Eastern Iowa chefs show off skills at Dinner of Champions

The pork and beef were plentiful at the Dinner of Champions event at the DoubleTree by Hilton Thursday, and so was admiration from chefs and diners alike for Cedar Rapids' burgeoning dining scene.

The event, produced by The Gazette in collaborative partnership with the Cedar Rapids Convention and Visitor's Bureau, was the culmination of the bureau's Restaurant Week. Held March 1 to 6, Restaurant Week featured special meals from 29 local eateries.

Diners voted for their favorite meals on social media, and four of the fan favorites moved on to the Dinner of Champions event. Need Pizza, Bata's Restaurant, Lion Bridge Brewing Company and Zeppelins Bar & Grill showed off dishes alongside the Doubletree's chef, Gabriel Vera of the hotel's restaurant 350 first.

Event attendee Jeremy Vega, 40, of Cedar Rapids, said the event, and indeed all of Restaurant Week, illustrated how much both the quality and quantity of local dining options have increased.

'Even a handful of years ago, there was no real reason to go downtown, and now it's a destination,” he said. 'It's amazing how downtown has bounced back post-flood. This is a good time to be here and see what's going on. It's fabulous.”

He said the way his family eats has changed with the town.

'I don't know the last time we've been to a chain restaurant, because we have so many options,” he said. 'And they're all local, and they're doing great things with interesting ingredients, so they get you to try new things.”

Food wasn't the only thing on display at the Dinner of Champoins event. Themed after 'The Hunger Games” books and movies, event hosts wore elaborate costuEmed. Designers from the Iowa Fashion Project created the looks, taking pieces from Czech Village vintage stores Copper Alligator and Rawson's Daughter and adding embellishments and elaborate hats.

Iowa Fashion Project co-founder Amanda Lesmeister said the organization started as a way to showcase Iowa designers and this event was a good way to do that.

'I'm from Cedar Rapids, and we want to build the fashion scene here,” she said. 'It's something different to do costuming, it's kind of stepping outside your comfort zone.”

About 235 people attended the event. Throughout the night, diners voted on their favorite meals, and at the end of the evening, two of the event sponsors, the Iowa Beef Industry Council and the Iowa Pork Producers Association, presented awards for best pork dish to Bata's and best beef dish to Zeppelins.

Zeppelins was also declared the overall winner of the night, serving sticky soy beef short ribs with pickled fennel and chilies, goat cheese-whipped butternut squash, brussels sprouts with cashews and white truffle-green onion pesto.

Executive chef Tim Oathout said being involved in Restaurant Week was a good chance to support the community and advertise local restaurants.

'It's good to just be part of this event that continues to get people involved and lets people know how much Cedar Rapids has to offer,” he said