Popcorn was already popular when Cloid Smith started selling it out of his home in Sioux City 110 years ago. It was cheap; it was tasty. And it’s been eaten in the Americas for thousands of years in a variety of ways. Archaeologists working in Peru found the remains of ears of popcorn dating back […]
Bread & Butter Dining Guide
Posted inFood & Drink
Iowa gastrology: Local restaurant recommendations based on your zodiac sign
If astrology is a method of divination based on the positions of stars and planets used for predicting and explaining human events, then gastrology must be a method of divining dining destinations based on cosmic culinary cravings. Read on for your hunger horoscope. ARIES (Mar 21-Apr 19) Oak Park, Des Moines Energetic, influential, confident and […]
Posted inBread & Butter Dining Guide
LV Recommends: 12 local restaurants to try in Des Moines & Ames
Chain and Spoke is half coffee shop, half bike shop. Cycling gear fills in the industrial décor, and walls of windows give the space natural light.
Posted inBread & Butter Dining Guide
Bread & Butter 2024: Little Village’s Annual Dining Special
The ninth edition of Little Village’s annual Bread & Butter magazine spotlights interesting eateries in Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Ames, Dubuque, Waterloo, the Quad Cities and other food hubs in eastern and central Iowa. Whether you’re craving a cocktail on a sun-drenched patio, a bite on the fly or a never-before-tasted fusion dish […]
Posted inPrint Edition
Bread & Butter 2023: Dining Guide to the Iowa City and Cedar Rapids area
Read the PDF edition » The 2023 edition of Bread & Butter, Little Village’s annual Eastern Iowa dining guide, is served. In this issue, explore notable new restaurants, slurp-worthy ramen shops and pop-ups, reliable lunches, scrumptious brunch spots, delectable recipes, stormy stouts and fantastic fermentation. Spend a weekend on the Fairfield food scene, or let […]
Posted inStatewide
Recipe: Mediterranean Chicken Meatballs
These are not your average meatballs. Adding more colorful vegetables to your meals doesn’t have to be complicated. These meatballs get a veggie boost with chopped spinach, bell peppers and onions and an infusion of flavor courtesy of feta cheese, olives and Italian herbs & spices. Plus, replacing breadcrumbs with oats ups the fiber content. […]
Posted inBread & Butter Dining Guide
Six exceptional bar programs in the CRANDIC
The difference between a good restaurant and a great restaurant largely comes down to staffing and knowledge. A good restaurant purchases ingredients and has cooks that follow a recipe to produce a plate of food. A great restaurant hires chefs who understand what those ingredients are, and how they work with other ingredients to create […]
Posted inBread & Butter Dining Guide
Sacraments
As an annoyingly inquisitive child with parents who encouraged critical thinking, I struggled to believe in God. We still went to church on Church holidays, though — not out of a sense of obligation, but out of an appreciation of ritual. The multisensory stimulations of Catholic mass enchanted and mystified me, with the silk and […]
Posted inBread & Butter Dining Guide
Local bartenders are serving creative NA cocktails to keep the party going, without the buzz
As a Midwest college town, Iowa City has historically been a heavy-drinking community within a heavy-drinking region. “The University of Iowa has long been known as one of the top party schools,” said Dr. Paul Gilbert, a professor in the College of Public Health who studies alcohol-related disparities. “But it doesn’t have to dominate anymore. […]
Posted inBread & Butter Dining Guide
Recipe: Spicy peanut sweet potato stew
Sweet potatoes and peanut butter are a classic combination in African cuisine, which is the inspiration behind the recipe. Warming flavors of curry and ginger round out the flavor profile. Jalapeño gives it some heat but feel free to use half or omit, if needed. Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 30-40 minutes / Serves […]
Posted inBread & Butter Dining Guide
This wine maven from Cedar Rapids is shaking up the industry, one bottle of sparkling sauv at a time
“I’m the fish that likes to swim upstream.” Chris Christensen used this phrase over and over again to describe his journey from a middle-class upbringing in Iowa to attending Stanford University to starting his own winery in Sonoma County. Christensen’s unlikely breakthrough into the wine business is underscored by his identification with and affinity for […]
Posted inBread & Butter Dining Guide
Three local hummus masters on what makes the perfect dip (and what doesn’t)
The origin of hummus is obscure. The earliest recorded recipe is found in a 13th century Syrian cookbook with the phenomenal title Winning the Beloved’s Heart with Delectable Dishes and Perfumes: boil chickpeas, then mash them together with tahini, olive oil, salt, spices and vinegar. Sometime later, lemon replaced vinegar and garlic was added, but […]
