On a recent Sunday morning visit to my parents in West Liberty, my mother, an immigrant from northern Mexico, asked me if I wanted some menudo. I was confused at her question, as there was no tell-tale evidence that she had been cooking the soup for the last eight or so hours. Absent were the […]
Food & Drink
Posted inFood & Drink
Review: Open Sesame is a dreamy Mediterranean cafe with a rich history in Des Moines
You don’t know unless you try it. It’s cliché, sure, but it’s also the entire premise of Open Sesame, a Lebanese restaurant in Des Moines’ East Village that’s spent nearly two decades convincing Iowans there’s more to eat than pork tenderloin. Imagine going all your life never experiencing crumbly and warmly spiced falafel, fried with […]
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Istanbul Grill Cafe & Bakery brings one of the world’s oldest cuisines to Urbandale
Michelle Kaya was reluctant to leave her Michigan home, where she had family, friends and a teaching career. But her husband Ahmet’s job in executive management necessitated a move to central Iowa. Early in the process, he was staying at a hotel near Jordan Creek Town Center. Michelle came to visit, and she wanted sushi. […]
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Review: Annie’s is all about crunchy bánh mì and lunchbreak-friendly service in downtown IC
Bánh mì became a street food staple in Vietnam in the 1950s, about a century after French imperialism brought the baguette to the country. The sandwich took off in the states in the 1980s and you can find them in several places around Iowa — Pho Real Kitchen and Bar, Zavy Kitchen, TNT Vietnamese Restaurant and […]
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From breakfast sandwiches to purple pudding, ManilaBoy brings Filipino street-food staples to Des Moines
Pop. Pop. Pop. In late 2025, ManilaBoy food pop-ups started springing up everywhere in Des Moines: Horizon Line Coffee, RAYGUN, Crème, the Art Terrarium. They even made an appearance at the Little Book for Indie Bookstore Day this April. ManilaBoy isn’t popping out of nowhere. Chef and owner Earvin Idio and his family started serving […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Four programs helping immigrants, refugees and underserved Iowans grow a farm business
Iowa has farmland in abundance, but astonishingly little of that land is used to grow food for humans — especially not food for Iowans. It’s too bad, because the state is full of folks with the skills and desire to nourish their community, and support their family in the process. Many of these would-be farmers […]
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How a Des Moines inventor made the modern American hot dog possible
A little over 100 years ago, hot dogs were just cheap sausages stuffed into buns and sold for a few cents on street corners, at fairs and sporting events. By the 1970s, hot dogs, still cheap sausages stuffed into buns, were such an iconically American food that a leading car company invoked them to give its […]
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Review: Que Chimba is a fast, family-run Colombian restaurant out of the Old Capitol mall
One of Iowa City’s newest restaurants is so great, they put it in the name. Que Chimba Colombian Street Food opened in the Old Capitol Town Center in March. Que Chimba is a colloquialism that translates to “That’s great” or “That’s awesome,” and the restaurant lives up to its name in more ways than one. […]
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International produce you might find at the farmers market
Incubator farms are a sandbox — if that sandbox was full of fertile soil and eager pollinators. Refugee and immigrant farmers grow many fruits, veggies and flowers beloved by Iowans, including tomatoes, lettuce, cabbage, microgreens, watermelon, peaches, sunflowers, onions, radishes, beets, zucchini, squash, carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, sweet peppers and hot peppers. Other crops favored […]
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Recipe: Mexican mother-approved menudo
Like a lot of immigrant moms, mine runs fast and loose with ingredients, cooking times and servings. Questions were asked, Spanish transcribed and lots of shit-talking about “other people’s” Menudo omitted to produce the following recipe. Think of it as a general template from which to build and iterate. Menudo isn’t too complicated, it just […]
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Her parents’ kung pao chicken had Des Moines obsessed. With Heavenly Asian Cuisine, Nhina Chau brought back the recipe — and explored her Vietnamese roots
Nhina Chau, owner of Heavenly Asian Cuisine, will never put freezer-burned veggies in her egg drop soup. She crinkles her nose at the thought of it. “I personally hate the smell of frozen peas and carrots,” Chau said, squirming in her chair. Egg drop soup is a Chinese restaurant classic. The people of West Des […]
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Restaurant owner Alfonso Medina continues to feed a pro-decency movement in Marshalltown, six years after ‘No Love, No Tacos’ went viral
Inside La Carreta Mexican Grill in Marshalltown is a bulletin board with letters from supporters all over the world. A sticker on a server stand reads, “Racism and outside food not allowed.” The restaurant is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day but Sunday, serving everything from huevos rancheros and a vegan al pastor […]
