Attempt #61 - The Quarter Barrel

Venue Outside

The Venue

616 2^nd Ave SE

Cedar Rapids, IA 52401

(319) 200-4140

The Quarter Barrel is located in downtown Cedar Rapids. Its main draw is the vintage video games alongside the locally crafted beer on tap. One will quickly notice that the pizza offerings are all unique. They don't have the typical sausage, pepperoni, and cheese that one might expect from a bar. After talking with some of the management, as far as pizza goes, they intend on only producing thin crust pizza pies. That serves their target market appropriately.

Venue Inside

Seating consists of tables with chairs, or high tables with bar stool chairs. They currently host about 25 classic arcade games. One of the newest games they have, Mortal Combat 2, was played by myself and another friend. I seem to recall myself being a lot better at it in my younger years. Also, they have 2-3 games that do not require quarters to play, which is great for goofing around. A change machine is located conveniently right when you walk in, next to the ATM. For weeknights, feel free to call them for reservations; however, they do not take them on Friday or Saturday nights-its first come first serve.

You can check out the facebook page and menu at https://www.facebook.com/thequarterbarrel/

The Pizza

Chicago Style: No

Venue - Open Concept Kitchen

Crust Thickness: Thin

We had sixteen participants so we ordered ten pizzas! They offer two sizes, 12” for gourmet pizzas and 12” or 18” for a build your own pizza. They offered only one type of crust, which was thin.

Pepperoni – 18”, $18.50.

Buffalo Chicken Pizza – House buffalo sauce, roasted chicken, beer caramelized onion, blue cheese. Topped with celery slaw, sweet potato chips, and your choice of ranch or blue cheese dressing, $14.00.

Blueberry BBQ – Roasted red peppers and fresh mozzarella on a base of blueberry BBQ sauce featuring our house porter. Topped with beer marinated shoestring onion rings, carrot ribbons and greens tossed in citrus vinaigrette, $13.00.

Menu

Shrimp Alfredo – Alfredo sauce, garlic shrimp, Parmesan, scallions, arugula, and fried capers, $14.00.

Crab RanGoonies – Cream cheese vase, with crab and green onion, finished with fried wanton chips and sweet chili. Crab can be omitted to make it vegetarian, $13.00.

Holy Shiitake! - Garlic oil base, lemon herbed ricotta, green onion, local shiitake mushrooms, and beer caramelized onion. Finished with arugula tossed in citrus vinaigrette, $13.00.

Stir Fry – Brown sauce, white rice, broccoli, carrots, crimini mushrooms, red onion, finished with sesame seeds and green onions, $13.

Margherita – House marinara, fresh mozzarella, garlic oil, finished with applewood smoked salt, fresh basil, and balsamic reduction, $12.00.

Roasted Fennel and Sausage – Cumin garlic oil, red onion, fresh mozzarella, goat cheese, finished with arugula tossed in orange vinaigrette, $14.00.

Pesto – Broccoli presto, fresh mozzarella, roasted red pepper, red onions, and roasted cherry tomatoes, $13.00.

The Verdict

The pieces came out in triangular-shaped for the 12” pizzas and rectangular triangular shaped for the 18” pepperoni pizza. The crust seemed to be thin, and a little dry. Personally, I would rather have it dry than wet and soggy; however, I felt that it would have been a little better with some more sauce. The sauce that was present was great-high quality ingredients that you can taste. The cheese was also lacking on some of our pizzas, which was a little disappointing. Because they only made the gourmet pizzas in 12”, I would have liked to see a larger size for the establishment to take on. The crust was great for the size, not soggy, and hand tossed. The ingredients and gourmet options were also very good-uniqueness is a important factor aside from the typical cheese and sausage offerings. Our waiter, Patrick, was also terrific, very helpful for being on a busy Friday night.

The winner of the favorite pizza was a three way tie for the second month in a row! Roasted Fennel and Sausage / Crab RanGoonies / Stir Fry all seemed like great choices. I personally enjoyed the Fennel/Sausage pizza because the tasted reminded me of a Gyro. The Crab Rangoon pizza was also terrific and the stir fry was as well (it was vegetarian, too). If you have some time on a weeknight or even a weekend, stop on by and give one of these 12”ers a try! And watch for the pinball machines, some of the paddles are a little sticky.

Here are our ratings, where 1 = worst and 10 = best.
Overall 8.25

Cheese 6.92

Sauce 8.29

Topping 7.00

Crust 7.79

Venue 9.16

Favorite Roasted Fennel and Sausage / Crab RanGoonies / Stir Fry

18" Pepperoni, 18.50

Blueberry BBQ, 13.00

Buffalo Chicken, 14.00

Holy Shiitake!, 13.00

Margherita, 12.00

Pesto, 13.00

Stir Fry, 13.00

Shrimp Alfredo, 14.00

Roasted Fennel and Sausage, 14.00

Crab RanGoonies, 13.00

Attempt #60 - The Longbranch

Menu

The Venue

90 Twixt Town Rd.

Cedar Rapids, IA 52402

(319) 377-6386

The Longbranch is known for hosting out of town guests for wedding receptions, karaoke on Saturday nights for the locals, and Taco bar on Wednesdays. What some may not know is that on Tuesdays, they cater to the pizza crowd. One to Two topping, 9” pizzas are only $3 every Tuesday at the Longbranch, so except a moderate crowd.

The bar is typical with stools, but the seating in the restaurant area has tables as well as booths. The western theme of the Longbranch reminds me of a full on attempt of “going western” with the dim lights, dark chipped away tavern themes from a western movie, some cheesy paintings, and toss in a couple of wheel barrows to complete the ambience. The price was very affordable, especially considering on Tuesdays the two toppings were only $3!

You can check out the Facebook page and menu at https://www.facebook.com/Longbranch-Bar-in-Cedar-Rapids-89266516425/

The Pizza

Chicago Style: No

Crust Thickness: Average

We had fourteen participants so we ordered fourteen pizzas! They offer two sizes, 9” and 12”. The two topping pizzas were 9” (and only $3 on Tuesday nights!), and the others were 12”. They offered only one type of crust.

2x Pepperoni, Italian Sausage

Italian Sausage, Green Pepper

Canadian Bacon, Sauerkraut

Pepperoni, Mushroom

Pepperoni

Pepperoni and Jalapeno

Pineapple, Canadian Bacon

Taco

Green Pepper, Black Olive

Pepperoni, Jalapeno

2x Philly Cheese Steak - 12”

Chicken, Bacon, Ranch - 12”

Five Cheese - 12, Chef's choice for that night

The Verdict

The pieces came out in rectangular-shaped for the 9” pizzas and triangular shaped for the 12” pizzas. The crust was thicker than I had imagined, however, it was soggy on the larger pizzas in the center. The 9” crust seemed to hold us much better in terms of being crisper and not soggy (the toppings may have weighed the other ones down?). The sauce was bland, although it was nice they provided ranch and sour cream/salsa for the Taco and Chicken Bacon Ranch pizzas. The toppings were average, nothing impressive or oddly unique on the menu. The specialty pizzas (more than 2 toppings, aka. the 12” ones) were ordered off the menu, as it did not provide any suggestions. 

Five Cheese*

We had some fun with this attempt and let the chef choose a pizza to make. They choose five cheese*. The fifth cheese was blue cheese, which provided a very distinct taste with the rest of the cheeses, this was a little more than I could handle since I'm primarily a bread and sauce kind of guy. Some participants wondered if the crust was premade (frozen), as they seemed different between the 9” and 12” pizzas. The winner of the favorite pizza was a three way tie! Philly Cheese Steak / Canadian Bacon, Sauerkraut / Chicken, Bacon, Ranch all received the same number of votes. So, if you are in the area, stop on by and let us know which one you enjoyed the best. If its Tuesday, at only $3 a 9” 2 topping pizza, order a few while you are there!

Here are our ratings, where 1 = worst and 10 = best.
Overall 6.92

Cheese 6.67

Sauce 6.60

Topping 7.00

Crust 6.58

Venue 7.00

Black Olive and Mushroom

Favorite Philly Cheese Steak / Canadian Bacon, Sauerkraut / Chicken, Bacon, Ranch

Two participants holding a Philly Cheese Steak Pizza

Philly Cheese Steak

Pepperoni and Italian Sausage

Taco

Slice up close

Philly Cheese Steak #2

Attempt #59 - P.H.A.T. Daddy's Restaurant & Catering

Venue

The Venue

728 47^th Ave.

Amana, IA 52203

(319) 622-3001

The Amana location of P.H.A.T. Daddy's opened up in April of 2015 and has maintained a steady flow of business. The tourist town of Amana draws in a large number of visitors, especially on the weekends. Therefore, we found their prices to be a bit higher for the amount of pizza that we received. The eating areas consisted of being seated indoors at a table, or seating outside (as weather permits). Luckily for us, the weather was nice that day. The staff was friendly, and brought out each pizza to us as it was finished cooking. The turnaround was super fast, about 7 minutes per pizza!

You can check out the website menu at http://www.phat-daddys.com/menu/or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/PhatDaddys.

Menu

The Pizza

Chicago Style: No

Crust Thickness: Thin

We had five participants so we ordered four 12” pizzas. They only offer one crust at 12”.

Margherita – Roasted Garlic, Five cheese blend, Mozzarella, Roma Tomato, sweet Basil Chiffonade, $12.00

Cubano – Dijon Mustard, Pulled Pork, Ham, Mozzarella, Swiss Cheese; topped with Pickles , $15.00

Bacon Mac N' Cheese – Dash of Alfredo sauce, Mozzarella, our house Mac N' Cheese, Cheddar, Smoked Bacon, $14.00

Chicken Alfredo – Alfredo sauce, Mozzarella, Asiago, Parmesan, Roasted Chicken Breast, Spinach, $14.00

*Garden Goat Cheese Pizza – Bonus pizza served to us from another party $15.00

The Verdict

The pieces were rectangular-shaped and they came out warm. The toppings were fresh and unique. The crust was not crispy as I expected, but was instead more chewy. We noticed that on all of the pizza's the center pieces were soggy, as they were merely served on a large dinner plate. One participant commented on the inconstant flavor of the Dijon on the Cubano, and the saltiness of the cheese on the Margherita. All of our participants voted for the Bacon Mac N' Cheese as the supreme winner of this attempt. The rich flavor of the bacon alongside the cheddar was simply amazing. Salty and Savory! Yummy! The next time you find yourself in Amana, try these guys out!

Here are our ratings, where 1 = worst and 10 = best.
Overall 8.30

Cheese 8.60

Sauce 7.40

Topping 8.80

Crust 7.40

Venue 9.30

Favorite Bacon Mac N' Cheese

Chicken Alfredo, $14

Cubano, $15

Garden Goat Cheese, $15

Margherita, $12

Bacon Mac N' Cheese, $14

Attempt #58 - Vineria Wine Shop

Menu

The Venue

264 Blairs Ferry Rd NE

Cedar Rapids, IA 52402

(319) 373-6141

Many in Cedar Rapids have known about this little wine shop for years, but from my experience, not many have ventured inside. The owner of 13 years, Jose Miguel Reyes, gutted one of the rooms six months ago and added in a wine bar serving personal pizzas. Check their Facebook website because on certain nights the pizza is $3 off before 6pm (Wednesday was for sure at the time of writing this post). The shop was clean, with new furniture on the lounge area. While waiting, you can tour the wine racks in the connecting room and view the selection of imported beers, cheeses, and meats. The lounge/bar area often hosts events such as movie screenings and wine tastings apart from its normal everyday operations. Our experience with the staff was that they very nice, and accommodating. I called ahead and made sure they would have room for a ten person group.

You can check out the website at http://www.vineriawineshop.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Vineria-Wine-Shop-95012545884/.

The Pizza

Diavola ($14)

Chicago Style: No

Crust Thickness: Thin

We had eight participants so we ordered five 12” pizzas. They only offer one crust at 12”.

Margherita – Mozzarella, Tomato Sauce, Fresh Basil, $11.00

Diavola – Mozzarella, Tomato Sauce, Fresh Basil, Spicy Sausage, $14.00

Capricciosa - Mozzarella, Tomato Sauce, Mushrooms, Laquercia, Prosciutto, Artichoke Hearts, $16.00

The Spanish - Mozzarella, Tomato Sauce, Fresh Basil, Spanish Chorizo, Butternut Squash, $16.00

Three Meats - Tomato Sauce, Prosciutto, Sweet Italian Sausage, Tuscan Salami, $19.00

Three Meat ($19)

The Verdict

Capricciosa ($16)

The pieces were triangular-shaped and they came out warm. We were delighted by the freshness and high quality of the toppings. The dough and sauce in made in house, and the stone oven gave the crust a thickness so it did not become soggy. One participant commented on the positive difference that real mozzarella cheese made. One way to tell is that it comes in a chunk, not shredded, which is why the pizza was uneven. I enjoyed the sauce, but I would have enjoyed a little bit more of it. On the plus side, the Spanish chorizo was a delicious meat that is not too commonplace around Iowa! If you enjoy a glass of import or domestic wine and love pizza, then Vineria's is your place to be!

Here are our ratings, where 1 = worst and 10 = best.
Overall 8.50

Cheese 9.63

Margherita ($11)

Sauce 8.63

Topping 9.00

Crust 8.36

Venue 9.13

Favorite The Spanish

The Spanish ($16)

Slice from Pizza (Marg.)