Short's Burger and Shine Gets Positive Review in New York Times 'Frugal Traveler' Column

Iowa City is getting some national attention beyond its party culture this week.

Short's Burger and Shine, for example, got a nice mention in a New York Times story profiling different eateries across the state of Iowa in a column called the "Frugal Traveler," where Times writer Seth Kugel "travels the world on a tight budget, sharing his money-saving tips and experiences along the way." 

Here's the Short's portion from Kugel's Iowa piece, which gives some other good Iowa eatery ideas. 

I did find a truly harmonious greasy-locavore masterpiece, however, in Iowa City, just what you would expect from a college town in a farm state. Short’s Burger and Shine (shortsburgerandshine.com) gets its black Angus beef for its long list of burgers from a farm 26 miles outside of town; its buns are baked locally and its 10 taps filled with Iowa craft beers. (Another option: its own bean-based burgers.)

At the bar, I ordered a Gravity burger, with caramelized onions, bacon, tame green chili sauce and a swipe of jalapeño flavored cream cheese and buried under a load of fries for $9.49. After sampling several brews, I ended up with a pint of Golden Nugget I.P.A., and wish I could have stayed for more, but solo traveling means you are the permanent designated driver.

Indeed, I logged about 800 in-state miles in under four days. But Iowa was turned out to be the most pleasant and picturesque of the states I’ve driven through so far: It’s not dead flat, at least not for long stretches; its gently sloping farmland reads like some sort of fantasy Americana: deep-green soy fields, wavy rows of corn (which I tried not to think of ending up as high fructose corn syrup), picturesque red barns and the occasional old could-be-haunted farmhouses.