Union Station Bar and Grill

A burger that’s worth the stop!

When I first moved to this area, I had a really hard time finding good food.  One thing that was particularly hard to find was a good burger.  The places people were recommending for me to try all served really bland, unseasoned meat that was super lean.  Lean meat on a burger just means dry, I don’t care how you cook it.  I will always remember Union Station for being the first place I found a burger that I could actually eat around here.

As soon as you drive up to the building, you can see that it has a pizza sign on the left entrance.  After living here a while, I found out that it is a really popular place to get pizza.  I figured that for today’s review, the best thing would be to show off their pizza and burgers, so I got the combo pizza and a Santa Fe burger.

The Combo Pizza

The combo pizza is what most people would call a supreme pizza.  It has Italian sausage, pepperoni, ham, black olives, mushrooms, green peppers, and onions.  The bartender told me that their thin crust version was the most popular, so I picked the thin crust this time.  It had a little crunch to it, just like a good thin crust is supposed to.

The Santa Fe Burger

The Santa Fe burger has bacon, smoked cheddar, onion straws, and BBQ sauce.  It comes on a sesame seed bun, which is also a big plus for me.  I have gotten burned at too many places around here that use low quality dried out buns, so the bun is definitely something I have learned to scrutinize.  Sesame seed buns are getting harder to find, and this one appeared to be fresh.

Union Station’s awesome lunch specials, homemade meatloaf, and more!

If you are lucky enough to be able to go to Union Station during the week, they have some pretty awesome lunch specials.  I searched around for over three years to find mashed potatoes that didn’t come from a box of powder, and the best I could do was Quik Star (gas station).

Union Station was the first place I found in Cedar Rapids that actually makes them from real potatoes.  They have homemade meatloaf on alternating Mondays, and they sell out fast.  The place was pretty packed the last time I went on a Monday around lunchtime.

Rack ’em up!

Another cool thing about Union Station is the fact that they have more than one pool table.  I think there were at least five, so if you are into shooting pool, this would be a place you definitely need to check out.  It’s considered a sports bar, so there are plenty of screens to watch whatever game you might want to see.

A note from Will Carter, The Ambassador of Flavors

“This is one of many biker food reviews I do on a weekly basis.  The goal is to promote local bars as destinations for motorcycle enthusiasts.  These reviews are part an online resource created to help bikers find bars with good food and entertainment.”