A Beginner's Guide to Iowa City

I visited Iowa City last weekend-- a working vacation, so to speak, meeting a friend to do some writing-- and the following conversation happened:

Me: "I had a great day yesterday. I bought some things at Prairie Lights."

Friend: "Prairie Lights? What's that?"

Me, with incredulous expression: "You've lived here SEVEN YEARS and you've never been to Prairie Lights? How is that possible?"

Friend: "I have children. I never go downtown."

So, to rectify the problem and make sure nobody misses out on what I consider the coolest things about Iowa City (and what I miss most now that I'm not living there), this blog entry is going to describe some of Sheila's favorite Iowa City haunts (and some outside Iowa City but still within driving range):

1. Let's start with Prairie Lights, which is the coolest independent bookstore I've ever lived near. When we were having the above conversation, my friend's ten-year-old daughter, who LOVES reading (as does my friend), asked wide-eyed, "Is Prairie Lights even better than Barnes & Noble?" Oh yeah. Besides just plain having that awesome "real bookstore" smell, it has a whole floor (the basement) devoted to children and young adult books, sales people who really know books, and a second floor where you can hang out and write while sipping a cup of steamed milk/hot chocolate and watching the interesting pedestrian traffic down on the street. Here's what I bought last time I visited Prairie Lights:

fun books

fun calendars

a French notebook

a magnet for my office (it says "Don't blame me; I voted to take a walk")

2. Kalona, which actually needs sub-headings because there are lots of cool things there. Kalona's a Mennonite town about 15 miles away from Iowa City (south, I think). Besides getting a great scenic drive, Kalona is home to Stringtown Grocery, a great place for cheap bulk spices, The Cheese House (great cheese curds), and Columns & Chocolate, which is a fun little bed and breakfast/tea shop/mom & pop kind of restaurant.

3. Sister's Antiques-- it's on the way to Kalona, and I REALLY miss this place! Antiques, vintage clothing, quirky laundry and bath paraphernalia, glassware, gardening things, you really just never know what you'll find but it's always fun to look.

4. Culver's Frozen Yogurt-- yes, this is a Midwestern chain and I usually am not a big fan of chain anything, but their frozen lemonade is so good! You can get frozen yogurt in Utah-- but can you get a butter burger? Didn't think so.

5. Whitey's Ice Cream-- Not the most politically correct name, but their ice cream is really yummy.

6. The Clear Creek Trail-- I wish this extended further, but for the two or three miles it actually goes, it's a great run. It's good for biking and walks, too, of course, and the University of Iowa's cross country area is right off it, so you can let dogs off leash so they can race around. Not that I have a dog, but if I did and I were in Iowa, I'd take it here. My cats aren't into the whole running thing.

7. Z'Marik's Noodle Cafe-- Cheap, abundant noodle dishes of all sorts. Great quick lunch.

8. The Bread Garden-- It's expanded into an entire whole foods market since I moved away. Great bread, great soups, great salads.

9. The Coralville Farmer's Market-- Iowa, farmer's markets. It doesn't get any better.

10. The Iowa City Public Library-- Iowa City does public libraries properly. This place is huge and has a great selection of CD's and other media besides books. You can even check out cake pans for birthday parties.

There are lots more, but this is a good starting list. If you know Iowa City, feel free to comment back on other sites I've left off or perhaps don't know about. Maybe I need to do some more "travel research" this spring once the ice rain is gone.