The Middle Of The Road

Is there a private cul-de-sac? Let's find out.

I know. I know. I've been a lazy laggard for a few months. There is this sports complex over in Bettendorf with some newer joints to eat at. Located at Middle & Forest Grove Rd in northern Bettendorf.

https://www.tbkbanksportscomplex.com/

Among these places is


Foundry Drink + Tap
Cheesy Cow Mac & Eatery
Freshii
Subway
Oscars Pub
Nitrogen Ice Cream
Hurts Donuts

I just had to add this video. I mean who doesn't love donuts?

And last but not least. A new Van's Pizza. This locale is strictly a carry out operation.

https://vanspizzaandmoreia.com/

Full confession time. We got a Van's gift card for a Christmas present. So we might as well check it out. I mean free pizza is a good thing.

The Bettendorf location has a picture of the menu on their website.

So it's Saturday the 28th of December and a real crummy weather day outside. But it has been awhile since we ventured forth for pizza. And well the holidays just seem to consume cubic dollars.


So we ordered some pizza we thought was going to be free(more on that later) and hopped in the car.

Cheers! It's been kind of a rough year and here's hoping the new year turns out better.

This Bettplex area we cruised around to see what we could see. I did mention the weather is foggy and crappy.

I did not get any inside pics of Van's.

Home and the pizza on the counter.

We ordered a Taco,Sausage and Pepperoni and a double Sausage and Onion. We got a free order of bread or nuggets of some sort.

How was the pizza?

Great. Thin crust. Sausage is on point. The sauce has a good kick too it. Wife and kid say the Taco is better than about anyone else's. That's a bold statement. The QC is known for it's Taco pizza.

Van's has three QC locations.

Now. Let me vent for just a bit and I will move on.

Like I said earlier. We got a Van's gift card for Christmas. I guess I should have been a little more proactive about gift cards and such. One would think a Van's gift card would be good at all three QC locations right?

Wrong. Van's gift cards don't work at the Bettplex location. Had I known that or been more proactive and asked. I would have used said gift card at the Harrison or Brady St locale.

My bad and I was pretty pissed for a bit. I hadn't planned on spending my money.

But. We now have a gift card for the downtown Van's!


Okay. Van's Pizza is really good and my bad experience today does not reflect upon their pizza.

I give Van's a 9. So we still have a Van's gift card to use.

DLR says!

I Ain't Afraid Of No Ghost!

Who ya gonna call?

 It's that time of year. As always it's my favorite. Halloween time!

We generally haven't made blog updates with trips to places we have already visited. For this post I'll make an exception.  More than likely we will make this a regular visit every Halloween time.

Last year at this time we visited Igor's Bistro in Rock Island.

http://igorsbistro.com/

Igor's has a fairly small menu,but that's okay. We have yet to try their breakfast like I said we would.As always so many places to check out.

I've got to add this song.

As far as I know. Igor's is the only Halloween themed eatery in the greater QC area. Let's go!

My dog was looking for ghost's,goblins,witches and squirrels.

Igor's is right under the water tower next to Saukie Golf course in Rock Island.

More tunes.

Igor's Bistro is laid out inside of an older house. So it is most def not your average dining experience. The bathroom is different,but clean.

The food. Mollie ordered The Ghost and Mr Chicken sandwich. Sher got a standard cheeseburger. I devoured a breaded tenderloin.

We give Igor's an 8 across the board. Obviously this time of year they are slammed. Our waitress messed up Sher's burger order,but she still ate it. And it was tasty too.Just not quite what she wanted.

One last spooky tune.

Give Igor's a shot. It's a fun quirky place that has good food. We need to try the breakfast menu sometime too!

As always.

Scotty

Ain't Wastin Time No More

This Sunday morn there was no sunshine to feel like rain. It just rained. Felt like steppin outside myself. We can't let one precious day slip by.Amen.

Words by Gregg A.

I had plans to ride my motorcycle to today's destination. Alas. I could have ,but I didn't feel like riding in the rain. We did cast a wide net for QC Pizza Blog readers to tag along. We got no takers. Lol.

Today's fun involves some travel up nort in beautiful Dubuque County Iowa. The leaves are not quite turning yet,but a few weeks from now it hopefully fall will be in full color! My favorite time of the year.

We had a few agendas today. A quick jaunt across the Mississippi River to Dickeyville Wisconsin. When up that way we hit up Keilers. Gotta pick up some Spotted Cow beer and cheese curds. I love this store and you all should check it out.

http://www.kielersgroceryandliquorstore.com/

The new Batmobile waiting patiently at Keilers.

Back into Iowa.

So today's trip is all about comfort food. No pizza in sight(although there will be a blog pizza post from Dubuque I swear)

When heading north out of Dubuque we always head towards Balltown. The drive from Dubuque to Balltown and points north is worth it even if you don't need or want to eat.

I have been jonesing for a Breaded Pork Tenderloin. Breitbachs has a BPT let's go!

https://www.breitbachscountrydining.com/


Breitbachs has a very interesting story too. I urge my faithfull readers to read up on Breitbachs. Plenty of heartache and redemption. Mike Breitbach is a hell of a nice guy too. We didn't talk to him today,but I have in the past.

So into and then a bit past Balltown to the overlook. You have to visit this overlook. The vista looking northeast is pretty dang neat for Iowa. Rain and clouds cannot dampen this lovely view.

One other itch I have wanted to scratch for a very long time was driving down S Waupeton Rd. There is a little enclave along the Mississippi River. Mostly cabins and trailers,but a few nice houses plus a boat ramp.  The wife was not impressed with S Waupeton Rd in her brand new Camaro. My 4wd truck would have been better suited for that road.


That being said let's eat!

About ninety minutes from Eldridge to Balltown. I had to find the men's room. It was spotless. I would assume the ladies side to be just as clean.

A few indoor pics.

Typical teenager. Miss Moll did not want to be photoed. I'll give her props. She has been a good sidekick for our pizza adventures and tolerates the travel too.

The menu. Breitbachs is all about comfort. From their buffets,be it Breakfast,Seafood,Steaks,Sandwiches et al.

So Scotty? Enough yammering about yada yada. How was the food?

Miss Moll ordered her typical chicken strips(sigh).
Sher ordered the dinner buffet.
I ordered the BPT.

Molls Chicken Tenders. Breitbachs has battered french fries and they are tasty.

Sher got the dinner buffet. Fried Chicken. Roast Beef. Ham. Mashed potatos n gravy. Green beans. salad bar and cake.

The star of the show. I gave everyone a hunk of my BPT. This tenderloin is battered. Most midwest BPT's are breaded. Tasty? Out of this world tasty. Well worth the drive just for this sandwich.

Chomp chomp. All I need is ketchup and onions. This BPT is a straight 10 across the board.

So good!

Seriously. Breitbachs is so worth the drive for the food. Worth the drive for the views too.

After we were done eating. There was a antique/gift store across the street. We looked around.

The weather might not have been the greatest,but we did not let that ruin our day. I took some advice from the great Hayden Fry and scratched some itches I have been having.

Get out go.

As always. We do this for the fun!

Scotty