Sitting
in Martini’s Grille, looking out the fourth story window and
watching the Mississippi River creep by Burlington, Iowa, you get
the feeling you’re in an upscale big city martini bar.
Waiters dressed in olive
green shirts – well versed in the restaurant’s menu
and the bar’s selection of wines and martinis – greet
you with a professional aura and yet a Midwestern smile. The restaurant,
which was built on the top floor of a renovated hospital, is enclosed
by panels of windows that offer a picturesque view of the muddy
Mississippi and the Great River Bridge. The bar is the focal point
of the restaurant, and it emits a continuous hum of ice cubes hitting
the sides of metal martini shakers.
With its atmosphere and
attitude, Martini’s Grille brings a big city bar to rural
Iowa. Aside from the lack of surrounding skyscrapers, there’s
only one thing different.
“Our martinis are
better,” says owner Peter Harman.
Judging by the ingredients
they use, Harman isn’t blowing smoke. All the alcohol is premium,
and all the other ingredients, such as fruit juice and sweet and
sour mix, are prepared daily in-house. Bar Manager James Evans said
the perfect martini is a matter of the right combination of fresh
ingredients, the right alcohol and the right garnish. “And
it has to be as cold as humanly possible,” he said.
Harman and his wife Kim
have traveled to San Francisco, New York City, Tampa, Kansas City,
Dallas, San Antonio, Scottsdale and Las Vegas in the past year searching
for the hippest big city drinks. When they find one, Harman tweaks
the recipe and Kim, whose taste buds are honed sharper than a blood
hound’s nose, determines if it should be added to Martini’s
Grille’s library of recipes.
To make the cut, Harman
said the martini has to have its own identity. It has to offer his
customers a small indulgence – something affordable that endows
them with a feeling of sophistication.
“A small indulgence
is a big deal,” Harman said. “A beer is a beer, and
a glass of wine is a glass of wine, but a martini, with its endless
variations, has its own identity. I can’t afford the Mercedes,
and I can’t afford the house I want. But I can drink the same
Martini that Harrison Ford did when he came in here.”
Which is why a big city
martini bar can work in a modest Midwestern town. Martinis can be
appealing to anybody, anytime, Evans said. “We really have
a wide range of clientele from the upper crest of Burlington to
Joe Schmoe off the street. We have a wide range of prices on our
menu and the quality doesn’t decrease with the price. Anybody
and everybody are welcome.”
The Martini’s Grille
food menu includes a vast selection of beef, seafood and salad as
well as several other specialty items. Harman’s signature
“Chicken Lips” are best described as massive boneless
buffalo wings dunked in his secret sauce. He has sold more than
a million of them.
But it’s the drink
menu, the rows of back-lit premium liquor bottles behind the bar
and the fourth story view of the Mississippi that makes Martin’s
Grille unique. It’s about being James Bond 007 for a night
and about living luxuriously while staying within your means.
“Why are martinis
so popular?” Harman poses. “It’s a classic. The
drink is timeless. It’s kind of like Ralph Lauren or Earnest
Hemingway. It will always be good because it’s timeless.”
And you don’t have
to be in a big city to enjoy one. Martini’s Grill will certainly
make sure of that.
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