Courtlin Tried TWO New Cedar Rapids Restaurants This Weekend

As you are about to see, I did NOT do a whole lot of healthy eating this weekend. But, I have no regrets, because did it all in the name of research!

I found out last week that Cedar Rapids has not one, but two new restaurants that have opened up in the past couple of weeks. I wasn't planning to try them both in two days, but sometimes things just work out that way! Let's start with the first of the two places.

On Friday afternoon, some co-workers and I drove over to 4617 J Street SW, home of Whiskey Jo's Pub & Grub.

The new restaurant is much bigger than we expected, with lots of seating and a stage for live music. If it looks familiar, it might be because the building formerly housed The Fifth Gear.

There are two pages of menu options, with options like burgers, wraps & sandwiches, pizza, salads, mac & cheese, broasted chicken, honey glazed pork belly, and more. Here's a look at the whole thing:

We ordered the smoked Gouda mac & cheese bites as our appetizer, but I obviously had to try the nachos for my meal. The half order ended up being the perfect size. I did NOT go home hungry:

You can check out more from Whiskey Jo's HERE.

Moving on to our second new restaurant...

715 Second Ave. SE in Downtown Cedar Rapids used to be home to Shawn Ryan’s Irish Pub, but now it's home to something a little different! We'd like to introduce you to Midtown Station.

Midtown Station is a small, simple-looking place, but the food is anything but! After looking over the menu, I've decided that I need to go back and try EVERYTHING.

I ordered the Fire House Chicken Sandwich with fries, which was delicious! Take a look at my meal and some of the other menu items that have been posted to Instagram:

Midtown Station is open daily at 7 a.m. and they serve breakfast all day. You can learn more about the restaurant HERE.