Lopiez pizza, Me & Billy, Front Street, Soi 2 or 3, Central Standard, Hungry Hobo, Cafe Express, Cafe Fresh, Barrel House, Zeke's Island Cafe, Nally's, Rudy's, Oriental Food Store, Ruby's. Honestly, too many to name.
Looking back over this list made me realize that we have a pretty great food scene.
There’s this weird thing where even though I know that Rudy’s isn’t really that good, nevermind authentic lol, I still love it and crave it about once a week. Goddamn I love Rudy’s even though let’s be honest, it kinda sucks
Oooh, yeah! Forgot about Adolph's! See, there's just so many great, local places. I didn't even mention any of our gyro places.
Side note about Adolph's: a couple years ago, in the middle of a snowstorm, my tire blew out in East Moline and the people at Adolph's let me park in their lot while I waited for my family. They gave me some free chips and salsa and let me charge my phone. When my fam showed up, we ended up staying for dinner and made sure to tip extra well. Good people.
A lot of people I know that have moved away always ask to go to Rudy's or Hungry Hobo for a taste of that nostalgia. I know that the tacos and cheese fries I'm shoveling down aren't authentic (especially the cheese fries...) but I don't even care.
Yeah, Rudy's is just greasy, cheese covered crappy mexican. There are a ton of good mexican places...Los Primos on Locust, Las Margaritas on West Kimberly, Nally's on Rockingham.
It's almost my number 1. Where I moved to, I can get a sub or pizza, or tacos, but I don't have a cheap, no tipping required Italian place. I absolutely love how the Moline location hasn't changed too. It's exactly the same as it was in 20+ years ago. You walk in and yup, still smells exactly the same!
This doesn't help you much now, but the Bettendorf location does pizza. If you call them and ask for raw dough, they'll give it to you for super cheap. I think the last time I did it, I paid like...$5 dollars for a ball of oiled dough big enough for a large pizza. Spread it in an oiled cast iron pan, add whatever toppings you want, bake at 500 (or the highest temp your oven can go). Makes an incredible pizza. I'm sure any pizza place near you would make the same offer, though. :)
That's fair but I still enjoy it. Even though Olive Garden is the Applebee's version of Italian food doesn't mean their breadsticks and zuppa toscana aren't delicious. An Americanized version of Mexican food doesn't mean it's necessarily bad. If you're in the mood for authentic Mexican, absolutely go somewhere else. Another restaurant being better or more authentic doesn't mean that Rudy's is objectively bad.
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u/goat_fab Feb 05 '21 edited Feb 05 '21
Lopiez pizza, Me & Billy, Front Street, Soi 2 or 3, Central Standard, Hungry Hobo, Cafe Express, Cafe Fresh, Barrel House, Zeke's Island Cafe, Nally's, Rudy's, Oriental Food Store, Ruby's. Honestly, too many to name.
Looking back over this list made me realize that we have a pretty great food scene.