Cafe from 'Iron Chef' competitor, winner of 'Spring Baking Championship' opens in Coralville

A new restaurant in Coralville brings all the comfort of a deli spun with the savory and sweet of a bakery. At the helm, a man who went head-to-head with chefs on “Iron Chef” 17 times, earned three James Beard Foundation semifinalist nods, and won the Food Network’s “Spring Baking Championship.”

Cory Barrett brings a new destination for food lovers. His Barrett’s Quality Eats opened in Coralville on July 5 with a mix of breakfast items, pastries, sandwiches, rotisserie chicken, bagels and toasts dotted with ricotta, salmon or avocado.

“Our aim is to create a place where folks that live or work in the neighborhood, or are just passing through, have a go-to place to get fresh and wholesome food,” Barrett said in a news statement. “Essentially we are cooking all the kinds of food that we like to eat on a daily basis.”

Who is chef Cory Barrett?

Barrett says he opted to open his penultimate restaurant in Iowa after moving to the Iowa City area in 2022. The chef, born in Oak Harbor, Ohio, found his inspiration for becoming a chef in the kitchens of his mother and grandmother. That sent him on a quest to learn the secrets of baking and cooking at culinary school at Baker College of Muskegon.

Barrett went on to become the pastry chef at Tribute in Farmington Hills, Michigan, where he met Michael Symon, a Cleveland chef who went on to become one of the hosts of “The Chew.” Symon opened restaurants such as Lola, Mabel’s BBQ, Roast, Bar Symon, Angeline and B Spot Burgers in Cleveland, won a James Beard Foundation award for Best Chef Great Lakes in 2009, and he earned accolades for Best New Chef by Food & Wine magazine in 1998. He chose Barrett to be his sous chef on “Iron Chef.”

After a stint as the pastry chef at Okada inside Wynn Las Vegas, Barrett went on to work at Lola, Symon’s Cleveland restaurant. He left for Woodinville, Washington, to work at The Herbfarm before returning to Lola as executive chef.

At Lola, Barrett earned James Beard Foundation semifinalist nods for Rising Star Chef in 2008 and twice for Outstanding Pastry Chef in 2009 and 2010 at the same restaurant.

What’s on the menu at Barrett’s Quality Eats?

Get to Barrett’s Quality Eats before 11 a.m. weekdays and 2 p.m. on the weekend to order breakfast dishes such as a simple scramble with bacon and grilled toast, bacon and onion savory oats topped with Prairie Breeze white cheddar, or a ranchero burrito, a vegetarian dish with eggs, potatoes, chipotle mayo and ranchero sauce.

Sandwiches include a grilled or chilled muffaletta, classic chicken salad, slow-cooked beef pot roast, smashed chickpea and peppers with cashew cream cheese, a tuna salad, and an avocado BLT. Note that Barrett uses Duke’s mayo.

Add a cup or bowl of tomato bisque or chicken, white bean, and kale soup, or order a salad such as the bodega chop with white beans, salami and olives.

Barrett’s serves plain, everything, and sesame bagels as well as bagel sandwiches with lox and cream cheese or veggies.

The pastry case includes a ham and cheese croissant, blueberry muffin, banana bread and macaroons, while desserts span lemon meringue cream puffs and ugly eclairs in chocolate or vanilla to a caramel macchiato mousse cake or chocolate peanut butter torte. On the weekends, diners can order a deep-dish cinnamon roll, served until they’re gone.

The restaurant also offers a deli case brimming with chilled herb-roasted salmon, grilled and marinated vegetables, a chipotle salad, roasted beets and a rotini pasta salad.

Does Barrett’s Quality Eats serve alcohol?

A short list of drinks include beer, and sparkling, white and red wines, as well as a small list of cocktails, such as a mimosa, a shandy and sangria.

Iowa-based Stone Bru Coffee roasts a special house blend coffee and Barrett’s squeezes its own juice concoctions.

Where to find Barrett’s Quality Eats

Location: 3242 Crosspark Road, Coralville

Contact: 319-626-2227 or barrettsallday.com

Hours: Open Tuesday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Susan Stapleton is the entertainment editor and dining reporter at The Des Moines Register. You can reach out to her on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, or drop her a line at sstapleton@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Barrett's Quality Eats from Cory Barrett opens in Coralville