Cheeseburgers and Beer: What more do you want?

George's Buffet is one of those wonderful slices of life you can't find much anywhere else. Like Canteen Lunch in the Alley in Ottumwa [see blog post] or Steve's Place in Burlington [see blog post], George's Buffet is a neighborhood institution. A nice, old school tavern that's been around forever. Relaxing in the daytime and a lively gathering place at night for all ages. And they put forth one of the tastiest, but simplest cheeseburgers to be had.

George's utilizes an electric broiler, outfitted with four trays.The top trays are used to warm the buns, which sit on racks about a half-inch above the tray surface. One enterprising barkeep adds the condiments on the bun prior to warming, so each bite of the finished sandwich is warm and tasty. Bottom trays are where the burgers broil directly on the tray surface, outfitted with slits to drain away rendered fat.

Building a better burger at George's begins in the kitchen.

Also they offer on tap an average American pale lager called LaCrosse. It's brewed in its namesake at City Brewery, the old Heileman's plant in LaCrosse and home to the world's largest six-pack. Alas, I've not seen LaCrosse Lager on tap anywhere but George's. It's not terribly remarkable, but the decentralist in me cannot think of consuming anything else. There's a light version on tap as well, but I've only sampled the higher octane version.

Photos from the Picasa Web Album: Iowa City, Winter 2011