter.

 

 I ordered the cellar club which had oven roasted turkey, tavern ham, hickory smoked bacon, mild cheddar, lettuce, tomato, red onion and mayo on white bread with potato salad as a side,

 

Mom ordered the BLT on toasted wheat bread with potato salad

 

 

and dad ordered Mike’s melt which had tavern ham, Swiss, jalapenos and mustard on toasted marble rye bread with chips. After waiting for a bit our sandwiches were delivered. My sandwich was all right and it had everything you would expect in a club sandwich. This was a good sandwich but not much more than that. I really did enjoy the potato salad and thought it was one of the better potato salads I’ve had. It was a red potato salad with some bacon in it.  I thought it tasted really good. Everyone else thought their sandwiches were pretty good to.  This day we had a pretty good lunch although I most definitely had better sandwiches and I also thought it was a bit pricey for just sandwiches.

928 VALLEY VIEW DRIVE
COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA 51503

Ana’s Mexican Grill - Westminster, CO

July 16, 2016

 

First chips and salsa were delivered and our drink orders taken.  I thought the chips and salsa was very good.  

 

I had the #17 combo plate which included a crispy chile relleno, beef and bean burrito, and a cheese enchilada Dad also had the same #17 combo.  Mom had #16 combo with a crispy chile relleno, tamale, and a cheese enchilada. 

 

 

These combos came with rice and beans on another plate.  Both were I thought just alright.

 

I thought this was pretty good Mexican food, and would be happy to return. 

 

 

 

 

ANA'S Mexican Grill  

2821 W 120th Ave, Westminster, CO 80234

 

Brixx Wood Fired Pizza – Denver Colorado

June 13, 2016

Once again we stopped for an early dinner after an appointment and this night it was at Brixx Wood Fired Pizza.

I ordered the Americo pizza which was a basic pizza with sliced pepperoni, mozzarella with mushrooms and fresh tomato sauce ($ 8.95),

 

dad had the 4 x 4 pizza which had four cheeses: mozzarella, parmesan, gouda and goat cheese, & four meats: sausage, pepperoni, prosciutto and bacon ($11.95).  Dad really enjoyed this especially the bacon and the goat cheese which surprise me.  He thought it was one of the best pizzas he’s had.

Mom had the special pizza of the day which had spinach artichoke dip along with tomatoes and chicken.  I liked this place it definitely wasn’t the best pizza, but I would sure be happy to return and dad really would like to return.

Address: 8351 Northfield Blvd, Denver, CO 80238

Helga's German Restaurant & Deli - Aurora, CO

May 25, 2016



 

My parents and I stopped in for some German food for dinner on this night, we were a bit early so the place was mostly empty.  I ordered the breaded pork schnitzel, which came with two sides I choose Spaetzle and sauerkraut and a cup of soup and rye bread. 

 

 

The soup for this night was potato soup.  I really enjoyed this quite a bit.

 

The rye bread was very dry and I didn't care for it.

 

my pork schnitzel was pretty good, it was very thin and crispy.  I liked how the gravy was on the side so I could just dip pieces into the gravy and the schnitzel stayed crispy. The sauerkraut was alright, but was a bit sour for me after awhile, so I couldn't finish it. the Spaetzle was okay, kind of plain.  my dad had the fried potatoes which were very good and moms red cabbage which she didn't like to well, I thought was good and I liked it more than the sauerkraut.

I thought Helga's was alright, but there were some things I liked and some things I didn't like to well, so I thought it was pretty average.

Helga's German Restaurant & Deli

Address: Aurora City Square, 14197 E Exposition Ave, Aurora, CO 80012

Maria's New Mexican Kitchen – Santa Fe New Mexico

March 13, 2016

 

I had a tip from my pastor that this place was very good. So since we eat somewhere in Santa Fe every year on the way back from Phoenix we planned a stop. When we arrived it was not very full, but it did take a couple minutes for us to be seated.

 

Once we were our drink orders were taken and chips and salsa was delivered. I didn’t think the chips were all that good and the salsa tasted good, but it was a bit too hot for me. After a bit we ordered;

 

mom had green chile stew and dad and I both ordered the cheese enchilada plate Christmas style because I can’t ever decide if I want red or green chili, so I just usually get both. This also came with rice and beans and a sopapilla.

 

These enchiladas were blue corn stacked enchiladas like they should be in New Mexico. They were excellent to begin with but the red and green chili were both amazing on top with the perfect amount of heat. I don’t even want to try to pick a favorite I thought it was perfect with some of each the beans and rice were all right as well.

 

When we were about done our waiter brought out a fresh basket of sopapillas. I hadn’t had a sopapilla for quite a while and it was hot and delicious and perfect with the honey. This was a great meal to end our trip with and I would definitely go back and would recommend it to anybody that wants a good place for New Mexican food in Santa Fe.

 

 

 

Address: 555 W Cordova Rd, Santa Fe, NM 87505