Looking for something new? These eight new restaurants deserve a spot on your short-list. Maggie’s Farm Pizza 1308 Melrose Ave, Iowa City A long-time NewBo and Iowa City Farmer’s Market favorite, Maggie’s Farm Pizza opened their independent brick and mortar restaurant on the west side of Iowa City in August 2017. In collaboration with local […]
Bread & Butter Dining Guide
2020 Guide: A-Z Restaurants in the Iowa City area and Cedar Rapids
Use this index as a guide to find your next favorite meal. This exhaustive list of restaurants, bars, cafés and bistros covers a range of budgets and a multitude of palates—there truly is something for everyone here. Price range is indicated on a scale of $ to $$$$ and accounts for each establishment’s average price […]
LV Recommends: Irish stouts
On St. Patrick’s Day, you’re entitled to a pint of Guinness (it’d be un-Irish not to) but if you’re looking for something a little different, give these U.S.-born Irish stouts a chance.
LV Recommends: Bread Garden Market’s food kiosks
Bread Garden Market executive chef Christian Prochaska said the idea for the kiosks came, in fact, from a visit to Whole Foods in Washington, D.C., where customers were lining up “10 people deep” to order personalized meals from kiosk stations.
LV Recommends: The Village Meat Market
If you find yourself wandering Czech Village, pop into the Village Meat Market Café for some simple and delicious fare. But don’t leave without taking some butcher loaf home.
Three delectable potato recipes for the holidays
Delicious food doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive. Some of my favorite holiday dishes are made with the humble potato. Here are the three recipes I like to make most.
Thanksgiving in a box! Order your feast from a local vendor and give your oven a rest
No need to overwork this holiday season; get out your wallet and take a load off.
LV Recommends: Gumption.
Gumption. has achieved and perfected the chic, family-friendly breakfast spot with its farm-to-fork food and drink menus. Those menus caters to many different diners, with each plate highlighting local ingredients, from fresh seasonal produce to fresh breads.
LV Recommends: Orchard Green’s Hot & Filthy
Somewhere, in a magical land between a Bloody Mary and a martini, exists Orchard Green’s Hot and Filthy. Simply vodka with hot pepper-infused olive juice, it breathes hope and positivity, claiming with confidence and calm: You don’t have to choose, people! Have that pure, boozy, olive heat without the trusted alcoholic brunch beverage viscosity, and live.
LV Recommends: Milkshakes around the area
Ice cream: a quintessential summertime treat. Give one of these shakes a go and you’ve got yourself the perfect way to main-line an icy treat on a hot summer’s day.
LV Recommends: Nile Ethiopian Restaurant
“Finally” seems to be the most frequently expressed response to the recent opening of Nile, an Ethiopian restaurant just off the Coralville strip. Finally Iowa City transplants who once hailed from big cities rich with international food scenes can reconnect with a long-lost comfort food. Finally Eastern Iowa natives, young and old, can again enjoy a lesser-known cuisine without a long drive — or trial-and-error in one’s own kitchen.
LV Recommends: Caucho
Tacos are perfect, no matter what form they take: Whether hard shell or soft, spicy or mild, meaty or vegetarian, a taco’s deliciousness and convenience are peerless. I’d argue that, like sex, even a bad taco is still pretty damned good.
A margarita, on the other hand, is easy to ruin. Too often, the flavor of tequila is barely discernible in the too-sweet tang of frozen sour mix, and the whole thing amounts to nothing more than a mediocre Slurpee. A middling margarita can dull the shine of even the most stellar taco.
This is part of why Caucho is such a gem: Their margaritas are perfection. Whether delivered as a mixed-from-scratch top-shelf cocktail rimmed with smoked paprika salt, or as a frozen, blended house margarita straight from a machine, the drink combines perfectly with their fresh, farm-to-table, eclectic selection of Mexican favorites.

