“Dedicated to the American Farmer” – was the slogan of a restaurant we used to pop into in Davenport Iowa. The “Iowa Machine Shed”, just outside of town, served wholesome American food in large quantities. We had moved to Davenport to build the first radio station I owned. Back in Marconi days. Today there are a half dozen Machine Shed restaurants in Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota.
The restaurant cooks from scratch and uses top notch suppliers. Some people might compare it to Cracker Barrel, and I guess there is a similarity, but Machine Shed is better, in my opinion.
These places seat a big mess o people, so remember that when setting out to visit. They are open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with slightly different menus at each meal.
After your drink orders are taken, the server will bring the table complimentary “fixins”, which is comprised of an ample bread basket with super soft large dinner rolls, a family sized bowl of slaw and one of cottage cheese. I love cottage cheese, and this has to be some of the best I have had, ever, anywhere. High milk fat content, small curd.
This trip, I ordered the country fried chicken, which was nice and crisp on the outside and juicy inside. Dinners come with a vegetable and your choice of a large variety of spud preparations. I got fries and some nice gravy to go with it.
If you’re in for breakfast, or need a little sweet thing (besides Mrs. Burgerdogboy), they have these massive breakfast rolls in a couple of different varieties, and I swear, they must weigh two pounds.
Next time I zip through the Upper Midwest, I’ll angle to hit a Machine Shed at breakfast, as they have a platter which covers all the breakfast pork options. Nice. And BTW? There is no better place to be during summers in America than the farm belt. County fairs, small town festivals, block parties. The best.
Typical dinner menu.
Complimentary “fixins”
Country Fried Chicken
Iowa Machine Shed Review