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Chef Melanie Abu-Nameh, 44, and baker Holly Ervin, 45, first met at a tennis margarita league event, as best friends do, and quickly bonded over family and food. While Abu-Nameh has worked in the restaurant industry her whole career (from line cook to culinary instructor to executive chef), Ervin regarded baking as a side passion. […]
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 […]
Breakfast is perhaps the humblest meal, but also one of the most universally loved. It can be eaten at any time of day and its most common components — eggs, some sort of bread or pastry, maybe a little meat — can be put together in innumerable ways, from a basic scrambled egg and toast […]
Food comes in many forms and can serve many purposes. It can be a multi-course work of art. It can be a tentative lunch at a coffee shop to forge a connection with a new friend or a home-cooked meal to show our love to our families. It can be purely utilitarian, like chunks of […]
When I moved back home to Iowa after living in Minneapolis for a few years, one of the few things I missed was the cuisine. I’m no food snob — I like cheeseburgers and pizza as much as the next person — but I also appreciate things like a great falafel and other foods that […]
Food is a source of comfort. That’s why we incorporate it into so many events. We use food to smooth over the awkwardness of first dates or meeting our partners’ families for the first time. To celebrate birthdays, graduations, new babies and marriages. To mourn the losses of loved ones, relationships and jobs. To lull […]
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. […]
The Takeaway is a restaurant review series from Tiffani Green focused on the saving grace for foodies during a pandemic: takeout and delivery. Coffee shops are my natural habitat. I came of age and figured out who I was in coffee shops. I seek them out on every vacation. I have built entire friendships out […]
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 […]
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 […]
Willie Fairley’s phone has not stopped ringing. Fairley told Little Village he’s gotten calls from “all over the world” letting him know they appreciate the work he’s doing and asking how they can support him. Fairley, owner of Willie Ray’s Q Shack in Cedar Rapids, has been making hundreds of free meals for people impacted […]
Maybe I’m not the best person to review a gluten-free bakery. My body does not seem to have an adverse reaction to gluten. I have not suffered countless loaves of bread that taste like cardboard boxes. I haven’t choked down gritty, hard-as-rocks cookies in pretend enjoyment. But maybe because I haven’t tasted exactly how terrible […]
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Little Village is an independent media company based in Iowa City. In print since 2001, our mission is to create visibility for the communities, businesses and events that define our region. Support Little Village →