Cozy Cafe in Clive

Cozy Cafe occupies the corner of a strip mall in Clive that resembles every other strip mall in the Western Suburbs. A couple Des Moines restaurant veterans turned this location into a comfort food option for people driving along Hickman Road west of Des Moines, and it has a Grounds For Celebration franchise inside serving a full menu of coffee drinks.

Special Note: Cozy Cafe opened in February 2010 in a western section of Clive. It is not to be confused with the Corner Cafe, another suburban retro diner serving comfort food in nearby Urbandale since April 2010, staffed by former employees serving a menu from the closed Urbandale Cafe. That place is down the street from the original Des Moines retro diner, Stella's Blue Sky, now open on 100th st. Cozy Cafe is owned by the folks who operated The Rock Restaurant, and previously ran Pat's Corner Cafe on Ingersoll, and some other place before that.

Location: 15950 Hickman Rd. in the Dallas County side of Clive.


Directions: Its next to Wendy's on Hickman Rd/Highway 6 on the way to Waukee and Adel.


Online at: http://www.cozycaferestaurant.com/


The Tenderloin: This thing is a great size and value, and heavy to pick up. The meat is in the classic pork loin butterfly cut that ends up in a sort of triangular shape. The uneven thickness of the meat made some parts much thicker than others. The overall juiciness retention of the meat was exceptional. There was just enough seasonings to add some taste to the breading. The two slices of American cheese were an extra 35 cents. Served with fixins on a large soft toasted bun. Overall 7.943 out of ten.


Price: $5.95, on special with a drink on Thursdays.
Also on the menu: The house specialty is the cavatelli, dating from when the owners served Helen and Pat's Cavatelli, and there is the usual diner fare of coneys and burgers. There are also homemade dessserts, daily soups and a full breakfast served until eleven. The coffee counter and drive-thru have a full selection of espresso drinks. Sides are served a la carte.

Ambiance: The strip mall is less than five years old, and this place has a small dining are with booths for seating. There is new colorful tile and natural light on the decorations.
Final Thoughts: The Cozy Cafe is serving up classic Iowa comfort food for people who don't even know Hickman as the road to Adel. Additionally, you can now get a tenderloin and chase it with a Red Eye without leaving your car. I never made it to Pat's Corner Cafe on Ingersoll before it closed, but people had recommended their Hot Beef Sandwich, and homemade chips to me back then. I may have to head back someday to try the one of the Cavatelli dishes. I just hope I can make it back before the operators of this place move on to open another restaurant.

Augusta Restaurant in Oxford

UPDATED WITH NEW VISIT AND NEW PHOTOS SUMMER 2014: I was able to make it back and I wasn't satisfied with my first batch of photos. I had always stopped in when I was in too much of a hurry to eat in or when the Augusta Restaurant was closed. The new loin they served me was so tenderized that it broke into two pieces while cooking. The bun was just okay but the mayonnaise adds a little bit of a tasty rich extra bite on the top.


 ORIGINAL is POST FROM 2009

The Iowa Pork Producer's Association releases an award for the best tenderloin each year, and this place won in 2008. Many agree that this is probably the best of all the tenderloins to win the annual award for "best tenderloin". Its at a place founded by a couple of Louisiana natives who moved to Iowa after Hurricane Katrina. Oxford was once "famous" for the book The Oxford Project, which took photos of the people here in 1985 and then again in 2005. Now its home to a great tenderloin.


Location: 101 S. Augusta Ave. in Oxford, Iowa (population 705 in 2000 census). Its about 15 minutes west of Iowa City.


Directions: You can take I-80 from Iowa City or Highway 6 from the Coralville Strip to reach the county road that forms Augusta Ave., the main street through Oxford.


Online At: http://www.augustarestaurant.net/

The Tenderloin: The size is probably just under the super-jumbo average of about 12 ounces, stretching across the takeout box. But this doesn't mean a sacrifice of quality for size. A theme here is high-quality ingredients. The bread crumbs are huge and get separated from the loin easily. Its a great cut of poirk loin, well tenderized yet firm and bright white inside. Served on a fresh toasted bun with tomato, mayo, and red onions. Overall 9.5/10.


Price: $10.00, served with hand-cut fries or sweet-potato chips. Its still not the most expensive tenderloin in Iowa.

Also on the menu: There is a full homemade Cajun menu including Crawfish Beignets fresh cut steaks.


Service: Its only table seating inside with wait staff that must come from across the corridor area.

Ambiance: You pass through a curtain to enter a dimly lit dining area with Louisiana color scheme of purple with accents of green and gold.


Final Thoughts: This place is close enough to the population centers in Iowa City and Cedar Rapids to have this kind of place in such a small town. Having a couple of migrants from Louisiana come here and make the best tenderloin ever kind of pokes a hole through any logic in the idea that only Iowans can make these things right.