ctscorp's Profile
Iowa - Regional Food ideas anyone???
La Quercia -- not La Quenceria. They have a website:
http://laquercia.us/
Vegetarian options in Iowa City?
Motley Cow! Definitely. (Maybe not their brunch, though, which is a buffet and a little less loved than their dinner options.)
Lamb in Iowa City?
Definitely go with Pavelka's Point. You could call:
Pavelka’s Point, Inc. Pork and Lamb
Bill Ellison and Lois Pavelka
(319)624-2392
Lois is super friendly and accommodating, and her meat is delicious. Good luck!
Rapid City...Mt. Rushmore Area Dining info Needed
I can vouch for Delmonico -- the kona-rubbed ribeye was great. Corn Exchange is also good. Those are the two places I ate when I was there for work. Never having been to SD, I had low expectations (Sorry! I'm a snob!) and I was very pleasantly surprised.
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Corn Exchange
727 Main Street, Rapid City, SD 57701
Iowa city ice cream
Heyn's. Some of the flavors are too sweet for my tastes, but others are awesome. Hazelnut, chocolate peanut butter, and mint chocolate chip are the real deal.
Best coffee Iowa City
Yep. With slight modifications -- the lovely gentleman who opened the truck handed it off to a friend, so he's not around as much, but the beans and the vibe are the same.
Iowa City CSAs
I didn't have much luck with Gooseberry last summer, but I guess that's the nature of a CSA... the customer takes the hit with the farmer... I'd recommend checking out Salt Fork Farm. Eric, the owner, has a booth at the Farmers' Market, at least on Saturdays (but maybe not Wednesdays), which doesn't stock the breadth of his offerings. Stop and talk to him -- he's also got roasting chickens and eggs which are AMAZING, which is a nice benefit for a CSA -- you don't only get produce.
Best coffee Iowa City
Wake Up Iowa City. It's located in White Rabbit, which is on Linn diagonally across from the IC library. There's a counter in the back. Locally roasted, totally local biz that started as a truck in a parking lot. Best espresso I've had, anywhere & ever.
Steamahs! near New Haven. Help!
I went to Central Grammar & Foran & then moved to Manchester after college (UConn). I haven't been to Stew's either, but I hear it's gotten even more ridiculous. What's that little gourmet grocery in Manchester? LaBonne's? Is that it?
Have you ever had a salami grinder from Uliano's in Manchester? Holy god that's a good sandwich....
Steamahs! near New Haven. Help!
Ohhhhh shady glen... I lived in Milford, and then I moved to Manchester... I might need to head up there on this visit, too....
Your Favorite Weight Loss Tricks and Recipes
Yep, breast. I can't even imagine it without all the accoutrements... styroburger!
Steamahs! near New Haven. Help!
Hey Hounds. I'm a displaced Connecticut girl -- been living in Iowa for 11 years -- and I'm heading back to CT for a little vacation. I have a list of things I need to eat, and at the top is steamers. Where's the best place to go to get a big ol' bucket of 'em? I don't care about view, although it'd be nice. I just want to get all buttery and glassy-eyed. I'll be staying in Milford, whence I hail, so anywhere near-ish there would work.
On a related-but-not-really note, I'm curious about razor clams. Anybody in the area serving those?
I'd also like arancine, if anyone's in the know....
My god, I'm going to gain one hundred pounds in one week! Can't wait....
Your Favorite Weight Loss Tricks and Recipes
So sad, redfish! :-) I am losing weight (on weight watchers) and have always followed a very healthy, mostly veg diet, and I CHOOSE to eat the following now:
ground trukey
grated granny smith apple (about 3/4 per pound of turkey)
grated onion (probably about 3 T total)
a few heaping dollops of dijon mustard.
Make THAT into burgers and you'll be totally, completely shocked -- it adds NOTHING to the meat, calorically, and a TON of flavor and juiciness.
Yum!
Chili Yummy Iowa City
Some friends and I went and had a hot pot and dim sum and scallion pancakes and a whole bunch of stuff to cook in the hot pot. All of it was delicious, although it is very confusing and I'd imagine it would be easy to order something that would be odd or at least unexpected. (That's the reason I love it, but I could see how that could be off-putting to the less adventurous). I highly recommend it to the more adventurous among us!
Iowa City
You used to go there often and then one "off" experience made you not go back? That's too bad. I had a great egg white omelet there just last Sunday, so perhaps the chef figured it out?
Iowa city bakeries
I have had nothing but fantastically delicious cakes from Deluxe, fondant or no. Gherkins, I'm afraid you might've just had a bum cake
Iowa City Taco Truck
Follow-up -- Thursday, Friday, Saturday 11-9, Sunday 11-6. They run out of carnitas quickly, and understandably so. Everything I've had, which is a lot of it, is AWESOME, and it's cheap and the people are super nice. It's on the left if you're heading south on Gilbert, right next to a business called Proteus.
Good Food near Mt. Rushmore, Badlands Area
Second Corn Exchange. Very good food. Although my friends and I liked Delmonico's Grill slightly better. The Kona rubbed ribeye was unbelievable.
Didn't like Minerva's at all.
(All in Rapid City)
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Corn Exchange
727 Main Street, Rapid City, SD 57701
Iowa City
A friend went and told me it was truly awful and ridiculously overpriced. I'd be interested in more input, too --
Eating in and around Iowa City
In the interest of accuracy: While Bluebird's breakfast is good, and their burgers are as well, they definitely don't smoke their own bacon.
Givanni's Iowa City
I think Givanni's is the kind of place you have to try, primarily because there's such disparate opinion about it. I have never had a good meal there, ever, and I've eaten there a lot (as I had many friends who worked there). It's passable at best and gut-wrenchingly awful at worst, in my opinion. But like I said, some love it. There's a reason nearly every language has a way of saying "There's no accounting for taste."
Farm-to-table restaurants in Ames and Des Moines?
You should swing down to Iowa City and check out the Motley Cow Cafe. The majority of the food is local and organic, and it's all really, really good!
Iowa City Korean restaurant
It was called Chong's, and it's not there anymore. Chong's Grocery has moved to Coralville, but there's no affiliated restaurant anymore. However, there is a new Korean place, called Seoul Grill, at the Old Capitol Mall, and it is FANTASTIC. Easily as good as Chong's, which I absolutely adored. Because it's in the mall, the hours are weird, but it's absolutely worth figuring out when they're open.
Single 30ish female oenophile pescetarian on solo vacation to Iowa City...
It's brand new, and my friend made it, so I had a little "insider information."
Iowa City
They are Libbey, and they have the same ones at Taste on Melrose. I'd call Taste, as it has far fewer employees and the owner is accessible. He can tell you where he got them -- although I'm pretty sure they came from a restaurant wholesale supplier at both places and you therefore might have to buy a whole case.
Single 30ish female oenophile pescetarian on solo vacation to Iowa City...
I second Motley Cow -- fantastic wine list and the best fish I've had in Iowa.
And FYI iowagirl:
www.tasteonmelrose.com
:-)
Iowa City: The Chef's Table
Well, Lizzy, that's pretty much the criticism my French friend had. He expected the same caliber of restaurant he was accustomed to in France. I supposed I have a similar reaction, as an Italian woman, when someone dares to call Brown Bottle or Givanni's Italian... but I also think it's important to note that, while BB and Givanni's are unpalatable crap, Chef's Table is well-executed and delicious. You did say this -- you'll enjoy your meal if your expectations are realistic. I guess I just want to emphasize this, as I want to see new local restaurants succeed, and I admire Eric and what he's attempting.
Iowa City: The Chef's Table
Ate there last week, the night after they opened. Some of the people in my group were put off by how unnatural looking the interior seemed -- cavernous and lacking natural light -- but I liked it. We had several appetizers and entrees and 4 bottles of wine. There were no "misses," so to speak, but some things were better than others. We LOVED the short rib appetizer and the country pate, while the sole app was less well-received but still amazing. The duck and the steak frites were the best-received entrees -- duck was delicious and perfectly prepared with some interesting sweetness and textural differences, while the steak was very straightforward (could possibly be perceived as too much so) but perfectly prepared, well sauced and utterly delicious. Halibut was delicious, again perfectly cooked but a little boring. Scallops were the least favorite of the bunch -- again, well-prepared but not stunning. Passionfruit souflee was perfect, and the wines, all of which were from the cheaper end of the list, were impeccably selected to match the food.
I thought it was a great experience. I felt like I could be a bit more formal there than is usually allowed in Iowa City, but it wasn't stuffy at all. In fact, the servers could get away with being a bit more formal and "French."
Lizzy, take this review as what it is: subjective. I am very well-traveled and have eaten some superlative meals, and I thought Chef's Table was very good at what it was doing, and I think most of the people I've talked to have agreed. Only one negative so far, and that critic is from France and has nothing good to say about anything. I'd be curious to know what your French friends think....
Iowa City
We can agree to disagree -- I don't choose to spend my money at Devotay because of the style of the food, which, as I said, I find too salty, uncreative, and fat-laden to be enjoyable. I should let you know, though, that every restaurant I've ever worked in has been booked on Valentine's Day -- that's absolutely no sort of coup. I'd bet Village Inn would have been booked if they took reservations....
