Fall Food in Iowa City

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Iowa City’s quaint charm has become very apparent in these remaining few weeks leading up to Halloween. Coming from a metropolis like Washington D.C., I am used to impersonal shopping complexes and giant department stores. While my hometown decorates for holidays–though noticeably less so in the last couple of years–it does not have the same close-knit, cozy feel as here. The trees are dressed in gowns of glowing lights, and local shops are putting out handwritten chalkboard signs advertising their spooky season specials. 

I have written about this before, but I usually take walks when I need a break to refresh my mind or want to explore more of my new surroundings. During one of my walks the other day, my curiosity (and appetite) was intrigued by all those chalkboards and their seasonal food items. So here are my recommended fall-themed treats in the area. 

Prairie Lights Cafe–the Headless Horseman 

For literature lovers such as myself, Prairie Lights Bookstore is a staple. I usually prefer tea, but the sea salt promise of their cafe’s “Headless Horseman” piqued my interest. The smoky taste of the autumnal flavors added a distinct flair to the ordinary bitterness of coffee. The Headless Horseman has a classic flavor with only a slight alteration, noticeable but not overbearing. Plus, an unintentional bonus is that carrying the steamy drink will warm your hands against the blustering chill of Iowan wind. 

La Tea–Pumpkin Spice Iced Tea

The icy drink was a sharp contrast to the toasty sips of the Headless Horseman, yet its refreshing chill was certainly not a downside. While the sweetness was a little overwhelming in such a large portion, the tea’s earthy flavor felt like the embodiment of autumn. There was a vaguely oaty aftertaste to the drink, boosting its unique spiced palate. If you ever get tired of the typical pumpkin spice latte, try an iced tea variation instead. 

Insomnia Cookies–Pumpkin Chocolate Chip & Apple Cinnamon Cookies 

Between the two cookies I tried, I would recommend the pumpkin chocolate chip cookie over the apple cinnamon one. The former had a satisfyingly soft middle with melty chocolate chips, bordered by crispy edges. The latter, on the other hand, was disrupted by the overly chewy apple chunks that offset the cookie’s crumbly texture. The pumpkin cookie also delivered its distinguishable fall flavor, whereas the cinnamon in the apple one was buried beneath the apple’s fruity taste. However, both were delicious desserts that broke through the fatigue of a late-night study session–especially since October is midterm season. 

T’spoons–Apple Cinnamon Muffin & Pumpkin Sugar Donut 

Similar to Insomnia Cookies, I ended up trying two different items from here, with one emerging as the winner. This time, apple cinnamon comes out victorious, as the muffin was a delightful treat during a gloomy fall day of overcast. Biting into the top was a delicious textural blend of soft cake and crunchy sugar granules. The apple tang and cinnamon spice were subtle, but sufficient. While the donut held a rich pumpkin flavor, it was dimmed by the cake’s dryness. Next time the gray, cloudy abyss of sky gets you feeling demotivated, consider popping into Tspoons for an apple or pumpkin pick-me-up. 

 

Until next time!

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An Anaphylactic Oktoberfest

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Happy autumn, Hawkeyes!

As the midterm season winds down, I am able to admire the actual season as it hits Iowa City. That crisp fall scent is in the chilly breeze, the leaves are tinted russet, and paper ghosts are haunting storefronts. Though my enjoyment of October is evident now, the beginning of the month did start off a bit rough for me. 

After four years of high school German classes, I have a personal commitment to celebrating Oktoberfest (or at least the American version of it). So I of course jumped at the opportunity to go to Amana Colonies–a quaint, old-timey village with rich ties to German history and culture–with some friends from my dorm floor. One of our first stops was at a bakery, where I bought a “monster cookie” that truly lived up to its devilish name. 

I almost always carry an Epi Pen and Benadryl in my backpack because I have a nut allergy. However, our group of five was already crammed tightly in my friend’s car without the addition of another bulky bag, so I opted for a small purse with my wallet and a couple of other bare essentials. The most glaring essential that was missing was the Epi Pen and Benadryl. This real-world foreshadowing was unintentional on my part. 

I asked two employees if the cookie had nuts (as is routine for those with an allergy) and, reassured by two “no’s,”  I happily bit into the giant, M&M-speckled dessert…

Almost instantly, my taste buds set off alarms, a spell of knowing dread prickling down my spine, and the ominous itch forming in my throat. I rushed back inside the store and asked again if the cookie contained nuts. The shocking plot twist: the cookie “did not contain nuts, only peanut butter.” 

I consider myself to have a milder allergy, but that’s when I have Benadryl with me. I have never not had Benadryl with me during a reaction. Little did I know how powerful an opponent this peanut monster could be, “the creature from the black legume.”

Amana’s charming old-fashionedness suddenly became its greatest problem. There were no pharmacies that had the kind of medicine I needed. The closest alternative was a Casey’s several blocks away. At this point, though, I was more embarrassed than worried. I had planned this outing for my friends, and now I was disrupting it because of a cookie. I could hear the faint tunes of the festivities beginning in the opposite direction of the Caseys, and I told them they could go without me while I quickly resolved this minor inconvenience. Let it be a testament to how loyal friends they are for refusing, especially since we’ve only known each other for a couple of months. 

As I booked it down the sidewalk, chugging as much water as I could along the way, the “minor inconvenience” was becoming increasingly less minor. The devastating reveal, once I finally burst through the doors of the Caseys’, was that they had no Benadryl, only children’s seasonal allergy medicine. I doubted it would be effective enough, but an antihistamine was an antihistamine. I downed the plastic shot of tangy medicine in a way that would make most Germans proud. Though, as I suspected, it didn’t alleviate the symptoms. 

I stood outside in the grass, bent over as vomit violently exploded out of my mouth and nose, stinging my throat and clogging my airway. I was between the distant parade of Oktoberfest and a cemetery that was next to Casey’s, which was a strangely symbolic setting now that I think about it. My friends (who are somehow still my friends after this) patiently waited until the final wave of bile passed, when I insisted we return to Amana and continue our day as if this hadn’t happened. 

My throat remained scratchy, and my eyes were still slightly blurry with water, but I thought the worst of it was over. I soon found out I was wrong. 

 We were browsing a local shop when the pink welts appeared on my body and demanded I scratch them until the skin was raw. As I frantically ran my nails along the swollen hives, my vision began to darken. Losing the strength to walk on my own, and with the nausea reemerging in my stomach, I had my friends lead me out of the store. I threw up in the grass for a little while longer, my sight reduced to an inky pool of black with swirls of purple. 

I was practically carried into the backseat of my friend’s car before we sped down the road to a nearby Walgreens in Cedar Rapids. At long last, I had the divine antidote that is Benadryl. Within two minutes of taking it, the allergic reaction stopped. The switch was turned off, and I felt a kind of relief I had never had before. 

I insisted–again–that we go back to Amana and try this for the third time. Fortunately for us, the third time really is the charm. We did some shopping and ate a heavy schnitzel dinner, which I think we all needed, given the stress of the day. I got a refund from that bakery, though the staff was very reluctant to return my $5.34 (I guess, even with inflation, a human life is only worth $5.33). 

Suffice it to say, this was not my most wunderbar Oktoberfest, considering the pressure I put on my friends and the heart attacks I nearly gave my parents when I called them about this. Yet it would be unrealistic to expect my college experience to be all joyous moments. I can appreciate the beauty of this season even more because of the not-so-beautiful features of it.  

Until next time! 

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A Laundry Lament

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That dreadful day of the week is here again. I’ll have to lug a heavy bin of dirty clothes and laundry detergent pods down five flights of stairs (because the elevator is out of order today, of course). Then I’ll have to balance the bin between my hip and the wall, fumbling for my key card to scan into the room of washers and dryers. I’ll do my best to separate the clothes based on color as other people push past me in the crowded space, before any more of my wardrobe becomes stained with burgundy red or pinkish blush. I’ll toss the sweet-scented Tide pod into the drum, hoping my clothes don’t pick up the stale mildew odor permeating the inside of the machine. I’ll wrestle with the key card scanners until it finally accepts payment and lets me start the cycle. 

My arms and back aching, I’ll head up the five flights of stairs like Sisyphus with a laundry basket boulder. I’ll set a timer, and once it goes off, I’ll make the trek yet again down to the washers. I’ll toss the clothes in the dryer, rip out the soft patches of lint in the lint trap, and set another timer. At last, this weekly odyssey is almost complete–until I open the dryer door to find my clothes still devastatingly damp because I was unlucky enough to pick one of the machines that doesn’t actually dry.

At home, laundry was an afterthought for me. I could throw a load in the machine and then go about my business, only returning to hang the clothes and run the dryer once I felt like it. Here, I have to pencil in “laundry” on my agenda in the same way I would schedule homework assignments. Being a student at the University of Iowa feels like a constant blur of motion, always another event to attend or another worksheet to turn in. Sometimes it’s easy to disregard how much time and energy the menial tasks like chores can eat up, so it’s important to set aside enough of your day to get them done. 

Stay strong, fellow dorm residents! Until next time. 

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Don’t Get Bored, Get Exploring

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Within my camera roll, there are 28 metallic bird statues. I remember opening my photos app last year to show a friend the pictures we snapped together–only for her to completely forget about our photos and instead question why the album was so bloated with this random mascot. 

I first came to the University of Iowa for a two-week writing program before my senior year of high school. This was during the college’s anniversary celebration, “Herky on Parade,” so the scowling Hawkeye was stationed on various corners of Iowa City and even Coralville. My summer classes and spontaneous outings with camp friends took up a decent chunk of my time, but there were still those inevitable moments where I felt like I had absolutely nothing to do and no one to talk to. 

I figured I would turn these boring instances into an opportunity to explore an unfamiliar place. Accompanied by a pair of headphones and my favorite playlist, I went for an aimless walk simply to see what I hadn’t already. I kept encountering new statues and ended up googling them, only to discover a map of each statue location. I decided that this could be an interesting boredom repellent and a more guided way to uncover new campus spots: pick a different statue and go find it. 

As ridiculous as that sounds, it actually helped me become more confident in my place on campus. I had a “reason” to visit new locations and a goal to keep me entertained during the mundane moments. I developed my own shortcuts and was even able to give my family directions to certain places when they came to pick me up. Returning as an actual student this year, I had the reassurance that I somewhat knew the primary parts of campus–and also the reassurance that it’s okay to explore the parts I don’t know.  

My advice to any new college student–using the little wisdom a freshman has–is to find ways to make your own fun and appreciate the seemingly insignificant tasks you do for yourself. College life can be very busy and social, but that doesn’t mean there are never moments when you feel stranded with nothing to do. Take advantage of these instances and try to think up creative ways to derive value from them. 

Most of the Herkys from last year’s celebration are gone, though a few sporadic ones do remain. Here is a brief overview of many different campus locations that are worth visiting, told through the graveyard of statue school spirit:

Now that I’ve shared some campus and off-campus locations to check out (and cleared these statues out of my camera roll before iCloud hunts me down and forces me to buy more storage), I hope you’ll consider exploring your new surroundings. Make Iowa City feel like home by making it familiar to you. 

Until next time!

 

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