Kirkwood’s unique Class Act Restaurant
Don’t make the Black Angus steak, unless you plan to rock the Black Angus steak.
It’s not an ordinary steak, and the Class Act Restaurant would never treat it like one. Only the freshest quality ingredients are allowed in the kitchen of the Corridor’s newest and tastiest restaurant.
The Class Act is part of the new Hotel at Kirkwood Center, on the southwest side of Cedar Rapids. Featuring seasonal breakfast, lunch and dinner menus, guests can expect amazing gourmet food, unmatched service and a surprisingly agreeable check.
“What is served at the Class Act is far more creative than what you would typically find in this area,” said Kasi Tenborg, restaurant and beverage manager. “Our menus are designed differently in response to our teaching responsibility. People have very high expectations for what is prepared here.”
Menu items range from breakfast fare such as standard omelets with creative twists to a baked oatmeal that will tickle your taste buds. Lunch features delicious new ideas for soups, salads and sandwiches, along with ahi tuna crusted in sesame and cilantro or chicken pasta bathed in a bourbon-mustard cream sauce, to name only a few. Dinner stars the Black Angus steak, curried lamb shank, duck or artic char, among the 25 other delectable choices.
“But, it’s not just the creativity of the recipes that comes into play. It’s the quality of the products used to create them that stands out,” continued Melanie Ewalt, executive chef at the Class Act. “We try to use as many locally-sourced ingredients as possibly. In fact, we are among just a handful at the forefront of the locally-grown movement.”
Not only does the Class Act serve as a real-time, real-world teaching environment for Kirkwood’s growing Hospitality Arts program, the restaurant’s administrators have worked very hard to ensure many local ingredients are used. For example, the Class Act exclusively uses Frontier organic spices and extracts. Frontier, founded more than 30 years ago in eastern Iowa, is a leading supplier of quality, natural organic herbs and spices.
Quality, together with breathtaking décor and quiet ambience, create a flawless experience that is truly a Class Act.