iowa city

[sidis 9828]

never been there...the 19th year of college football trip that group of friends go on each year is hitting kinnick for the first time for michigan-iowa.  the only person on here i can think of that has any connection to iowa is @Al_4_ISU but if anyone else knows iowa city, would appreciate any recommendations on a spot for dinner on friday and saturday.  also any tailgating advice.  game time has not yet been announced.  would generally expect the classic 11am big 10 situation but iowa seems to be an exception that occasionally gets some big night games up there.

[NIUHuskies 504]

Have been to Iowa City a couple of times. 

My thoughts:

Sam's Pizza in Iowa city for za

Stay in the Quad Cities for cheaper hotels and casinos.

Hit up the Herbert Hoover Library in West Branch if you are a history nerd.

[Zepol87 9186]

25 minutes ago, NIUHuskies said:

Have been to Iowa City a couple of times. 

My thoughts:

Sam's Pizza in Iowa city for za

Stay in the Quad Cities for cheaper hotels and casinos.

Hit up the Herbert Hoover Library in West Branch if you are a history nerd.

Rhythm city is a sad ass casino but I had great luck on a few trips there. Craps and the sportsbook always treated me well

[GopherRock 1765]

I've been to Mordor a bunch (My Gophers are 0-5 when I'm there), but it's been a while since my last trip, so YMMV.

Second Sam's Pizza. Hamburg Inn No. 2 for breakfast. 

Tailgating is best done out on the Finkbine Golf Course, on Melrose Avenue west of the stadium. Also, do NOT be in a hurry to leave. The UI campus is notorious for being bad at crowd dispersal. This is where my friends and I learned that college football tailgating is an all day thing.

[MNLonghornFUKM 8817]

Iowa city surprised me. I’ve Only been once 6 years so im leaving a lot out… cool classic college town.

We stayed at hotelVetro. Which will be spendy. If you can split it X amount of ways, it’s worth it. It’s right on college street which isn’t a street for cars but a street for pedestrians with a ton of bars and restaurants on it. Very cool vibe.

I think we made it to Sam’s pizza according to Google maps, it looks like a similar walk there that we took. I don’t recall if it was to die for or not.

We tailgates west side of stadium. We walked Up and down melrose evidently it was where the house party tailgates were. Didn’t get invited to any all dressed up as NDSU fans, so thumbs down to Hawkeye fans there, that’s how we ended up at the west side of stadium. I didn’t walk that far to finkbine golf course that gopherrock recommended. Damn it. I mean west side lot was fine but nothing extravagant


Leaving kinnick is just a sea of people. We walked back to hotel which was a mile but melrose >grand Ave > Burlington st to our hotel was solid people. You’ll have fun. Maybe a better chance at getting into house party’s dressed as a Michigan fan? That was our only major disappointment

[CycleTex87 2970]

I once heard of Iowa. 

[RPM 26321]

Do they have a Motel 6?

[Al_4_ISU 12463]

I know Iowa City well.  I had a lot of friends who went to U of I and we'd go back and forth (they come to Ames, we'd go there) a lot.  It's a quintessential Midwestern college town in the downtown area, but the fringes have turned into total Anywhere USA suburbia as it's melded with Cedar Rapids.  Overall it's a very nice area, even if I fucking loathe the Hawkeyes.

I highly recommend Short's Burger & Shine downtown.  Some of my favorite burgers ever.  All Iowa ingredients, and I believe all Iowa beers on tap.  The college bars are Chicago bro central and can be absolutely awful, but there will be college girls blowing daddy's money not wearing much clothes so that's a plus.  The Deadwood is a cool downtown bar that's not excessively Chicago bro.  The Vine is a bit off the beaten path near downtown that I always enjoyed.  My buddy lived next to there for awhile and we had a lot of good times over the years.  Big Grove Brewing absolutely fucks and you'd be a got damn moron not to go there.  It's slightly past walking distance from downtown.  The Oasis is a Mediterranean place with outstanding falafel.  There are lots of places that are open late for drunk food that are good and have probably changed over 100 times since I last spent much time there.  John's Grocery is a cool spot to pick up beers.  It's kind of an iconic neighborhood grocery/liquor store.

Tailgating is an absolute clusterfuck, but fun if you find the right spot.  There's no congregated spot, as Kinnick is jammed into the west campus around the hospital.  Just grab a 12 pack and walk around.  If you try to actually set up your own tailgate, you will be 2 miles from Kinnick and it will absolutely sip shit.

Steak and Shake sucks - don't go to one.  The downside to Iowa City is that there are a whole lot of suburban Chicago douche bags overrunning that town.  The actual Iowans will be fun, and that atmosphere should be electric because they only play Michigan every 5-6 years.

You will have a good time.

16 hours ago, MNLonghornFUKM said:

Iowa city surprised me. I’ve Only been once 6 years so im leaving a lot out… cool classic college town.

We stayed at hotelVetro. Which will be spendy. If you can split it X amount of ways, it’s worth it. It’s right on college street which isn’t a street for cars but a street for pedestrians with a ton of bars and restaurants on it. Very cool vibe.

I think we made it to Sam’s pizza according to Google maps, it looks like a similar walk there that we took. I don’t recall if it was to die for or not.

We tailgates west side of stadium. We walked Up and down melrose evidently it was where the house party tailgates were. Didn’t get invited to any all dressed up as NDSU fans, so thumbs down to Hawkeye fans there, that’s how we ended up at the west side of stadium. I didn’t walk that far to finkbine golf course that gopherrock recommended. Damn it. I mean west side lot was fine but nothing extravagant


Leaving kinnick is just a sea of people. We walked back to hotel which was a mile but melrose >grand Ave > Burlington st to our hotel was solid people. You’ll have fun. Maybe a better chance at getting into house party’s dressed as a Michigan fan? That was our only major disappointment

That's unfortunate.  They're absolute dicks to us, but I figured Iowa fans were good to the rest of their visitors.

Edited August 19, 2022 by Al_4_ISU

[sidis 9828]

Thanks a lot everyone. Exactly the info I was looking for. 

[SimonBolivar 10958]

1 hour ago, Al_4_ISU said:

I know Iowa City well.  I had a lot of friends who went to U of I and we'd go back and forth (they come to Ames, we'd go there) a lot.  It's a quintessential Midwestern college town in the downtown area, but the fringes have turned into total Anywhere USA suburbia as it's melded with Cedar Rapids.  Overall it's a very nice area, even if I fucking loathe the Hawkeyes.

I highly recommend Short's Burger & Shine downtown.  Some of my favorite burgers ever.  All Iowa ingredients, and I believe all Iowa beers on tap.  The college bars are Chicago bro central and can be absolutely awful, but there will be college girls blowing daddy's money not wearing much clothes so that's a plus.  The Deadwood is a cool downtown bar that's not excessively Chicago bro.  The Vine is a bit off the beaten path near downtown that I always enjoyed.  My buddy lived next to there for awhile and we had a lot of good times over the years.  Big Grove Brewing absolutely fucks and you'd be a got damn moron not to go there.  It's slightly past walking distance from downtown.  The Oasis is a Mediterranean place with outstanding falafel.  There are lots of places that are open late for drunk food that are good and have probably changed over 100 times since I last spent much time there.  John's Grocery is a cool spot to pick up beers.  It's kind of an iconic neighborhood grocery/liquor store.

Tailgating is an absolute clusterfuck, but fun if you find the right spot.  There's no congregated spot, as Kinnick is jammed into the west campus around the hospital.  Just grab a 12 pack and walk around.  If you try to actually set up your own tailgate, you will be 2 miles from Kinnick and it will absolutely sip shit.

Steak and Shake sucks - don't go to one.  The downside to Iowa City is that there are a whole lot of suburban Chicago douche bags overrunning that town.  The actual Iowans will be fun, and that atmosphere should be electric because they only play Michigan every 5-6 years.

You will have a good time.

That's unfortunate.  They're absolute dicks to us, but I figured Iowa fans were good to the rest of their visitors.

Interesting, I've never really thought about Iowa's student population but being only 3.5 hours from Chicago does mean you get a lot of Chicagoland in Iowa City. Does Ames get the same or is that more of an Iowa thing?

[Al_4_ISU 12463]

4 minutes ago, SimonBolivar said:

Interesting, I've never really thought about Iowa's student population but being only 3.5 hours from Chicago does mean you get a lot of Chicagoland in Iowa City. Does Ames get the same or is that more of an Iowa thing?

No.  ISU is like 2/3rds Iowa kids.  There are a handful of Chicago kids, but it's like there's one in every social circle as opposed to entire social circles made up of Chicago people like you see at Iowa.

ISU gets a fair number of kids from the Twin Cities and Omaha.  Minneapolis is like 3.5-4 hours and Omaha is between 2.5-3 hours.  The Omaha kids tend to keep rooting for Nebraska, and the Minnesota kids just bitch constantly about being in Iowa - even though they intentionally chose to come here.

I remember when I went to a game in Stillwater that the Poke fans said Oklahoma has a similar dynamic - with OSU being mostly Okies and OU having a ton of Dallas yuppies.

 

Edited August 19, 2022 by Al_4_ISU

[Al_4_ISU 12463]

If The Mill is still a going concern, they will likely have some good bands.

[sidis 9828]

Just now, Al_4_ISU said:

If The Mill is still a going concern, they will likely have some good bands.

well you and 4th&Five have the same musical tastes i believe (white dudes with beards that you can't differentiate between tightroping the line between rock and country) and he's on the trip so that might happen on friday night.

both teams have unchallenging schedules prior to that one (michigan plays colorado state, hawaii, uconn, and maryland while iowa plays sdstate, iowa state, nevada, and rutgers) so they should each be 4-0 going into it unless the clones get them at kinnick - campbell seems to really struggle with iowa...should hopefully make for the best possible energy.

[Al_4_ISU 12463]

3 minutes ago, sidis said:

well you and 4th&Five have the same musical tastes i believe (white dudes with beards that you can't differentiate between tightroping the line between rock and country) and he's on the trip so that might happen on friday night.

both teams have unchallenging schedules prior to that one (michigan plays colorado state, hawaii, uconn, and maryland while iowa plays sdstate, iowa state, nevada, and rutgers) so they should each be 4-0 going into it unless the clones get them at kinnick - campbell seems to really struggle with iowa...should hopefully make for the best possible energy.

Easy with that "unchallenging" talk.  We'll lose to Iowa for sure, but it will because we make about 9,000 unforced errors in a game that we have a legit chance to win.

I agree that Iowa will be undefeated, but we'll make 'em sweat, damn it.

[4th&Five 41553]

The Mill looks to have been killed by Covid. 

[sidis 9828]

campbell seems to have a bit of a mack brown-ou thing going there.  iowa state was the better team in 17 and 18 (granted they didn't play with isu's best team in 20) but they keep losing one score games to them.

i genuinely have no idea what to expect from either team though...zero surprise if isu knocks them off.

[Al_4_ISU 12463]

18 minutes ago, sidis said:

campbell seems to have a bit of a mack brown-ou thing going there.  iowa state was the better team in 17 and 18 (granted they didn't play with isu's best team in 20) but they keep losing one score games to them.

i genuinely have no idea what to expect from either team though...zero surprise if isu knocks them off.

We were the better team in '19 - that was the game in Ames with all the rain delays where we dropped 3 gifted INTs, surrendered some stupid 3rd and longs, and inexplicably fumbled that punt down 2 with a chance to drive and win the game.

Iowa was definitely the better team in '18 and '21.  But we made a bunch of ridiculous atypical mistakes last year that salted that game away.  In particular was Hall's unforced fumble in our own endzone that was recovered for an Iowa TD, and the INT that Purdy threw directly to an Iowa LB (he would do shit like that more often than Hall fumbled though).

[Al_4_ISU 12463]

43 minutes ago, 4th&Five said:

The Mill looks to have been killed by Covid. 

Well, that fucking sucks.

[ocugolf 1214]

@Al_4_ISUOasis Falafel will make believers out of anyone.  Place is absolutely nails.  

[Texzilla58 4736]

To eat in Iowa. I’ve not been to Iowa City but spent a lot of time in Des Moines.

Pork. Pigs are still raised there as they used to be. Most places have a fried pork tenderloin sandwich which is terrific. It’s like a chicken fried pork chop. Usually the size of a hub cap. Most steakhouses have killer pork chops. But they also have incredible Iowa corn fed beef….

There is a big Chicago influence in the state, with lots of taverns and an influence on the food of hot dogs, sausages, gyros, etc.

Loose meat. Avoid this one. Plain ground beef slapped on a bun. A dry unseasoned sloppy Joe.

[Al_4_ISU 12463]

6 minutes ago, ocugolf said:

@Al_4_ISUOasis Falafel will make believers out of anyone.  Place is absolutely nails.  

I'm salivating thinking about their complimentary pickled red cabbage and spicy green sauce.  I'd dump that shit on anything.  ANYTHING.

[Al_4_ISU 12463]

3 minutes ago, Texzilla58 said:

To eat in Iowa. I’ve not been to Iowa City but spent a lot of time in Des Moines.

Pork. Pigs are still raised there as they used to be. Most places have a fried pork tenderloin sandwich which is terrific. It’s like a chicken fried pork chop. Usually the size of a hub cap. Most steakhouses have killer pork chops. But they also have incredible Iowa corn fed beef….

There is a big Chicago influence in the state, with lots of taverns and an influence on the food of hot dogs, sausages, gyros, etc.

Loose meat. Avoid this one. Plain ground beef slapped on a bun. A dry unseasoned sloppy Joe.

In Des Moines, I think it's less of a Chicago influence and more of a general Italian influence.  Southside of Des Moines (as you may know) is heavily Italian and has some absolutely fantastic Italian groceries, delis, and restaurants.

Otherwise, you're spot on.  Eat pork and beef.  It's what we do.  And Maid Rites (the temple of loose meats) are absolute garbage.  I don't know that I'd seek out tenderloins in Iowa City though.  The best tenderloins come from towns of 150 people where they let dogs into the bar and some guy named Earl is running the fryer.  Short's has as good of a burger as I've had anywhere.

Edited August 19, 2022 by Al_4_ISU

[NIUHuskies 504]

For all the Chicago talk, there is a reason people call it the University of Illinois at Iowa City.

Purdue has that similar vibe.

[Dutch 4465]

21 minutes ago, Al_4_ISU said:

The best tenderloins come from towns of 150 people where they let dogs into the bar and some guy named Earl is running the fryer.  Short's has as good of a burger as I've had anywhere.

Can confirm. The wife has family from and still in Iowa, and we want back one summer. One of her cousins is a school superintendent, and as such spends a lot of time traveling the state. I had heard of the “Iowa tenderloin” sammich and asked him which place makes a good one. His eyes light up, and he says “I know the perfect spot.” We drove a ways to a bar/tavern and the place looked like it hadn’t been redecorated since Reagan was president, but the plate-sized fried pork tenderloin was effing awesome. Pizza (bar style thin crust) was on point, too.

 

Edited August 19, 2022 by Dutch

[Al_4_ISU 12463]

Can confirm. The wife has family from and still in Iowa, and we want back one summer. One of her cousins is a school superintendent, and as such spends a lot of time traveling the state. I had heard of the “Iowa tenderloin” sammich and asked him which place makes a good one. His eyes light up, and he says “I know the perfect spot.” We drove a ways to a bar/tavern and the place looked like it hadn’t been redecorated since Reagan was president, but the plate-sized fried pork tenderloin was effing awesome. Pizza (bar style thin crust) was on point, too.
 

Do you remember what town? I’m always looking for new tenderloin pilgrimages.

For my money, the St Olaf Tap way up in the Driftless Area has the best. St Olaf’s population is 106.

[Dutch 4465]

20 minutes ago, Al_4_ISU said:

Do you remember what town? I’m always looking for new tenderloin pilgrimages.

For my money, the St Olaf Tap way up in the Driftless Area has the best. St Olaf’s population is 106.

No clue. At the time he was living in Cedar Falls, and we drove at least 45 mins - 1hr out of town. Like you described, tiny place.  

Edited August 19, 2022 by Dutch

[Al_4_ISU 12463]

No clue. At the time he was living in Cedar Falls, and we drove at least 45 mins - 1hr out of town. Like you described, tiny place.  

I bet it was Bent’s in Westgate. I haven’t been yet, but it’s getting a lot of hype. Would be about 45 to an hour from CF

[Covri 6249]

57 minutes ago, Texzilla58 said:

Loose meat. Avoid this one. Plain ground beef slapped on a bun. A dry unseasoned sloppy Joe.

How dare you!?!! So accurately describe a maid rite lol.

Even loading up the bun with ketchup and mustard couldn't stop the meat falling out the back half after the first bite. Nothing more disappointing then a church pot luck and seeing that crock pot full of unseasoned beef ground to the tiniest pieces waiting for you as the only meat option.

[Covri 6249]

58 minutes ago, Al_4_ISU said:

In Des Moines, I think it's less of a Chicago influence and more of a general Italian influence.  Southside of Des Moines (as you may know) is heavily Italian and has some absolutely fantastic Italian groceries, delis, and restaurants.

Otherwise, you're spot on.  Eat pork and beef.  It's what we do.  And Maid Rites (the temple of loose meats) are absolute garbage.  I don't know that I'd seek out tenderloins in Iowa City though.  The best tenderloins come from towns of 150 people where they let dogs into the bar and some guy named Earl is running the fryer.  Short's has as good of a burger as I've had anywhere.

A bunch of my family including my parents all worked at Babe's in downtown Des Moines in the 70s/80s and we would still go there when visiting up until it closed in the 90s and a brewery or something moved into the space. Place was old school Italian from food to vibe.

[johnny utah 68]

I just returned from Iowa City after dropping off my daughter (no pics) for her sophomore year at Iowa (how she ended up at Iowa is a long story).  So, while my experience is limited (3 visits total) here are some thoughts.

Hopefully you already have hotel reservations, because like a lot of smaller college towns the good options are limited and on football weekends you have to be prepared to pay.  The Hotel Vetro, as AI mentioned, is in a great location and is a cool hotel.  We stayed there last weekend but right now the rooms for the Michigan weekend are running about $1,300/night.  But they may be one of the only places that still has rooms available.

As far as restaurants, we mainly stuck to the downtown spots and enjoyed St Birch Tavern, Pullman Bar & Diner, Basta, and Vue Rooftop (didn't actually eat here but had some drinks and enjoyed the view over the city).  Micky's Irish Pub has a good Chicken sandwich and a good beer selection.  And I will second AI suggestion on Big Grove Brewery as they have really good beer, good food and is a cool place to hang out.

We went to a game last fall and enjoyed it (and admit that I thought the "wave" was cool).  I can't offer much in terms of tailgating advice as we pregamed at one of the sports bars downtown to watch the Texas/TTech game.  But there were tailgates all strown about, even in the parking lot of our hotel (Mariott Courtyard right across from the stadium). 

All in all I think it's a cool town to take in a game in the fall.  

[4th&Five 41553]

Short's looks really good but it seems the downtown location is closed until further notice and the other locations are closed on Sunday.  We may have to hit it on the way into town Friday.

[Al_4_ISU 12463]

What the fuck!  My boy Cheese ran that place in the early 10's.  That's a damn shame.  I didn't realize that they had other locations.  Stella's (a block west of Kinnick) is the same ownership group, and good food in an otherwise strange location.

Still, plenty of good eats.  Big Grove has good enough food to match their beer.

Edited August 19, 2022 by Al_4_ISU

[Al_4_ISU 12463]

38 minutes ago, Covri said:

A bunch of my family including my parents all worked at Babe's in downtown Des Moines in the 70s/80s and we would still go there when visiting up until it closed in the 90s and a brewery or something moved into the space. Place was old school Italian from food to vibe.

My grandparents went there all the time when my grandpa was in the state legislature in the 80's and 90's.  I'm not sure if it's where Court Ave Brewing or Raccoon River set up.

Tumea & Sons, Latin King, and Barratta's are my go-to Italian joints in Des Moines.  Graziano Bros grocery (best hot Italian sausage I've ever had), B&B Deli, and Manhattan Deli all fuck as well.

[MNLonghornFUKM 8817]

I know Iowa City well.  I had a lot of friends who went to U of I and we'd go back and forth (they come to Ames, we'd go there) a lot.  It's a quintessential Midwestern college town in the downtown area, but the fringes have turned into total Anywhere USA suburbia as it's melded with Cedar Rapids.  Overall it's a very nice area, even if I fucking loathe the Hawkeyes.
I highly recommend Short's Burger & Shine downtown.  Some of my favorite burgers ever.  All Iowa ingredients, and I believe all Iowa beers on tap.  The college bars are Chicago bro central and can be absolutely awful, but there will be college girls blowing daddy's money not wearing much clothes so that's a plus.  The Deadwood is a cool downtown bar that's not excessively Chicago bro.  The Vine is a bit off the beaten path near downtown that I always enjoyed.  My buddy lived next to there for awhile and we had a lot of good times over the years.  Big Grove Brewing absolutely fucks and you'd be a got damn moron not to go there.  It's slightly past walking distance from downtown.  The Oasis is a Mediterranean place with outstanding falafel.  There are lots of places that are open late for drunk food that are good and have probably changed over 100 times since I last spent much time there.  John's Grocery is a cool spot to pick up beers.  It's kind of an iconic neighborhood grocery/liquor store.
Tailgating is an absolute clusterfuck, but fun if you find the right spot.  There's no congregated spot, as Kinnick is jammed into the west campus around the hospital.  Just grab a 12 pack and walk around.  If you try to actually set up your own tailgate, you will be 2 miles from Kinnick and it will absolutely sip shit.
Steak and Shake sucks - don't go to one.  The downside to Iowa City is that there are a whole lot of suburban Chicago douche bags overrunning that town.  The actual Iowans will be fun, and that atmosphere should be electric because they only play Michigan every 5-6 years.
You will have a good time.
That's unfortunate.  They're absolute dicks to us, but I figured Iowa fans were good to the rest of their visitors.

I thought it was unwritten code to invite every visitor you see to your spot…nothing from UI fans


ISU fans tho would kick your ass if you don’t drink their beer. Love ISU

[4th&Five 41553]

7 minutes ago, Al_4_ISU said:

What the fuck!  My boy Cheese ran that place in the early 10's.  That's a damn shame.  I didn't realize that they had other locations.  Stella's (a block west of Kinnick) is the same ownership group, and good food in an otherwise strange location.

Still, plenty of good eats.  Big Grove has good enough food to match their beer.

[4th&Five 41553]

1 minute ago, MNLonghornFUKM said:

I thought it was unwritten code to invite every visitor you see to your spot…nothing from UI fans


ISU fans tho would kick your ass if you don’t drink their beer. Love ISU

We’ll have 2 or 3 Michigan grads with us and I’ll be dressed like a Hawkeye fan. Hopefully that covers our bases. 

[Al_4_ISU 12463]

I thought it was unwritten code to invite every visitor you see to your spot…nothing from UI fans


ISU fans tho would kick your ass if you don’t drink their beer. Love ISU

It’s absolutely unwritten code. I always invite outsiders in.

ISU and NDSU fans are pretty similar.

[Al_4_ISU 12463]

His namesake

[sidis 9828]

2 hours ago, johnny utah said:

I just returned from Iowa City after dropping off my daughter (no pics) for her sophomore year at Iowa (how she ended up at Iowa is a long story).  So, while my experience is limited (3 visits total) here are some thoughts.

Hopefully you already have hotel reservations, because like a lot of smaller college towns the good options are limited and on football weekends you have to be prepared to pay.  The Hotel Vetro, as AI mentioned, is in a great location and is a cool hotel.  We stayed there last weekend but right now the rooms for the Michigan weekend are running about $1,300/night.  But they may be one of the only places that still has rooms available.

As far as restaurants, we mainly stuck to the downtown spots and enjoyed St Birch Tavern, Pullman Bar & Diner, Basta, and Vue Rooftop (didn't actually eat here but had some drinks and enjoyed the view over the city).  Micky's Irish Pub has a good Chicken sandwich and a good beer selection.  And I will second AI suggestion on Big Grove Brewery as they have really good beer, good food and is a cool place to hang out.

We went to a game last fall and enjoyed it (and admit that I thought the "wave" was cool).  I can't offer much in terms of tailgating advice as we pregamed at one of the sports bars downtown to watch the Texas/TTech game.  But there were tailgates all strown about, even in the parking lot of our hotel (Mariott Courtyard right across from the stadium). 

All in all I think it's a cool town to take in a game in the fall.  

thanks.

grabbed a hotel back in early summer thankfully so all set there...somewhere just up on the other side of 6.

 

1 hour ago, Al_4_ISU said:

It’s absolutely unwritten code. I always invite outsiders in.

ISU and NDSU fans are pretty similar.

back when we started this in 2003, we were all in our early 20's and just slipped in to tailgates wherever we went.  wearing a longhorn shirt usually got a convo started wherever we were and 13 hours later we woke up in a ditch somewhere.  but of all the places we have been*...it has been surprising to me how much less "welcoming" and fun all the big 10 stops have been.  i anticipated a bit of midwestern folksiness and it is noticeably less fun/inviting than the south.

*in order, we have been to:

03: auburn @ lsu (best tailgating ever, pretty lopsided game), side note trip to agros @ nebraska (never again, that place sucks)

04: rose bowl (yes)

05: ohio st @ michigan (game was okay, fun day, half the guys on the trip are um guys), rose bowl (yes)

06: texas-ou (great fun)

07: lsu @ alabama (one of the best trips, Saban's first year at bammer - probably the second most fun game we have seen)

08: florida @ tennessee (amazing tailgating on the river, second worst game - teboner and harvin wrecked rocky bad)

09: usc @ oregon (fun stadium experience, meh tailgating/game, distracted the whole time nervous af about texas in stillwater at the same time)

10: alabama @ lsu (only repeat trip, just not going to beat tailgating at lsu, great game)

11: florida st @ clemson (great tailgating group, loved everyone there...honestly enjoyed it so much that it made their temporary ascent to the top more palatable)

12: georgia @ south carolina (crap game, fun tailgating in cockabooses)

13: lsu @ georgia (decent tailgating, most fun game of all)

14: stanford @ washington (Seattle trip more than anything, beautiful stadium, meh game, actually tailgated with some horns that live up there)

15: texas @ notre dame (everything about everything erased from everything, awful)

16: alabama @ ole miss (grove tailgating was amazing, game was decent for a while)

17: michigan @ wisconsin (i didn't know cold like that existed inside the earth's atmosphere, game was boring af, classic big 10 shit)

18: miami @ virginia tech (never again. ever. pretty drive from charlotte, everything else there fucking suuuucked, even sandman was a huge letdown)

19: georgia @ auburn (solid tailgating, fun 4th qtr as auburn almost came back)

20: covid

21: maryland @ minnesota (don't ask, long story, still not happy about it, checked off the list, went to paisley park, got covid, game was piss poor quality)

22: michigan @ iowa

penn st, florida, azst, usc, kentucky, unc all on the priority list for the next few years.  

Edited August 19, 2022 by sidis

[castolon 193]

Do you remember what town? I’m always looking for new tenderloin pilgrimages.

For my money, the St Olaf Tap way up in the Driftless Area has the best. St Olaf’s population is 106.

Primrose in Corning is way better than it had any right to be.

[MNLonghornFUKM 8817]

Lol@maryland Vs minny


I wouldn’t go to that game if it was across the street with free admission

[Al_4_ISU 12463]

Lol@maryland Vs minny


I wouldn’t go to that game if it was across the street with free admission

I can’t think of a worse game to show someone how the Midwest does CFB. Iowa/Mich will bury that experience

[4th&Five 41553]

Our original plan for last year was the cocktail party but we got fucked by schedules. That game ended up sucking anyway. Minneapolis was well worth the trip though.

Ann Arbor and Madison were both cold af and both games were noon kicks. Hoping we get a night game so we can see the tailgating in full force. 
 

Minnesota tailgating was still better than Eugene, which may surprise people. 

Edited August 20, 2022 by 4th&Five

[Al_4_ISU 12463]

I went to a Minnesota/TCU game in like 2015. It was the Thursday before Labor Day. The tailgating was definitely decent, and they had a solid crowd that night.

But there are a lot of weeks there might be 40K in that place.

[MalibuSheriff 1090]

On 8/19/2022 at 11:22 AM, Al_4_ISU said:

Do you remember what town? I’m always looking for new tenderloin pilgrimages.

For my money, the St Olaf Tap way up in the Driftless Area has the best. St Olaf’s population is 106.

Dayummmm!

I’m marking St. Olaf down as I want to trout fish up in the Iowa Driftless some day.

[Al_4_ISU 12463]

On 9/22/2022 at 12:03 AM, MalibuSheriff said:

Dayummmm!

I’m marking St. Olaf down as I want to trout fish up in the Iowa Driftless some day.

It's fantastic.  Elkader is a great area to base for a trout trip.

[Al_4_ISU 12463]

And if you need any info on the Driftless, hit me up.  I live in Cresco, on the western edge of the region, and know it (the Iowa and Minnesota portions anyway) extremely well.  I'm not an angler myself, but I've hiked a lot of the trout streams just because they're beautiful places to hike.

[MalibuSheriff 1090]

1 hour ago, Al_4_ISU said:

And if you need any info on the Driftless, hit me up.  I live in Cresco, on the western edge of the region, and know it (the Iowa and Minnesota portions anyway) extremely well.  I'm not an angler myself, but I've hiked a lot of the trout streams just because they're beautiful places to hike.

Thanks!  I’ve got Jene Hughes book on the Iowa Driftless but I’ll definitely hit you up when I get a trip in line.  I was thinking about one this Fall but this damn work seems to be getting in the way.  Beautiful country up in your neck of the woods!

[Ag with kids 581]

On 8/19/2022 at 11:22 AM, Al_4_ISU said:

Do you remember what town? I’m always looking for new tenderloin pilgrimages.

For my money, the St Olaf Tap way up in the Driftless Area has the best. St Olaf’s population is 106.

[sidis 9828]

On 8/19/2022 at 7:50 AM, Al_4_ISU said:

I know Iowa City well.  I had a lot of friends who went to U of I and we'd go back and forth (they come to Ames, we'd go there) a lot.  It's a quintessential Midwestern college town in the downtown area, but the fringes have turned into total Anywhere USA suburbia as it's melded with Cedar Rapids.  Overall it's a very nice area, even if I fucking loathe the Hawkeyes.

I highly recommend Short's Burger & Shine downtown.  Some of my favorite burgers ever.  All Iowa ingredients, and I believe all Iowa beers on tap.  The college bars are Chicago bro central and can be absolutely awful, but there will be college girls blowing daddy's money not wearing much clothes so that's a plus.  The Deadwood is a cool downtown bar that's not excessively Chicago bro.  The Vine is a bit off the beaten path near downtown that I always enjoyed.  My buddy lived next to there for awhile and we had a lot of good times over the years.  Big Grove Brewing absolutely fucks and you'd be a got damn moron not to go there.  It's slightly past walking distance from downtown.  The Oasis is a Mediterranean place with outstanding falafel.  There are lots of places that are open late for drunk food that are good and have probably changed over 100 times since I last spent much time there.  John's Grocery is a cool spot to pick up beers.  It's kind of an iconic neighborhood grocery/liquor store.

Tailgating is an absolute clusterfuck, but fun if you find the right spot.  There's no congregated spot, as Kinnick is jammed into the west campus around the hospital.  Just grab a 12 pack and walk around.  If you try to actually set up your own tailgate, you will be 2 miles from Kinnick and it will absolutely sip shit.

Steak and Shake sucks - don't go to one.  The downside to Iowa City is that there are a whole lot of suburban Chicago douche bags overrunning that town.  The actual Iowans will be fun, and that atmosphere should be electric because they only play Michigan every 5-6 years.

You will have a good time.

That's unfortunate.  They're absolute dicks to us, but I figured Iowa fans were good to the rest of their visitors.

At Shorts now. Pretty good.