BeerBurger opened a second location on Monday, two years to the day after its original location in North Liberty opened it doors. The new downtown Iowa City location is at 108 E Burlington St, in the space formerly occupied by Zombie Burger + Shake Lab, which closed at the beginning of February 2018. BeerBurger is […]
Food & Drink
Reinventions, new locations and a ‘secret’ from long ago: The restaurant scene in 2018
Transformation was a major theme on the local restaurant scene in 2018. Early in the year, the owners of downtown fixture Atlas announced they were remaking the restaurant into the Saint Burch Tavern (named after Burch, the bear who served as the University of Iowa’s mascot at the beginning of the 20th century), and as […]
Best of the CRANDIC 2018: Food & Drink
The results are in! Here are the winners of Little Village’s 2018 Best of the CRANDIC competition in the Food & Drink category, representing voters’ favorite restaurants, bars, growers and innovators in the Cedar Rapids-Iowa City area.
Devotay is closing
After more than two decades as a staple of the Iowa City restaurant scene, Devotay is closing. “With a heavy heart, we now announce that we will be closing Devotay on New Year’s Eve and will reopen as a new restaurant in January, 2019,” owners Mark and Jade Paterno said in a statement posted to […]
LV Recommends: Groundswell Cafe
The concept of the Groundswell Cafe in Cedar Rapids (201 3rd Ave SW) is simple: Eat, and if you’d like, leave some extra money to pay for someone else’s meal. Nonprofit Matthew 25 opened the cafe on Oct. 8
Chef Andy Schumacher to celebrate humane and sustainable farming practices with prix fixe dinner at Cobble Hill
Cedar Rapids restaurateur and chef Andy Schumacher aims to make prix fixe dining experiences a more accessible option for foodies in the Corridor area. Schumacher’s much-lauded Cobble Hill Restaurant will host a special Niman Ranch dinner.
Recipe: Yemeni Chicken Soup
When I’m craving soup, I want soup as meal — a hot bowl of broth, meat falling off the bones and a scoop of rice or a chunk of bread. Classic American chicken soup fits the bill, but sometimes seems a little boring. Here is my recipe for chicken soup with an extra kick of flavor, making for the perfect fall or winter meal.
Groundswell Cafe brings a pay-it-forward ethic and fresh, organic food to Cedar Rapids
Groundswell Cafe will bring something new to Iowa when it opens in Cedar Rapids on Monday, Oct. 8. The latest project by Matthew 25 will be the state’s first pay-it-forward cafe.
An Anthony Bourdain tribute dinner brings together St. Burch Tavern’s chef and IWP writers
Bourdain died by suicide on June 8 of this year, leaving us — his restaurant kin, writers, travelers, chefs and eaters — to celebrate him, and to continue to celebrate other cultures, with our own meals, travels and words. It is in this celebratory vein that Gabe Branch, chef de cuisine at St. Burch Tavern, will collaborate with four writers from the University of Iowa International Writing Program for a Parts Unknown tribute dinner, part of the lineup for this year’s Witching Hour festival.
Tacos for Peace: Eat well and help animals affected by Hurricane Florence
Tacos are always good, and on Tuesday, anyone with a taste for the vegan version can do good by eating them at Trumpet Blossom Cafe. Every month, Trumpet Blossom, Iowa City’s only all-vegan restaurant, raises funds for nonprofits with Tacos for Peace. Normally it benefits local nonprofits, but on Tuesday, it will be raising money to help A Well-Fed World’s campaign to assist farm sanctuaries that are taking in animals affected by Hurricane Florence.
LV Recommends: Szechuan House
Maybe you were terrified, as I was, for those few weeks this summer when Szechuan House was suddenly closed, with no warning. How could we gird ourselves against the upcoming Iowa winter with none of the now-familiar comfort of our favorite delicacies? With what would we fend off fall’s hangovers if not with the delivery of spicy and sour garlic chicken? What on earth would we do?
Townie Hawk: Snack-sized Big Ten football facts (and drink recommendations) to share at your next tailgate
Welcome back to football, fans of the sport and/or binge drinking. The Big Ten season opener against Wisconsin glimmers on the horizon, and with it comes the sick dread of unspecified mayhem that only a true Hawkeye fan can understand. Will we play the spoiler to someone else’s championship season (Ohio State last year, anyone?) […]




