Bluebird Cafe — Restaurant in North Liberty

Some restaurants are so solid, so completely dependable, that they feel like a safe place for the itinerant diner. Such a place is the Bluebird Cafe. Or perhaps more accurately the Bluebird Cafes. The Bluebird crew actually has three locations, the original Bluebird Diner and two newer locations, a Cafe in Solon, Iowa, and another in North Liberty, Iowa. All three locations excel, but the original is a review for another day. I have been to both Cafe locations multiple times and have yet to be even slightly disappointed. Breakfast or lunch the menu is full of dishes for everyone. From the completely familiar to something interesting and new. My last breakfast was of the familiar variety, an omelet of my choosing consisting of their excellent house made sausage, red pepper, and American cheese. The omelet itself was light, fluffy, and of the half-fold variety. It was absolutely delicious. The breakfast prior to that was not common diner fare. Their Huevos Azul is a unique and tasty dish composed of a finely textured house made red pepper chili over Parmesan polenta with over easy eggs. One can add meat (chorizo, bacon, ham, or turkey) for $1, but why? This dish is really well balanced. The chili and polenta are perfect counterpoints to one another, and the eggs mix in to create a scrumptious and harmonious plate. The thoughtful touches to the menu continue with an oh-so-savory hash with an unusual base of potatoes, carrots, turnips, and parsnips. One can order a Benedict with crab cakes, spinach & tomato, salmon, and, of course, double smoked ham. I'll wrap the breakfast descriptions with this incredibly delectable item, the Krakatoa Omelet. Pecan smoked bacon (oh, my), jalapeño, red onion, garlic, citrus cream cheese, and pepperjack. The richness and flavor of this dish almost defies my ability to describe it. Almost. The omelet is light and perfect. The pecan smoked bacon packs a favor profile that one can't help but notice. And that citrus cream cheese filling… so creamy and somehow almost delicate in its flavor, it is truly special. Enough of breakfast, how about the midday menu? Again, it is complete with plates to satisfy all palates. A cheeseburger? Sure, available with Cheddar, American, pepperjack, bleu, Swiss, Prairie Breeze (a slightly sweet cheddar that could have its own review), mozzarella, provolone, or feta. How about a seared Yellowfin Tuna salad with a Sesame Wasabi Vinegarette with a complex flavor profile that makes one want to taste a bit of the dressing by itself The andwich list reads like a who's who of luncheon favorites but again with the thoughtful touches. The Cuban has Iowa smoked ham, pulled pork and two condiments that raise it above the average, a spicy relish and a mustard sauce that individually are excellent, but combined create an uncommon flavor to this common sammie. This theme of a little extra gets carried through to the reuben, pulled pork, BLT, tenderloin, grilled chicken, club, and French dip line up (not a complete list). I'll wrap up this love song to lunch with just one more, the Big Person Grilled Cheese. I have eaten an unimaginable amount of grilled cheese sandwiches in my life, a favorite since I can remember eating, and something I, myself, make quite well. This one is next level, with provolone and Prairie Breeze on sourdough, grilled to perfection, and in all honesty, perhaps the best I have ever had. The service in both locations is consistently excellent, not simply quick and efficient, but friendly in that professional way that many service cadres struggle to reach. We have all experienced friendly service that was perhaps a touch too friendly, or crisp service that was a bit too crisp, but the Bluebird crew strike a balance that makes the diner feel comfortable, welcome, and well taken care of. The buildings themselves are well maintained, comfortably appointed, and squeaky clean. I have dined in hundreds, if not thousands, of restaurants in my 40-year plus career, the Bluebird Cafes...

This was a complete disappointment because I drove here from the airport to try this place after reading the reviews. I am not from this area but if this food is considered good then it’s unfortunate. It seemed promising because the place was packed and I was excited to try it. The indoor seating was completely full but they offered a place outside on a small patio area. I really think a disclaimer should’ve been given considering the patio area was directly in the sunlight. Now, there was a small over head awning but it was pointless because the sun was shining directly on everyone offering no reprieve from hell. I had small children and I should’ve known better as soon as I saw it and waited the 10-20 minutes for indoor seating. Needless to say, I wasn’t the only table suffering, all the others were too. Advice: put some outdoor blinds on your awning to make the outdoor area somewhat habitable. After about 50 mins to an hour our food finally arrived. By then, I had overheated, grouchy, miserable children and a teen with electronics that were shutdown due to the high temperature caused by direct sunlight (around 9:30 am). This would usually be a great thing to get all my kids off their electronics but none of them could carry on a conversation or play a game due to being miserable from the heat. The drinks were fast, our waitress was sweet and meant well but the food was not good at all. The Krakatoa hash browns sounded amazing and honestly it seemed like they tried but while it had a nice spicy kick, it lacked seasoning. The corned beef hash was absolutely undercooked. The potatoes were crunchy because they were raw. The warm cinnamon roll was huge but dry, and the small slathering of cream cheese frosting in between the layers tried to make up for it but fell short. My teenage daughter had a dish called the eggs Hemingway which came with smoked salmon and poached eggs. After the raw potatoes she didn’t trust the salmon and decided to remove it but her eggs were fine. Additionally her dish came with a pancake. I decided to give that a try but when I cut into it, I noticed there some sort of green leafy vegetable/herb stuck to the bottom. This was a complete turnoff. One of my little ones ordered applesauce (which is homemade) and my other one ordered the fruit cup. Both of those items were good and there were no complaints. Unfortunately we were so hot and disappointed with the food that we hurried to pay the bill and leave. My older child took the kids out to get in the air conditioned vehicle and even though I hesitated, I still tipped the waitress at least 10% for effort and it’s not her fault the kitchen fails to cook dishes properly. I also noticed the raw potato corned beef dish was still on my check and request it be removed which they did (to clarify, my waitress DID ask if I wanted the kitchen to remake that particular dish and I politely declined). When I arrived at my car I realized they never gave my credit card back to me so I went back in to get it. One of the other servers was standing at the cash register and I noticed my card had been left in the card machine slot. I asked her nicely if I could get my card back and she paid no attention. At this point I just wanted to get far away from this place as soon as possible so I had to loudly demand if I could take my card back from the slot myself. Now, that definitely caught the attention of other servers who were...

Little cute place that has sort a small neighborhood vibe, Honestly I think they could do better with a bit more knowledge of their menu and quality of food but the staff was friendly. I clearly seemed to rub them the wrong way when I unfortunately had to return my meal. As a long time hospitality and food service manager myself, as well as a vegan I pride myself in dining spots that will allow myself and my husband (non vegan) to enjoy a meal together, all the more I’m extremely emotional with my food because it can be a hard journey, being vegan (dietary restrictions) while being pregnant as well. I was excited when I was informed they had a beyond burger it’s one of my favorite substitutions. You can imagine my surprise to a Garden patty(made of pulsed veggies) instead of my fan favorite Beyond burger (photos attached) As well as my husband ordering a NY strip and receiving a fatty almost ribeye? (Maybe our fault for ordering steak at a breakfast joint) but you don’t judge a book is my motto. Even as two Black people driving thru Iowa I expected this city known for its community to welcome us but I felt pretty judged by the staff and local residents for having a preference and dietary needs. Nonetheless, if you can appear as simple and in the box as possible, you’ll probably...