House of Lords

House of Lords is a restaurant that specializes in prime rib and kitsch. It is located inside the Best Western in Coralville. As you walk in to the hotel, there is a sign welcoming you to the House of Lords but Leigha and I couldn't figure out where to go. We were told to go down the stairs at room 14, to which Leigha replied "We go into a room and down the stairs from there?"

"No," we were told. "Go to the room and THEN go down the stairs."




Once down the stairs and across a babbling brook, we were met by a dark dining room filled with a bookcase and decorations of the round table and ye old days of yore. So then we decided to embrace the cheesiness and sit in one of the stalls with swinging doors.

This makes it incredible difficult to sit for anybody over five foot eight to get in the booth without opening the door first. As I happen to stand at at six foot three, it was a bit awkward getting in and out of the booth, but it added to the ambiance.



When I asked the waitress if she recommended a drink, she suggested one of the adult milkshakes. The Palace Sentry is Amaretto, strawberry, ice cream and a cherry on top. It was exactly what I was hoping for.






This was the first time that I've ever had swordfish. I was  pleasantly surprised that the restaurant in this dark basement even had swordfish as an option. It was seasoned well and it ate like a tender steak. I would recommend it to anybody.



When this bread was brought out, I loved the presentation. Once I took the knife out of the bread and buttered it, I realized that there was nothing special about the bread, itself. It tasted like it was pre-made and frozen .

Leigha ordered the scallops and was disappointed. It wasn't so much that it was bad, just as it could have been much better.

The twice baked potato was much like the bread; much more inspiring to the eyes than the mouth. This potato was like one of those pictures of food that you see in magazines that is really made up of lard and artificial coloring.  Like the bread, it wasn't that bad but as I was eating it, I kept thinking about my friend Josh's house as a kid. There was an entire freezer full of food items from Schwan's. Non of the items were that good, many of them were freezer-burned. But as a teenager, I ate them anyways.



 I would like to think that I don't fit the stereotype of a typical Midwesterner when it comes to food. Although I live in a land-locked state, I love seafood. I like to eat more than meat and potatoes. I like meat stuffed in meat. Or food wrapped in bacon. Really, I'm not too far removed from the meat-centric stereotype. But let me tell you about the star of our meals; the salads. As a kid, I there were a few things that I didn't eat: vegetables, chicken and salad dressing. These days, I eat all of those things, but the salad dressing  is still something that I eat in moderation. My Cesar salad was incredible. It was a bit salty, but the house-made dressing was amazing. The romaine lettuce was flecked with Parmesan  and black pepper along with the dressing.



Leigha's chose the house salad with blue cheese dressing. This is her go-to salad. Often times when we are out, she is served the salad with a dressing that is essentially ranch dressing with a few tiny pieces of blue cheese. At house of Lords, this wasn't so. The Chunks were large and plentiful.

If you are looking for a place to eat out and laugh at yourself as you are doing it, House of Lords is a great place to go. The food seems to be all or nothing, so choose wisely.