Since when? I had Mabe’s in May and it was still great. Haven’t had Joe’s since they closed in Ames and honestly never thought it was that good anyway.
Tap Rooms Iowa
- Thread starter dmclone
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Since when? I had Mabe’s in May and it was still great. Haven’t had Joe’s since they closed in Ames and honestly never thought it was that good anyway.
I don’t see New American lasting very long. Their beer is nothing special and it’s been dead in there every time I’ve visited.
If you want really good pizza on a trip to the Decorah area, Atomic in Cresco and High Wide & Handsome in Calmar both beat Mabe's anymore (JMO). Mabe's is still good, a local icon, and doesn't require any kind of commute.
But if you do venture either direction (Cresco and Calmar are bookends of the Prairie Farmer Bike Trail - so if you're up there for biking) you can do High Wide & Handsome at Pivo Brewing in Calmar which is really good, and Atomic has probably 13 craft beers on tap, most of them local to the area (TG, Schell's, Singlespeed, and Pearl Street).
But if you do venture either direction (Cresco and Calmar are bookends of the Prairie Farmer Bike Trail - so if you're up there for biking) you can do High Wide & Handsome at Pivo Brewing in Calmar which is really good, and Atomic has probably 13 craft beers on tap, most of them local to the area (TG, Schell's, Singlespeed, and Pearl Street).
I liked a few New American beers back when they just did bottles and taps around the area. I agree about their tap room, and I haven't been all that impressed with their beer in the last 2 years.
FWIW I spend way too much time at Singlespeed in Waterloo. Damn near have my punchcard full though.
I like going to the old CF tap room a little bit more, but Waterloo is a great space and I love the food.
- Mar 27, 2006
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I used to work about a block from the CF tap room. I do like it a lot but it was way too cramped in there.
Yeah, they definitely needed to expand. I haven't seen it get too bad in there since they opened Waterloo, but I don't get down a ton either.
I was just in San Diego a few months ago. If Big Grove is up there with those breweries I that is a nice incentive to go to Iowa City 9/8. Not that I needed more of one. We are going to stomp the Hawkeyes, i really believe that. I'll be at Big Grove before the big show thanks to you
So enjoy!
I grew up near Decorah when Mabe's was the "it" place for NE Iowa and a top 100 privately owned restaurant in the country. We ate there for years (formerly had 3 locations). Unless things have been up-graded in the last year it is average pie. They used to bake Oregano into the crust, made super delicious sauce, and the Saturday night crush was something to experience.
I was in San Diego last month and went to the Stone Brewery. What a fantastic brewery with many options. It disappoints me that one basically finds their IPAs in the stores, when they have so many other great beers.
Which one did you visit? We visited the Escondido one and Liberty Station. Liberty Station was ok but the Escondido one was amazing.
My friends took me to several including Alesmith and the Brew Lab? That's the one where they do several versions of the same style with the only difference being the yeast. Really cool.
I'm down in KC, been to all the breweries here. Some good ones, some meh.. The best brewery I've been to IMO is Side Project in St Louis. Just AMAZING.
I'm down in KC, been to all the breweries here. Some good ones, some meh.. The best brewery I've been to IMO is Side Project in St Louis. Just AMAZING.
We went to the Liberty Station one. The beers and food was great for us, however their service was really slow.
I’ve only been eating Mabe’s for the last 2-3 years so I’ll take your word that it used to be better but saying it’s crap now is just not true. Maybe it is to you because its not the same but we still get it every time we visit Decorah. Next time we’ll have to try the places Al suggested and compare.
