On a recent Sunday morning visit to my parents in West Liberty, my mother, an immigrant from northern Mexico, asked me if I wanted some menudo. I was confused at her question, as there was no tell-tale evidence that she had been cooking the soup for the last eight or so hours. Absent were the […]
Mexican food
Posted inFood & Drink
Recipe: Mexican mother-approved menudo
Like a lot of immigrant moms, mine runs fast and loose with ingredients, cooking times and servings. Questions were asked, Spanish transcribed and lots of shit-talking about “other people’s” Menudo omitted to produce the following recipe. Think of it as a general template from which to build and iterate. Menudo isn’t too complicated, it just […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Restaurant owner Alfonso Medina continues to feed a pro-decency movement in Marshalltown, six years after ‘No Love, No Tacos’ went viral
Inside La Carreta Mexican Grill in Marshalltown is a bulletin board with letters from supporters all over the world. A sticker on a server stand reads, “Racism and outside food not allowed.” The restaurant is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day but Sunday, serving everything from huevos rancheros and a vegan al pastor […]
Posted inCommunity/News
This corn fungus, dreaded by most Iowa farmers, is a south-of-the-border delicacy
Father and daughter returned to their field to assess the tumors’ growth. The father stepped forward into the sea of shimmering florets, plucked an ear of corn from its stalk and squatted to face his daughter. Look, he said. It’s ready. The lumps had multiplied, infecting the kernels. Some had taken the shape of a […]
Posted inFood & Drink
LV Recommends: NewBo’s newest Mexican restaurant, Cafe Tacuba, boasts a full breakfast menu, guac flights, decadent coffee and more
When Fong’s Pizza closed their Cedar Rapids doors in November 2022, their absence left a crab rangoon pizza-shaped hole in the New Bohemian district. The building sat empty for a short stint, until Oswaldo Aguirre and Ariel Barrios saw their opportunity to fill that hole with tacos, enchiladas and guacamole flights. Cafe Tacuba was born. […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Takanami will become a Mexican restaurant (Updated)
July 20, 2018: This article was updated with new comments from Valentina Carrero. After 15 years serving sushi, teppanyaki and Asian-infused entrees, Iowa City’s Takanami will become a Mexican restaurant, new owner Valentina Carrero announced Wednesday. The rebranded business is set to open Aug. 2 in the same location at 219 Iowa Ave. “I have […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Mami’s Authentic owners to close Iowa City location, open new restaurant on Burlington Street
The owners of Mami’s Authentic will close their current Iowa City location and open a new restaurant, Estella’s, sometime in late August or early September. The new Mexican food joint will be located at 184 E Burlington St, next to Zombie Burger and close to Mami’s current location at 221 S Gilbert St.
