27 Comments
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Lynn W Gardner's avatar

Tom you need to take your readers (after a fine meal) over to the John Deere Headquarters and show them the fine museum on site, as well as the unique building and grounds its self. It is motor related the only thing is you can have model vehicle you want but the only color is green. Oh that right that is your favorite color.

Epilogue: judging from your photos down town Moline has improved from the hollowed out place I visited in 1993, that’s great.

Tom Klockau's avatar

Not open to the public anymore, when Jayson visited last year we tried. I had been there about ten years ago and it the museum was pretty interesting.

Lynn W Gardner's avatar

Gee that’s to bad, they had a wonderful gift shop and the building itself is so unique (exoskeleton of rust once steel beams)

TangoWhiskey's avatar

My mom went to Augustana but I’ve only ever passed through the Quad Cities on my way to Iowa City. If I’m ever in the area I’d definitely check this place out

Rick T.'s avatar

Did she ever meet Ken Anderson?

TangoWhiskey's avatar

Yeah I asked her and she said one of her friends dated him in college

New User Name's avatar

Enjoy the heck out of this sort of thing. In my opinion, we on the West Coast lack this sort of thing. And if we ever did, it would become a fusion restaurant with "world beats" within five years.

Speed's avatar

dumb question at this point but whats a supper club?

those just look like restaurants to me

Gianni's avatar

I was going to ask the same thing. We have no concept of them in the Pacific Northwest. I’m genuinely curious and not trying to be a dick.

Speed's avatar

just trying to figure out if its a real definition of something or a klockauism

Frank White's avatar

Supper clubs are mostly found in the upper midwest. Think an upscale, special occasion restaurant with a not rushed atmosphere, classic menu (steaks, surf & turf, maybe even a chateubriand for two) and classic cocktails. Go there with family and friends, then maybe a key party afterwards.

sgeffe's avatar

Basically a nice, awesome steakhouse, but sometimes, an Italian restaurant might fit the bill!

LAVOS in the Palazzo Hotel lobby of the Venetian Resort complex in Las Vegas is one such example, if a bit $pendy! But eight stars out of five! 👍

Buddy V’s Ristorante on the Venetian side might qualify! (Less expensive, and one HELLACIOUS plate of lasagna! 😋😋)

Rick T.'s avatar

This pretty well covers it. Especially the requirements of an excellent Brandy Old Fashioned and a relish tray at least in the Wisconsin ones. And the place that Tom reviewed is way too fancy to be authentic, hence the ambiance requirement. There’s a whole culture out there.

https://www.wisconsincheese.com/the-cheese-life/article/124/supper-clubs

seatosky's avatar

I think it’s something that 70s LARPers use

sgeffe's avatar

Good heavens though, but do you like your steaks one step away from mooing, or was that some sort of marinade?

Medium-rare to medium-well is just about perfect! New York strips or Delmonicos are my favorites—I can’t deal with having to cut around bones! Mind you, if I can get a couple filets at a time, such the better! Quality AND quantity!

I would hope to have an absolutely decadent Caesar salad as an appetizer, along with some sort of endless bread thing, and with some sort of potato alongside the steak—maybe a twice-baked AND something else; if I’m at a noice steakhouse, French fries ain’t gonna cut it! If I have to miss dessert, I’m not going to cry about it!

But I would hope that someone else would be in charge of my transportation, because I’d be ingesting Manhattans on the rocks—HUGE SINGLE ICE CUBE—throughout the meal! With Luxardo cherries, of course! 🥃🥃🥴🥴

Tom Klockau's avatar

It was medium. Had a rather excellent marinade, haha.

anatoly arutunoff's avatar

the best-flavored meat is a pan-seared bone-in prime unground round steak. nothing like it and very hard to find.

tcl  56's avatar

"Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste"

Nothing at all against TK, I'm a relic of the '70's myself, this is just the first lyric that entered my head when I read this. If you don't recognize this line you are missing a decade of the best music. I was aware of the existence of supper clubs but was never invited to one.

Rick T.'s avatar

I've been around for a long, long year

Stole many a man's soul and faith

Rick T.'s avatar

Ha. Yeah way past seeing em before they retire or die list.

tcl  56's avatar

I passed on seeing the Stones while I was in college because the tickets were $15–I know that dates me cause it would be a bargain today - $88 adjusted for inflation. I was poor, cheap, and not a huge Stones fan even then

Tom Klockau's avatar

wait that's Paul Niedermeyer.

except he doesn't have wealth or taste. 🤪

Tom Klockau's avatar

And frankly, this isn't strictly a supper club. It's more supper clubbish. Typical supper club features include plush seating, low lighting, a bar that typically opens an hour or so before the dining room, wood paneling, and the aforementioned relish trays and Old Fashioneds. Most have a trapped in time, 50s to 70s vibe. This restaurant is probably automatically disqualified by its bright lighting, lol.

See my ACF posts on the Hob Nob in Racine or Benedettis in Beloit for true, 100% supper club characteristics.

S2kChris's avatar

On the subject of fine old fashioned iconic restaurants, I ate at Indy’s St Elmo’s last night. Not the best steakhouse I’ve ever been to (Chicago’s Asador Bastian) but I very much enjoyed it.

-Nate's avatar

It's beautiful .

Nice to hear the food's good to, that's not often the case these days .

-Nate

LyriqalGenius's avatar

Nice! Your Cadillac looks so great parked on a city street. Don't write off staying at a fine hotel close to your house...my wife and I will nab one for special occasions (birthday, anniversary) when we don't have time to get out of town. Call the front desk...often they will have unpublished lower priced rooms on weekdays and in wintertime/off season.