In pursuit of the preferred pizza place

It is difficult to find a place to stand in commercially zoned areas of Iowa City, where one cannot throw a stone and hit about five different pizza joints. Being a college town, the market is indeed ripe for aspiring pizza restaurateurs, pizza being the cornerstone of the college food pyramid.

While a four year hitch at the university certainly offers enough time to sample the plethora of pizza kitchens in the area, many college students tend to find one or two favorites and return to them ad nauseum.

Being no different myself, the pizza place that draws me back again and again has been, and will likely continue to be, Sam's Pizza.

Sam's, at 441 S. Gilbert St, is in the center what could easily be termed the "Pizza district" of Iowa City, given that it is one of four pizza places in that particular block of Gilbert St. The restaurant was relocated in 2006 after its former locale one block to the north was torn down to build new apartments. Of interest is the fact that owner, Terry French, in constructing his new establishment, personally purchased and processed a grove of cherry trees for the wood paneling which covers much of the restaurant's interior. French's pride in his business comes through in the food. The calzones in particular are a terrifically filling meal for a reasonable price, at around seven dollars, and chances are good you will have leftovers.

Space-wise, Sam's is potentially the most spacious sports bar in the downtown area; you won't have to worry about cramming elbow to elbow like you might in certain ped mall establishments (Bo James, looking at you). It's great for a quick cheap lunch or for those who prefer a beer to coffee during an afternoon of studying.

Cowboys ate pizza, right?

During my time here at the University of Iowa, I've often wondered where I could find a good buffet that wasn't on the lower level of a dormitory. As a college student, an inexpensive place where you can stuff yourself silly is always nice.

Last year, I ventured out on my first quest to find such a place. My destination was the Peking Buffet, 93 2nd St. in Coralville. Everything was great about the place, that is, until I tried the food. The chicken on a stick was nice and bloody on the inside, and the vegetable egg roll almost made me vomit upon my first bite. This is quite a feat, considering that I like, or can at least tolerate, almost every food I've ever tried.

That experience deterred my buffet quest for about year. Last Saturday, I decided to suck it up and try another place. This time the Pizza Ranch, 1610 Sycamore St. at Sycamore Mall was my destination.

The hours for the restaurant are as follows:
Dine-In Hours
Sunday - Thursday - 11:00 am - 9:00 pm Friday & Saturday - 11:00 am - 10:00 pm
Buffet Hours
Sunday - Saturday - Lunch Buffet - 11:00 am - 1:30 pm Evening Buffet - 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm

We went for the evening buffet on Saturday. When we got there, we went to the register, paid our $9.00 per person, received our drink cups, and showed ourselves to the table of our choosing.

A word of advice for those "frugal" types: Since you choose your table and seat yourself, here's a way to save some cash. The only way they can tell that you paid for the buffet is by the drink cup. Just steal the cup, bring it when you come back in the future, and casually sit down at a table. Now I have not tried this, but I bet it would. Oh, and I guess I don't condone this or whatever.

Now back to the meal. The Sprite Zero appeared to be out of syrup. It was pure soda water, and that's gross. Luckily, the regular Sprite tasted just fine. Now it was time for the food.

It's not a huge buffet, but there are enough options. There were 8 kinds of pizza at the time, breadsticks, both fried and barbecued chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, chips, and a salad bar with potato salad, pudding, etc.

At a place called the Pizza Ranch, the main draw is probably the pizza. They had the standard varieties of pizza, such as pepperoni, sausage, mushroom, etc. There are also some less traditional pizzas, such as buffalo wing, taco, and cheeseburger. For the most part, the pizza is a disappointment. It's basically a frozen pizza with some fresh(?) ingredients thrown on it before baking. I wasn't expecting gourmet, but was still a letdown. The buffalo chicken pizza was probably the best tasting one that I tried. This is partly due to my love for hot wings, as well as the fact that it was one of the only pizzas that didn't taste like it came from the Hy-Vee frozen foods section.

The other food was pretty good. The plain fried chicken was a little slimy but tolerable. The barbecue fried chicken was actually pretty tasty, as were the mashed potatoes and gravy. Both were reminiscent of KFC, but better. The salad bar was decent. It's nothing to rave about, like the salad bar at Sweet Tomatoes, but nothing to complain about either.

Once during the meal a waitress came by offering slices of the apple dessert pizza. It's free, of course, and it's pretty good. The regular dessert pizza is available at the buffet line. It tastes like a danish. While they're both good, I wasn't interested in them, at least not with the rest of the meal.

Overall, I think $9.00 is a little pricey for what you get. I mean, if you want some crappy pizza, go for it. If I was craving pizza, I would rather get something from Falbo Brothers or Pagliai's. If I really unlimited chicken with some pizza on the side, then I might go back to the Pizza Ranch. I think I'll just wait until Iowa City gets a Cici's pizza buffet.

On to the Impromptu

Like most good things, it began with a whine. A steady flow of whine, rather: "I get soooo lonely there all by myself." "I am going to starve to death." "Fluoreeeeeescent lights." "The cardboardy pizza I bought tastes like cardboard." "Huuuuuuungry."

My roommate works in a computer lab, in one of those jobs that involves a lot of sitting in an empty room. She works over the dinner hour. You may not be aware, but to be starved and trapped in a fluorescent room is mighty unpleasant. So last Thursday, since I happened to have some wild salmon and asparagus lying around anyway, I stepped up to the challenge. Thus, the impromptu midwinter clandestine picnic was born.

The preparation was fairly simple — some blanching, a little baking, and a lot of stirring. The menu: Lemon-glazed salmon with a side of asparagus risotto. The ingredients were straightforward, thanks to the $3/pound wild salmon I had caught at Hy-Vee. The real challenge came in the logistics of transporting such a meal to a sequestered, window-less lab. In order to pull it off, my assistant and I had to synchronize the salmon and rice's cooking time, quickly pack it all up, and haul the whole shebang to the aforementioned lab. It was quite the feat.


Her face upon our arrival, though, validated the effort. That, and infusing the once-sterile environ with the mingling scents of butter, salmon, and white wine. It wasn't your traditional, ants-on-the-blanket affair, but for an icy night in February, we made do.

• I adapted a recipe from Epicurious for the risotto. I skipped the shitake, and when the rice was nearly cooked, I added a handful of frozen peas.

• For the salmon, I baked it at 350 degrees F for about 15 minutes. I brushed it with a glaze made of equal parts butter and lemon juice, and I threw some chopped dill on at the end.

• Lastly, if you are ever packing a post-ecliptal midwinter clandestine picnic, remember these essentials: 1) Go as elaborate as possible, 2) Don't forget extra forks in case passersby are tempted in by the aroma, and 3) Don't get caught

And now we compare: Chipotle v. Los Portales

How many Mexican style restaurants dot downtown Iowa City? Chipotle, Panchero's, Taco Bell, and the Saloon are just a few that immediately come to mind. A mile south of the Pentacrest, meanwhile, Los Portales, el Ranchero, and Carlos O'Kelly hover over Hwy. 1.

So how do you separate the good from the bad; the cheap from the pricey? In this blog we'll occasionally offer comparisons of restaurants, and this seems like a decent place to start.

Los Portales v. Chipotle

Los Portales, located at 1402 S. Gilbert St., has one of the best lunch specials in town. Their extensive menu includes an entire page of lunch specials available during the early afternoon hours; prices range anywhere between $3-6. Not only is the food better than the fast-food offerings of Chipotle, you get more bang for your buck, too. And for hungry--yet poor--college students, this is exactly what we have in mind.

A steak burrito at Chipotle costs $6.47, including tax. If you include a drink, that price climbs to nearly $8. Hungry for chips and salsa, too? Well, now it's time to pull out a Hamilton--this meal has struck double-digit prices.

The same meal at Los Portales costs about three dollars less. It includes a burrito, refried beans and rice, unlimited chips and salsa, and a drink. If you substitute a drink for water, the entire meal costs only $5.25 (before tip). If you're keeping track, that's more than a dollar less than one burrito at Chipotle.

It doesn't hurt to wander away from campus now and again. Sure, the food is convenient, but it's not always cheap. Iowa City has more to offer than bars and fast food restaurants. If you're willing to take a look, you might just find a better meal at a better price.

So you think you hate sushi.

I must admit I was skeptical about the idea of sushi the first time the words "raw fish" were uttered, but as one whose palate is always game for an adventurous new endeavor, I agreed to dinner at Formosa. The result was the discovery of an entire new previously unknown and unappreciated genre of lip-smacking tastes and textures that leave me thinking "That was too good to be legal" every time I eat there.

Not to overstate things.

I must also stipulate, for those who lack my swashbuckling taste buds, that I am married to one of you. My wife, a true Iowan, was raised on a steady diet of farm food, and is somewhat less inclined than me to jump at the chance to sample strange new dishes and cuisine combinations. As my partner in life (and a wonderfully accommodating one at that) however, she regularly gets dragged into my food adventures (or from her perspective, misadventures) the Willie Scott to my Indiana Jones, unwitting of the eyeball soup that may await her.

Formosa, to be sure, is not nearly as frightening to the picky eater's sensibilities as such dishes. After some scrutiny of the menu, the wife opted for the Scorpion Roll, which is made with crab meat and tempura flakes, and served with a mysterious red-orange tangy sauce which was so good, I am convinced someone must have sacrificed themselves just to get the recipe out of Japan. At six bucks for the roll, it is definitely a reasonable price. One roll would probably not fill you up, but each sushi roll can be ordered as an a la carte item, and most fall in the same price range. The maki dinner comes with two different rolls and miso soup for only $10. Most bars in the area won't thaw out a frozen hamburger for much less than that, and the myriad of flavors alone is worth the 1-2 bucks extra you might have to throw down. The atmosphere is laid back yet chic, and those who appreciate tasting the food as opposed to the Marlboros being smoked in the booth behind them will love that Formosa is non-smoking.

If you weren't already aware, the restaurant is located downtown at 201 S. Linn St, on the ground floor of that most prevalent of Iowa City skyline features, the Hotel Vetro. If you are a sushi amateur, I (and one of the waiters) recommend the California or Scorpion rolls. For those with more refined tastes go for the Black Samurai roll (it comes wrapped in a piece of pepper crusted seared salmon skin). If you still don't think you are capable of enjoying sushi, the Shabu Shabu comes with your choice of thinly sliced meats, served with various vegetables which you cook yourself in a bowl of boiling broth set into a range in the table. Enjoy!

The improper way to eat sushi:



Although, I always say, if it's good enough for Takeru Kobayashi, it's good enough for me. And even my wife agrees.

Amish-Inspired Jems

It was nearly two in the afternoon, so the caramel rolls and blackberry pies were gone. Only crumbs remained. In fact, nearly all the shelves in the sparse, clean bakery were bare. But there, tucked in the back, lay a single jar of peach jam. I snatched it up.

My friends and I had stumbled into an Amish bakery near Hazleton, Iowa. The Amish abstain from silly tokens of modernity like electricity or cell phones, but they know a thing or two about baking. I've spent many a blissful day at the Farmers' Market poring over their fresh pies (and strapping young lads), so when I ventured into horse-and-buggy territory, I couldn't resist taking a peek at their offerings. The unadorned jar with a white lid proved just what I was looking for. After all, it was the closest I would get to a peach for months.

Yet it just didn't seem right to just slather the lovely tangerine-hued jam over bread. No, this needed special treatment, something to ease the pain of this death-defying winter. And so I stumbled upon a cookie recipe at Epicurious. I did some serious modifying to their original blueprint, eliminating several hours of finicky preparation. Ultimately, I pared it down to a cookie that is simple, Amish-ly so, if I say so myself. (If any Old Order folks out there are reading this on their iPhones, I'd love to hear any feedback).


Amish Jem Cookies

1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 large egg (beat a whole egg and only use half)
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
About 6 tablespoons peach jam (preferably Amish-made)

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in salt, vanilla, and egg until well combined. Add flour and combine just until dough forms. Refrigerate an hour or freeze, well-wrapped, for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Roll dough into one-inch balls. Place on a cookie sheet and press each with thumb to form an indentation. Fill each thumbprint with a small amount of jam. Bake 12-15 minutes, or until golden.

Makes about 4 dozen bite-size cookies

Valentine's Day Dinner: That Was Easy

Valentine's Day was last Thursday, and guys everywhere were racking their brains trying to think of the perfect gift to make up for all of their mistakes during the past year. Some people think that the more money spent, the better the gift. Well folks, that's simply not true. One thing that people love is having a special dinner cooked for them. Now I'm not going to say that all home cooked meals are inexpensive, but as long as you're not making lobster or veal, you won't be spending much.

Now first, all you have to do is think about whatever foods your mate has mentioned in the past. What are some favorite foods from home that they haven't had in a while? My girlfriend had mentioned a few times that she loves the Cornish game hen her dad makes. It was February 13th, and while I'd never had a Cornish game hen, I decided that I'd better commit to something.

So now that I had a dish in mind, I looked for recipes via Google. I came across many, but this is the recipe I used: Cornish game hen recipe.

Then, I had to find a side dish. I looked in the weekly Hy-Vee ad and found that twice baked potatoes, a favorite of my girlfriend's, were on sale, 3 for $5.

I went to Hy-Vee around noon on Valentine's Day. I was a little nervous because I'd never eaten a Cornish game, let alone prepared one for a nice dinner. The recipe called for me to make stuffing as well as the glaze for the hens. Luckily, the store had two already stuffed game hens left for $4 a piece. The I picked up the ingredients for the honey glaze as well as the potatoes, which were huge.

When I realized that everything but the glaze was already prepared for me, my anxiety subsided. All I had to do was put everything in the oven for about 2 hours while I applied the glaze every 10-15 minutes.

The whole meal cost about $15. The flowers and wine were another $17, but those were just icing on the cake. Anyway, she loved it and it was really easy and inexpensive.

Whether you're doing it for that special someone, or making a nice meal for yourself, try going to the local grocery store and picking up some pre-made items in the meat or deli sections. You'll probably find a hearty easy-to-make meal for a great price.

Fine dining, but at home

Eating at restaurants is expensive. After the obligatory markup of items on the menu (they have to make a profit, right?), pricey drinks, and a decent tip, finding an affordable fine meal can be daunting. Then again, you could always eat at home.

Most college students don't venture much further than Easy Mac and pre-packaged pudding cups. I get it. But learning to cook isn't any harder than class. Actually, it's usually a hell of a lot easier.

I cooked for my two female roommates on Valentine's Day. None of us is shy around the kitchen (in fact, we all work at the Hillcrest Marketplace, too), but we decided to elevate the complexity of our dinner for the occasion. The menu: Steak, garlic mashed potatoes, and grilled asparagus. A bottle of wine (and Heineken for me), and we were ready to eat. The total cost? Around $10 each. (Not much more than a burrito and a coke downtown.)

New York strip steaks from the butcher's counter at Hyvee cost just $6 each for the girls (eight ounces, for the record.) My 12-ounce cost $9. A bag of potatoes cost $2, and asparagus was on sale for $2.99.

We already had a bottle of wine and beer at home, so I've subtracted that from the total cost. But in less than an hour we were sitting and eating in the comfort of our own home. At One-Twenty-Six, a downtown Iowa City restaurant I hope to review later this semester, their beef tenderloin and Yukon Gold potato dish costs $26 before you factor in a drink (or two) and tip. By the end of the meal, you're talking close to $40 for dinner.

Sure, cooking at home doesn't replace the expertise of a well-trained chef, but at $10 I'll take my chances.

The First Post

Iowa City, home to the University of Iowa, has its fair share of fast food restaurants. Hidden amongst the numerous trying-to-taste-Mexican hotspots and sandwich shops are local restaurants that have survived in this student-dominated town. 

The Hamburg Inn may be the most famous and popular local establishment, but there are more. There must be more. 

In this blog, we'll find them, try them, and see what Iowa City has to offer.