Jane Bond is a long-running vegetarian bar in Uptown Waterloo where plant-forward comfort food, patio season and weekend music sit under the same roof. The menu is strongest around Munch Wraps, burrito-bowl heft, Vegan Caesar and snackable dips.

Ethel's Lounge is a 1994 Uptown Waterloo institution where a Detroit blues-bar origin story, a lived-in retro room, weekday specials, and smoked comfort food all point in the same direction: regulars-first fun with real menu anchors.