Burger Week: Ido Bar and Grille
When you walk into a place just after 11am on a weekday, and you can't find a seat, you know there must be something special going on. In this case, it's half off burger day at the Ido Bar & Grille at 1537 South Main Street in the Firestone Park neighborhood. And since the place is famous for its burgers, I guess it's understandable that there's a line out the door.
The Ido (which I think most people pronounce “I-DO” as in the wedding vows) has been an area fixture for years. In 1998, Steve Baker, a former chef at the Waterloo, and his wife bought the place and spent a bundle fixing it up into a nice, comfortable restaurant that just happens to have a bar. But that wasn't the only improvement. The food really moved up several notches, with several eastern European things like paprikash, sausage, and chicken and dumplings.
But the highlight was and is the burgers, especially the well-known Ido. This is a big chunk of fresh ground beef, very lightly seasoned. Now by that I mean than in comparison to most of the other burgers we've covered this week, you might actually want to add salt and pepper to yours at the Ido. However, this version is finished with grilled onions and mushrooms, and I've got admit that keeping the sodium to a minimum really lets the flavors of the toppings shine through.
There are plenty of other lunchtime daily specials, and a list of salads almost as long and varied as the burger menu. You don't have to get your burger fixed the Ido way, as there are plenty of other topping options. I also found the onion rings (yes, you guessed it...a favorite!) are right there with best I found in the other places this week.
The dinner menu is really pretty extensive for a place I thought was a hamburger joint, and where else in town are you going to find a Monday night special of $5.00 for a steak and lobster dinner? If you're interested in checking out the complete lunch and dinner menus, here's a link to the web site: