If there’s anything we all could use at the end of 2025, it’s comforting food with good company. Helping patrons get into the holiday feasting mindset, Hancher Auditorium hosted a conversation with acclaimed chef and author Samin Nosrat and Iowa City’s own Carmen Maria Machado on Nov. 13. The auditorium, buzzing with food enthusiasts of […]
food and dining
Posted inFood & Drink
LV Recommends: Geyer’s Oven
There’s nothing more “Iowa” than eating in the middle of a cornfield. At Geyer’s Oven in Oxford, Iowa (1259 Rohret Rd SW), cows passively watched me enjoy delicious wood-fired pizza made with fresh ingredients such as summer squash and roasted beets. Visitors brought picnic blankets, dogs, wine and other wonderful things to enjoy along with the summer evening outside on the farm.
Posted inFood & Drink
A recipe from ‘MasterChef’ contestant Matt Houck
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.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Attention ‘Rick and Morty’ fans: McDonald’s Szechuan sauce is coming to Iowa City for one day only
McDonald’s is bringing back their 1998 limited-edition Szechuan dipping sauce at the insistence of Rick and Morty fans. One Iowa City location will distribute the now-famous condiment.
Posted inFood & Drink
Family Dinner: Husbands Matt and Rob entertain friends with Iowan flare
Matt Van Maanen and Rob Lancaster are hosting dinner for the third night in a row this week in their Cedar Rapids home. Earlier in the week, the couple received their weekly summer Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) share, including a bounty of summer squash, which prompted tonight’s main dish: a zucchini-loaded pasta primavera with just-plucked basil and balsamic drizzled on top. On the side: kale salad with sliced almonds and a lemony emulsion, garnished with decorative-yet-edible nasturtiums.
Posted inCommunity/News
Photos: Kalona Creamery preps for opening next week
Supporters got a sneak peak on Thursday of the newly renovated Kalona Creamery Shop & Deli (2206 540th St SW, Kalona), which will officially open on Jan. 19, offering visitors freshly made soups and sandwiches in addition to the famous cheese curds and Iowa-sourced products on its shelves. The creamery has big shoes to fill […]
Posted inFood & Drink
On The Table: What are you drinking tonight?
In these chilly mid-winter months, all it takes is a good spirit to ease the shivers and warm the soul. In the search for winter cheer, Melissa Sinclair, general manager of the Motley Cow Café, and Katy Meyer, owner and chef at Trumpet Blossom Café have shared their thoughts on crafting seasonal cocktails that reflect […]
Posted inFood & Drink
On the Table: Sweet Spot – Wilton Candy Kitchen in Wilton, Iowa
When I was a kid, you got your ice cream at a Baskin Robbins franchise in a strip mall next to a Fayva, where you got your plastic jelly shoes. I had heard of “drugstores” where you could sit at a counter and get malteds and melts, but I had never actually visited a place […]
Posted inFood & Drink
On the Table: If You Give a Frog a Cookie
Arnold Lobel’s storybook characters Frog and Toad are two of the literary giants from my childhood that have enjoyed second, third and (currently) fourth revivals for me as I’ve shared their stories with each of my children. Although I still enjoy these funny and sweet stories, by the 20th or 30th read (that’s a weekly […]
Posted inFood & Drink
On The Table: Growing Rogue
I am supposed to meet him (I don’t know his name) at the corner gas station where I expect he will be standing outside of a beat-up farm truck with Muscatine county plates. Last time I was here to buy from him he told me that his friend does the growing and he does the selling. […]
Posted inFood & Drink
On the Table: Personal Chef – How a Middle-Class Working Mother Splurges
How does a middle-class working mother splurge? Retail therapy? No, not shoes—if I can’t wear them to work or at home then why bother? Not handbags—they will just get Gatorade spilled on them. Concert tickets—nah, too tired to leave the house. No, no, no! What I really want is a personal chef. I asked around […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Who will be the next Top Chef?
On March 28, the 2nd annual Top Chef: Downtown competition will be a live version of what all of us merely witness on Bravo. Iowa City’s top chefs and bartenders will be exhibiting their culinary talent and mixologist wizardry from 5 to 7 p.m. at Hotel Vetro, 201 S. Linn St. Tickets are $25 which secures a sampling […]
