What To Have

My parents were in town this weekend, so Saturday morning I showed them around town, and gave them the tour of all things John Deere.  We ended up being in Downtown Moline around lunch time, so I took them to the Bier Stube for lunch.

If you haven’t made your way to the Bier Stube, it is a German restaurant with locations in Downtown Moline and the Village of East Davenport.  They have one of the largest selections of German beers I’ve seen in a long time.  They also have a biergarten behind the place that is awsome on a nice afternoon.

 Mom and dad both had the bratwurst with red cabbage and German potato salad.  The both said their food was spectacular. 

 I had a sandwich from the lunch menu called the “Gut Bomb” (pronounced Goot - the German version of “good”).  The Gut Bomb is a Polish Sausage and Roast beef on a hoagie roll, topped with hot peppers and melted cheese.  It was awsome.    I had the red cabbage and German potato salad as well.  The cabbage was sweet, and the potato salad warm and creamy.  I definetly recommend it if you are ever in the area for lunch.

For a look at their full menu, chech out their website:

http://www.bier-stube.com/home.html

-Sean

This is a little guide that Matt (from What to Have -Raleigh)  and myself have put together as a guide for eating out from our experiences.  Keep these couple of things in mind when eating out, and you’ll have a great experience.

1) Sit at the bar

If you are at a restaurant that you plan to visit fairly often, this allows you the chance to build a relationship with the bar staff. Most restaurants have 2 or 3 bartenders that cover all the time that the place is open and anywhere from 3-20 wait staff. Each time you go to the restaurant, the chances of getting the same wait(er)(ress) is slim. The chances of dealing with the same person behind the bar are high. This allows you to get to know them, and more importantly get to know you. They will learn what you like, what you don’t like, and how to make you happy.

2) Tip well, you cheapskate

I tip a minimum of 20%. (Generally because I’m terrible at math and that’s easy to figure out). Remember, the federal minimum wage for tipped employees is $2.13 an hour. No, that isn’t a typo, in a 40 hour week, most wait staff make about $85 from their employer. They make the money they live off of from tips. Most of these people have a family to feed, so if you think the service is good let them know…show them the money. Waitstaff remember people who tip well. If you want good service at a restaurant you frequent, this is the best way to get it.

3) Ask about the specials

You ever have a job where you did the same 5 things over and over again all day? You remember how boring it was? Chef’s probably feel the same way about cooking the same entrees from their menu that changes infrequently at most places. The specials are usually ways for them to stretch their legs and try new things. Generally, I find that these dishes can be awesome surprises.

4) Have “Your Place”

Find a place you really like. Visit there at least once a week for a month or so. Introduce yourself to the owner/bartender/manager. Follow steps 1-3. By the end of the month, you have more than likely made this restaurant “Your Place”.

“Your Place” will cook you special meals. “Your Place” may comp you food or drink. “Your Place” likes you being there and takes care of you.

Next time you are out and about, keep these tips in mind, and you may find that they improve the service you get and make your visit more enjoyable.

–Sean

Welcome to the site. The idea behind this site is to write reviews of food at different restaurants in the Quad Cities.  

I am a recent transplant to the area, and some friends and I had a similar website for Raleigh, NC.  Since we all lived in downtown Raleigh. we usually ate and spent our free time in the area as well. Friends were always asking us where to go for different occasions, so we thought we’d write about where we ate and hung out. 

 Now that I’m living in the Quad Cities, I’ll take the same idea, and will be writing about where I eat and handg out here.  I’m going to focus mainly on the positive experiences I have. I’m not out to bash any establishments because honestly most of the reviews out their focus on what was wrong with a place, and not what was right.  So, most of what you read will be excellent reviews, but if I have a multiple bad experiences in one place, I’ll write about that as well.

With that said, if anyone has any ideas of where I should try in town, pleave me a comment and I’ll try it out.

-Sean