If you ever find yourself in Jackson County and you have quite an appetite, drive on over to Spragueville and head on into Marlee and Me and you will get more than plenty to fill you up!

Spragueville is about a 20 minute drive from Maquoketa, right off of Highway 64 and is a town (maybe a town?) of not even 100 people. Marlee and Me is a can’t miss spot, literally, if you drive through town you can’t miss it. It’s settled into what looks like an old two story home and is as Mom and Pop and family friendly as it gets…exactly what you’d expect in small town Iowa.

So, finding myself on a fun road trip with my parents, doing a little small town bar hopping, we ended up in Spragueville. We stopped at Marlee and Me intending on just having a quick beer but the food that was coming out of the kitchen signaled that this was our last stop, our meal stop.

Huge slabs of prime rib with hash brown casserole piled high next to it. The plates were overflowing with beefy goodness and I couldn’t wait to dig in. We walked passed the salad bar as we headed to our seats and I noted the braunschweiger dip and planned to eat my weight in that. One of the great things about small town restaurants like this is there is always a great salad bar. Homemade pasta + potato salads and tons of dips. As this is a beer blog, I should note the beesr I had….Busch Light and a Coors Light. I’m not even sure what the options were, just went with a blue yummy. My parents decided to try the wings. Deep fried wings that were tossed in a jalapeno jelly….never thought of tossing wings in a jelly but these were delicious. I hammered the salad bar and the braunschweiger was as good as I’ve had.

Now it’s time for the main course. A HUGE cut of prime rib, cooked perfect to medium rare and a side of hash brown casserole that could feed a family of four. The steak was perfectly seasoned, a nice crust on the outside. The potatoes were loaded with cheese and garlic and the beer was cold. The perfect Saturday night meal.

Soooo….if you find yourself on a little road trip, don’t ignore those small town diner/restaurants. And if you find yourself in Jackson County with a big appetite and a hankering for a huge cut of meat…head to Spragueville and Marlee and Me! Worth the trip!