Category Archives: Iowa

April 29, 2011 · 2:50 pm

Mount Vernon, Ia. – one of 10 cool small towns

I didn’t know until I heard a plug on Iowa Public Radio this morning that the small northeast Iowa town of Mount Vernon was named one of then “cool small towns” by Budget Travel Magazine. Turns out this was back in 2009. But I’d have to agree. It’s the home of Cornell College and the wonderful restaurant the Lincoln Cafe and is smack in the middle of some bucolic farm country and about a half hour south is the booming artsy college town of Iowa City.  One place I don’t know that was mentioned in the Mount Vernon blurb: Fuel, a coffee shop/antique store.

The 2009 cool town list also includes Jacksonville, Oregon, which my husband and I visited in 2010 during a visit to my sister-in-law’s house in nearby Medford, and Tubac, Arizona which we visited many times during visits to see my dad in Tucson. (In Tubac, the mag recommends the interior design story Pancho’s, Tubac Center of the Arts, and Tubac Country Inn. Good to know since I’m sure we’ll be back there.)

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April 26, 2011 · 2:04 am

who would’ah thunk it: spotted George Hamilton at Des Moines restaurant

On a Monday night in Des Moines, hard to imagine seeing anybody out for dinner, let alone perpetually tan actor George Hamilton who was dining at a table near us at Alba in the East Village. The director of the Greater Des Moines Civic Center was his host so that was a tip off – apparently the civic center unveiled its next season today and George will be returning in October (unless he’s staying here til then, as if) in La Cage Aux Folles.)

I”m particularly excited about Billy Elliot which will be in DM in June 2012.

DES MOINES, Iowa — The Civic Center of Greater Des Moines announce its new 2011-2012 season on Monday night.The schedule includes La Cage Aux Folles, which headed to Iowa direct from Broadway — and stars George Hamilton. Wicked returns to Des Moines. Billy Elliot The Musical also is coming to the Civic Center.

2011

  • Oct 11-16:  La Cage Aux Folles (Staring George Hamilton)
  • Nov. 9- Dec. 4:  Wicked

2012

  • Feb. 7-12:  West Side Story
  • Feb 28-March 4:  Bring It On: The Musical
  • April 24-29:  Memphis
  • May 15-16: Rain: A Tribute To The Beatles
  • June 6-17: Billy Elliot The Musical

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April 18, 2011 · 7:07 pm

Things to do/see in Shenandoah, Iowa

We don’t get to southeast Iowa that much but here’s more reason to: Some places to visit in Shenandoah.

– Iowa Walk of Fame downtown (123 Iowans merit their own plaque in the sidewalk (akin to the literary walk in Iowa City?)

– Everly Brothers Childhood Home, (who knew they got their start here?)

– Wabash Trace Nature Trail – 60 mile trail through the Loess Hills; a converted railroad right-of-way. Popular starting points are the trailhead in Shenandoah. It’s made of crushed limestone, which isn’t my favorite surface, alas. http://www.wabashtrace.org

– The Sanctuary Restaurant – homemade sandwiches, entrees, desserts in a former church.

– Shenandoah Inn and Suites – family-owned hotel.

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April 17, 2011 · 5:49 pm

A place to stay in Mount Vernon Iowa

The pretty eastern Iowa college town of Mount Vernon (home to Cornell College) is one of our favorites – especially with its great restaurant the low-key but ambitious Lincoln Cafe and its offspring, the Lincoln Wine Bar. Now comes word in the DM Register of a place to stay overnight when we don’t feel like making the two-hour drive back to Des Moines after dinner or from Iowa City (where I daughter will be a student at U of Iowa next fall). It’s the Blythe Cottage Inn and the rates are tres reasonable – $60 to stay in one of the guest bedrooms or $75 for an entire guest cottage. http://www.pollyanns.com/blythecottageinn.html)

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April 14, 2011 · 10:31 pm

Bright Eyes tix for Aug. 8 concert in Des Moines – on sale tomorrow

I had to alert my son (who’s at college in Illinois) that tix for the Bright Eyes concert at  Des Moines’  Val Air Ballroom on Aug.8 go on sale tomorrow through ticketmaster – so thought I’d alert all of you too. Meanwhile, I’m looking forward to seeing the unlikely duo John Doe and Jill Sobule perform here on Sunday!

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April 12, 2011 · 4:22 pm

restaurants to check out all over the Midwest

Found a copy of the  Jan/Feb 2011 issue of Midwest Living on the library’s sale rack – so scooped it up since there’s always good recommendations on things to do in this neck of the woods. Here’s some restaurant recommendations:

– In Indianapolis, Recess (soup!)

– In Chicago, Gilt Bar and Restaurant on Magnificent Mile.

–  Woodbury, Minnesota (where we have friends!), Apertif (rotisserie chicken) and in neighboring St. Paul, Heartland (clever meat and potatoes) and Clearwater, Minn., Nelson Bros. Restaurant (yes, at a restaurant on I-94; fritter french toast w/wild rice sausage)

– Omaha, Hiro 88 (sushi and more in the Old Market district)

– Madison, Wisc. L’Etoile (longstanding haute green cuisine in new location)

– Kansas City, Glace Artisan Ice Cream (peanut butter ice cream with swirl of strawberry jam…) and Succotash

–  Traverse City, MI, Soul Hole (southern food in Old Town)

– Iowa City, Blue Bird Diner (Sunday brunch)

 

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April 11, 2011 · 11:12 pm

Avant-garde artist feted in Iowa city

Lil Picard – cabaret actress, Andy Warhol Factory workerbee, avant-garde artist – is the subject of a show at the University of Iowa’s Black Box Theater through May 27. The show is organized by the U of I’s Museum of Art.

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April 9, 2011 · 10:02 pm

Here’s how to book a room at the FLWright-designed hotel in mason city

Here’s the scoop on staying at the new  FLWright-designed hotel that’s reopening in August for business (101 years after it opened.) The hotel – which falls under Stoney Creek Inn auspices – just started taking reservations this week, through one person who I’ve yet to reach. The rooms are available in August (don’t know when specifically). There are 27 guest rooms according to the website. Prices still unknown.

To find out info go to : http://www.stoneycreekinn.com/locations/parkinn.cfm; to call for a reservation call 1-800-659-2220 (press 3 after the first spiel; then press 4 after the next spiel.)

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April 8, 2011 · 9:23 pm

Last remaining Frank Lloyd Wright-designed hotel reopening sept. in mason city

Finally, after over 20 years effort, millions of dollars, and a massive painstaking renovation, the world’s last remaining hotel designed by Frank Lloyd Wright is scheduled to reopen  in Mason City, Iowa in early September (with a soft opening in July, word has it).  No word yet on how many rooms or what it will cost to stay at what will be known as “The Historic Park Inn Hotel” (first opened in 1910).

The hotel is one of several architecture-related reasons to visit this northern Iowa city, which has worked hard to preserve and promote its Prairie School buildings. A new Architectural Interpretive Center formally opens in May. Next door to the center is  The Wright-designed Stockman House – which I toured last fall and is well worth a visit. Tour season  begins in May, I believe. And there are walking tours of all the other Prairie School homes in the area.

Here’s more details:

  • The Historic Park Inn Hotel – first opened in 1910 – will reopen as a boutique hotel. A celebration is being planned for Sept. 6-11 (the week marks the 101th anniversary of  the hotel’s original opening).
  • The long effort to revive the hotel cost about $18.5 million project,  spanned three different owners of the property, most recently a citizens group that bought the building for $1 from the city after the hotel got no takers on eBay.
  • First opened with an adjoining Wright-designed bank, the hotel (one of six designed by Wright) started deteriorating in the 1920s and closed in 1972. It fell into further disrepair after being converted into apartments and small businesses.
  • Mason City is well-known to architecture enthusiasts for its Rock Glen/Rock Crest National Historic District, the largest grouping of Prairie School homes unified by a common natural setting in the U.S.

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April 4, 2011 · 11:01 pm

Authentic Italian food in Sioux Center, Iowa?

I don’t get up to northwest Iowa often – especially on a weekend – but if/when I do, I plan to check out the Backroom Bistro, a restaurant in Sioux Center run by Giovanni Romano, a native New Yorker who somehow ended up in Iowa and is making killer bruschetta, stuffed shells, veal manicotti, giambotto, cannoli and lasagna Florentine, according to a surprising story in Sunday’s NYTimes. The bistro operates out of the back of the Fruited Plain Cafe, serving meals for 50 people on Friday and Saturday nights.

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