The Classic Deli & Ice Cream Shoppe — Restaurant in Brooklyn

Well, that was disappointing. I was really looking forward to dining at this local place because of all the nice reviews, and how much I love pie. They were out of the coconut cream pie. There were not many other pie choices to choose from today.

As I walked in, I noticed a help wanted sign. Iowa seems to be short-staffed all over from numerous conversations I've had with locals.

I was not greeted upon my entry by the employee behind the counter. There was one customer. I'm assuming he was a local. I stood and looked around, then walked over and looked at some old photos on the wall of this building in times past. Finally, I just helped myself to a menu and pulled out a seat and sat at the bar.

The waitress who finally emerged from the back of the house to wait on me was very friendly and helpful (in all, I noticed 4 employees). I wanted a special drink. She mentioned chocolate coke - it was very good.

I was really hungry and couldn't decide what I wanted, but eventually settled on the street gyros with lamb and tzatziki sauce on soft corn shells, which is a "house specialty". The lamb was very moist and flavorful, but the corn tortillas were disappointingly stale.

The three tacos were served with Spanish rice, which was pasty and the rice was not thoroughly cooked.

I was not even going to leave a tip until I noticed that they gave me 25% off my meal.

I wouldn't say that I won't be back, but I'm not from around here. Maybe this is just an off day/week or an off year due to the Pandemic. I would have liked to try some of the other items on the menu.

I overheard one of the girls saying to one of the two other locals who dined during my presence, that they're not going to be open this coming Saturday because she's going to be the only employee and there's something she has to do at the lake and she can't be in both places at once.

Even whilst I was eating, an older woman, perhaps in her 60s came in and inquired about a job.

Very interesting...

We stopped here today on a road trip as there were few options along the way beyond fast food. What a gem of a place! We were greeted warmly and the shoppe was clean and tidy. They offered up child friendly options but we also tried the street tacos, pastrami panini and turkey club. Everything was fresh and absolutely delicious!! We grabbed a jar of extra spicy mustard (awesome!!) and some slices of peach and apple pie for later. Do yourself a favor and don't skip the pie!! Sometimes you don't know how long they have sat in the window and could be soggy or stale but the crust was buttery, the fruit still firm and not mushy and was absolutely scrumptious - I wish we had bought a whole pie to bring home! Please do yourself a favor and stop here when passing Brooklyn. It's a quick 1-2 mile trip off the highway but well worth the very short detour to support a truly wonderful...

What a joke of a place, 2 visits. 1st time poor, poor slow service, food semi cold. Inquired about the breakfast offerings, waiter said full menu available, I said biscuits & gravy?, he said yes definitely & really good, he apparently has clue as to the restaurants offerings...... Now 2nd visit, breakfast - no biscuits & gravy on menu or available. OK, an omelet, wow priced by each ingredient & doesn't even include toast! Never in my travels have I seen a breakfast entree not include toast, wow again! Kinda like ordering a cheeseburger, then finding out the bun isn't included. Waitress couldn't answer any questions about anything food or menu offerings. Absolutely no waitress/customer service skills whatsoever. Also very poor service again, coffee is rationed as well. I believe that this lil hole in the wall place will fail rather soon, I / we will not...