Life is filled with so many regrets. Breakfast should never be one of them. On my first visit to Bluebird Diner in Iowa City, I was in the mood for something savory. The variety of omelets on the menu all begged for me to order them. But something at the bottom of the menu caught my eye and wouldn’t leave my brain for days to come.

Four magic words: Cinnamon Roll French Toast.

I tried to talk sense to myself, “You don’t need a batter-grilled cinnamon roll for breakfast. You always order sweet things. Walk away you fool!” So I stuck to the omelet.

The Godfather omelet is made of three fluffy eggs filled with melty mozzarella, house-made Italian sausage and topped with zesty marinara sauce. It was a combination I’d never considered for breakfast before and completely satisfying and delicious.

I had a great breakfast in a charming restaurant and was happy. But the French toast haunted my dreams. So I made another trip to Bluebird, this time for the Cinnamon Roll French Toast.

Was it delicious? Yes. Did it knock my socks off? Not necessarily. The cinnamon roll held up nicely and wasn’t overly doused in custard but I wanted it to be a little more. It was decadent but not decadent enough. I wanted more gooeyness. I wanted piles of whipped cream. I wanted to feel like I had just sold my soul to the sugar devil.

From the glittery blue vinyl chairs to the long counter where you can sit and sip your coffee, the Bluebird Diner offers great food in a classic diner setting. The menu takes diner fare to another level at decent prices. Plus, they don’t limit themselves to breakfast. The Bluebird Diner also has full lunch and dinner menus.

As for me, I was happy to get a taste of the savory and sweet. And don’t worry, I sold my soul to the sugar devil a long time ago.
— ANDREA
DETAILS: Bluebird Diner, 330 E. Market St., Iowa City; Tuesday through Saturday 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sunday 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., closed Monday; (319) 351-1470; www.thebluebirddiner.com

What do you think of when you hear the words “supper club?” A sneeze guarded salad bar, dim lighting and piles of foil-wrapped baked potatoes are just a few images that come to my mind. This type of dining experience may seem antiquated, but there are loads of supper clubs in small towns across Iowa that live up to, and sometimes exceed, our expectations.

Rainbow Supper Club is just such a place. Tucked back on a county road in Anamosa, Rainbow Supper Club has been around since the 1930s when it was a gas station. It reopened in May with a fresh coat of paint and some tried and true recipes.

Don’t worry. They still follow the cardinal rules of supper clubs — that people need pea salad on their iceberg lettuce and a baked potato isn’t right unless accompanied by quarter cup servings of butter and sour cream.

The exterior is unassuming, but the new owners have made a really nice space inside. The interior is completely refurbished with a low key, contemporary design. Next to the dining area is a long, welcoming bar that leads to outside seating.

Rainbow serves exactly what you’d expect from a supper club: simple seafood, steaks, chicken. Nothing too fancy. Just solid comfort food.

The Paradise Shrimp were a nice find. Five large and meaty black tiger prawns were lightly fried in a tempura batter and topped with a sweet tropical sauce and pecans. The entree was a step above the other traditional menu items. And on the side? A good ol’ foil wrapped baked potato.
I recommend Rainbow for a sheer kick of nostalgia. The prices aren’t cheap — ranging from $10 to $30 for one or two diners — but the food is solid and the salad bar has plenty of pea salad to go around.
— ANDREA

There are so many bars and restaurants hidden in the nooks and crannies of downtown Iowa City that it’s a little overwhelming to decide which one to try next. Through the journey of this column I’ve barely made a dent. But with my intrepid Iowa City lunch buddy, we recently checked another one off the list.

Quinton’s Bar & Deli is located right next to The Englert Theatre on East Washington Street amid plenty of downtown hustle and bustle. It takes up a sliver of the row of historic buildings and the interior is a little dark, well worn and comfy like a college bar should be.

Quinton’s is actually a chain with locations in other college towns like Lawrence, Kan., Madison, Wis., and Columbia, Mo.

I’m told that the must have at Quinton’s is the soup and half sandwich. There are many exciting sandwiches to choose from. But they’ve also added a huge selection of hamburgers.

Considering it was 90 degrees out that day, a warm bowl of soup didn’t seem like the way to go, so I got a decadent cheeseburger instead.

All of the burgers are made with fresh local beef and are expertly crafted. I had the bacon and avocado burger with cheddar cheese. I was a bit leery of the liberal use of mayo, but I went for it anyway.

The mayo blended into the background among the bold flavors of bacon and smooth creaminess of the avocado and was a perfect touch. It was a delicious cheeseburger grilled just right. I also got an order of perfectly crispy French fries and to balance out the indulgent carbo load, a salad on the side. As a general rule salads automatically cancel out my French fry and cheeseburger guilt.

Price wise it was a fairly average lunch ­— about $15 with the fries and salad and tip. Not cheap but very appropriate for the quality and abundance of food. The soups will have to wait for a much cooler day, but now I have a reason to look forward to fall and a
return to Quinton’s.

— ANDREA

I received a tip from a friend quite a while ago about some fabulous pancakes at a diner in northwest Cedar Rapids. Finding myself with a rare morning of free time and the promise of pancakes, I went on a search.

Turns out, The American Skillet was really easy to find. This diner is located right on Johnson Avenue NW with a prominent sign out front and plenty of parking.

Upon entering you find a clean and classic eating establishment of faux wood tables and a
few booths. On a Monday morning it was pretty quiet with a smattering of regulars and little ol’ me.

The menu is standard diner fare of omelets, skillets and assorted breakfast staples. They also serve classic lunch items. Tucked up in the corner of the menu in the breakfast section were the heralded Fruit and Fiber pancakes. These had to be the very item my friend had recommended; I ordered them on the spot.

Don’t be fooled by the option of ordering one or two pancakes. If you are a standard human being one pancake is plenty. My waitress didn’t offer me such sage advice so I got greedy and ordered two.
The pancakes, loaded with granola, blueberries, cinnamon and topped with fresh strawberries, are enormous. They are literally the size of a dinner plate.

They are also wonderfully filling and delicious. I loved the crunch of the oats in the granola and the fresh strawberries added a sweet and light note. Accompanied with a giant bottle of warm maple syrup and some bacon on the side it was a satisfying and possibly healthy breakfast.

I won’t pretend that it’s the breakfast of athletes but there have to be some redeeming qualities in the granola and fruit.

If you are sensible, unlike myself, and order one pancake then your breakfast will be a decent price. My two pancakes, side of bacon and hot cocoa added up to around $11. A little steep for one person but if you don’t get carried away then you could get a very filling breakfast for less.

American Skillet is a great throwback restaurant that offers all the comforts of classic American cuisine and some decidedly delicious pancakes.
— ANDREA

The corner of Main Street and Highway 1 in Solon seems like the perfect place for a restaurant. Apparently a lot of people agree. The latest to challenge the fates and open a restaurant in that location is El Sol Mexican Cuisine.

The former home of Redhead has been transformed into an exotic Mexican dining experience. Well, ‘exotic’ may be a stretch. It’s the same worn and cozy interior but now with the global flair of colorful walls and the requisite inflated Corona bottle perched on a ledge.

If the Saturday evening crowd is any evidence, El Sol has made its mark on the area and is doing very well for itself. Seating is somewhat limited, but we were lucky to get a table in the midst of the crowd.

What makes this Mexican restaurant stand above the hundreds just like it are the wonderful staff and the elegant food. Our waitress was extremely gracious and attentive and there was no end of helpful staff ready to fill a drink or bring more warm, crispy chips.

The menu is composed of all the standards: enchiladas, burritos, fajitas. But they pour some heart into the cuisine and it shows in the flavor and presentation. My Enchiladas Divorciadas was comprised of no less than four enchiladas: bean, cheese, ground beef and chicken. It was artfully composed with contrasting colors of a smoky red sauce and a fresh verdé sauce. The final touch was a zebra stripe of sour cream sauce over the entire plate. Not only was it visually lovely but really tasty too.

No Mexican dinner is complete without a luscious globe of fried ice cream. The El Sol version was a little light on the spice and fried coating but it rested in a nicely neutral tortilla shell and was dutifully buried under fluffy mounds of whipped cream and drizzled with chocolate sauce.

Pricewise El Sol is right in line with what you’d expect at a Mexican restaurant. My item off the specialty menu was in the $10 range and our family of three ate heartily for around $30. I look forward to seeing them on Main
Street for a long time.
— ANDREA

Our recent wedding anniversary was an opportunity to ditch our toddler and actually taste our food.

Daniel Arthur’s seemed like the perfect place to enjoy a leisurely and elegant dinner. Located in a charming historic building in downtown Cedar Rapids, Daniel Arthur’s dining area is divided into cozy nooks and crannies perfect for some quiet, alone time.

They feature Certified Angus Beef and fresh seafood flown in daily. They also specialize in tableside preparations, which are always a fun indulgence. We opted for the Tableside Caesar salad and enjoyed watching our waiter prepare a classic
salad before our eyes.

The selections at Daniel Arthur’s range from traditional to eclectic. The bread, for example, came with the chef’s special jalapeno jelly. While I am partial to a heaping pat of butter, I did enjoy the unique sweet and spicy flavor of the jelly.

We ordered our favorite comfort foods, done really well. For my husband it is always the steak. The Filet Mignon was a beautifully tender 8 oz. portion expertly prepared and absolutely melting in our mouths.

For me, the go-to is shrimp or prawns. The Colossal King Prawns were the most enormous and succulent I’ve ever had. They were resting in a smooth scampi sauce that was delicious soaked up with the toasted baguettes on the side.

Since we had the luxury of time we got to enjoy some dessert. The Godiva chocolate cheesecake was indulgent and satisfying while my Bread Pudding, with that classic aroma of cinnamon and spice and soaking in decadent caramel sauce, made me oh-so happy. and warm all over.

Daniel Arthur’s is definitely on the pricier side, which makes it a great special occasion retreat. But that just means you need to make up more special occasions.
— ANDREA

Big N’awlins taste in small town Iowa
I’ve been dying to get to Augusta Restaurant for a long time now. Unfortunately, a trip to Oxford never seemed to make it into my weekend plans of lounging about, making cookies and taking naps. But I finally got off the couch and made a road trip. I was so glad I did.

Everything I’ve ever read about Augusta is positive, and for so many reasons. They’ve brought down-home cooking with a focus on local resources and authentic New Orleans flair to the lucky masses of small town Iowa.

Based on all the press, I had built up Augusta to be this polished gem oddly plopped in the middle of a quiet main street. To Augusta’s credit, they’ve created a quaint, unassuming and downright cozy atmosphere that doesn’t compete with its surroundings but blends in quite pleasingly. The interior is humble with mismatched tables and chairs and a mix of vintage tableware.

It’s the food that brings the shine to Augusta, not to mention their wholeheartedly enthusiastic staff.
Our waiter told tales of fresh baked bread, homemade pickles, hand cut steaks and ribs smoked out back in the wood-fired ovens.
Wanting a taste of New Orleans, we started with the Crawfish Beignets.
They were golden crisp mounds of batter with meaty chunks of crawfish. They were a bit denser than I thought
they’d be, so as an appetizer, it was quite filling.

It was a tough decision as to what to order. Fortunately, my husband ordered the ribs so I could have a taste. Bacon, cheddar, basil and herbed butter sold me on the stuffed pork loin. Both pork dishes had a nice subtle smokiness. The homemade barbecue sauce on the ribs was a bit spicy for my taste, but overall the flavor was great. The stuffed pork loin was tender and juicy, and the stuffing put it over the top.

Price-wise the menu is fairly average for high-level cuisine. The appetizers are priced from $4 to $12 and entrees from $13 to $22, which includes salad and a choice of two sides.

There are so many intriguing items on the menu. I plan on coming back for a catfish Po-Boy and Chocolate Filled Beignets, but this time it won’t take me so long to get off the couch.

— ANDREA

It’s hard not to have a good time at dinner when you’re surrounded by flaming cheese. Apparently when flaming cheese is on the menu everyone is going to order it, including me. Opa!

The Vernon Inn is Cedar Rapids’ first Greek restaurant and 34 years later it’s still going strong. Located on Mount Vernon Road, the building is tucked into a corner of blooming crab apple trees and has that classic established restaurant look. I was pleased to go inside and see an open space that was neat and clean and oozing of the Mediterranean. There are white columns everywhere and soft Greek
music playing in the background.

The menu is authentic and covers all the Greek specialties you’d expect. Starting with the Saganaki or ‘Flaming Greek Cheese’ as they lovingly call it. The waiter presents an innocent plate of cheese at your table, douses it with flammable liquid and with a somewhat halfhearted “Opa!” lights it aflame. He then puts the flames out with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. The process creates a crisp crust on the cheese and when you cut into it the melted goodness oozes out.
In order to have a true taste experience I ordered the Greek Combination: pastitsio, moussaka, dolmathes, spanakopita, gyros, feta and Greek olives. It was a tour of the Mediterranean on my plate.

I will say that for me, Greek food is an acquired taste. There was an overall note of nutmeg or allspice that I wasn’t expecting and left me a little bewildered. I liked the heartiness of the dolmathes: grape leaves stuffed with meat and rice and the lightness of the spanakopita: phyllo pastry with spinach. The rest was just a bit more than I could handle.
But with all that food I managed to fit in some baklava for dessert. I am a big fan of the crispy honey sensation and theirs was a lovely golden triangle on a plate that I finished every crumb of.

The Vernon Inn is a place that must
be experienced and cannot be missed
if you consider yourself a member
of the Corridor.
— Andrea Dietzenbach
Details: The Vernon Inn, 2663 Mount Vernon Rd. SE, Cedar Rapids; 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for lunch, Monday to Friday, 5 to 9 p.m. Sunday to Thursday, 5 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday; (319) 366-7817 or www.vernoninn.com

Sometimes all you really need is a good cup of coffee and a little homemade baked something or other, like mom used to make. What to do when you’ve run out of coffee and have no ambition to bake? Head to Fuel in Mount Vernon.

Fuel is a wonderful coffee and gift shop located on Mount Vernon’s main street. The counter is overflowing with cups and coffee and baked goods, and there are antiques and unique gifts peeking from of every nook and cranny.

Fuel offers a large selection of roasted coffees and drinks. Fuel’s mocha was quite strong and not too sweet. I loved the giant mug it was served in and the lovingly swirled foam on top.

The sign on the front promises “mom’s baked goods from scratch.” I can attest that this is an actual fact, not just a claim. I witnessed “mom” baking right before my eyes. I applaud anyone who can bake batches of cookies and pumpkin bars on a small stove behind a shop counter. It’s all out in the open at Fuel.

The selection on the day I visited Fuel ranged from scones to cookies to pumpkin bars. So of course, I tried one of each. From the blueberry scone to the sugar cookie it was all fresh and tasty and had that distinctive made-from-scratch sparkle. Prices ranged between $2 to $3 for the baked goodies and my mocha was between $3 and $4.

If you’re looking for a big sit-down breakfast Fuel isn’t the place to go. But if you’re looking for a good coffee and a casual place to kick back, it’s definitely the place to be.

— ANDREA

Located in Hiawatha, Farmer’s Daughter’s Market, is, in fact, run by a farmer’s daughter — Jennifer Goodlove, whose parents farm in Palo. And Jennifer is all about supporting local foods and artists.

It was the food that brought me to the market — a lovely little barn overflowing with country kitsch — and I must say it’s wonderful. Goodlove serves quiche and cinnamon rolls and quiche all day. Lunch is a selection of panini, soup and chicken salad. Every Thursday is a prime rib dinner. For my lunch, I ordered the Garden Vegetable Quiche and potato soup.

I love quiche. There’s something about fluffy eggs baked in a pie crust. This one was full of vegetables and gooey cheese and topped with a luscious tomato sauce. The soup was brimming with chunks of potato and cabbage in a flavorful broth.

Once I was absolutely stuffed, Goodlove brought out the desserts. Turning down homemade apple pie seemed downright un-American, and I’m glad I didn’t. The pie was overflowing with semi-tart apples, walnuts and topped with a caramel sauce.

Goodlove is passionate about what she does and it shows in every detail, especially the excellent food.

— ANDREA