Iowa City’s new Pullman Bar and Diner brings fresh concepts to diner template

First Matthew Swift and Benjamin Smart smelled the marrow bones at a restaurant they were trying in Chicago. They decided they had to order them. They devoured them, and then they thought, why wouldn't we serve these in our own restaurant? These are delicious.

And so, Pullman Bar and Diner, a new eatery in downtown Iowa City, now offers their take on this currently trendy food with ancient roots. The bones are sliced in half and topped with bacon jelly and fresh herbs. Diners use a spoon to scoop out the marrow and spread it on toast.

If you don't feel like marrow bones for lunch or dinner, you can try a burger, an open-faced tuna sandwich — definitely not the canned tuna variety you might make at home — or the fried chicken, served with Iowa honey, house-made hot sauce, biscuits and fresh greens.

'The food concept is fresh. It's our interpretation of the American diner,' says Swift.

The diner, which opened Jan. 5 at 17 S. Dubuque St., has a long list of area restaurateurs behind it. Co-owners Swift and his mother, Faye Swift, are also partners in Blackstone in Iowa City, Red's Alehouse in North Liberty, and Big Grove Brewery in Solon. Together they partner with Matt Swift at 30hop in Coralville.

Big Grove partner Doug Goettsch and Iowa City native and former professional NFL player Nate Kaeding are also partners — Kaeding is also a partner in Short's Burger and Shine in Iowa City and Stella in University Heights. Managing partner Cory kent moved over from Red's, with executive chef Smart and chef d'cuisine Sepehr Sadrazadeh, both formerly of Big Grove, rounding out the mix.

Swift says he wants the 50-seat restaurant, next door to Prairie Lights Books in the space formerly occupied by frozen yogurt Orange Leaf, to evoke feelings of a train dining car — the name refers to the original dining car manufacturers.

The kitchen space is right behind the bar, so patrons can watch the chefs at work. Breakfast includes traditional diner fare like French toast and fried eggs along with choices such as quiche lorraine and eggs 'en concotte' — two soft cooked eggs, porcini cream, oven dried tomato and Grana Padano.

They make as much in-house as possible, Kent says, and they work with several local farmers to supply the kitchen. Cream comes from Kalona Supernaturals, herbs are from Sprouts Unlimited of Marion, the chicken is from Heartland Fresh Family Farm in South Donnellson, and the bread is from Bread Garden of Iowa City.

Plans are for the menu to rotate as chefs try new things and new produce comes into season. Prices ranges from bread-and-butter pickles at $3 to pan roasted fish at $23. Sandwiches and burgers are $9 to $11.

The menu is small, Kent acknowledges, but he says that's intentional.

'We decided, let's do it at a smaller level and do it very well,' he says. 'You want people to leave here and feel this was an hour or two well spent.'