If you’re anything like me, you know there is no greater tradition than brunch. It’s the perfect midday gathering of friends to top off your weekend. You get a satisfying meal, drink(s) and above all: bacon. My friends and I were a perfect example one recent weekend. After visiting Trumpet Blossom Café and trying an […]
Restaurant Reviews
Posted inFood & Drink
LV Recommends: Lebowski’s Bar & Grill
As a connoisseur of both stoner flicks and all vodka-related beverages I was thrilled to learn of a Big Lebowski-themed restaurant opening in Robins, Iowa (925 Robins Square Dr.). Advertised as a bar and grill, this establishment, opened in February by Shawn and Nola Bodensteiner, was practically begging me to come judge their White Russians […]
Posted inDining Recommendations, Food & Drink
LV Recommends: Sauce Bar & Bistro
If there is a grapefruit-infused beverage, I’m probably going to order it. Overtly fruity beers should be illegal, yet I’ll drink an IPA with hints of grapefruit all day long. So it was with great rejoicing that I discovered my new favorite drink at Sauce Bar & Bistro: Rosemary’s Salt of the Dog features Hendrick’s […]
Posted inDining Recommendations, Food & Drink
LV Recommends: Bar’ber Shop
If I hadn’t looked at the reviews online, I would have flown right by it. “Bar’ber Shop? I searched restaurants!” But upon more investigation, it appeared this place (located at 218 1st Ave. in Coralville) wasn’t serving up a shave and a haircut, but meals made from locally sourced foods at an affordable price. So, […]
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Chicken Little Reviews: Pho Zaika
The flavors of Vietnamese food — garlic, lemongrass, ginger, star anise, cloves, cinnamon, chilies, fish sauce — are some of my favorites. Thankfully, and at long last, there is delicious, complexly flavored Vietnamese food in the Iowa City area, at Coralville’s Pho Zaika. Pho Zaika, also known as “I ♥ Pho,” opened early this year […]
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Chicken Little Reviews: The Lost Cuban
Since 2012, The Lost Cuban in Cedar Rapids has been consistently serving flavorful Cuban favorites, garnering well-deserved buzz along way. The restaurant’s dining room is colorful and clean, free from the clutter of knickknacks. Customers order at the register, and friendly, helpful servers bring the food out to the table when it’s ready (which doesn’t […]
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Chicken Little Reviews: Haveli Indian Cuisine
The Iowa City area has seen many restaurants open in recent months, and one of these noteworthy newcomers is Haveli Indian Cuisine in Coralville (943 25th Ave.). With upwards of 120 items on the menu, I’ll admit I felt overwhelmed on my first visit. But after being warmly welcomed on multiple occasions, I decided to […]
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Chicken Little Reviews: Orchard Green Lounge
When the lights are shining, and it’s filled with diners, I am thankful for Orchard Green Lounge. On a recent evening, my dining partner and I nabbed a parking spot outside the back entrance of Orchard Green Restaurant (521 S. Gilbert St.). Upon entering, we were greeted by a host stationed at the desk at […]
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Chicken Little Reviews: 30hop
Coralville’s new American grill, 30hop (900 East 2nd Ave., Coralville), is enormous, with two stories and a rooftop patio that’s open in warmer months. The boards above the bar—lumber salvaged from an old barn—add to the restaurant’s spacious feeling. I found myself juggling 30hop’s conflicting aesthetics: It presents an unresolved conversation between old and new, […]
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Chicken Little Reviews: Sushiya
Moshi moshi! Irrashaimase! If you’re greeted at a sushi restaurant by by three men in immaculate chef’s whites calling out from behind the small sushi bar, “irrashaimase!” (roughly translating to “welcome” in Japanese) and “moshi moshi,” trust that you are in good hands. At Sushiya — North Liberty’s newest Pan-Asian restaurant focusing on approachable Japanese […]
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Chicken Little Reviews: Kalona Brewing Company
Kalona Brewing Company 405 B Avenue, Kalona, Iowa Over the past year, the number of craft breweries in Iowa has grown from 40 to 52, with seven more currently in the planning stages of opening. This increase reflects a nationwide trend in both the food and beverage worlds of returning to local and small-scale production […]
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Chicken Little Reviews: Cobble Hill
Cedar Rapids’ restaurant history is rather infamous. Prohibition began there five years before the rest of America. On the outskirts of town, supper clubs like the Lighthouse Inn and Ced-Rel flirted with the likes of Al Capone and John Dillinger. Cobble Hill came to fruition in 2013, when Carrie and Andy Schumacher took over the […]
