SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KTIV) -
Take a drive down Sioux City's historic Pierce Street and you have many choices for some good eats, but there is one in particular that will catch your eye.
The iconic looking cottage Green Gables restaurant has been a Sioux City staple since 1929.
Whether you are a newcomer or a regular, this place will always make you feel like part of the family. Green Gables has been serving up sandwiches, hot fudge sundaes, and its most famous dish, matzo ball soup, for years.
"Most often, we got the hot fudge sundae," says customer Carole Heider. "When I have guests in town, this is where we come because everyone who lives here wants to come back."
"We were Irving teachers and we always ordered lunch once a week from The Gables," says customer Genny Sokolovske.
And of course, there was one thing Sokolovske always had to order.
"It's always matzo ball soup," says Sokolovske.
Or maybe you are craving something a bit more traditional?
"Now why do you like the Reuben?" asks KTIV's Riley O'Connor.
"Because it tastes good," says Jane Morrisey, a Green Gables customer.
"Can I have a fry?" asks O'Connor.
"I don't mind. You can have one," says Morrisey.
"I got the ham and cheese sandwich," says customer Michael Van Zanten.
"And how does it taste?" asks O'Connor.
"It's awesome, " says Van Zanten.
Third generation owner, Jennifer Vollmer, operates The Gables with pride.
"The Gables started in 1929 on 18th and Pierce," says Vollmer. "My grandfather, Albert Seff, thought that the city needed a local sandwich shop. His sister, Rose Krueger, was the cook and came up with the recipes and the matzo ball soup is one of her specialties. That's been around for 60 years now."
Matzo ball soup is a concoction that starts with a chicken base. Then they add some parsley, white pepper, a few family secret ingredients, and several eggs. For a large batch, they add up to 30 eggs. Then they stir the ingredients together in a large mixer.
Once the ingredients are mixed, they add in the matzo meal, boil for 15 minutes, and put them into cold water to soak.
Then, it's time to let the old taste buds go to work.
"It's good," says O'Connor. "You can taste the chicken broth and it tastes like a dumpling. It would be good on a cold winter's day."
And if you go to Green Gables for the matzo ball soup, you have to have dessert.
The restaurant is known for its hot fudge sundaes. Served in a little green dish, the vanilla ice cream is covered with hot fudge, and topped off with whipped cream and a cherry.
"So cheers to Green Gables to its 80 plus years and running and I can guarantee that it will be around for generations to come," says Riley.
