Barker's Ice Cream & More — Restaurant in Marion

I was running around town taking care of various errands, and all of a sudden it was lunchtime!

I happened to be in Marion, Iowa, and decided to stop into Barker’s Ice Cream & More.

They have a yummy sandwich menu, including a couple of regional specialties, the beloved loose meat sandwich, the Fave-Rite (their name for this sammie).

And my choice, the Pizza Burger. I have never seen a pizza burger available anywhere else, other than the Midwest, so I feel like it is purely regional (I could be wrong).

The name is somewhat misleading as it isn't a burger at all. The meat is a beef and pork patty, mixed with mozzarella and Parmesan, then fried with an Italian breading. Essentially a very tasty fritter.

The sandwich consists of a better-than-average hamburger bun, I think the crust and texture raise it above the standard. With a slice of provolone and a side of marinara. I opted out of the marinara as I was wearing white... 😅

It was delicious, a truly unique sandwich with a unique flavor profile. The patty itself is satisfying and scrumptious, being loaded with flavors, from the meat, the cheeses, and the super savory breading.

If you haven't had a pizza burger go try this one now, you will be delighted. And if you are a fan of this sammie, definitely try this one, I feel like it will go straight to the top of your list!

My sides were the thin & crispy onion rings and mac-n-cheese. I will be ordering the onion rings again for sure! They make a fantastic crunchy, salty side or snack. Especially dipped in that other Midwestern staple, ranch dressing (theirs is house-made).

The mac-n-cheese is melty, gooey, and exactly what one is looking for. There are all sorts of specialty mac-n-cheese's available these days, but this tastes like the comforting down-home mac we have all enjoyed since childhood.

The restaurant is run by the experienced, energetic, and uber-friendly Teri Entas. She is one of those people who seem as invested in the people and the neighborhood as she is in the food. This was the first time we had met and I immediately felt like we were friends. I feel like the importance of this quality in a restaurateur cannot be overstated.

As it turns out, Teri and her family were the lovely folks responsible for the excellent Marion Maid-Rite for many years before she decided it was time for another chapter in her life. Thankfully for all of us, she decided to get back into the restaurant life🙏

I'll be back for certain, a ⅓ pound Cheese Fave-Rite is...

Okay, so......

This was our first time coming to Barkers, kind of a date night thing and we were excited. When I was walking in the VIP ENTRANCE sign made me chuckle to myself. Puffed out my chest alittle bit, VIP!? Yeah that sounds like me, I must be in the right place. 😏

I enjoyed the decor. I personally have limitations on how long I can comfortably sit in one place. So I was relieved to find comfy cushion seats, I just can't sit comfortably for long on the hard ones. Our table could have used a once over with a rag when we sat but wasn't bad at all. I'm indifferent about the service itself. Nothing stood out about it positive or negative for me personally.

The food. The star of the show was the Banana Cream Pie Parfait, was amazing. The next best thing was the fries. We loved the fries, hot, crisp tasty texture, everything you want in a fry. The onion rings. We thought it was cool cause its a different style of onion rings than the wider kind we're used to, they looked great. They were cold, fried & cold isnt for me so they were kinda underwhelming. The Mac & Cheese and Potato Salad were creamy, just lacked seasoning. (Salt & Pepper at the table to be fair.) I liked the potato salad, though the portion sizes of both for me were particularly small. (Though that may very well be just my opinion.)

We got the chili cheese dogs. (Had to pay extra for the cheese, not a problem I suppose but it felt kinda excessive also charging extra for other basic condiments such as Ketchup & Mustard.) Was actually excited about getting alittle messy with the dog. Again for us it lacked in flavor, the chili was lackluster, we assumed it would be a beef dog. I reminded myself not to assume. Just felt like a basic oversized hotdog with stuff crammed in it.

We got the Cheese Rite loose meat burger, it was okay. They forgot our drink, not a problem. But they filled the cup top to bottom with ice. The Sprite was good but the Coke tasted flat. Overall the atmosphere, the icecream, fries top notch. But not good enough for us to have to drive across town for. If we happen to be on this side of town though and have a craving for icecream and fries, this will...

I've drove thru a total of 5 times in the short time I've realized this place was even a place. The ratings are simple. During the day if an adult is working the drive thru and the kitchen decent food, a little pricey but decent tasting. I just grabbed a couple cones, chili dog and Dino nuggets with fries for my son and I. I knew I was in for a real dissapointment when the young( Jr high at best) brought me the medium cones with maybe a scoop of soft serve above the rim of the cone. Not impressed. Next im waiting for the food which is usually a good sign that it's being made to order. Ummmm nope. My chilidog was cold, chili was cold as the fresh cut onions right from the fridge. Chili was also soupy which made the soggy experience that much more un appetizing. She spilled the nuggets and fries in hand-off so they threw that away and said they were making fresh. No they were not. This place needs to train these kids on proper service which they had none. I will not go back and my advice to anyone is if you see a young person at the drive thru keep driving. You will definitely be sorry. Oh they didn't apologize for the spillage or delay either. I'm sure she thinks thst as long as she looks pretty than it's fine. Again. Who is teaching these kids to operate your food business. I bet there will be a recall or something bad is about to happen over there with this...