Places to Go in Downtown Iowa City
Prairie Lights (319-337-2681; 15 S Dubuque) bookstore is a good place to start your Iowa City journey. Here you can get a feel for the local intellectual culture as well as a wide-range of current happenings in the city. They also have information about the famous authors who have lived and worked in the area such as Flannery O’Connor, Tennessee Williams, and Raymond Carver. They can guide you to the houses where Kurt Vonnegut penned Slaughterhouse Five or John Irving wrote The World According to Garp.
One place they might point you is Dave’s Fox Head (319-351-9824; 402 E Market). This bar sits on the corner of Gilbert and Market and is one of the few bars you are more likely to see people entering with a book or a manuscript than a companion. Hunter S. Thompson is rumored to have fired a few rounds inside the establishment.
Across the street from the Fox Head is the oldest grocer in Iowa City: John’s Grocery (319-337-2183; 401 E Market), known to locals as Dirty John’s (it gets its name from kids stealing peeks at adult magazines back in the day). Along with a full selection of groceries, John’s has extensive beer and wine rooms that have supplied a fair share of Hawkeye post-game parties. Try some of their White Ale brewed a half-hour down the road in Amana.
Iowa City citizens take pride in their traditional establishments and as far as dining goes there are two historic choices: Pagliai’s (319-351-5073; 302 E Bloomington) and the Hamburg Inn #2 (319-337-5512; 214 N Linn). Pagliai’s (pronounced polly-eyes) pizza has been a premiere choice since 1962 because of their outstanding ingredients and great customer service. The Hamburg Inn #2 matches Pagliai’s in hometown feel doing so in a classic diner setting. Its’ walls are ripe with it’s history, which is quite similar to the history of the city over the last fifty years, and it has been visited by host of political figures, including Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton.
Another budding historical location is the pedestrian mall in the heart of downtown. It hosts a plethora of interesting shops, galleries, and theatre’s. The Englert Theatre (319-688-2653; 221 E Washington) has been recently remodeled and puts on a variety of events from local children’s acting troupes to well-known musical acts. The Artisan’s Gallery (319-351-8686; 207 E Washington) displays a wide-range of fine art from the region and makes a great gift and souvenir stop. Next door to the Artisan’s Gallery, the Java House (319-341-0012; 211 E Washington) brews it’s coffee by the cup and features an ever-changing lineup of coffee from around the world. The ped mall is also home to a handful of street vendors, most notably Marco’s Grilled Cheese and George’s Gyros.
Here are another few places well worth visiting in downtown Iowa City: India CafÃ?© (319-354-2775; 227 E Washington; try the all-you-can-eat lunch buffet and don’t miss the rice pudding), Atlas World Grill (319-341-7700; 127 Iowa; known for it’s unique and tasty wraps), New Pioneer Co-op (319-338-9441; 22 S Van Buren; great natural foods and deli stop), and The Iowa City Public Library (319-356-5200; 123 S Linn; newly remodeled and exquisite, not to mention free internet access).
Whether you’ve come for the big game or not, Iowa City boasts of a rich historic tradition of dining, entertainment, and ambiance balanced with a unique economy of specialty shops and cultural diversity. Enjoy.
