Review: Fork & Knife Feast brings new excitement back to specials for Cedar Rapids Restaurant Week 2024

CEDAR RAPIDS — The Fork & Knife Feast came back Feb. 15, after a few years on hiatus, and it’s here to remind us of a few things.

The kickoff event to Cedar Rapids Restaurant Week, not held since the pandemic, brings us all together — literally and metaphorically — to see the fruits of our diverse restaurant community all in one spot. That has immense value in letting diners compare and contrast the strengths of their favorites.

With everything from cups of unassuming soup to haute cuisine plated to be camera ready, it demonstrates that quality food doesn’t just come in all flavors — it comes in all levels of formality.

Finally, it’s a reminder that our restaurant scene is too large to enjoy in 10 days with our casual dining habits. If you need to optimize your time or spending, check out these nine things that made the best impression on us.

Then, try them for yourself through Feb. 25.

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If you go

What: Cedar Rapids Restaurant Week

When: Feb. 16 to 25

Where: 19 participating restaurants in Cedar Rapids, Marion and Swisher

How: To see a full list of restaurants and menu specials available for a limited time, visit cedarrapids.org.

For a chance at a Restaurant Week gift basket, pick up a Restaurant Week punch card at any participating restaurant and collect stamps by spending at least $20 on food or buying a specialty menu item. Those with at least five stamps can mail their cards or hand deliver them to 501 First St. SE to be entered into a drawing.

The Gazette is a media sponsor of Cedar Rapids Restaurant Week.

1. Scallop chicharrones with guacamole, radish and squid ink caviar by Mezcal

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I admit that this top spot is an odd combo. But like all successful oddballs in life, it manages to be an endearing one.

Nachos are out in 2024. We’re doing topped chicharrones instead.

The salty char of the scallop immediately starts to mingle with the chili, salt and Tajin on the crispy fat of the chicharron — fried pork rind — as the smooth guacamole buffers the crunch.

When I’m eating chili chicharrones pork rinds as a snack (my favorite brand is 4505, in case you’re wondering,) I love the texture and structure that gives a satisfying crunch as you bite into it. It’s half the reason I eat it.

It’s a compression that releases a little bit of oil and flattens kind of the way cotton candy does when it dissolves. The sheer amount of toppings here mitigated that experience, but they added so much value to the treat that I didn’t care.

All in all, this is a beautiful elevation of a cheap snack that makes amazing chemistry of very basic tastes and textures — charred, sweet, salty, tangy and creamy. The guacamole alone deserves extra praise.

The squid ink caviar wasn’t loud enough to be heard above the rest of the ingredients, but it was nice to say I’ve tried it.

2. Beef short rib with garlic-chili honey, pineapple, nori and rice by The Hip-stir

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“Eat it like a taco,” said Tim Oathout, chef and co-owner of the Hip-stir in Marion, as I looked at the rice seaweed bed of this short rib.

A tender, melt-in-your-mouth short rib is toughened up by a chili honey that is a viscous flash in a pan slowed only by the roll of honey. The flames burn brightly but quickly as pineapple complements the chili gently but noticeably.

This dish, drawing Asian influence like previous Hip-stir specials during Cedar Rapids Restaurant Weeks, makes something new from multiple worlds. Am I in Japan? Am I at a Memphis barbecue?

No, I’m still in Iowa. That’s the transformative power of cuisine.

3. Peruvian quinoa and coffee-rubbed pork shoulder by Lacayo

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Delivering one of the best visual presentations of the evening, this dish uses a beautiful color palette on a clear plate to remind you that Lacayo is aiming to be a notch above many other more casual restaurants in Cedar Rapids.

Too often, “coffee-rubbed” doesn’t amount to anything more than a poorly executed garnish on the edges of meat, or an added texture. Here, the Joe actually knows what it’s doing.

The pork is tender, moist, perfectly seasoned. The rest of the ingredients on the plate manage to beautify it without looking like they’re trying to “put lipstick on a pig.”

A sweet corn and raisin cream adds a new complexity, a bit like an aioli, that paints a portrait of an evolving Iowa — where the increasingly diverse fruits of our labor come together to make a new plate we couldn’t have made on our own.

4. Pork belly pastrami by The Class Act at The Hotel at Kirkwood Center

Often in my experience, the classic weakness of pork belly is it’s texture. It’s often too chewy or too fatty.

Somehow, this evades both qualities, putting you on the express to an intersection where the German influences of mustard-based barbecue style in South Carolina meets the classic Jewish deli sandwich in New York City.

The challah is on brand as a match for the pastrami. The real star of this show is the chow chow, a pickled relish that affirms the southern identity of this dish while quickening the pace at which you eat something you might assume was slow roasted for hours.

5. Smoked beef brisket by Black Sheep Social Club

A lovely presentation makes every element visible without being segregated.

The meat meets the very definition of “smoked.” This is the kind of smoking that hasn’t been allowed in bars for decades. Carne asada, with a raspy, spicy voice, immediately asks for your drink order.

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But the yuzu crema and edamame elote offers a duality to the grizzled bartender. They’re here to keep the bad out, but will let you be bad enough to have fun — a trusted friend in any establishment.

This is a novel presentation of a common meat that I could only expect from Chef Mon, who was recently named Chef of the Year by the Iowa Restaurant Association.

6. Bao buns by Big Grove Cedar Rapids

Big Grove Brewery & Taproom puts a new spin on something it has already done well in other iterations at its new Cedar Rapids location.

Pickled carrots immediately welcome you to a new place. The meat, a pork and shrimp sausage-galangal, has a certain “je ne sais quoi” that’s hard to pinpoint, but pleasant. Not quite land, but not quite sea.

The steamed buns are tender, but the spice and garlic ensures you’re not left empty-handed after they melt in your mouth.

7. Crack Chicken Soup by Pub 217

Look, I think crack is wack. There are too many places that call everything from their chocolate and breadsticks to their pie or kale smoothies “crack,” or “better than sex.” It’s corny.

That being said, this soup is really good. A rich, creamy meld of chicken, spinach, onion and what I’m guessing may be cream of mushroom pulls together a warm embrace that doesn’t sacrifice the integrity and texture of each element.

The zest of ranch is truly what makes this dangerously addictive in Iowa.

8. Jalapeno and cheddar hush puppies by Sacred Cow Tavern

These fried balls make being corny a good thing.

A bite heavy in corn meal is creamy, moist and rich inside. But this carb won’t lull you to sleep, thanks to a sharp bite of banana pepper garnishing the outside.

It’s Alabama white barbecue adds a nice touch to an already fried dish without making it too rich.

9. Cold smoked oxtail by Chophouse Downtown

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For years, I’ve heard about the legend of this meat cut, mostly in Black and Caribbean cuisines, but have never actually gotten the chance to try it.

Cold and smoked aren’t often seen together, but brown sugar warms up this cold bite with a hint of sweetness. The zest of Texas-style barbecue brushes up against soft notes of vanilla and cinnamon.

That all prepares you for the even sweeter puree of plantains and scallion. The watermelon radish kimchi on the finish offers some earthy and tangy notes to round out this motley crew of barbecue.

Comments: Features reporter Elijah Decious can be reached at (319) 398-8340 or elijah.decious@thegazette.com.