The sun has yet to rise but the full moon still hovers over the western horizon. Its pale light illuminates the trash strewn parking lot behind Kinnick Stadium. Cars dodge garbage bags and piles of disposable plates; the crunch-crunch of stray cans and plastic cups under their tires echoes across the lot. A dozen people, […]
Iowa City food
Posted inFood & Drink
Chicken Little Reviews: Trumpet Blossom Cafe
Trumpet Blosson Cafe 310 E. Prentiss St. As an ex-vegan I still love to frequent vegetarian/vegan restaurants and was delighted when the Trumpet Blossom opened. Trumpet Blossom is a fully vegan restaurant, meaning 100 percent plant-based using no animal products (yes, even butter, milk and eggs). Upon entering the restaurant, the large windows and houseplants […]
Posted inFood & Drink
The Hops: Schlafly Pumpkin Ale by Saint Louis Brewery, St. Louis, MO
Though I love carving pumpkins for Halloween, and finishing Thanksgiving dinner with a slice of pumpkin pie, pumpkin-flavored beer never appealed to me; it seemed like a bad combination. However, it was something I knew I should try and I recently got the chance to sample 17 different pumpkin ales with my beer tasting group. […]
Posted inFood & Drink
On The Table: Growing Rogue
IÂ 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. […]
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Chicken Little Reviews: Bobalicious
Bobalicious might just be the kind of place Anthony Bourdain is always searching for—a family-run, hole-in-the-wall, authentic pho joint. Rather difficult to locate, Bobalicious is attached to a Deli Mart service station out on Highway 6, across from Paul’s Discount. For all of you townies—it’s in the old Donutland location. Upon entering Bobalicious, you may […]
Posted inFood & Drink
The Hops: Educating the Masses
When golfing, Kent Ball will drink Miller Lite because it’s refreshing, watery and usually cheaper than bottled water. It is a beer, he said, that he does not have to think about on hot, sunny days; all he needs to do is crack open a can and drink. But when patronizing his favorite pub, Ball […]
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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
The Hops: Rayon Vert, by Green Flash Brewing Company, San Diego, CA
September is a time for football (oh, sacred game) and funk. Brettanomyces funk, that is. Affectionately known as Brett, Brettanomyces is a strain of yeast used in many Belgian beers. It imparts a dank funkiness commonly described as being similar to a barnyard or horse blanket. To me, it smells and tastes like an old, […]
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Chicken Little Reviews: Heirloom Salad Co.
As I enter downtown Iowa City’s newest lunch spot (the Java House’s recent expansion into the space next door) I find myself in a pleasant space painted a sophisticated charcoal gray with enlarged vintage photos of Iowa City hanging on the walls. It has the feel of being decorated by a Midwesterner who loves catalogs […]
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The Hops: A Moose Walks into a Bar
At first, Brian Sekafetz thought the Moose Lodge was a place where old men drank beer. However, since becoming a member in 1996, he has learned it is about more than drinks with buddies. So much more, in fact, it gives him goosebumps to talk about it. From caring for 220 underprivileged children at the […]
Posted inAlbum Reviews
Album Review: Colloquialisms – Nothing Remarkable
Colloquialisms Nothing Remarkable colloquialisms.bandcamp.com You may know the man behind Colloquialisms, Joe McNertney, if you shop at the New Pioneer Food Co-op, as the beardy guy behind the meat counter. He’s also Eric Rohn’s collaborator in Noble Octopus, and the two albums share similar silk-screened recycled cardboard covers. But despite some similar gestures, Colloquialisms is […]
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The Hops: Pabst Blue Ribbon
For me, summer is synonymous with lawn mowing and lawnmower lager. As a kid, my summer breaks were spent playing basketball in the driveway and mowing lawns up and down my block. I mowed a neighbor’s lawn just about every day. The heat was oppressive and sometimes the grass was ankle-deep and littered with (doomed) […]
