Downtown IC
July 2008
Graze is a great unique dining experience when you have a group of people going out to eat, because you share the food! With their “grazing” menu, you choose any number of different kinds of food- mini-chicken burgers, kabobs, “chicken lips”, pizza, salad, seafood and more. The last time I went, there were 6 of us, so we got 6 burgers, a pizza, 6 kabobs and 6 lips. They brought it out on plates in a holder that had 3 plates, one above the other- the top with the kabobs sticking out of a pineapple. There were a few different dipping sauces with it, and everything tasted great. We also had martinis- at least someone at the table has to get a “bubbling” martini for everyone to enjoy. And if you still have room left, I recommend the Half Ass Ice Cream Pie!
The atmosphere is good when they have artwork or the fish scene on their tvs, not so good when they have sports playing.
Environmentally- no disposables here!
Sunday, March 21, 2010
The Wedge
Downtown IC
July 2008
The Wedge opened up it’s second location this year, sharing space with Capana by the public library. They expanded their menu to include breakfast, salad & sandwiches. I heard they are trying to focus more on local ingredients.
They have pizza by the slice, conveniently arranged with one display case of the meat-lovers varieties and one display case of the veggie-lovers pizzas. I haven’t tried all of the specialty pizzas, but so far the Buddha is my favorite. They are wonderfully honest there also, if the pizza is getting old, they have given me 2 slices for the price of 1. The Wedge really does have great pizza, but one thing I’ve noticed is that if you have it delivered to your house, it is usually pretty crappy. There’s something about it that makes it great when fresh, lousy when old.
They have a good selection of drinks, including Blue Sky pops, but no beer. What you can do, though- is order your pizza, go over to Bread Garden to have a beer while you wait, then go back to eat your pizza. It’s not the same as having your beer with your pizza, but it works. If you’re on a date, I recommend getting one of the big bottles of New Belgium beer and splitting it. Wait, I’m supposed to reviewing the Wedge, not the Bread Garden…
They do have red pepper flakes and parmasean cheese, but no hot sauce unfortunately. They should take a tip from Panchero’s and get some Cholula!
Environmentally: disposable napkins, but reusable plates and silverware if you choose to eat there. Otherwise, to-go pizza comes in individual paper boxes and of course whole pizzas come in cardboard boxes.
July 2008
The Wedge opened up it’s second location this year, sharing space with Capana by the public library. They expanded their menu to include breakfast, salad & sandwiches. I heard they are trying to focus more on local ingredients.
They have pizza by the slice, conveniently arranged with one display case of the meat-lovers varieties and one display case of the veggie-lovers pizzas. I haven’t tried all of the specialty pizzas, but so far the Buddha is my favorite. They are wonderfully honest there also, if the pizza is getting old, they have given me 2 slices for the price of 1. The Wedge really does have great pizza, but one thing I’ve noticed is that if you have it delivered to your house, it is usually pretty crappy. There’s something about it that makes it great when fresh, lousy when old.
They have a good selection of drinks, including Blue Sky pops, but no beer. What you can do, though- is order your pizza, go over to Bread Garden to have a beer while you wait, then go back to eat your pizza. It’s not the same as having your beer with your pizza, but it works. If you’re on a date, I recommend getting one of the big bottles of New Belgium beer and splitting it. Wait, I’m supposed to reviewing the Wedge, not the Bread Garden…
They do have red pepper flakes and parmasean cheese, but no hot sauce unfortunately. They should take a tip from Panchero’s and get some Cholula!
Environmentally: disposable napkins, but reusable plates and silverware if you choose to eat there. Otherwise, to-go pizza comes in individual paper boxes and of course whole pizzas come in cardboard boxes.
Motley Cow
160 N. Linn St., IC
July 2008
I had heard that this restaurant is a pretty good choice- using as much local and organic food as they can, but I didn’t see anything inside or on the menu stating that fact. I don’t usually eat pigs, and there was a lot of pig meat on the menu, so my choices were limited. But what I did get was good, a beet salad with different kinds of beet and kale. It was surprisingly filling. The wine seemed a bit overpriced, if I were going to get wine I would get the ½ carafe. Instead, we got drinks. Mine was a dacquari, and for $5.50, I felt I got my money’s worth. The bartender didn’t skimp on the alcohol content. We weren’t in there at a particularly busy time, but we did get a table with the sun hitting us, which was unfortunate.
Overall, this is a good place to take a date, or for a special occasion, but it’s a little expensive for your every-week out to eat experience.
Environmentally: Good, linen napkins and nothing to throw away that I could see.
July 2008
I had heard that this restaurant is a pretty good choice- using as much local and organic food as they can, but I didn’t see anything inside or on the menu stating that fact. I don’t usually eat pigs, and there was a lot of pig meat on the menu, so my choices were limited. But what I did get was good, a beet salad with different kinds of beet and kale. It was surprisingly filling. The wine seemed a bit overpriced, if I were going to get wine I would get the ½ carafe. Instead, we got drinks. Mine was a dacquari, and for $5.50, I felt I got my money’s worth. The bartender didn’t skimp on the alcohol content. We weren’t in there at a particularly busy time, but we did get a table with the sun hitting us, which was unfortunate.
Overall, this is a good place to take a date, or for a special occasion, but it’s a little expensive for your every-week out to eat experience.
Environmentally: Good, linen napkins and nothing to throw away that I could see.
Jimmy John’s
Downtown IC
March 2008
One thing you can’t deny is that they’re quick! Sometimes you even get your food before you’ve finished paying! I usually get the vegetarian (#6) or the tuna (#3). They are good, cheap, and fast- but not great. All of the sub bread is white, I would prefer wheat. They do have wheat bread, but you have to order a larger sandwich and it costs more. Their lettuce is shredded iceberg; a dark green lettuce or spinach would be better, especially for the veggie sandwich. Their ingredients are simple and on display so you know exactly what brand you are getting, which is a nice touch. Also, there are witty sayings all over the walls.
Overall, a good place to go when you’re in a hurry.
March 2008
One thing you can’t deny is that they’re quick! Sometimes you even get your food before you’ve finished paying! I usually get the vegetarian (#6) or the tuna (#3). They are good, cheap, and fast- but not great. All of the sub bread is white, I would prefer wheat. They do have wheat bread, but you have to order a larger sandwich and it costs more. Their lettuce is shredded iceberg; a dark green lettuce or spinach would be better, especially for the veggie sandwich. Their ingredients are simple and on display so you know exactly what brand you are getting, which is a nice touch. Also, there are witty sayings all over the walls.
Overall, a good place to go when you’re in a hurry.
Mondos
January 2008
Meals are about $10-18 each. There is a limited beer selection which is overpriced at $4.50- $5.50 for dark beers. They have a good atmosphere and lighting except for large tvs with sports on. It was strange to be in a pseudo-fancy pseudo-sports bar restaurant. It seemed like an expensive place for having sports everywhere you look. The sign on the bathroom said “Employees must wash hands with hot soap and water”. I couldn’t find any hot soap, but I’m not an employee, so maybe they know something that I don’t.
You get bread with oil for free. But it’s just oil, no vinegar. Kind of bland.
They have really thick napkins. Thick like cloth napkins, but without the re-useabliity feature. They also don’t offer mints.
The pasta was good, very aldente. For the price, I would have expected to take home leftovers, but it was just enough food to fill me up, and that includes the bread.
I don’t think we’ll go back.
Meals are about $10-18 each. There is a limited beer selection which is overpriced at $4.50- $5.50 for dark beers. They have a good atmosphere and lighting except for large tvs with sports on. It was strange to be in a pseudo-fancy pseudo-sports bar restaurant. It seemed like an expensive place for having sports everywhere you look. The sign on the bathroom said “Employees must wash hands with hot soap and water”. I couldn’t find any hot soap, but I’m not an employee, so maybe they know something that I don’t.
You get bread with oil for free. But it’s just oil, no vinegar. Kind of bland.
They have really thick napkins. Thick like cloth napkins, but without the re-useabliity feature. They also don’t offer mints.
The pasta was good, very aldente. For the price, I would have expected to take home leftovers, but it was just enough food to fill me up, and that includes the bread.
I don’t think we’ll go back.
Old Chicago
Coralville Strip
December 2007
This is a good place to go if you know what to order. They have a good selection of beer, a little on the spendy side. If you enjoy beer, sign up for the World Beer Club. It’s worth signing up for the rewards- you get a coupon for a free pizza on your birthday, and after you drink so many different kinds of beer, you get a deck of cards. You get more the more beer you drink, but I’ve only gotten the cards so far. The beer club is great for people who like crappy beer but want to try other beers and be rewarded for it. The happy hour specials are on the crappy beer only, unfortunately, otherwise I might go more often for happy hour.
I like good beer and already know what the crap tastes like, so I have to bring my dad and have him order a yellow beer and put it on my card so that I can get the credit for it. I digress.
The food is pretty good- the Cheese Bread is a really good deal for $5. Most of the food is decent, with a good amount for the money. The service has always been good.
Environmentally: Styrofoam to-go containers.
December 2007
This is a good place to go if you know what to order. They have a good selection of beer, a little on the spendy side. If you enjoy beer, sign up for the World Beer Club. It’s worth signing up for the rewards- you get a coupon for a free pizza on your birthday, and after you drink so many different kinds of beer, you get a deck of cards. You get more the more beer you drink, but I’ve only gotten the cards so far. The beer club is great for people who like crappy beer but want to try other beers and be rewarded for it. The happy hour specials are on the crappy beer only, unfortunately, otherwise I might go more often for happy hour.
I like good beer and already know what the crap tastes like, so I have to bring my dad and have him order a yellow beer and put it on my card so that I can get the credit for it. I digress.
The food is pretty good- the Cheese Bread is a really good deal for $5. Most of the food is decent, with a good amount for the money. The service has always been good.
Environmentally: Styrofoam to-go containers.
Sushi Kicchin
Old Capitol Mall
Downtown Iowa City
December 2007
A cheap place to get sushi to go.
Located in the Old Capitol Mall’s food area, this place is small, with a few stools to sit at, facing the sushi chefs. I got an unagi roll (freshwater eel). It came in 6 normal size pieces + 2 ends for $4.77, including tax. Whether you eat there or not, it comes in a stryofoam container with soy sauce in a plastic container. They also put wasabi and pickled ginger in it. You can get ice water in a Styrofoam cup. I have eaten a lot of quality sushi, so I might be pickier than most, but I thought the rice wasn’t as sticky as it should be, but the wasabi was good.
Environmentally: Not good. Everything is disposable, not even recyclable.
Downtown Iowa City
December 2007
A cheap place to get sushi to go.
Located in the Old Capitol Mall’s food area, this place is small, with a few stools to sit at, facing the sushi chefs. I got an unagi roll (freshwater eel). It came in 6 normal size pieces + 2 ends for $4.77, including tax. Whether you eat there or not, it comes in a stryofoam container with soy sauce in a plastic container. They also put wasabi and pickled ginger in it. You can get ice water in a Styrofoam cup. I have eaten a lot of quality sushi, so I might be pickier than most, but I thought the rice wasn’t as sticky as it should be, but the wasabi was good.
Environmentally: Not good. Everything is disposable, not even recyclable.
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