The Starlite Room
Tuesday – 11:00 AM – 12:00 AM
Wednesday – 11:00 AM – 12:00 AM
Thursday – 11:00 AM – 12:00 AM
Friday – 11:00 AM – 12:00 AM
Saturday – 11:00 AM – 12:00 AM
Sunday – 11:00 AM – 12:00 AM
The Starlite Room: Over half a century of loyalty
The Starlite Room is one of the oldest restaurants in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It has been around for over 60 years now, so the place definitely has some history and some long-time loyal customers.
Cedar Rapids Local Legends
The Starlite Room is known for the ½-pound Super Burger. In fact, I’m sure everybody in town has heard about it at some point. The burger is practically an urban legend.
Since I was going to be reviewing a famous hamburger today, I thought it would be a good idea to invite a local foodie influencer (and in his own right local legend), “I Am The Ketchup Man”. We are both big fans of the Starlite Room, and we were both excited to get to try some new things as well as the burgers.
Menu with a good variety of Comfort Foods
Since we wanted to do a thorough review, we got a good variety of food from the Starlite menu.
The Starlight Room’s hefty burgers are arguably the cornerstones of the menu. That said, you’d be missing out on some of the best that this longtime family-owned bar & grill has to offer if you didn’t check out their other great comfort foods.
Of course, we didn’t neglect to order some burgers, but we also wanted to try their mozzarella sticks and pretzel bites. We even ordered one of their wraps with potato chips and onion rings.
The SuperBurger- An Example of how to properly season a burger
The Starlite Room was actually one of the first places in town where I found a properly seasoned burger. It all made sense when I spoke to the Manager of the Starlite Room. I found out that he is also from the South- he believes in seasoning in the same way that I do, so we got along just fine.
Unlocking the secret to better bar food: Craft Beer Cheese & Pretzel Bites
I have never tried the pretzel bites until today, but I thought they were great too. I asked the manager if the cheese sauce that came with them was beer cheese, and he said it was actually craft beer cheese. I will definitely remember this beer cheese and get it again in the future.
Overall Verdict
I was very pleased with my meal tonight, and The Ketchup Man seemed to be equally satisfied. I saw him taking pictures, so I expect to see his review on Facebook sometime in the near future.
Zoltar
Surely the guy in this picture isn't a grown-up Josh Baskin... right??
One thing I notice every time I walk in the door is the Zoltar machine, and it reminds me of the Tom Hanks movie “Big” and really adds to the overall nostalgic feel of the place.
An atmospheric history you can feel
The booths in the main dining area still have the old stained glass lampshades over them. You will most likely look around at the building itself and realize that this place has been around forever, and some things haven’t changed much.
The Starlite Room is open 7 days a week (yes, The Starlight Room is even open on Sundays) until midnight, so if you happen to work late, this is one of the very few places in town where you can still buy hot food late at night.
A note from Will Carter, The Ambassador of Flavors:
“This is one of many biker bar motorcycle-friendly restaurant reviews I will be do on a weekly basis. The goal is to promote local bars as destinations for motorcycle enthusiasts. These reviews are part of an online resource created to help bikers find bars with good food and entertainment.”