Research says the closer food rests against the rim of a dish, the more likely eaters will perceive their meal to be sufficient. Consider a large plate, with plenty of its outer surface area untouched by food. Now, consider a bowl, filled to the brim. The bowl evokes a sense of security, of enoughness.
LV Recommends
Raise your glass to these no-proof and low-alcohol cocktails
Adults love their adult beverages, but not always the buzz that comes with it. With sales of alcohol dropping around 1 percent in the U.S. in 2018, an increase from 2017, Americans seem to be joining a growing European movement: eschewing boozy cocktails, beers and wines for low- or no-alcohol beverages.
LV Recommends: Five local restaurants where the special reigns supreme
The specials at these restaurants won’t let you down…
LV Recommends: Dine using your horoscope as a guide
Jupiter will be in its home sign of Sagittarius from November of 2018 to December of 2019. These 13 months are all about growth, new beginnings and transformation. Allow the impulsive, fun-loving energy of Sagittarius to inspire your local dining choices this year, with these up-and-coming restaurant recommendations for each sign. Aries: NaRa Thai Cuisine, […]
LV Recommends: Gianna’s Italian Beef
Don’t tell Chicago, but Gianna’s stole their sandwich. Signature sandwiches are an edible work of art. Done right, they make our mouths water and our bellies happy. They leave us with warm memories of past road trips, vacations and experiences. Eastern Iowa has a number of restaurants where one can order an Italian beef sandwich. […]
LV Recommends: Rodina
Now is the time of year for comfort food. As I write this, Iowa City schools face their eighth snow day of the year, my driveway is impassable and the bright red boots I bought to infuse winter with a little joy are stained with salt and dirt. I take infinite solace in eating from […]
LV Recommends: Pho Lucky
Recently, three Little Village staffers lunched at Pho Lucky to get a feel for Iowa City’s newest pho restaurant. Imagine, on a cold winter day, sitting like a warm cat in a big sunny booth right by the south windows of a tidy restaurant while you sip a sweet Vietnamese iced coffee or hot tea and wait for a big bowl of soup.
LV Recommends: Groundswell Cafe
The concept of the Groundswell Cafe in Cedar Rapids (201 3rd Ave SW) is simple: Eat, and if you’d like, leave some extra money to pay for someone else’s meal. Nonprofit Matthew 25 opened the cafe on Oct. 8
LV Recommends: Szechuan House
Maybe you were terrified, as I was, for those few weeks this summer when Szechuan House was suddenly closed, with no warning. How could we gird ourselves against the upcoming Iowa winter with none of the now-familiar comfort of our favorite delicacies? With what would we fend off fall’s hangovers if not with the delivery of spicy and sour garlic chicken? What on earth would we do?
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.
LV Recommends: International fare for RAGBRAI visitors in Iowa City
For the first time in over 40 years, Iowa City is hosting bicyclists and their entourages from all 50 states and a multitude of countries for the Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa — better known as RAGBRAI. In celebration of our international guests, we’ve put together this guide to eating cross-continentally in our […]
LV Recommends: Big’s Iowa Style BBQ & Brew Pub
Mount Vernon has a little-known gem of a restaurant, tucked just down the hill from Main Street: Big’s BBQ (124 2nd Ave NW). From the street, this stately manor would pass for a Cornell professor’s home. But inside waits a tidy little restaurant and brewery serving big flavor. Big’s delivers a surprising variety of delicious […]

