116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Former Bluebird Diner co-founder opens Harry’s Bar & Grill in downtown Iowa City
Oct. 13, 2023 10:01 am
Comfort food spot pays tribute to old bookstore owner
IOWA CITY — Three years after he sold his first restaurant venture, the co-founder and former co-owner of Bluebird Diner in Iowa City has started a new venture.
With the August opening of Harry’s Bar & Grill at 116 E. Washington St., owner Hart Epstein is picking up where he left off. His latest concept, with retro diner aesthetics and chill vibes, is serving a menu more tailored to his taste.
“It’s for anybody that ever ate my menu at Bluebird and enjoyed the vibes there. That’s where my heart was at,” Epstein said. “I didn’t feel like I was done. I felt like I had more to say.”
Now, with a restaurant named after his late father, he’s starting again.
If you go
What: Harry’s Bar & Grill
Where: 116 E. Washington St., Iowa City
Hours: 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday and Tuesday; 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday; 7 a.m. to midnight Thursday through Saturday (carryout and delivery only last three hours); 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday
Website: harrysbarandgrilliowacity.com/
Phone: (319) 259-7402
Details: A full menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner offers a heavy emphasis on breakfast classics, fried chicken, greasy grill favorites and diner fare with signature twists, alongside a full cocktail menu. Most entrees range from $12 to $15.
What’s on the menu?
With inspirations from his first run in a restaurant, the self-taught owner and cook builds on the tastes he left behind when he left Bluebird in November 2020. The breakfast and lunch staples — described as comfort food with an attitude — are available for dinner and late night eating most days, too.
Now as the sole owner of a restaurant, Epstein is turning up his eclectic taste a few notches with a kitchen where he can serve things as kitschy or as spicy as he likes.
Those who have dined with him before will recognize a few things. Huevos Epsteinos, for example, with two over-easy eggs on a hefty layer of grits with roast pork, green chile sauce and cilantro.
Fried chicken, which he used to run as a weekly special, is on the menu full time. Thanks to a pressure-cooking fryer, the handbreaded chicken is available any time as a two-piece meal with buttermilk biscuits, on a sandwich, or atop buttered waffles. Wings also are available in a toss of housemade sauces.
That’s a return of chicken and waffles to the space. The storefront, most recently home to The KETO Kitchen, previously served the dish alongside a cereal bar during MELK’s short-lived term.
“Some people are already calling it the best fried chicken in town,” Epstein said, establishing a bold claim against other contenders like Pullman Bar & Diner and a new offering at the revamped Hamburg Inn No. 2. “I wanted to bring a couple signature, recognizable flavors with me.”
One of those flavors is definitely Hatch chile peppers, which are embedded throughout almost every section of the menu from burgers to omelets. The tame, versatile peppers complement savory items, like the Huevos Epsteinos, well.
Another one incorporates the flavors of Philadelphia with “Philly” varieties throughout the menu in the form of eggs Benedict, cheesesteak hash, sandwiches and omelets.
Other unique standouts include steak frites and Green Chile Smack Fries, piled with bacon, chile sauce and melted pepperjack cheese.
“I like taking blue collar, accessible food that feels good and elevating it enough to where it’s no longer fast food — doesn’t make you feel icky,” Epstein said. “All the good things that go along with those flavors, but none of the stigma. I’m not going to say it’s health food, but it can be made healthier by making it from scratch.”
With a menu that is expanding as the restaurant celebrates its grand opening throughout October, diners can expect to see a few more vegetarian options added to the meat-centric menu.
Cocktails include classic mimosas — also available in pitchers — Irish coffee, and seasonal offerings like an Autumn Espresso Martini with hazelnut and Kahlua.
Who was Harry Epstein?
Named after Harry Epstein, a Los Angeles expat who ran Epstein’s Books in downtown Iowa City from 1969 to 1977, the restaurant pays homage to the legacy left by Hart Epstein’s father.
“I thought it was a classic Americana name, and a way to pay tribute to the old man in the wake of his passing,” Hart Epstein said.
Harry Epstein hobnobbed with bibliophiles, beatniks, hippies and counterculturists during the shop’s heyday, described by former University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop director John Leggett as “the social center of the Left Bank atmosphere here.” The space, which became a staple for poetry readings and underground comedy, was frequented by luminaries like Kurt Vonnegut and Allen Ginsberg.
Harry Epstein, some of whose campaign material adorns the wall of the diner today, narrowly lost a 1973 primary bid for Iowa City Council. His campaign predicated itself on urban renewal, with a promise from Harry to donate half his salary to the public library.
He died in November 2020 at age 81, after contracting COVID-19.
The interior of Harry’s features the classic diner design on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023, at Harry's Bar and Grill in Iowa City, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)
Harry Epstein’s Iowa City paraphernalia decorates the inside of the restaurant named in his honor, Harry's Bar and Grill, in Iowa City, Iowa, shown on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)
Comments: (319) 398-8340; elijah.decious@thegazette.com
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