The Cedar Rapids Brewing Society’s Drink Local Festival, previously held in August, is combining with Benzfest and will be moving to the second weekend in May.
The Cedar Rapids Brewing Society Benzfest will be held at Benz Beverage Depot on Saturday, May 11th. The event will include beers, ciders, meads, and spirits from a variety of vendors from around the Midwest and from homebrew clubs from around the state.
“We are very excited to continue our partnership with Benz. Combining these two great festivals will allow us to bring in even more vendors, while still featuring the many great homebrew clubs from around the state,” said Haley Rosendahl, Vice President of the Cedar Rapids Brewing Society. “Moving the event to May will hopefully result in more temperate weather than the previous Drink Local festivals in August.”
Look for tickets for the Cedar Rapids Brewing Society Benzfest to go on sale soon and stay tuned for announcements on vendor lineup. Follow CRBS on Facebook for announcements. https://www.facebook.com/CedarRapidsBrewingSociety
The latest restaurant endeavor from the creative minds of FNF restaurant group will be officially opening their doors to the public this coming Tuesday! (4/18) Taco Gato (209 3rd St. SE) is the newest restaurant in downtown Cedar Rapids and features spins on Mexican and southern cuisine.
I was lucky enough to be invited to the soft opening this past Friday night and was joined by three kids. The decor of the place is definitely Mexican inspired and my kids enjoyed seeing the array of Luchador wrestling masks around the restaurant. The bar was dimly lit as light from the beautiful stained glass showcased the many bottles of booze that go towards the many cocktails Taco Gato offered.
Upon seating and seeing the menu my kids are instantly drawn to anything that reads “queso”. So, a starter of salsas (red/traditional + tomatillo) along with guac and the ever popular queso. Chips were delicious and well seasoned. I’m a sucker for tomatillo salsa and would put it on about anything. A great start to the meal. Queso didn’t stand a chance.
I let the kids decide what to order as my focus automatically goes to fish tacos and pastor tacos. My son went with the fried crawfish tacos but also wanted to try the shrimp and grits, and my daughters went with the gumbo. Enough to feed an army but grateful my kids are willing to try and experience new foods.
The flavor on every single dish was out of this world. The fish tacos were perfectly cooked….crunchy and a delicious batter. Your taco orders of two come in a bento style serving box accompanied by delicious refried beans, rice, and fried edamame. I’ll get the fish tacos every time! Pastor were just as good…fresh pineapple pico and perfectly cooked pork. I was lucky enough to get a small bite of the fried crawfish tacos as my son isn’t exactly the best at sharing meals, especially when they taste as good as this.
The gumbo was excellent. A dark roux with copious amounts of crawfish and chorizo. Wonderful and filling! The star of the show that everyone raved about however was the “Almost Shrimp and Grits”. Cotija creamed corn, chorizo, collards, and enough blackened shrimp to feed an army. So much flavor, so delicious. Besides the tacos, if there’s a dish that Taco Gato can use as a calling card it may be this one!
Overall: Another wonderful dining experience. It’s what you come to expect from the FNF restaurant group…wonderfully talented, creative, and inspired dishes that make visiting their establishments an always memorable experience. Can’t recommend enough, opening Tuesday to the public! Cheers!
It’s always fun when you are traveling through a big town or city and see a random restaurant/bar/tavern pop up on a neighborhood corner far seemingly far removed from the chains that have taken over main drag USA. Heading down a street in the Oak Hill Jackson neighborhood in downtown Cedar Rapids and seeing a lovely sign of a cow with a halo over its head was a welcomed sight! Sacred Cow Tavern was calling my name and I couldn’t wait to answer!
Opened in October of 2022 as a the brainchild of the FNF restaurant group, this restaurant has quite a history, including being a church a few different times! This restaurant group is known for a wide range of food items that can satisfy any diet and they’ve done an amazing job incorporating vegan/vegetarian dishes to be part of their main menu as well. Appetizers, smash burgers, sandwiches, wings, salads and much more with a wonderfully revamped image of those dishes and executed perfectly as well as their vegan/vegetarian options that are more than just a black bean burger, this menu is packed with flavor.
The ambiance upon walking in gives you complete comfort, a homey vibe and a place where you don’t necessarily want to leave. First point of order….BEER…..need to check out the beer menu. Although Sacred Cow does not have any tap beer, they do offer a variety of cans from local breweries plus a fully stocked bar for mixers and wine. I went light, a Backpocket 319 lager, knowing that I was going to be putting some food away.
It was restaurant week and so, like many other local establishments, Sacred Cow had a few specials that they were advertising. One special was Elote Chicken Wings. If you’re not familiar with elote, it’s a popular Mexican street dish of corn on the cob slathered in mayo/cream sauce dusted with chili powder and cilantro. Sacred Cow took the sauce dimension, added some grilled corn and cilantro to their extremely crispy chicken wings and final result were some of the best and most creative wings I’ve had! Hoping these find their way to the menu!
The other special item for “Restaurant Week” was a walking taco smashburger. I’m a lover all of kinds of burgers and smashburgers are always hard to pass up, add walking taco ingredients to it and I’m sold. A smashed patty, perfectly cooked, topped with cheese, doritos, a cilantro lime crema and lettuce was more than a mouthful in every bite! Excellent burger, something I would order again.
Overall, this is a place I hope to be a patron of for a long time to come and I hope many more neighborhood bars begin popping up in our area. Sacred Cow Tavern is definitely a welcoming place for any and all! Cheers!
