It's Morel Season!

In truth, the season peaked a couple weeks ago, but I am still dreaming of mushrooms and the dishes that are made that highlight them. It has been a bumper year for morels in the corner of Iowa that I live in, and we enjoyed a dinner recently with mushrooms that were foraged from a friend's property. He got about 3 pounds of them, and we made a pasta sauce with these components: Mushrooms!! 1 Onion diced (substitute chives if you want to highlight seasonal ingredients) 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced (we also have green garlic right now, and that could certainly be used Saute in olive oil and butter until the onions soften, then add the mushrooms and cook until the stems are soft. Add a cup of cream and cook down until the suace thickens a bit. Season to taste. You can squeeze in some lemon, or splash in some white wine to add some brightness. Cook 1-2 pounds of pasta, and save some of the pasta water. We used linguine, and I do like a long thin pasta for this sauce. Serve with parmesan--we grated some we had brought back from Modena, but that was just icing on the cake, any good parmesan will do. It will probably cost an arm and a leg soon because of senseless tariffs, but that is what we must suffer for electing someone who lost all his family money and is now set on losing everyone elses. We are combating that by using what we have, and foraging for some of our food--which is not a bad strategy in general.

The Plated Table, Iowa City, Iowa

It is hard to put a finger on what exactly to call this place. They opened in a beautifully renovated space that used to be a very good lunch place that they have transformed into an elegant combination of a wine shop with imported tinned seafood for sale, a caterer that makes a different meal for pick up and finish cooking at home, and an event space where you can have a fancy meal in an eqully fancy space. I was recently at a fund raiser that they put on and in order to attend the dinner I had to pass up on the soft opening of a restaurant that we invested in. We do not do this as a rule, and we love the much anticipated experience of being the first feet in the door. So it was hard to say no to that, but we did. We were not disappointed. The menu was delicious from start to finish, with quality ingredients, good champagne, and a wonderful overall meal. I would recommend it highly, and hope to come back for a future event. Give it a try for an evening of wine or better yet, a full meal.

Paper Crane, Iowa City, Iowa

Wow, wow, wow. There is just so much to love about this newly opened dining experience in Iowa City. First and foremost, I love the owners. They opened The Webster just as COVID was being tamed by a vaccine, which was both very brave and a much needed injection of excellence into the Iowa City dining scene. I love everything about their first restaurant--the small plates, the pastas, and the mains, all designed to share in a place that feels like a celebration each and every timne I walk in. This place is both different and lovely to behold, and it benefits from their attention to detail--the decor is lush, it immediately creates an atmosphere, but this one is more casual, more fun, but no less beautiful. The most important thing for me, though, is the food, and they knock that out of the park--days after my first meal I am dwelling on the dishes I had and thinking "Is it woo soon to go back?" and "I don't think it is possible to get enough of it". It is that good. There are two separate spaces with two different menus. You might have to do one of each. The ramen shop is spectacular--the ramen is perfect, both the broth and the noodles. Second to none. But on top of that there are small bites, meal options for someone who doesn't want ramen but wants to eat with you, and for me, the ability to have a good salad is such a plus. Then there is the cocktail lounge with its Japanese Izakaya cuisine--do not miss the grilled squid! You cannot take anything from one to the other, so you do have to choose, but the whole experience is fresh and fun and delicious, and the change is welcome--do not miss trying it all out and hope to see you there!

Trip To Bountiful

Carrie Watt is the prototypical Southern woman. She begrudgingly lives with her busy, overprotective son, Ludie, and pretentious daughter-in-law, Jessie Mae. She needs them and they need her because neither of them can make ends meet without the other, but it is not a match made in heaven. She is no longer able to drive and forbidden to travel alone, but she wishes for freedom from the confines of the small cramped one bedroom house and begs her son to take her on a visit to her hometown of Bountiful. When he refuses, Mrs. Watts is undeterred and makes an escape to the local bus station, where she befriends Thelma, a young woman traveling home. When Ludie and Jessie Mae discover she is gone, they call in law enforcement to help, but Mrs. Watts is one step ahead of them and convinces the local sheriff to help her on her journey home to Bountiful. The underlying themes ring true in the 21st century, even though it was written in the last one--the idea of home as a place of safety and comfort runs strong in Mrs. Watts memory, but the reality is that the town is deserted and her house will soon collapse are the realities that she is confronted with when she finally gets her wish.

Mesa 503, Iowa City, Iowa

There are several Salvadoran restaurants in the Iowa City-Coralville area, but this one, the newest on the scene, is my favorite of the bunch. They have a wide selection of pupusas, which are about the size of a corn tortilla, made with masa harina, and are stuffed with cheese and/or a variety of meats and vegetables. My favorites are cheese and jalapeno or cheese and refried beans, but here I also enjoyed the cheese and chorizo pupusa. These are kind of the lynch pin of Salvadorean food, and here they are very good. However, they are not the reason that I am returning--it is the other menu items that will bring us back. The Chicken enchildadas (which are more like a Mexican tostada) and the pounded meats that are topped with carmelized onions are divine, and also affordably priced.

The Chef Table, The Webster, Iowa City

The Webster is hands down the best restaurant in Iowa City and possibly the best in all of Iowa, so it is a great fortune that it is less than 10 minutes from my house, and that without much in theway of advanced planning, a table can be had there. Now that it is summer, the outdoor patio is also open, so if COVID gets much worse, it is still a safe and delicious dining option.

The thing that I had forgotten about until I went there recently was that they do a limited number of Chef's Table dinners, seating up to four guests and serving small portions of mutliple options from the menu. I did this once and only once, and it was spectacular.

My only additional recommendation beyond that this is a safe place for trying things you don't think you will like is that if you are so inclined, the wine pairings are as a rule exceptional.

The Webster, Iowa City

There is a new restaurant on the Iowa City dining scene! I have now eaten there several times, albeit not anonymously, but in the tradition of famous restaurant critics, don't judge a place on one visit, but really test the depth of the menu and the consistency of the food and the service over several meals. I was there very early on and then again when they got their legs under them. I have been there for a small dinner, a couple of medium sized ones, a multi-family meal, and one close-the-restaurant meal, and they were all terrific. This place rocks.

Here is why. It is a classy set up, well designed and beautiful to behold. The menu has great variety and everything is perfectly sourced. THe freshest and most flavorful meats and seafood. The hand made pastas are varied and delicious. The breads are delicious, different from each other, and served with perfectly paired toppings.

And then there is the ability to share. You don't have to if you don't want to, but if you love to have a bit of this and a bit of that, this is the place for you. The side plates and the small plates are inspired and can make a meal if you want. I love the pasta best, but it is closely followed by the shrimp tempura, and the seasonal vegetable dishes. Oh, and the cocktails are delicious! This is the place for celebrations, big and small, acommplishments or just being happy it is Tuesday.

Melk, Iowa City, Iowa

 I was very pleasantly surprised to find that I very much enjoy a restaurant that focuses largely on breakfast cereal (which in this particular eatery is served all day.  It is not just for breakfast any more).
The restaurant was started and is run by a young man who put together the interior of the restaurant in an Ikea like fashion that is very pleasing.  It is your typical bowling alley set up, but the lay out of tables and booths is nice.

So you walk in and are optimistic.  And not unreasonably so.
I tried the chicken tenders covered in Cap'n Crunch.  You might be thinking that this sounds truly awful, but is actually delicious.  Plus, as is true of most breakfast cereal, it is gluten free, which is a huge advantage for people with Celiac's Disease who want to eat things out that are hard to make at home.  Like fired chicken.  So that is reason enough to return, in my opinion.  You can get that with a delicious kale salad or with waffles and maple syrup if you want to go healthier or more Southern.  Then my kids say that the cereal milk shakes are another reason to return.  Check it out.

Marquee Pizza, Coralville, IA

I have been to this restaurant three times now, once for lunch, once for an early dinner, and once for a late dinner of Saturday night when the place was hopping.  In all of these situations the food was consistently good.  The service was better in a less full restaurant, but truthfully, we were four people with a baby with only one seat at the bar ordering food once and we were treated very well.
The pizza is the thing here.  The crust is excellent and they have a good variety of topping combinations to keep it interesting.  I recently lunched with my parents here and had a speck, fresh mozerella and mushroom pizza that was spot on savory, and then a shaved asparagus, prosciutto, and lemon creme fresh pizza that was bright and sparkly in flavor.  They have a range.  The Brussels sprout side is good, the salads are a good side, but focus the bulk of your efforts on the pizza and you will be quite happy here.

Fiber Art, Jan Friedman

Jan is an artist who resides in my home town, so I have the opportunity to see her work with some frequency.  In addition, I have one of her pieces, and so do a couple of my friends, so I can see her fiber collages hung in familiar surroundings on a regular basis.  
She has been weaving for more than 40 years.  I got a loom soon after the birth of my third child, and managed to get it warped once, and completed a really beautiful, if inexpertly woven, summer and shade pattern that I really loved and found soothing.  But it gave me a window into just how hard this work is to produce.
Her tapestries use hand-dyed wool, cotton, rayon and silk as well as a variety of other natural materials. Her work frequently has a nature theme because the inherent beauty of a leaf or a tree, for instance, inspires her. According to on-line sources, Friedman received her M.A. in Textile Design at the University of Iowa in 1980. She is self-employed, works out of her home, which has a well designed studio area, and marches to her own drummer. When she began weaving, she mainly was creating tapestries. Eventually she shifted to framed fiber collages because she could vary the materials and protect her work under glass.  She incorporates real elements of nature, like actual leaves, as well as images taken from nature, in her work.  It is gorgeous, so check it out when she is at an art festival near you!

Nile Ethipian Restaurant, Coralville Iowa

This restaurant is in a space that I always felt was not inviting.  The previous restaurant had excellent food,my favorite Middle Eastern food in town, by it was hard to eat there.  Not so now.  The restaurant is well laid out, with good lighting, and continuous hours, so that if you want to eat at 3:30 in the afternoon, as we did recently, it is possible to do so.  And feed us they did.  The food was excellent.  It is primarily served with injera, the crepe-like bread of the region, but you can ask for a fork if you like.  We had a beef dish, a chicken dish, and some vegetarian dishes, and they were all delicious.  The appetizers were great.  The food was so good that even though I have made very good Ethiopian food in the past, I was not moved to go home and make it.  Rather, I would come back here, because it would satisfy that yen, as well as support a new dining option.  And it is very reasonably priced.  In all, this is a bright new start in the ethnic food options in Iowa City, one which I hope is longitudinally successful.

Sushiya, North Liberty, Iowa

I usually don't do this, but I am writing a review after having been to this restaurant more than once.  I know that a real reviewer would routinely do this to evaluate the consistency of the food, and to have the opportunity to sample more dishes than is really possible on one trip, even with a lot of people.
Even though I live a bit far from this place to eat here regularly, I really like it, and if I were going to go out for sushi, this would be the place that I would go, despite the distance.  The shaman is better than any I have had at a restaurant in Iowa.  The octopus salad has large tender pickled pieces of octopus that are tender and delicious, and again, novel.  The seaweed salad doesn't stand out, but it is ver good.  The sushi and nigiri are both well executed and it is a very good overall experience.  The quality dining scene used to be confined to Iowa City proper, but over the last decade that has been changing, and this restaurant is an example of that trend at its very best.  highly recommended.

Big Grove Brewery, Iowa City, Iowa

I can't believe it has taken me this long to write a review of the brew pub, because it is a really nice place.  We recently has an out of town guest visit and we went not once but twice.
The first thing is that this place is huge, and it has something for everyone.  There are bar games, there is an area to sit and chat, there are tables, there are booths, there is a stage and live music on occasion, there is a great outdoor space, and there is a nice transition zone between these different environments.  The renovation of a big unattractive warehouse space is nothing short of spectacular.  Then there is the beer.  Which is very good, both in quality and selection.  The food, which you order at a counter and pick up, is modeled on street food, and while variable, there are excellent choices to be had.  The salad is terrific, as are the fries and the chicken sandwich.  The wings are top notch.  And when we went to Sunday Brunch, which they currently only do after home football games, was both delicious and a bargain.  Highly recommended.

Communing in a Barn

My group of friends just hosted our 10th annual party in a historic barn.  It is admittedly an extravagant event, where we do it with a number of people and even then, the cost is more than you would care to admit.  The good news is that for me, it is completely worth it.  The elements are all there.  We always have babies and we always have people in their 80's.  And everyone in between.  We invite people from all walks of life, so it is always easy to have an interesting conversation.  We provide the meat, the music, and the beverages, and the rest is a pot luck (get in line early if you want to good stuff, but there is always food left over at the end, and the desserts lasted well into the night).  It is just very fun, for one night a year, to have an event that literally everyone is welcome and most have a memorable time.

Zaza's Pasta

This store, which sells several things that are related to pasta, is really all about fresh made pasta.  And it is spectacular.  The best.   I can't say enough great things about it.   Last week I went in and bought a pound each of spinach fettuccine, pumpkin fettuccine, and garlic chive fettuccine--they were all delicious, and they cook in 3-4 minutes, so you can go from walking in the door to eating within 15 minutes.  That isn't the most important feature of a meal for me nowadays, but back when I had four boys to feed, that was of paramount importance.

Zaza's also sells frozen ravioli by the dozen as well--these are also scrumptious,.  They also cook up in no time.  I really hope this new venture is successful.  The ability to stop and get great quality fresh pasta raises the quality of life in Iowa City to a new level for me that I hope can be sustained.  The shop is south of downtown at 518 Bowery Street, with two parking spots nestled behind the store.  I love the feel of the store and wish it all the best.  Meanwhile, I am getting pasta once a week and basking in the luxury that such good food engenders.    This week was egg fettuccine,and large lobster tortellini in a beet pasta.  I can't wait to see what next week holds.  Check out their Facebook page!

A Pig, A Barn, A Party

Last night was our fifth annual barn party, held at the Secrest Octagonal Barn in West Liberty.  The barn itself is a gorgeous piece of architecture to behold.  It soars 75 feet above the third floor of the barn and while it was built to store hay (and has an ingenious system for delivering hay to the level where the animals lived), the magnificence of it was clearly to demonstrate the wealth of the owner and the skill of the builder.

I do think that a great place is a very good first ingredient in an enjoyable event.  But it is never enough.  The right mix of people and entertainment makes for a memorable time.  This party is hosted by 8 people, and we each invite people from all parts of our lives--our friends, our neighbors, and our co-workers.  People we like and would like to spend more time with.  That is the very best part of the party.
The second best part is that the music is live, and it is fun, and it is good.   And loud.  You can stand outside the barn all night and enjoy the music (thankfully there aren't close neighbors to the barn, because I am pretty sure they would be able to hear it as well, and that might not be the best part for them).
Finally, the food is always spectacular.  We provide the meat, but from then on it is a pot luck, and I have always eaten well.  So join us next year!

Szechuan House, Iowa City

I live in a college town--70,000 residents, 30,000 students. Those of us who teach and live here do outnumber those who study here, but not by a landslide. One of the great advantages to such a population is that it allows for lots of inexpensive dining options. Some of that is pizza and sandwich places, but the third bonanza is in ethnic food. My university town has a substantial Asian student population and the uninformed might think that we would have ample restaurant options for Chinese and Southeast Asian food. The later is more or less true, but the former is wrong. We have one restaurant that is too authentic for me--I have no idea what to order and what comes is outside of what is accessible to my palate. The rest of the Chinese restaurants are just okay. That is, up until now. The Szechuan House is a cut above the rest. There are clunkers on the extensive menu, but there are real gems, food that is flavorful and spicy and like nothing I have ever made at home. The Spicy and Crispy Shrimp arrives under an impressive pile of red chilies and is sprinkled throughout with Szechuan peppercorns--two kind of spicy. But wait, there's more--there are scallions and sliced garlic as well. It is a delicious and balanced dish. Another favorite was the shredded pork with pickled peppers (also hot). The dish has three kinds of peppers, and the spicy flavors were again layered, aromatic and delicious. The green bean and the eggplant dishes are also fantastic. More importantly, when I am there people are ordering things that I have never seen before and they look delicious--the Gan Guo (dry braised in hot pot), black curded bean, and Gan Zai (braised in hot pot) are intriguing, and so much more. I want to walk around and ask people what that dish is (and there are many tables filled with people eating communally with a lazy susan in the middle to facilitate sharing. Such a great addition to the local dining scene!

Bobalicious, Iowa City

A restaurant with Vietnamese food in Iowa City! Pho! Bahn Mi! This is very exciting news. I know, I am late to discover it, and I beg forgiveness for that oversight. In my defense, it is nestled in what up until this year has been a relative restaurant wasteland of strip malls, gas stations, and big box stores that skirts the bottom of Iowa City proper. But discover it we have, and while the menu is modest, we liked everything we had on our first visit.

The Vietnamese spring rolls (fresh and wrapped in rice paper), which are available at other restaurants in town, are the best of the bunch. They are a bit smaller, and have more herbs rolled into them--excellent, and at $2.50 for two, they are a good deal as well. The Vietnamese egg rolls (what you might think of as spring rolls, with mung bean noodles as well as vegetables) are excellent, but again, not something we couldn't have someplace else in town. The bahn mi menu, with six options for fillings, does stand out. We have have one restaurant (Mekong) that on occasion has had one bahn mi option. This is a reason to celebrate! The sandwich we had (the traditional slow cooked pork version, with pickled vegetables and fresh herbs) was fantastic. I was serious when I said I could eat there the very next night, it was that good. On top of that, they also have bun thit nuong--hurray! This cold vermicelli noodles with fresh vegetables underneath, and highly spice meat on top is a favorite of mine (especially when they slice up an egg roll or two on top, and you can get that here). But wait, that is not all. The pho is very good, and they have several other Vietnamese dishes with rice. The restaurant started off as a boba tea shop and expanded from there--these do look very good, and I saw them scooping fresh avocado into the blender to make one, so they are not drinks coming directly out of a mix either. Once I get brave, I would love to try the durian boba In the meantime, I am going to exhaust the menu's options.

Little Library in Iowa City

I absolutely adore this idea. Corner houses for books. Free books. Like a bird house only slightly bigger. Very cute--I would put one on my front lawn. And very functional--access to the written word is the key to a lifetime of of possibility. Iowa City is a UNESCO City of Literature. We are people of the book, and we are in very rarefied company. Dublin, Edinburgh, Melbourne, and Reykjavik are the other cities around the world that have this designation. So it behooves us to promote books. But for me the compelling reason is that books in your house predict future success. As few a 100 books in a home predicts who will graduate from college. Enabling people to have books is important. Then there is the whole recycling thing. If you give a book away it allows it to be reused--someone else will open it up and read it. You might have it sitting on your shelf for months, or years, or even decades without opening it again. But if you put it into a Little Library house, someone will read it again. And then they might put it back and someone else can have a chance at it. It is a way to share the books that you love with people and let them decide. Should they keep it? read it again? Or pass it on to someone else? Their choice. They could even rip it up, burn it, throw it away--but at least the book had another life. It affected someone else. We have a wonderful public library in this town. We were named #5 in the nation for being child accessible. People have access to books. The Little Library doesn't fill that gap. We can take books out and read them. The Little Library allows people to keep books. To own them. That is what makes it special.

Sushi Sundays at Konomi, Coralville, IA

We are blessed with a variety of Japanese and Asian fusion restaurants in our area, and while many of them are very good, this is the one we choose to go to for Sunday dinners, with or without our kids. Why? A couple of reasons. The first is that this is the most consistant Japanese restaurant in the area. What do I mean by consistant? I mean that when you order the same item off the menu, you know exactly what you are going to get. You can expect the dishes that you order on subsequent visits to be recognizable from the dish you had on your first visit. That is a plus, especially when you are dining with children that are not all that flexible. WHich you might not have a problem with but I do, in so many different ways...one won't eat fish, one will only eat fish, one will eat the rice, the miso soup, and the salad, but all bets are off about anything else. Restaurant choices that match each and every one of them that also meet my needs are not necessarily an easy find.
Why do we like to go on Sundays? First, it is the end of one week and on the cusp of another--if we haven't seen our out-of-the-house kids all week, it is a nice day to catch up with them. We usually cook a dinner on Sunday at our house, but we will occasionally go out--especially if we have been cooking aall week for other events. But our choice of Konomi on Sunday is simple--that is when they have a discount on sushi rolls. An added plus for a restaurant we already enjoy.