QC Potpourri
(and no not the kind that smells) - Vol. 1
Hello and welcome to QC Potpourri, a brief listing of local (or semi-) stuff you need to know, whether it be news of the culinary, musical, quirky, and/or personal kind.
Lucky you, you’re getting to read the first edition! Which kicks off with something that is not actually about the Quad Cities at all! But which will bring your attention to some exciting possibilities related to
a new podcast about life in the land of “Illinois but not Chicago, i.e. ‘downstate’”
burritos (and other … “edibles”?)
a cool, 90s-influenced rock chick whose guitar sound will make you nostalgic (even if maybe not enough to go out on a school night). So, without further ado:
QC Potpourri, Issue #1
1. A celebration (kinda) about being from the middle’a nowhere.
As I mentioned in a previous post, I currently live in a metro IL/IA area called the “Quad Cities,” but I’m originally from a place so rural and remote it once was christened with the nickname “Forgottonia.” This past weekend, people in the region commemorated the 50th anniversary of the campaign behind this nickname, which was started in the 1970s to draw attention to the way downstate Illinois was overlooked when it came to state funding.
As I also mentioned when I started this Substack, I have a long history of beginning blogs, getting them going, and then deleting them. Years ago, in the earlier aughts, I started a blog called Welcome to Forgotonia, (misspelled with one missing ‘t’, half on accident and yet sort of on purpose to make it “my” thing? which was dumb, but I’d already paid for the domain name, so …whatever.) This was pre-Facebook being what it is, so sometimes I’d just post links to local news stories that made me laugh. But I also interviewed a guy who wrote a book about “states that never made it,” (find an NPR story about that book here), and highlighted other interesting tidbits about the region.
Back when I first started that blog, my mom was the only person I’d ever known who was familiar with the name and concept. (In fact I got it from her.) She’d graduated from Western Illinois University (where she met my dad) in the late Sixties, and has lived in the area since. When I was growing up, she’d often use it as lamentation about certain realities of life there, (like, say, the fact that you could fly across the world but the longest leg of your trip would be the hours spent on a two-lane highway trying to get back home from O’Hare. (The infrastructure situation has definitely improved since, and maybe because of? the Forgottonia movement.)
There’s now a popular Forgottonia Brewery in Macomb. The name has not only been resurrected, but even officially adopted as a marketing strategy by the Chamber. I’m not suggesting I started this shift in awareness or popularity of the name! But I did and still do have strong ties to that area, and strong opinions about things that do (and don’t) go on there. And I like seeing the people of this “republic” owning with ironic pride this moniker about being unfairly ignored. On the same day of the recognition of the 50 year anniversary, the local public radio station, WIUM/WIUW Tri States Public Radio, announced a Forgottonia-themed podcast. Don’t forget to check it out. (Heh.)
And now, back to the QC-area proper:
2. Progress on a new development downtown: The Last Picture House
You already know it’s going to be a cool place just from the name, right?
I’m talking about the “premier cinema, bar and social lounge in the heart of Davenport, Iowa” (featuring a rooftop bar!) that’s currently under construction on Second Street.
It’s exciting enough to have something new being built downtown, not to mention a movie theater in the streaming era, plus a social gathering space. But to top it off, it’s co-owned by the two guys from Bettendorf who are now Hollywood filmmakers.
This week I saw a Facebook post announcing that applications are now being accepted for positions like usher and bartender. I did that thing again where I thought, “ooh, that’d be a cool part-time job!” But then remembered I already have, like, three. But back to the point: a cool new place is being built downtown, and the people who conceived it are former Quad Citizens who made the bigtime.
3. The best burrito this side of (actually hiding inside of) a coffee franchise
Last week, I had reason to be in a desparate need of a filling breakfast before going in to work, (which is something that never happens because, like any vibrant youthful person, I eat the same bowl of oatmeal every morning). Anyway, in my hurry to get to work, as I was scrambling to decide if I should pop into the closest option — a gas station — or, the next-closest, an ice cream shop that also has coffee, (because don’t we always want both at the same time?), I noticed a sign outside the latter that advertised homemade breakfast burritos.
Immediately grateful to bypass the gas station, I stepped inside Country Style Ice Cream and Coffee in East Moline and saw a young man standing next to the drive-through window. After a moment of confusion, I learned that I’d unknowingly stumbled into Cafe Luci: Home of the Breakfast Burrito. (Truth in advertising and deliciousness. I got the chorizo one, and it was filling and so good.) After a brief chat with the guy, I learned that the business will soon have a new location down the street, on Avenue of the Cities in Moline, next to the new dispensary coming in. (There’s a joke about weed and burritos here, right? But I’ll let you be the one to write it.)
4. And finally, ‘Cool Rock Show that I Probably Won’t Roll To’ of the week:
Bully at the Raccoon Motel, Thursday night, 9/14
Who’s going? If you are, you’re cooler than me. But if you’re in the same old-folks boat about attending shows on a school night (or one without seats), or haven’t heard of Bully, (a.k.a. Alicia Bognanno), let me fill you in on what you’re missing, so you can check her out and play her music from the comfort of your own (lame) home.
Bully is not only a female-led band / singer-songwriter outfit, but a Midwestern one to boot.
I first learned about and started listening circa 2015, but haven’t followed her/their career all that closely, more just like a few songs here and there over the years, but really digging what I heard. The main thing to know is crunchy guitar, utterly 90s reminiscent in a way I don’t know how to describe, but you will totally get as soon as you hear her— like in this track “Days Move Slow,” or “Lose You (Featuring Soccer Mommy),” which are shaping up to be two of my favorite songs of 2023.
She’s a Sub-Pop artist who, according to this article, (which btw DOES know how to describe her 90’s sound), opened for The Breeders in Nashville and supported the Pixies on a summer tour. (See? I told you. Nineties nostalgia.)
Give her a listen.
Or if you go to the show at the ‘Motel, enjoy it for me—while I’m home getting ready for bed and prepping tomorrow’s oatmeal.
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Forgottonia, I love it, especially with the 'ia' at the end. I remember for decades the difference between a trip from Des Moines to Davenport being a straight shot on the interstate. But going from Des Moines to Burlington took forever going the backroads. Now that they've built in the four lane it's much better but until this, SE Iowa could have been Forgottonia too.