Places to eat in Iowa

Located in Main Amana, the Ox Yoke is a great dining experience. It's been open since 1940 and never disappoints.

After being seated, you'll receive a basket of homemade bread while you decide what to order. When you order family style (I'm not sure why you would order anything else) you will receive (with your main dish) a heaping bowl of mashed potatoes, a bowl of vegetables (usually corn) fresh from the garden, a bowl of homemade cottage cheese, and a bowl of sauerkraut.

Then comes the big decision of what entree to order. You can choose from Iowa ham, fried chicken, catfish, unbelievably thick pork chops, or wiener schnitzel, among other things. The schnitzel comes with spaeztle, which is fantastic, and I almost always end up getting that even though I feel really guilty about eating veal. Then comes dessert!

Family style dining is a lot of fun. The bowls get passed around and around, some people call dibs on certain bowls - "Grandma can have the sauerkraut as long as I can keep the cottage cheese over here by me!" - and everyone waddles out of the restaurant very happy.

Favorite Dish: It's all good. It really is. The homemade cottage cheese is especially delightful though.

Very good bar, with competent friendly help and fun patrons. The food choices are Mexican and Italian and are very good. They have lots of specials so ask the waitstaff what to get, you'll be pleased.

Favorite Dish: Everything is good, I like to get nachos with their special white cheese dip and the turkey gizzards on Sundays. I choose something different off the menu every time I order and have never been disappointed.

I was going to say this is an Iowa institution but I've seen at least one restaurant outside of Iowa (it's in Galesburg, IL) so I guess Iowa doesn't have the exclusive rights to this. Maid-Rite's (or 'drites) certainly shouldn't be kept a secret. These sandwiches are delicious. Basically, what the sandwich consists of is beef that has been slowly cooked in chicken broth until it is not only tender and moist but also not stuck together like in a hamburger. Then the meat is scooped onto a bun, various condiments added, and then you eat it. They usually provide a wee plastic spoon because this is not a neat and tidy eating experience. This is not a sloppy joe-type of sandwich (the difference being that there is no sauce in a 'drite). It's also fairly inexpensive so if you're in Iowa, or somewhere else in the Mid-West and you see that red and white striped building, pull in and experience one for yourself. You'll definitely see what all the fuss is about.

Favorite Dish: You have to get a Maid-Rite sandwich (or "loose meat" sandwich). You can get it with cheese, if you are so inclined, and get some fries because they're pretty good too.

One of my favorite things to do when I visit Iowa is to go down to the Amanas and pick and choose my way around the colonies to make up the perfect picnic meal. Then I take all the fixings to the Lily Lake, pick out a place to sit down and have, what I think is, the best meal on the PLANET. The only catch is, you have to get up pretty early to do this. I suggest bringing a cooler to store some of the items until lunch time.

Okay, so here's what you do: get yourself to the Amanas early. That is key because your first stop usually runs out of items before 10am or so. This is the bakery in Middle Amana. If you come from Cedar Rapids on Hwy 151, when you get to the Amanas intersection, turn right. There's the Lily Lake on your left as you follow 220th Trail around some curves and past some historic buildings to Hahn's Hearth Oven Bakery on J St (just off 26th or 27th Ave). This is the only original hearth bakery in the Amanas. They open at 7:30am and aren't open on Mondays (in the winter, they're only open on Saturdays). Get a loaf of bread and a pastry. I honestly don't know the name of this thing but describe it and the employees will help you. Basically, it is a fairly big piece of dough that's been folded in half. It's filled with preserves, which you can see peeking out the 3 edges. Sugar sprinkles the top. Raspberry is the best.

Next stop - High Amana General Store on G St. Pick yourself up a 6-pack of the Amana root beer or cream soda. They also let you mix - so get 3 of each if you like!

Then we're heading back down 220th Trail the way we came to Main Amana (also called just "Amana"). Go to the Amana Meat Shop & Smokehouse on F St (a left turn off 220th onto 43rd, 44th, or 45th Ave and then right onto F). They've been around since 1858 so you know whatever you get it'll be good. Order some meat - ham, roast beef, sausage, whatever you want (although it *is* Iowa so I'd go with the ham), and some cheese. Cheese curds make a yummy snack.

Okay, so now it's only about 9am and you're ready for lunch. So, put your meats & cheeses & drinks in the cooler and go enjoy the Amanas. Shop around a little and enjoy the historic homes and dainty gardens. At lunch time, go to Lily Lake and you've got the fixin's for a great sandwich on the best bread you've ever had, creamy root beer to drink, and a heavenly dessert.

You won't be disappointed!

Favorite Dish: It's all good. Just bear in mind something - there is a bakery in Main Amana. You're more than welcome to get your bread and pastries there but I've been to both and Hahn's is far superior in quality, in my opinion.

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Photographs:
1. Jill at the Ox Yoke Inn, Family Style Food Since 1940.
2. Homemade desserts at the Ox Yoke Inn Restaurant
3. Inside the OxYoke Inn Restaurant in Amana, Iowa.

The OxYoke Inn Restaurant in Amana has been in operation since 1940. William and Lina Leichsenring opened their restaurant to serve local residents. "At that time, dinners cost 65 cents and were made from Old World German and American recipes passed from mother to daughter". The foods had sources in the Amanas with fresh vegetables, meat from the Amana Colonies smokehouses, and chickens from neighboring farms. That is why OxYoke symbolizes the hard work of life in the Amanas; it also recalls times gone by.

We learned that William Leichsenring was born in the room that is now the Amana restaurant's Amana dining room. His wife, Lina, [when she was a little girl] worked very long hours in an Amana Colonies community kitchen. This "family style" is a tradition of service that is still carried on at the Ox Yoke Restaurant today.

Favorite Dish: Jill and I enjoyed our meal at The OxYoke Inn Restaurant; you could tell the moment that you walked in that this is where the locals still eat. It's obvious that it is a German Restaurant also. Since Jill and I both have small appetites, we decided to share a meal.

We chose to share A Ruben Sandwich which came with crisp Cold Slaw, and Fresh Fruit. It was plenty enough for us, and quite delicious.

Our long-time waitress was efficient, speedy, and humorous too. The Old World ambience, the family-style service, and the home-made food was all outstanding.

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Although I usually don't even eat at fast foot restaurants, Jill and I could not resist eating at the Subway Restaurant in Bellevue, Iowa! It's location is really incredible: right on the Mississippi River where you can see Bellevue Lock and Dam Number 12!

The photograph shows the beautiful large deck that this restaurant has. Because Jill cannot sit in the sun; instead, we sat inside at the windows that look out over the River. I went outside to take the photo because I knew few people would believe that this location was from a Subway Sandwich Restaurant.

In addition, this was, indeed, the largest Subway Sandwich Shop that I had ever seen. No doubt, since I saw no other Fast Food restaurants in Bellevue, lots of residents stop here. It was around noon, and we had to wait in line.

Favorite Dish: Both Jill and I ordered A Veggie Subway Sandwich with our choices of vegetables and our choice of freshly-made bread. I had the Italian Cheese Bread, and Jill chose the Honey Wheat bread. In addition, we had the 75 calorie bag of potato chips that are low fat, and a cold drink with as many refills as we wanted.

We certainly enjoyed our meal; it was fresh, tasted delicious, and we loved the view!

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After a fast-paced tour of historic downtown Main Street Dubuque, Jill and I were quite thirsty so we went to Cafe Manna Java. They advertise that they use only the finest natural ingredients, which was a plus as far as we were concerned. Not only is it a coffee/tea shop, but they also serve wood-fired oven pizzas, European breads, handcrafted pastries, cheesecakes, soups, and sandwiches.

They have Hot Paninis as well as sandwiches. The hot sandwiches are baked on a grill, and all sauces are made from scratch They make all their own artisan breads. Some of the unusual sandwiches and Paninis are:

Raber's Special, Black Forest Ham, white cheddar, red onions, spring mix lettuce with cranberry mustard on a Sesame Semolina bread.

The Sofia, chicken breast with white cheddar and Swiss cheeses, organic spinach, red onions, with a cranberry citrus sauce served on Cranberry Walnut Bread with apple butter.

The Wood-Fired Pizzas come with such names as:
Florentine, La Carnivorum, Greek Vegetable, Proscuitto & Montclaret, Four Cheese Primo, The Friedrick, to name just a few!

Favorite Dish: Jill and I had the Spinach Fruit Salad that contains Spinach, red onion, apple, dried cranberries, toasted pecans, mandarin oranges with a vinaigrette. We both agreed that it was quite delicious. It was far too large for our small appetites. The cost is $6.50.

I had one of their specialty coffees, and Jill ordered tea.

It was crowded with people purchasing the homemade breads and pastries as well as the people eating there.

Tuscan Moon Grill on Fifth in Kolna, Iowa, is located where the historic Kalona Hotel once resided. It has the original wood floors, exposed brick, an extensive wine cellar, antique booths, and a massive outdoor eating area. They also have entertainment that is scheduled and listed on their website. For this small town in Iowa, it seems unusual.

Their motto seems to be: "You'll think that you are in Italy"! They do have Mediterranean-inspired food and decor, but it's difficult to image Italy right here in this mid-American town. Warren and Paula Miller are co-owners and have recently added a room that seats 30, and it called Top of the Moon. [That brings the seating capacity to 90 with the downstairs and the patio.] This new room will no doubt be used for business meetings, rehearsal diners for weddings or for graduation parties and the like.

We visited on a Tuesday, May 22, 2007 with the intend on eating our lunch here. However, we discovered that it was closed on Tuesdays [even though the advertisements indicated otherwise.].

It advertises that Dinners are available Wednesdays, Thursdays [5 p.m.- 9 p.m.] and Fridays and Saturdays [5 p.m.-10 p.m.]

Lunches were to be served on Tuesdays through Saturdays [11 a.m.-2 p.m.]

Favorite Dish: For dinner, Tuscan Moon Grill on Fifth features Salads, Appetizers, Pasta, Steaks [Beef Tenderloin, Porterhouse Steaks, and Ribeye], and Seafood. They are famous for their Desserts, especially their Cheesecakes. They offer Specials daily.

For lunch, they offer Appetizers, Salads, Wraps, Pasta, an 8-oz. Black Angus Burger along with many other specials.

I wish that we could have experience this delightful restaurant; however, we were satisfied with our alternative, The Fireside ..