Newton's Paradise Cafe (Waterloo, Iowa)

Newtons Paradise Cafe
128 E 4th
Waterloo, IA 50703
(319) 234-0280



After being on the road for 24 hours, we were in desperate need of a good meal. Thanks to Urbanspoon, we found ourselves at Waterloo's top rated restaurant, Newton's Paradise Cafe. It was in a real cute area of town, downtown I suppose, that seemed like it was working on a resurgence.

Inside, the place had a very old diner feel, but outside was a really large and cool patio. After having been in the car for hours, I asked that we be seated on the patio. Apparently I was the only one who wanted to sit outside, because Warren and the monkeys (Satchel, 10 and Jiro, 8) immediately started complaining about the heat. It was about 1pm and we had clearly just come after a rush, so while there were plenty of empty tables on the patio, most of them needed bussing. I promised everyone that once a shadier spot was cleared we could move. They remained grumpy.



We went ahead and ordered, and after awhile our waitress cleared off some tables and we moved with her blessing. I swear we were at our new table for just a few minutes when Satchel told me that he was cold! "It's too breezy," he complained.

Whatever.

Once the food came out, everyone perked up. Warren and I decided to split a berry salad and a crunchy chicken wrap. They went ahead and split it in the kitchen, which was sweet. (I think they could have gone ahead and put it all on one plate.)



I was quite pleased, but Warren looked a tad disappointed.



I'm sure he appreciates me posting that picture.

Anyways, Jiro, who will basically just eat a cheeseburger and fries wherever we go, was super happy about his lunch. His burger was huge and the fries were covered in Parmesan.



"It's bigger than a Baconator," Jiro exclaimed. After his first bite, he said, "This place is good."

(They only had fancy burgers on the menu, but they graciously agreed to make a plain one for Jiro.)

Another nice thing was that they were still serving breakfast, so Satchel had biscuits and gravy for lunch. Check out the size of his serving.



And yes, I know the waitress in the back is a nice juxtaposition. Heh.

See why Warren was sad? Satchel and Jiro didn't come anywhere close to finishing their food, and even Warren couldn't polish it completely off. Should we ever find ourselves in Waterloo again, we will remember which items are big enough for sharing and which aren't.

Our bill came to $36.35, which is pretty standard for the four of us. I didn't let anyone get a drink though.

Before leaving we went to the restrooms and there was a changing table.

Check it out if you ever find yourself up that way.