Matthew Houck, Iowa City optometrist and current competitor on FOX’s MasterChef, has your dinner covered: Marinated and grilled maitake mushrooms with potato-chive rosti, butter-braised asparagus and sorrel vinaigrette. Serves 4-5. […]
Mount Vernon has a little-known gem of a restaurant, tucked just down the hill from Main Street: Big’s BBQ (124 2nd Ave NW). From the street, this stately manor would pass for a Cornell professor’s home. But inside waits a tidy little restaurant and brewery serving big flavor. Big’s delivers a surprising variety of delicious […]
You may not have learned in school, but the U.S. was founded on booze. Celebrate your civic duty by raising a glass to freedom at these Iowa City and Cedar Rapids drinkeries. […]
When the beloved Kalona Cheese factory, which closed in 2014, reopened as the Kalona Creamery in 2017, my excitement was focused on the return of cheese curds. The curds are set to be brought back later this year, thank the dairy gods, but the creamery has more to offer. On April 21, Kalona Creamery debuted their line of eight hard ice cream flavors. […]
When you order at JiangHu, approach the counter, grab an empty bowl and tongs and select from a variety of noodles, meats, seafoods, tofus, fungi, seaweed and vegetables. […]
Five supreme snacks to save you when hunger strikes. George’s Buffet 312 E Market St, Iowa City Contrary to its name and to the dismay of those Google searching “buffet Iowa City,” George’s Buffet is not actually a buffet. It is so much better. A landmark in Iowa City since 1938, this cozy townie bar […]
Looking for pizza? These consistently delicious and straightforward pies are worth a sample. Bread Garden Market 225 S Linn St, Iowa City Bread Garden’s 2016 kitchen remodel brought an expanded menu of made-to-order meals to the downtown grocery hub. Order from an electronic kiosk––everything on the menu is delicious, made fresh and super affordable. With […]
In recent years, poke, a Hawaiian raw fish salad, has become increasingly popular in mainland United States. Traditional poke (pronounced “poh-kay” which means “to cut” in Hawaiian) is ubiquitous in Hawaii and is available everywhere from roadside stands, to Costco stores and gas stations. With roots in fishing culture––fishermen cubed up the less-desirable parts of […]
Four area restaurants that beg you to leave room for dessert Big Grove Brewery 101 Main St, Solon Big Grove Brewery has made itself indispensable as the only brew pub in Solon and Iowa City and one of the most popular local breweries to carry on tap across the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City Corridor. While many […]
Eight local grocers and markets that are well-worth the trip. Aldi 760 Ruppert Rd, Iowa City 2750 Heartland Dr, Coralville 1860 Edgewood Rd SW, Cedar Rapids 5425 Blairs Forest Blvd NE, Cedar Rapids Aldi is an affordable and environmentally conscious grocery store option. They take their corporate responsibility seriously and strive to support local communities […]
Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA, allows community members to purchase shares, or memberships, with area farms. Community contribution early in the season lets farmers properly gauge the community’s needs for the coming season, and community members receive CSA shares of farm-fresh product, without paying the overhead required by retail sales. If you might be interested […]
By Sophia Finster, Photos by Chris Grebner and Rachel Vanderwerff We often take for granted Iowa’s abundant forests, prairies and backyards, and the variety of nutritious foods they provide. Tapping into these resources through foraging, hunting and fishing helps us understand how valuable they are. “Food is a commonality that everyone needs. As a society, […]