Search for the best Loose Meat - Riverside Dairy Queen

The Riverside Dairy Queen in Sioux City, Iowa serves local menu items in addition to their normal menu as a franchise restaurant. One of these local menu items is taverns.

The good:
When I first walked in between 2:00 and 2:30 pm on May 13, 2014. I was greeted by the employees and asked right away if my order was going to be for there or to go. I answered for there. After I placed the order for two taverns and paid I looked around the establishment. It was very clean and pleasant. On the walls are photos of historic Riverside buildings and businesses and a tribute to Colonial Bud Day. While I was there the company who provides the mop heads and utility rugs arrived to exchange them. One of the employees wiped off the tables even though they did not appear to need to be cleaned.

The bad:
There was a high chair that needed to be put away, it was in an area where people would normally walk.

The very bad:
While I was waiting for my order I noticed it was taking a long time. Longer than it reasonably should. I also noticed there were customers in the drive through waiting for their order, longer than they reasonably should. This is when I noticed the employees goofing, off, joking around, playing "grab ass" games, etc. This explained the length of time it took to get my order. When I finally did get it it was in a to go bag, not on a tray. I was asked when I walked in if my order was to go or for dine in. I told them dine in. The fact they were goofing off and playing "grab ass" when they should have been concentrating on and filling my order correctly and the order for the drive through customer speaks volumes in the quality of their service.

The awful:
The tavern sandwiches were downright awful. The heal or bottom of the bun was way too thick, I'm talking Texas toast thick. Both sandwiches looked like they were thrown around and were used in a game of catch. When I pulled the sandwiches out of the bag one of the wrappers was not completely wrapped as it should have been. The top of the bun on both sandwiches was smashed in. One tavern the top of the bun was off set and there was mustard and ketchup all over the inside of the wrapper. The condition of the sandwiches leads me to believe when the employees were playing their "grab ass" games my sandwiches were part of said games. I wonder how the drive through customers food came out.

The meat was terrible. Way too much moisture So much my tongue was very confused as to whether or not I was eating a tavern or a hamburger. There was way too much mustard. The sandwiches had pickle and ketchup on them. But I didn't know it until I saw it and bit into a pickle. The mustard over powered the flavor of the other condiments. The spices, especially the pepper was not well blended at all. Part of the meat was very bland and the other was way to peppery. I only know this because I used a spoon to take a bite of the meat without condiments. With one spoon full all I could taste was pepper and the other just the meat, no spices at all.

The photos below will show the condition of the sandwiches

Total points: 0 There were not enough redeeming qualities of the Riverside Dairy Queen to warrant anything more than a zero. I will not be returning to the Riverside Dairy Queen to have any more of their food, even if it is not a tavern sandwich.

Previous Articles:
Search for the best Loose Meat - Starting Over
Search for the best Loose Meat - How a Tavern Shall be Made
Search for the best Loose Meat - History
Search for the best Loose Meat - Billy Boy Drive Thru
Search for the best Loose Meat - Jitters

Search for the best Loose Meat - Jitters

Jitters is a locally owned restaurant that is a combination coffee/doughnut shop and hot food lunch shop. The food ranges from very healthy to good tasting comfort food. They are located on Virginia Street very near to Historic Fourth, just east of downtown Sioux City, about a half a block from the Sioux City Convention Center.

They have 2 versions of a loose meat sandwich. One is called the Jitter Joe, the other the Jitter Dog.

The Jitter Joe is on a hamburger bun that is not to soft or too hard and the perfect size for their sandwich. The well proportioned condiments include ketchup, mustard, pickles, onion and cheese. The cheese is melted over the meat. The meat is very well seasoned with just the right amount of pepper. The sandwich, while it can be ordered to go, is best eaten while sitting, not making it very easy to consume in a moving vehicle without making a mess all over your front. The sandwich I tasted also came with an extra item, not ordered and not meant to be on it. A piece of human hair that was stuck to some of the meat that had fallen out of the sandwich onto the plate. Of course I did not eat this part of the meat. While it is not the end of the world and I am not the type of person to take my sandwich back because of a piece of hair, some people may be really grossed out by this. I am no stranger to consuming things with hair in them, I have a large German Shepherd who sheds all the time, but again some people may be upset by such a thing. This may also violate health code requirements. For this reason points have to be deducted.

The Jitter Dog had no hair in it. It is made with a hot dog bun that was perfect size, not too dry or too soft. The hot dog was flame broiled or grilled which made it very tasty. with the well seasoned Jitter Joe meat added it enhanced the flavor of the Jitter Dog. The well proportioned condiments included ketchup, mustard, relish and onion. Like the Jitter Joe this would not be very easy to eat in a moving vehicle. Best eaten while sitting or standing still.

There were a couple of issues with the inside of the restaurant. While over all clean, there was one table that was not cleaned when I walked in. Most of the tables have a glass cover over them, some have chipped corners that could be sharp. The floor in the dining area is unfinished concrete, with cracks, chips, holes and uneven spots. This makes some of the tables wobble a bit. If the same tile used in the bathroom was used in the dining area it would make the interior perfect for the type of establishment and atmosphere the owner is trying to convey. It does have a very nice outdoor dining area and the back of the property has beautiful prairie grass growing along the sidewalk.

With a score of 93 I will continue to frequent this restaurant and enjoy the both the Jitter Joe and Jitter Dog.

Previous Articles:
Search for the best Loose Meat - Starting Over
Search for the best Loose Meat - How a Tavern Shall be Made
Search for the best Loose Meat - History
Search for the best Loose Meat - Billy Boy Drive Thru