Midnight Snack DBQ

Living up to the history of a old restaurant as a new tenant seems like a momentous task.  Especially for a cafe like The Daily Grind. Residing in what used to be the Donut Boy, it's near Beechers and my least favorite intersection in all of DBQ. Seriously, I've been saying for years that they need to put a light or a roundabout there. Keeping it an all-way stop when it's the intersection of two very important and heavily driven streets is foolish. If anyone on the city council is reading this, the money that will be used on that ugly overpass planned for 14th Street could be used on literally any other road construction project. I mean any road. Next meeting, take a dartboard, tape a map of Dubuque on it, and fix the road the dart lands closest to. Who is asking for another overpass? Anyways, qualms with roads aside, I had a lot of memories with the Donut Boy in DBQ. As a kid, me and my father would always go there to get donuts for my grandparents. Bear claws for my grand...

Oolong might be one of my new favorite spots downtown. It's right by Jubeck Brewery and only a few blocks from the library. I'd passed by it a few times and seen it's sign while walking around at the farmers market, but for some reason, I'd failed to go to this hidden gem of a eatery. I decided to investigate their menu one day and found out they sold pho. My brother lives in Ames, studying hard and getting on the deans list (learned it all from me), and he was very cruelly raving to me about an awesome pho place downtown. He said it was one of the best things he ever had. I knew I had to try this dish out one day but never was able to. I had no idea there was any place in DBQ that sold pho. It was time to investigate further. Went there with my buddy and it might just be the best place to catch up with friends. It's a smaller establishment, but they make up for it with amble seating. A good amount of booths and tables, with a fun little bar table in the middle of t...

I want to apologize to @papi's. I didn't know that the Toddy was a hot chocolate-like drink. When I googled it, I saw a tea thing and assumed that's what it was. In hindsight, I should have just asked. I will be continuing to go there to make up for my unforgivable error. After my review was posted, @papi's reached out to me, letting me know that they do in fact have a fun chocolatey drink. They were extremely kind and offered to give me an arepita on the house. Absolutely lovely people and you can tell they care about what they do. I returned to the scene of the crime with my partner and ordered a Toddy. Let me tell you, dear readers, that Toddy was gone before I made it back to my car. If you took a real good hot coco and whipped it up a bit, that's what it felt like. It was so light and fluffy. The chocolate wasn't overpowering, it sung with the rest of the drink to make a lovely experience. I adored it. Everytime I visit, I find myself falling more and more ...

Rose & Berries might just be one of the most beautiful restaurants in DBQ. Every part of the interior is thought out and gorgeous. Their website alone is fun to look at. They've got such a solid brand image, with the pastels and the flowers, it's truly a gift for the eyes. It's the perfect place to dress up nice and sit down with friends for a great experience. I'd only been to Rose & Berries once before, around when it just opened. I had an amazing mango smoothie in an adorable pineapple glass and chatted with some friends over drinks. I brought home some macaroons and realized that those aren't really for me and gave the rest to a friend. I had went around noon on a Sunday (mistake on my part considering how close they are to a church) so it was pretty crowded but we still managed to find a table. Overall pretty good experience, but I could tell I hadn't gotten the full picture yet. I needed to go back. Rose & Berries recently celebrated their one ...

"Another Colombian coffee shop? That can't be right." I thought to myself as I was mindlessly scrolling Instagram at one in the morning during a slow evening at work. Keeping my finger on the pulse of the DBQ food scene is a sleepless and grueling job, my only reprieve being photos of animals up for adoption at the humane society. A month ago I had just visited La Venta's Specialty coffee, the first colombian coffee shop I'd seen in DBQ. Another one opening in the span of a few months? Interesting to say the least. I knew I had to investigate further. Digging into the menu, I was astonished. Arepas?! I only had them once before in college when my friend made some and let me try one. I had dreampt of them ever since. The photos on their Instagram let me know this was no joke. They looked incredible. Immediately, I made plans to go as soon as they opened. This cafe had taken over what used to be the old Habits, right across the street from the library. Never found o...