Short's Burger and Shine

Downtown Iowa City, on Clinton St.
April 2010

This is the restaurant that took over Baldy’s old spot (see Baldy’s review from Dec. 2007). It took me a long while to go back there, since I was bitter about losing one of my favorite lunch places, but it was worth it.

They completely changed the interior- moving the bar side to the opposite wall and putting in a wall on the north side that goes in front of the brick, but with glass squares along it, lighting up various objects (including a mouse trap) against the brick wall.

Unfortunately for us who want to go out and enjoy a quaint little dinner, there are tvs everywhere with the volume up REALLY loud (which is especially annoying during those six-minute-long commercial breaks) but the place was also full of college kids paying attention to those damn tvs, so I guess not everyone shares my opinion….

The menu gives you a choice of beef burgers ($9) or black bean (veggie) burgers ($8.50). All of the meat is grown locally near Riverside, corn-fed (I would prefer grass-fed, but that’s me) and each burger is named after a random Iowa town. (The menu also shows a map of where each of those little towns are- I have been to at least two: Cylinder and Jamaica!) I got the Center Junction black bean burger with onions, peppers, jack cheese and red pepper mayo. It was good but it had a bit of a soft consistency for a veggie burger, causing the bean mixture to squish out onto the plate a few times. Hubby got a beef burger which was very good.

Despite the fact that the buns were toasted (horray!) they were not very good. We were wondering why the beef is local but the buns are not, they tasted a bit stale, and they were on the small side for the size of the veggie burger. The fries were nothing special.

All the beer on tap is from Iowa- so there is a pretty good selection to sample! I got a Rye Porter and we had a Hop Wrangler and a Dopplebock. They were $4-5 per pint.

The napkins, silverware, ketchup, mustard and some kind of mesquite sauce were in a tray attached to the brick wall, which is a great idea in a small space- and it clears up more room to spread your elbows on the table while you eat your burger!

They kept the mirror theme- which works great in this narrow brick walled space- but instead of the large mirrors Baldy’s had, they have small mirrors hanging at each table, high enough so you don’t have to stare at your reflection all night.

Also, be sure to check out the black porcelain in the bathroom!

Environmentally- disposable napkins but reusable plates & silverware.