For the last six and a half years that I’ve worked as a Realtor, I’ve spent many a lunch hour at a cozy sports bar on Grant Street in Bettendorf called Sports Fans. Sports Fans is the quintessential neighborhood bar and grill. Walk in on any given day or night and you’ll see familiar faces that have been patronizing this establishment for years. Sports Fans has, and I know this will shock you, sports paraphernalia all over the walls and TVs everywhere, where you can catch tennis, golf, as well as baseball, football or basketball games- college and pro. In fact, the John Deere Classic was on while I was there last week. And here’s something I also noticed recently, they even have updated sports items on the walls. For example, above the table where I sat was a signed tennis ball, racket and jersey from Madison Keys, a pro tennis player from Rock Island, Illinois, just across the river from here. I like Babe Ruth and all, but I never watched him play live, so while I appreciate the old stuff, it’s nice to see they honor our local celebs. When my kids were little, they thought I was ancient and one day Sam asked me, “hey, Mom, what was it like to watch Babe Ruth play baseball?” Good grief, I was born in 1972, not 1922.
Sports Fans also has the world’s best popcorn adorned with plenty of salt (yeah, salt- which I love so much- I ain’t afraid of no goiter), served at your table while you wait, and…CHEAP BEER. I love cheap beer and here’s my favorite part. I happen to be a Miller High Life fan, because, you know, it’s the Champagne of Beers and I’m fancy like that. Miller High Life is not a beer you find very often in a local bar and grill and while I’ll drink a local brew occasionally- like a Front Street Brewery Cherry Bomb Blonde- the High Life is always my choice beer if I can find it. When I realized it was readily available in my first visit to Sports Fans, I became a fan of this small-town bar & grill. That was even before I tried the food.
Sports Fans’ menu is pretty extensive. I always feel like there’s something for everyone there. They have pizzas, which are outstanding. We’ve ordered large orders of their pizza for work events and they always do a fabulous job of putting that together. They have salads, a wide variety of burgers and sandwiches, and entrees like tacos and chicken strips, of course. It’s a restaurant rule. When you’re opening a restaurant in the Midwest and filling out the paperwork with the local government, there’s a section that requires you to provide the public with chicken strips. You have full reign over the kind of sauce you serve with them, but serving the strips is a legal requirement. Apparently.
The first time I went there, I ordered the Hollywood Burger- American cheese, lettuce, tomato and mayo. Always happy to see mayo on a burger. It was excellent- juicy and not dried out at all, a tiny bit of pink in the center, just like the cow would’ve wanted it.
The next time I went, however, I saw something on the menu that sounded good and in all the trips I have made since, I have never deviated from this item- the Chicken Monterey Deluxe Sandwich. I have no idea what makes their grilled chicken filet so juicy and tasty. I can’t recreate it at home like I can do with most things. And I can tell you, in all honesty, if they told me their secret ingredient was that they sneeze on it before they grill it, I would still order it. It is that good. Swiss Cheese, Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato, Mayo. I always add onion to that lovely sandwich repertoire. It is a freaking party in my mouth and I’m sorry I can’t provide you with any additional entrée advice because I will only get the Chicken Monterey Deluxe. Forever and ever.
(Sorry- there’s a fair amount of pepper on my sammich right there -I do love a good dose of pepper), but if you look closely, you can see that perfectly marinated and grilled chickie breast. I add a side of mayo even though mayo comes on it because mayo is one of my four food groups (the other three are butter, steak and cheese). I’m pretty impressed with myself that I remembered to take a photo before devouring it, which I forgot to do at yesterday’s lunch.
A word about a couple of other items on the menu- their fries. First of all, I am not a huge lover of French fries- meh. I can take them or leave them.
But these fries.
Sports Fans’ fries are crinkle cut and I don’t know if they are smuggling in some kind of grease that we used back in the 80s that made everything taste so amazing and was eventually banned by the government, but those fries are the best fries in the world. You may not understand this and if you’re younger and you were born after the 90s, you’ve probably never experienced it, but for you older folks, like myself, back in the day before they took good grease away, you would order fries and sometimes you’d get a fry that was almost transparent, like it had no filling, just a crispy golden outside of a shell that would literally melt in your mouth. I hope someone knows what I’m talking about here. And if you do and if you miss that, you must try an order of Sports Fans crinkle fries. I pull all those little flavor sensations out first and then I eat a couple more fries and call it good. I miss Trans-fats so much.
The appetizers- the Toasted Onion Green Beans are very good, and they come with a Southwest dipping sauce, but the appetizer that blows my socks right off my feet are the Golden Sweet Corn Nuggets. They are served with Ranch dipping sauce (another requirement when opening a Midwestern restaurant; right under the paragraph that states you will serve chicken strips is an additional paragraph, with required signature, that you will serve ranch dressing). I don’t like to dip them in anything and ruin those tasty nugs with sauce, but I have heard that Sports Fans makes the best ranch dressing so a lot of people will disagree with me on eating them naked. (Naked corn nuggets. I don’t know about you but I just got a little turned on.) Sorry, back on track. I don’t order them often- only if I deserve a treat- but when I have them, they make the world seem a little brighter and a little more manageable. Last week I deserved a treat, so…. corn nugs.
Mmmmmmmm. Crunchy on the outside, all gooey and corny on the inside.
Make your way down to Grant Street in Bettendorf and check them out. I believe they are pretty packed when the Iowa Hawkeyes or the Chicago Cubs play and since I am NOT a fan of either team, I avoid the bar at all costs during those games, but if your thing is crowded bars with like-minded sports fans, you might enjoy it on one of those days.
Happy eating friends!
Holy cow those fries look amazing. 🍟 Damn I love fries. I need to check this place out!