Ever since hearing about the purchase of what was the former Atlas restaurant by the BIg Grove/Pullman group and the announcement of changing it to a fresh seafood bar I’ve been chomping at the bit to visit. Finally, I got to head to St. Burch on Friday night and I must say, my expectations were exceeded.
I did call and make reservations which was a good idea since the place was absolutely packed. We waited down in the den which has sweet vibe to it. A ton of cocktails to choose from and a beer list that included some Big Grove offerings. I kept it a beer night had a couple blood orange arms race although next time I might have to try a couple of cocktails as they looked mighty tasty. After a brief wait our table was ready and I must say, St. Burch’s menu is tough to order from just because of so many terrific sounding options. Fresh seafood, burgers, sandwiches, steaks, chops, etc. all available and all mouth watering. Click HERE for a link to their menu.
We started off with the seafood tower, which you can see by the picture, I enjoyed a bit too much as I didn’t even get a picture of the food. There are 2 different “tower” options, one that feeds 2-3 and one that feeds 5-6. We got the 2-3 and it was excellent. Fresh oysters on the half shell, two different kinds I believe, salmon spread, shrimp cocktail, and tuna tartare. All excellent, the oysters didn’t stand a chance. Fresh and delicious. My table shared a bunch of entrees. We went with the Duroc pork chop, 2 orders of the lobster pot pie, and 3 fried oyster sliders. I enjoyed them all but the pork chop and the lobster pot pie were simply amazing. The pot pie is something you just have to order because it’s that awesome and you’ll regret not getting it if you don’t. The chop was cooked perfectly and served on a bed of cheddar cheese grits which were excellent as well.
So much good food to order. I did see someone order the short rib and it looked stunning, so I know for sure on my next trip I’ll be getting that and lobster pot pie and the seafood tower and a loose meat sandwich and a shit ton of oysters…… Two HUGE thumbs up to St. Burch, a restaurant that Iowa City/Cedar Rapids area needed. Cheers to Chef Smart and Cory Kent for handling a busy ass night shucking oysters and getting folks seated. Great time here, can’t wait to get back. Until then you guys need to eat here!
On Sunday afternoon I was finally able to head down to Thew Brewing. Thew and Local Pour restaurant have taken over Diagonal drive and 2nd street to make it a pretty great spot to check out in Cedar Rapids. Thew opened about a week ago or so ago, right around St. Patrick’s Day and have now gone to regular hours except being closed on Mondays. Here’s Thew’s mission statement:
One of my favorite beers is going to be available again! Starting this Friday, Carpe Diem will once again grace our presence and if you are in the Des Moines area you need to hit up the Madhouse Taproom to get a taste of this terrific brew! Here’s more from a Madhouse Brewing press release:
If you haven’t checked out iowabeerblog.blogspot.com you need to get over there and check it out as the guy has been posting some great articles and news. He’s also found @iowabeerblog on twitter. He came up with a sweet march madness style bracket for Iowa brewed IPAs and pale ales and the voting starts tomorrow. So check out his site or get on twitter and start voting. What’s your favorite to win? Do you have a dark horse? This should be fun to watch. Cheers iowabeerblog and have fun!
