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Tuesday, June 27

Have been home one week.

Weight gained in Iowa: none (How is that possible? I feel fatter.)

Kitty's attitude upon arrival: needy

Current recipes being tested: gelato, chocolate cake, peanut brittle, etc.

Weight to be gained from recipes: four thousand pounds

Plan for working off all those calories: a sprint relay triathalon!















Stay tuned...

So long, and thanks for all the pork!

Monday, June 19
Last day in Iowa!


We spend the morning packing and taking our stuff to FedEx. Franco, Wisa, Roy, and I manage to load 3000+ pounds of equipment into the AMJ box without the aid of a forklift.

Forklifts are for sissies.

All that heavy lifting puts us in the mood for snacks.



We meet Ron & Dan for lunch at Venuto's World Bistro (Judy's recommendation), another adorable place on the ped mall.

Check out their theme dinners and eclectic menu: http://www.venutosworldbistro.com/











I have the Sicilian meatball sandwich. It is slightly spicy, tasty, and substantial. Once again, I manage to finish the whole thing.
















Yumi gets the corn chowder.



































Pam gives the Iowa pork tenderloin sandwich one more try. This one's lightly breaded, not covered in gum-shredding overcooked bread crumbs. She likes this version much better. The pomme frites were a little soggy, though. I would've liked them a little skinner and a lot more crisp. But that's a minor complaint.

Verdict: Venuto's is great - nice service and yummy food. Go to Venuto's!


After lunch, it's time to head to the airport. We say goodbye to Ron, Dan, and the trusty Hancher minivan with her dented bumper.














Thanks Ron & Dan! See you in the fall!














We go to the airport and check in without incident.

Here we are back in May, at the beginning of our trip, crouched in a corner at SFO, frantically trying to find any airplane that's heading east:














And here we are today, happily waiting for our regularly scheduled flight:


















What a difference.

Thanks to Chuck, Judy, Ron, Jessica, the rest of the Hancher staff, and everyone with the SPOT program! We hope to see y'all in the fall at the other school (University of Iowa will always be our favorite).


Stay tuned for Obon food reports...

Concert & Cosmos

Sunday, June 18
After three weeks of playing short sets on the street and in cafe-gymna-toriums, it's finally time to play a concert! Since this is mostly a chronicle of our food adventures, I won't go into details about the concert, except to say that it went okay.

As usual, we do our post-show meet-'n-greet in the lobby. We talk to some folks from a martial arts dojo who are thinking about starting their own group. Finally - taiko in Iowa.

Party afterwards @ Chuck's. We meet some of the donors who helped make our residency possible. We also meet Jack the dog.

PJ gets her puppy fix.









Uncle Roy seems to be slipping Jack some snacks. Both of them deny it. Hm.
























Chuck's wife makes her famous ham balls and some really good spinach dip. PJ gets the dip recipe - unfortunately for me, it includes bleu cheese. I get the ham ball recipe and plan on making a triple batch for the obon potluck.


Chuck makes some wicked cosmos. He says he perfected his recipe one night after making eight versions.









Anyone who can drink eight of these and remain standing gets my respect.

Free day! Mostly.

Saturday, June 17
Morning off. We go to the Iowa City Farmers' Market, which has some nice produce, crafts, and is way bigger than Perry (IA) or Hartford (WI), tho not as good as Campbell (CA). Then again, I am spoiled - northern Cal is the land of produce, and there are always plenty of interesting things in season. But this market has one thing we don't have at home: Amish jams & baked goods. I buy rhubarb jam, oatmeal cookies, blueberry pie from the Yoder family.

I would've taken photos of their stall... oh well.

We spend the rest of the morning wandering the ped mall, shopping. Yumi & Wisa get cool haircuts.

There are far too many cute stores here, including...

Prairie Table! Pretty, pretty kitchen things! And cheeses! Meats!











And Bochner chocolates!

http://www.bochnerchocolates.com/

We had these at the donor's dinner thing back when we first arrived in Iowa City. Lots of interesting flavors, shapes, and colors. Not your typical truffle.


Pam gets chocolates for Craig. After we do some sampling.

I highly recommend the apricot gelee.






We stop by a pet store, which is filled with wandering cats, all available for adoption. I get my kitty fix.



All this shopping puts us in the mood for snacks, so we go to...






...Atlas World Grill. Another excellent Ron/Dan suggestion.

http://atlasworldgrill.com/

Tomoko arrives! Just in time for lunch.







Roy and I each get an enormous burrito with pulled pork (nicely seasoned), mashed potatoes (with parm), cole slaw (yummy but skimpy), onion rings (genius). These are things that you can't legally put in a burrito and still call it a burrito, but whatever. I call it yummy.

I finish mine. Roy does not.

Maybe this is why Roy can still fit into his pants, and I cannot. Hm.


Yumi gets a giant Buffalo chicky salad.









Believe it or not, it's too big. Even for Yumi. She declares defeat.









PJ gets lemon & raspberry tart. Nice curd (thought it could've been more tart), fresh raspberries (lovely), brisee crust (oy, why not sucree???). It comes with raspberry ice cream (which makes up for the brisee).



We waddle off to Hancher Auditorium and spend the rest of the day loading in & doing all the tech stuff.

Late dinner at Perkins (the only thing that's open 24/7). I am still full from the burrito.

"For Your Good Luck, Hug This Post"

Thursday, June 15

Franco, Wisa, PJ, & Pam do a school show @ the Iowa City Public Library. The building is brand-spankin' new, right in the middle of the pedestrian mall, and absolutely gorgeous.




Watching the show puts me in the mood for snacks, so Yumi & I head down the block to the Cottage Bakery (http://www.cottagebakerycafe.com/). I get an almond croissant, tied in a knot instead of in a traditional crescent shape. Cute and yummy, not too sweet.

Rotary Club lunch @ the UI Athletic Club. Buffet: green salad (well, kinda green), fruit salad (ok), red jello (hm), some mayo-y salads (I'll pass, thanks), wee potatoes with butter & parsley (one of my elementary school cafeteria favorites), and swiss steak (ooh, how retro).

Before we play our mini set, the meeting is called to order with the singing of 'America'. Two verses. We only know the first verse. There is a lot of humming.



Dinner @ 126. Recommended by Ron & Dan. It's a charming bistro-type place with brick walls and giant windows that opens to the street (looks a lot like Sonsie in Boston). I have jambalaya, which is good and heavy on the shrimp (which are all perfectly cooked) but a leeettle too salty. Not as intense as Marshalltown's smoked porkchop, but pretty close. As usual, I manage to eat the whole thing, then look around for dessert...




















Dessert @ Ron & Dan's house! We buy brownie ingredients @ Taits (a Whole Foods-like store) - GREEN things in the salad bar! Asian ingredients! Vegetables! But we're just there to get brownie fixin's.


Then we go to an ice cream shop to get a pint o' vanilla. The name of the shop? Whitey's. Wow. No joke.












Ron & Dan have graciously offered to let play in their kitchen, which, along with the rest of the house, is impeccably decorated. We make gooey brownies, ganache, and caramel sauce. Ron has made a rustic pear tart, flavored with basil, rosemary, and orange zest. YUM. The next time I make a pear tart, I'm gonna make this one.





Friday, June 16

In the morning: a workshop with 30 summer camp kids in a hot, hot gym.

Afterwards, we go to the mall, which houses the Iowa Children's Museum (the location of our next event). In the food court is a branch of the Bread Garden, a local (I think) bakery. Yumi and I split a giant turkey/smoked gouda sandwich and beef stew. Not bad.

Craft time @ Children's Museum! Roy, Yumz, Adam, and I help kids make drums out of oatmeal containers, while the others do the skit & school show.






We help out the school show team by playing Gendai along with them on our new drums.









In the evening, a short teaser performance at an outdoor festival on the ped mall. Downtown Iowa City is adorable - lots of interesting indy shops & restaurants, almost like a mini Berkeley.



And speaking of Berkeley-ish things... dinner with Ron & Dan @ Thai Flavors, a community restaurant. The owners donate money to local organizations and volunteer their time for community events. There are political fliers & community notices all over the walls, although the restaurant owners don't seem to take themselves too seriously. Among the decorations: a proclamation declaring January 17th (I think) to be National Hot & Spicy Food Day, and a giant pole that requires hugs.





















Oh, yes - the food.

Yumi starts with a Cherry Blossom: sweet candy-flavored syrup and soy milk. Franco tries to steal it. Yumi knees him in the groin.















As usual, we are starving, so we order many, many things. Among them: garlic tofu. Tofu! Yippee! I wait for PJ to scrape all the cilantro off of the top, then I dive in.


















We order curry fried rice, drunken noodles (karai!), green papaya salad, chicken basil, and a bunch of other stuff. It is all very, very good.




It was really great to have yummy asian food. We all love the Iowa pork, but three weeks is a long time to go without shoyu.






And we had some seriously good eats. If you're ever in Iowa City, put Thai Flavors on your list. All of Ron & Dan's restaurant recommendations have been winners, but this one's my favorite, so far. Tastes like home.

We all hug the pole on our way out.

Yumi!

Wednesday, June 15

Sidenote: I've said several times that there are no green things in salad bars here. Well, here's proof.

Behold: the Hy-Vee salad bar -

















I stand corrected. There's one green thing there: canned pea salad.

Oy, oy, oy.


Anywho, back at the ranch...

We leave Marshalltown and arrive in Iowa City in time for lunch.

Lunch @ Iowa River Power Restaurant. The building was originally a flour mill. In 1902, it was converted to a power generating station, which ran until 1968. It was turned into a resturant 29 years ago, and a lot of the original interior stuff remains.


This is what was hanging over Franco's head:












Franco is happy to realize there are very few earthquakes in Iowa. Also, he's happy with his club sammie.
















I get the famous Breaded Iowa Pork Tenderloin sandwich. With mustard, pickle, and fries.








This is an Iowan staple, served in both fast-foody & upscaley places. It's tenderloin, pounded thin, breaded, and deep-fried. Basically tonkatsu on a bun, without the Bulldog sauce.

Verdict: it's okay. Pam & I woulda rather had it on a pile o' curry & rice.







Then it's time to say buh-bye to Trish & howdy to Yumz. Thanks, Trish!


Dinner on Iowa City's pedestrian mall. We go to Givanni's, which serves Japanese food.

Kidding! Sigh. If only.

No, no - we had some lovely Italian eats.




See? Isn't that pretty?

PJ & I split the grilled veggie stack with smoked gouda, marinara & mashed potatoes (yum, look for yourself) and handmade pasta with pignoli, spinach, & mushrooms (also yum, but not pictured).









Yumi has the agnolotti stuffed with...aaagh, I can't remember, will have to ask her tomorrow. I do remember it had Bolognese sauce with a wee bit of Gorgonzola.









Pretty plates!

It was great to be in small towns with close-knit communities, but by golly, it's nice to be back in a city with lots of restaurants.






Afterwards, we walk around the pedestrian mall and go to Prairie Lights Books, the Iowa City equivalent of Powell's or Brookline Booksmith. I find the perfect souvenir for myself. Local, topical, and incredibly geeky. There are two other like-minded (read: food-and-lit-nerdy) friends back home who might also like a copy of this. Heh, heh...

Sorry, Maid-Rite

Tuesday, June 13

Breakfast: believe it or not, we are tired of tater tots, so we have ochazuke for breakfast.


Our schedule is free until the afternoon, so we take a tour of downtown Marshalltown.

First stop: Lillie Mae Chocolates. Handmade chocolates since 1939.

So naturally, Trish buys mustard.











They also have ice cream. I would have named some of the flavors differently. "Tropical Itch" sherbert, for example. Sounds like something one might bring home from spring break.



Second stop: Muddy Waters Roasting Company, aka Tremont On Main. Roy, tired of the hotel's coffee, buys some of the real stuff. Why live like animals?



Last stop: Haley's Deli.





In the front is a smoker, doing its thing, churning out the day's special: smoked pork chops.

Previous Maid-Rite lunch plans are immediately abandoned. We will eat here.








The deli case has tater tot casserole, brisket, fried chicken, all sorts of sides, and smoked pork chops the size of my head.
















Here's the owner and his family. They very kindly treat us to lunch. Sweet!









Pam has the tater tot casserole.













I get the pork chop special with beans & mashed taters. (This is actually a photo of Trish's chop with broccoli salad & chicken noodles. But you get the idea.)


Holy piggery, batman.

The chop is huge, smoky, and salty enough so that I think I can feel my head shrink. It's super-yummers though, so I eat the whole thing. And then drink most of Trish's diet coke.






Fueled by smoked chop goodness, we load into the Marshalltown High School auditorium. Then, before the concert, we have time for quick naps.

It's nice to play indoors, for a change. The concert goes pretty well, and we wind up filling about 2/3 of the 1200-seat house. In the audience: the family from Haley's and our waiter from Zeno's.





Post-concert snacks at Culver's. I have the burger - and it is GOOD. Giant grilly hamburger, toasty bun, thickly sliced onion, pickles, and a red tomato. As far as fast-food burgers go (and I loathe most of them), this is second only to In-N-Out. Yu-friggin'-um. And the lemon freeze was crazy-sour. Loved it.

Go find a butterburger near you, now.