A local pal and I get together twice a month for breakfast or lunch, depending on our mood. I suggested the Iowa Cafe as I'd heard the fuss about the 'home cookin' and was genuinely excited to try it. Walkin' in, I found it to be exactly what you'd think the place would look like...just a plain down-home setting with myriad Iowa items pegged about the walls. And our waitress was a charmer, who made sure we felt welcomed. My pal Dave ordered breakfast while I ordered lunch. My choice was their 'Iowa Special' turkey sandwich. The price was almost $8.00, which led me to believe I'd be getting home-cooked roast turkey. After all, it was their 'special.' I also ordered a cup of chili, as is my habit when the weather cools. Our food arrived promptly. Dave's breakfast came out first and I was mighty impressed with the pancakes: They were huge. The egg and sausage looked OK...except the portions were considerably smaller. Less than a minute later my sandwich arrived. After the lady set it down and left, I had to do a double-take as it was mighty small. In fact, it looked like the bread came from an outlet store on sale day. Compounding my disappointment was the turkey itself. It was what I call 'turkey jello'...the crap you get at the supermarket in the lunch-meat section for 99 cents a pound sealed in a plastic pouch. It's the stuff that might legally be called turkey (after the bleaching, processing and flavors are added) but it sure wasn't what I'd be proud to put on my menu for $7.59. In fact, I'd probably have second thoughts about offering it to folks on medical marijuana! I was, as the Brits say, gobsmacked. I was hungry however and did get through half the sandwich. By that time the jello had warmed up a bit...and you could clearly taste the sourness in the alleged turkey, indicating it was very close to expiration. Yucco. I didn't make a fuss nor bring my thoughts to management's attention because it was clear that their faux turkey was what they wanted to serve. They were actually geeked when they put it on the table. Like it was a work of art. If it was a work of art, it was Art the mechanic down the street who didn't have a food servers license. The good: the chili had promise. And the Pepsi products were served in 24 ounce cups. And there was a pickle and a bag of chips on the plate. And our waitress asked that if we needed anything else, 'just holler hon.' So one star for the waitress and one star for the cool old-school interior. And no stars for Art the mechanic who stopped by Fry's and bought the turkey jello.
What is the sentiment of this review?
negative