2 Dogs Pub in Iowa City

September 15th, 2011 | Posted by Karrey in Beer | Food | Iowa City - (2 Comments)

IMAG0221Last night, we decided to try out a new beer/food joint in town before heading to the grocery store (who wants to shop on an empty stomach?), so we headed over to 2 Dogs Pub on 1st Avenue in Iowa City. They bill themselves as having a sports-pub theme, but as not being a full-blown sports bar, so my expectations weren’t super high. I was pleasantly surprised.

A few weeks ago, we decided to walk downtown from our house to have beer-dinner at a local sports bar, The Vine, since it was closest to our house and has a semi-okay beer selection. The Vine in Iowa City is a pretty good illustration of that type of place: basement atmosphere, dark wood, dark paint, lots of tvs, a couple of non-Budweiseresque beer choices on tap, and passable food. I used to love the place a lot when I still ate meat, since their wings are city-wide famous, and back when I didn’t have very good taste in beer, but my palate has since matured.

This new joint was nothing like that! Bright and airy, with a sort of divider between the back bar area and the front, which probably makes the front more family-friendly. They have a great fucking beer selection (24 taps for draft beer), with plenty of microbrews and a nice representation of Iowa-brewed beer.

We seated ourselves and were served promptly. I picked a pint of Empyrean Dark Side Vanilla Porter, a favorite of mine, while Kevin chose some Iowa beer that neither of us can recall now. We both decided on chipotle-black bean burgers with fries: I had mine “Animal Style” with Thousand Island dressing, caramelized onions, lettuce, and American cheese (trying to recreate my usual wrap from Baldy’s, RIP), and Kevin chose the “Border Crossing”, with salsa, jalapeno slices, pepperjack cheese, and garlic aioli. The burgers were delicious, perfectly cooked with really good flavor profiles. The fries were perfectly fried, not too greasy, not too salty. For dessert, we split a tiny funnel cake, which came with fudge sauce and raspberry coulis for dipping. YUM!

The place had high ceilings, so at first we were afraid that sound might echo (have you been in the new Noodles & Co. yet? Ugh, impossible to have a conversation!), but I didn’t notice a problem with noise at all, and the place was fairly busy. It might be a little ruckus-y if the joint is full, but that’s to be expected. There were several TVs scattered around, but they were at that perfect height on the wall where you don’t notice them if you’re not looking for them. They were also all blissfully silent. Classic rock played softly from speakers overhead.

Overall, we both dig the place quite a lot. It doesn’t hurt that it’s a quick bike ride from our house. For two people, where we both ordered burgers, beer, and split a dessert, the bill came to $29. Not bad at all.

30 Before Thirty!

March 4th, 2010 | Posted by Karrey in Baking | Beer | Cooking | Deflabbify | Food | Iowa City | Lists | Music | My house | Travel - (1 Comments)

I’ll be turning 30 years old on July 12, 2010, and I decided to partake in the project where you make a list of thirty things you want to accomplish before your 30th birthday. I don’t have long to go, but I’m hoping I can polish off everything on this list by making the items reasonable:

  1. Hang curtains (whether store-bought or handmade) in every window of the house, and get rid of every shred of miniblinds that have been haunting my windows and my dreams since we moved in.
  2. Install hardwood flooring throughout the main floor of the house (!!!).
  3. Pay off my credit card.
  4. Brew a batch of stout beer.
  5. Plan and start saving for an autumn vacation in Vancouver/Seattle.
  6. Grow delicious foods from heirloom seeds from Baker Creek, including a healing herb garden.
  7. Get a really great haircut from my bestie JoAnn at G Spot Hair Design, one that is an actual hairdo rather than something I pull back into a bun everyday.
  8. Get new glasses and contacts.
  9. Paint every room in the house something other than “Ultra White”.
  10. Scan all of our photos and organize them somewhere online.
  11. Update my Iowa City tumblr at least once a week.
  12. Continue my weight loss/fitness streak. Weight Watchers is working!
  13. Throw a May Day party.
  14. Organize and clean the basement.
  15. Try sewing another purse.
  16. Bake the perfect Blondie.
  17. Finish watching the whole Arrested Development series (we’re on an extended hiatus, mid-season 2).
  18. Create monthly music mixes without missing a month.
  19. Try making homemade ketchup.
  20. Build a pergola on the patio to continue cultivating an awesome backyard oasis.
  21. Finally part with (donate) the ugly fleece that’s clogging up my fabric stash.
  22. Go scooter camping in Palisades.
  23. Buy a bike helmet so I can safely ride all over town.
  24. Start really using the calendar/scheduling app on my iPhone to help keep my life more organized.
  25. Try raw milk.
  26. Mail goodies to my faraway friends.
  27. Build a respectable cocktail station.
  28. Start a food blog with aforementioned JoAnn.
  29. Make a batch of Navratan curry.
  30. Throw a fabulous 30th birthday party on my patio.

Leinenkugel’s Apple Spice

December 3rd, 2007 | Posted by Karrey in Beer | Iowa City - (0 Comments)

Kevin and I have been eyeing this beer since it first came out in October, but have been a little hesitant to try it for various reasons. I’m not crazy about a lot of different apple-flavored things, other than apples themselves or caramel apple lollipops, and Kevin is pretty stuck on his stouts and dark beers, and is leery of wheaty, paler brews.

On Saturday, Iowa City got hit with a mega icestorm, and we decided that if we were supposed to stay home to wait it out and possibly get iced in, we would have to pick up some things to entertain ourselves. We picked up some calzones from Sam’s Pizza, got Beerfest from That’s Rentertainment (better than Puddle Cruiser but not as funny as Supertroopers), made our weekly detour at Artifacts to see if they’d gotten any new goodies and to see if the bar we want was still there, and stopped at Dirty John’s to finally pick up a six pack of this beer. We decided that now was as good a time as any to try it, before it went out of season and we’d be left to wonder about it until next year.

As far as other Leinie’s beers go, we’re both big fans of Big Butt, which is another seasonal beer than only runs from January to March. It was actually one of the first beers we bonded over, having both tried it for the first time while together and loving it. I’m also partial to their Creamy Dark, although Kevin isn’t crazy about it.

On first pour, this doesn’t even smell like beer. Instead, it smells like regular apple cider. In fact, I was afraid that it was going to taste like Woodchuck Hard Cider or something of the sort, which is a drink so close to wine that I can’t stand it (no, I don’t like wine, either). The first sip of it was VERY apple-y, although the aftertaste wasn’t bad. It was fruity, but much much smoother than hard cider. I’d have to say that while I didn’t outright enjoy the beer at first, it wasn’t terrible, and I was willing to at least finish my glass. As the drink wore on, however, it began tasting more and more like Woodchuck, and eventually I had to wood-chuck it out. Not my cup of tea, although I understand how others would like it. Thankfully, we’re having a NYE party, so hopefully we’ll be able to pawn the rest of it off on our guests.