On the corner of Linn and Bloomington in downtown Iowa City’s Northside, Kindred Coffee fills its sunny, plant-lined space with lattes, cappuccinos and the occasional troupe of dancers. (In May, it hosted a show by University of Iowa dance students and DanceWorks Chicago performers; more recently, IC Dance Company put on a “Dancer Social” in […]
Iowa City Dining
Posted inFood & Drink
Ramen, pastries and that vindaloo they do so well at Iowa City and Coralville restaurants
For the 2025 Bread & Butter dining guide, Little Village food reviewers visited and reviewed six Iowa City area eateries, including a few notable newbies to the scene. Saj Grill, 23 S Dubuque St, Iowa City: Middle Eastern and Mediterranean dining have come full force to downtown Iowa City. Locals boast about the quality of its Jordanian cuisine — falafel, shawarma, baba ganoush, hummus, gyros and more — citing it as “food that tastes like home.” Owners promise bold spices, fresh ingredients and halal-certified meat.
Posted inFood & Drink
Already an Iowa City street-food favorite, Snacky Mini Mart puts the ‘bing’ in mind-blowing
Starting a new restaurant can feel like surfing a tsunami. Luckily, the cousin-cousin culinary team behind Snacky Mini Mart has a great sense of balance. Sandy and Vivian Pei launched their pan-Asian food stall at the Iowa City Farmers Market in spring 2023, cooking under a red canopy and hand-painted signs made by Sandy, one […]
Posted inFood & Drink
LV Recommends: 13 local restaurants to try in Iowa City & Coralville
A popular breakfast eatery for nearly 90 years, Hamburg Inn No. 2 found new life in 2023 when new owners saved it from certain death.
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 inFood & Drink
LV Recommends: All-day breakfast spots in central and eastern Iowa
Sometimes you just want pancakes for dinner — specifically, a stack of hotcakes fresh off the seasoned griddle of a local diner, presented with a carafe of syrup, crispy hashbrowns, eggs any style and a cocktail or two. Whatever your dream brinner may be, there are plenty of restaurants in the Des Moines and Iowa […]
Posted inFood & Drink
100 dishes from bygone Iowa City-area restaurants, remembered by LV readers
In March, Little Village asked followers on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, “What are some of your favorite dishes from bygone local restaurants?” The posts received hundreds of comments from nostalgic (and clearly hungry) current and former locals, recalling restaurants long gone and recently deceased. Below are 100 of those responses. Do you know the recipe […]
Posted inEastern Iowa
Spoil your sweetheart (or sass your ex) with Valentine’s treats from around Iowa City and Cedar Rapids
No matter your relationship status or feelings surrounding Valentine’s Day, it’s a convenient excuse to indulge in a fancy meal, cocktail, dessert, or all three. Spend Tuesday, Feb. 14 in good spirits — and out of the waiting area — by supporting local IC/CR businesses, planning ahead and getting straight to the good stuff. Paint […]
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
A guide to eating the day away in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City
Whether you’re from Eastern Iowa or just visiting, chances are there’s a fantastic restaurant you’ve never tried right around the corner. So get out there, support local and enjoy what the area has to offer! Don’t know where to start? Give these CR and IC restaurant itineraries a try. Cedar Rapids First stop: Bea’s Cafe, […]
Posted inCOVID-19
‘Microfood’ operations flourished in the pandemic, from home bakers to couriers
The COVID-19 pandemic taught many of us how to switch gears and pivot. In March 2020, as the regular 9-to-5 ruptured, many people quit their desk and retail jobs and started doing the things they’d always wanted to do, either as a side hustle or completely new beginning. “As a person who works in the […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Farewell, fried chicken: John’s Grocery is closing its kitchen
John’s Grocery began serving customers freshly prepared food in the 1950s, a few years after the family-owned store opened in 1948. John Alberhasky’s wife Erma “couldn’t stand seeing all of the junior high kids eating penny candy for lunch, so [she] started making nickel ham-salad sandwiches and [her] famous potato salad,” according to the store’s […]
