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Review: Think Iowa City Restaurant Week returns with new niches, twists on classics
Discover new culture and fresh takes on Iowa classics
Feb. 18, 2025 5:30 am, Updated: Feb. 19, 2025 8:34 am
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Think Iowa City Restaurant Week is back, and its operative word is certainly doing its job — making us think hard about which specials we want to try first.
This year’s specials infuse the joy of eating, the life of different cultures and plenty of variety into an experience that can only be savored one bite (or sip) at a time.
Get out there and enjoy specialties being served at 25 restaurants across Johnson County through Feb. 24, 2025. For more info, visit thinkiowacity.com.
To get you started, here’s what caught our eye in this year’s lineup.
1. Teishoku Lunch Set by Paper Crane
With a masterfully crafted aesthetic and cuisine that pays attention to the small details, Paper Crane opened in October with a focus on dinner service and cocktails. Now, it is expanding into the lunch hour.
For under $20, you can experience the beautifully balanced elegance of a Japanese lunch set I think rivals any fancy tea service I had in England. Chef Edwin Lee adapts his inspiration from the lunch sets commonly found across Japan, where a quick but quality lunch can be found in small ramen shops for a modest price.
This teishoku is served with four elements on a tray: choice of protein, choice of ramen soup, choice of salad and white rice with a salty and savory furikake seasoning.
If you eat meat, I strongly recommend the pork belly chasu and pork soup. And if you eat vegetables, opt for the cucumber salad. (Yes, I know cucumbers are technically a fruit.)
Though the portions are smaller, even the heartiest diner won’t feel deprived. With each element separate and deconstructed, you can enjoy them for what they bring to the table independently of the others.
“There are no rules to eating it,” Lee said.
The pork broth is unbelievably creamy with a sense of warmth that will always translate to “home,” no matter what culture you come from. It’s a specialty I know Lee has spent much consideration on to ensure several elements in each bowl are blended seamlessly.
Pork belly is generously seasoned in a togarashi chili pepper seasoning that intersects smoky, salty and savory, making riches out of the pork fat.
It’s unusual to find a plate that soothes, nourishes, energizes and revitalizes all at once. You’ll savor every bite and then, at the end of the small portions, realize the value of the grace in its brevity.
You’ll also end on a delightful note with an adorable piece of dough-covered mochi ice cream in your choice of flavor: vanilla, chocolate, red bean, green tea or mango.
2. Pesto Chicken Alfredo Papperdelle by Tribute Eatery & Bar
This year, I had to opt for travel plans that did not include Italy in order to avoid the crowds and increased prices associated with pilgrimages and other events surrounding the Jubilee holy year.
But this dish, described as sous chef Alex Persels’ “guilty pleasure,” is making the wait a little bit easier.
The chicken is lusciously marinated and seasoned, bursting with juicy notes of lemon and herb at first bite. Pappardelle ribbons coated in pesto deliver you to Italy both literally and figuratively as you twirl dried pomodoraccio tomatoes onto your fork, each one with a bright tang.
If the herbs in the pesto and toppings start to overwhelm you, just take another bite of the juicy chicken to reset your palate.
The pasta is appropriately cooked, and each bite is a delightful taste of Italy not found on every corner of the Corridor — especially in the winter.
3. Ambrosia by The Green House
This preview of the spring menu, which will be released in March, is a sneak peek you don’t want to miss.
Uniquely crafted around Pisco, the spirit made from grapes, this drink makes a nectar of the gods with Creme de Violette, a hint of gin to punch it up, and a dash of vanilla to round it out.
Grape first comes to the nose with the same unbridled joy of a candy or bubble gum. The combination of Pisco and Creme de Violette delivers a bouncy, effervescent pair of children to the playground, each incorrigible in their own way.
A hint of Earl Grey adds a grounding, mature finish in flavor and texture, but serves as a reminder to adults that sensibility doesn’t have to come at the expense of joy. In fact, knowing how to play is essential to life’s success.
Its sister special, the Chamomile Yuzu Sour, is another delightful escape from the winter doldrums.
4. Swordfish Crudo by Big Grove Iowa City
Chef Michael Brack brings this special to us thanks to inspiration from a food pilgrimage where he noted not the particular food he ate, but the company and environment that made it memorable.
This swordfish crudo special is his first at Big Grove.
Creamy notes of fish (an unusual descriptor for raw fish, I concede) are dressed with earthy notes of olive oil and fennel. But what makes this dish really worth your time are the delicate pieces of succulent blood orange completing the profile.
Crudo, in many presentations, is a chameleon in service to its accoutrements. In this case, the chameleon’s eyes are pointed straight to brighter days, after winter.
If you prefer something a little more cooked, the porchetta sandwich and saltimbocca on special also look delicious.
5. Spicy Peanut Noodles by 30hop Coralville
This dish is casually flavorful without pretense, despite its cross-cultural credentials.
Smooth udon noodles lead you to patches of seasoning flavor bombs sprinkled across the top.
Peanut sauce buffers each burst of salt with a little sweet — not overwhelming sweetness like a lot of peanut sauces I’ve tried.
Vegetables alternate between soft and crunchy, adding biodiversity to the garden path where multiple Asian disciplines converge. A scallion on top is crafted to look almost like a bit of seaweed.
6. Juniper and Miso Glazed Pork Loin with Street Corn Barley Risotto & Citrus-Fennel Slaw by Watermill Kitchen + Bar
“Supper’s ready,” this dish cries in a homey accent at first bite of the pork loin.
“It felt like it fit our motif very well,” said chef Cody Sammons, describing how he landed on the special.
Slightly sweet and moist, maple starts each bite as juniper puts the oink on this hog’s bark. The pork’s top is coated, but not drowned, in a thick, sweet glaze.
The barley offers an interesting side — a firm but supple grain, not overcooked, that’s sweet with its blend of corn. The same barley is part of the restaurant’s signature corn chowder, and Sammons hoped to find a creative new application for it.
The fennel slaw between offers another lovely way to use citrus. This one, in an almost vinaigrette kind of form, delivers a crunch punctuated by grapefruit that reminds you: life on the farm may be idyllic, but it’s not always sweet.
7. Hot Honey Fried Chicken Torta by Coa Cantina
It’s a tale as old as time.
“I was just bored one day and wanted to come up with something different,” creator Josh Peavy told The Gazette.
The answer was this: a blend of the South and south of the border.
This very sweet concoction combines hot honey chicken, chipotle ranch, a peppery Mexican slaw and seasoned fries on a crunchy torta roll.
The level of sweetness on this chicken is almost like honey barbecue wings. I sensed so much honey that it would make Pooh jealous.
The slaw adds a hint of cream to quell the flame, and the fries add a second layer of carbs to satisfy your potato needs.
Comments: Features reporter Elijah Decious can be reached at (319) 398-8340 or elijah.decious@thegazette.com.
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