Food, like all cultural exchange, is relative. One person’s adventurous meal out of their comfort zone is another person’s daily staple. An example: even though I’m born-and-raised Iowan, I had never heard of a supper club before dining at West Des Moines’ Guesthouse Tavern + Oyster. “Oh, is it like a book club for foodies?” […]
Food Reviews
Posted inFood & Drink
LV Recommends: Plus Saporis brings flaming appetizers, elevated comfort food to Bettendorf
Last month, I had the pleasure of taking a weekend trip to Chicago. One of my goals, while there, was to find a great restaurant, a relatively easy task in big cities. I poured over restaurant reviews and menus and looked for available reservations.
Posted inBread & Butter Dining Guide
Tender is the loin: The quest to find the CRANDIC’s most perfect pork tenderloin
Photos by Zak Neumann / Little Village The pork tenderloin sandwich ranks among Iowa’s most important culinary contributions, alongside Maid-Rites, puppy chow and Casey’s breakfast pizza. The formula is simple: A piece of pork loin is pounded thin, battered and deep fried, served on a bun which it humorously dwarfs in size and topped most […]
Posted inFood & Drink
The kraut-er in the rye: Five (more) local Reubens, graded
After publishing the original Reuben review in Little Village’s March 2021 issue, I received a few comments aghast that I had not featured a Reuben from downtown Iowa City’s popular Irish pub, Micky’s. I regret my error!! I’m here to attempt to make good and have rounded up a few others for a new class […]
Posted inFood & Drink
LV Recommends: Tornado’s Grub & Pub is a cozy CR dive bar with a twist
“Checkers?” That was the first question from the waiter as my girlfriend and I slid into a side booth at Tornado’s Pub & Grub. If you grab one of the booths inside the front door, you’re treated to a tabletop that doubles as a checkerboard — just one of the quaint eccentricities in this dive […]
Posted inFood & Drink
The Takeaway: Ramen Belly leaves you full and nourished
Prior to ordering from Ramen Belly this week, I had eaten restaurant-quality ramen exactly once — in 2018 while visiting my sister in Portland, Oregon. At the time, it was a novelty, and I didn’t really know what it was, my only previous ramen experience being with the kind that comes in a brick along […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Built by immigrants in 1893, the Matyk Building is now a font of food and art in Cedar Rapids
The building that sits at 1029 3rd St SE in Cedar Rapids has roots almost as deep as the city itself. It was erected by the Matyk family, immigrants from Czechoslovakia, in 1893, only 44 years after the city was incorporated. The building began its life as a dry goods store, with the family living […]
Posted inFood & Drink
We Tried It: Hy-Vee’s Cheetos Flamin’ Hot Sushi Roll
It’s possible to find restaurants in the United States that take sushi as seriously as the most tradition-bound restaurants in Japan do. It’s also possible to buy sushi at your local Hy-Vee. And if you want your sushi covered in Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, Hy-Vee is probably your best bet. Hy-Vee is currently advertising “Cheetos Flamin’ […]
Posted inFood & Drink
For the love of Reuben: Grading local corned-beef beauties
When my beloved and I became a serious couple, his son asked us what our favorite foods were. We both said Reubens. The first Reuben I ever ordered was in 2000. I was out for Bloody Marys and brunch at the Uptown Diner in Minneapolis (RIP) and a friend insisted I have one. I was […]
Posted inFood & Drink
The Takeaway: IC newbie Bollywood Grill earns its place in the local scene
Growing up in Iowa in the ’80s and ’90s, a time when the restaurant landscape was dominated by corporate chains, I didn’t have much exposure to food from other parts of the world. I tried Indian food for the first when I was in my teens and I still remember it being a transporting experience. […]
Posted inFood & Drink
The Takeaway: Tabooleh is a great Mediterranean takeout option
Like many during this pandemic, my boyfriend and I have a lot of time on our hands and are spending 90 percent of it at home. One way we’ve been breaking up the sameness of every day is by ordering takeout and delivery from restaurants we always meant to try but for some reason never […]
Posted inFood & Drink
LV Recommends: Crab Attack Cajun Seafood
Opening a seafood restaurant in a landlocked Midwestern state in the midst of an unpredictable pandemic sounds like a near mythical feat. But that’s exactly what the owners of Crab Attack Cajun Seafood did, and with delicious results. Owners Stephanie Johnson, Nichole Davis and Gerald Seals wanted to bring something different to Cedar Rapids. Johnson […]
