Restaurant
1. Faithful Pilot Café & Spirits
2. DJ's Steakhouse
3. Antonella's Pizzeria & Ristorante
3. Granite City Food & Brewery
3. Johnny's Italian Steakhouse
Best restaurant
Best fine dining
The Faithful Pilot Café & Spirits
It can seem tough in this town sometimes for us foodies. Sure, chains are ubiquitous anywhere you go in the country. But for the Quad Cities' secret little society of gastronomes, the ratio here seems tilted a bit too far in favor of the usual, the expected, the unsurprising - the previously frozen. I have nothing against the Applebee's of the world, really. They clearly have a market hungry for their product. But give me attention to detail, attention to nuance, and above all, attention to flavor. Mix that with a locavore consciousness, fresh, seasonal menus, and something really interesting to fill the stemware. According to the voters in this year's Best of the Quad Cities poll, the place to find all of these things is The Faithful Pilot Café & Spirits in LeClaire - which won the "best restaurant" and "best fine dining" categories and placed in the top three for seafood, desserts, and Sunday brunch. After a recent date-night visit with my girlfriend (not our first, by any means), I can attest that Reader voters know what they're talking about.
But you should take that with a grain of salt, as Schwiebert was appointed to Governor Pat Quinn's Taxpayer Action Board in March, and he attended its first meeting on Friday. Methinks that perhaps Schwiebert isn't the retiring type.
Best local TV reporter
True story: During my first week of full-time Reader employment, our publisher - a truly radical guy - treated the staff to a late-afternoon get-together at Davenport's Bowlmor Lanes, voted the area's "best bowling alley." It was a great surprise and an even greater time, though you're probably already well aware of Bowlmor's charms, as the venue has been a Quad Cities institution now for nearly 70 years. "My grandfather built it in 1940," says owner Trent Lorfeld, who has worked in the family business since 1975. "You know, we just try to keep the place clean, and to keep it interesting for everyone." Mission more than accomplished. With brightly colored bowling murals above the 20 available lanes (brand-new lanes were installed last summer), and niceties such LCD screens, newly improved electronic scoring, and 10 big-screen TVs against the back wall for "media bowl" ("On Friday and Saturday nights, we'll play either sports or dance videos"), Bowlmor is a much-loved destination for all ages and talents - "families, neighborhood people, league bowlers, college kids ... everyone," says Lorfeld. (Bring your IDs, though, if you want to enjoy the warm, inviting lounge.) And whether you bowl your best in the morning, afternoon, night, or late night, Bowlmor's hours - opening at 9 a.m. most weekdays, and staying open until 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday - make for ideal entertainment anytime, "especially in a down economy," says Lorfeld. "You can bring your family here and have fun and not spend a tremendous amount of money." Bowlmor Lanes is located at 2952 Brady Street, and more information is available by calling (563)324-3595.
Sister Helen Prejean, the author of Dead Man Walking, will speak at the Churches United Delegate Assembly on Thursday, March 26, at Asbury United Methodist Church, 18th and Mississippi Streets in Bettendorf.
