Iowa City's TOP CHEF competition!

Don't miss your chance to sample the finest food and drink Downtown has to offer - all under one roof! The Downtown Association of Iowa City is inviting Downtown chefs and bartenders to participate in the first annual "Top Chef: Downtown" competition. 

Top Chef and DTA reception takes place Wednesday March 30th, 5 - 7:30pm at hotelVetro in downtown Iowa City. A portion of the proceeds from Top Chef: Downtown will benefit the "Make Change with your Change" parking meter donation program in downtown Iowa City. The Downtown Association of Iowa City (DTA) is providing this forum, as its annual membership meeting and reception. The forum allows chefs and bartenders to showcase their culinary and mixology talents and market their food and drink to a wide audience of Downtown business people and patrons.


Chefs will face off and compete to wow both judges and patrons with one signature dish from their restaurant. Additionally, bartenders from will compete for the title of "Master Mixologist" by serving their most creative cocktail.  

A panel of judges will sample dishes and drinks from every contestant and will determine the winners. Patrons will vote for the People's Choice winners.  A limited number of tickets are still available for thus event are $10 and RSVPs are required. Please RSVP via email to DTA Executive Director Nick Arnold or by calling 319.354.0863.

Think Green! Iowa City Green Drinks meets Thursday February 10

The next Green Drinks gathering is happening this Thursday,  February 10th, 5:30pm, at The Red Avocado (521 E. Washington St.) At the January gathering, we talked about camping trips and Earth Day events, so we were obviously thinking about Spring already! We also talked about Prairie Preview which is happening on Tuesday, March 8th at Parkview Church on the corner of Dubuque and Foster Road. If you haven't been, it's definitely an event worth going to, sponsored by the Johnson County Heritage Trust.

Green Drinks is an international organization in 745 cities worldwide. Iowa City Green Drinks, one of 7 in Iowa, meets every 2nd Thursday.  Everyone is invited to join this informal group for food and/or beverages while discussing a wide range of environmental issues (and ideas) in the Iowa City area. Green Drinks is a great way to connect with and get ideas from other local environmentally-minded people.

For general information and a list of local green events visit the website. To receive email reminders and info on Iowa City Green Drinks, join the email list     

Iowa City GREEN drinks at Red Avocado, Thursday

The next Green Drinks gathering is happening this Thursday, December 9th at The Red Avocado (521 E. Washington St.) beginning at 5:30 pm.

Recent gatherings have included Iowa City locals, students, and visitors from Kansas City and Chicago.

Green Drinks is an international organization in 700 cities worldwide. Iowa City Green Drinks, one of 8 in Iowa, meets every 2nd Thursday. Everyone is invited to join this informal group for food and/or beverages while discussing a wide range of environmental issues (and ideas) in the Iowa City area. Green Drinks is a great way to connect with other local environmentally-minded people.

For general info and a list of local green events visit the website.
To receive email reminders and info on Iowa City Green Drinks, join the email list.

Green Drinks meets again...Thursday September 9

Iowa City Green Drinks meets on the 2nd Thursday of each month, and the next gathering is this Thursday, September 9th at The Red Avocado (521 E. Washington St.) beginning at 5:30 pm.
Anyone interested in discussing a wide range of environmental issues (and ideas) in the Iowa City area is welcome to join this informal group for food and/or beverages.

The August Green Drinks gathering featured Celebrity Chef & Food Activist Rocky Barnette, along with the Food & Water Watch team to talk about fair food policy and how we can help on a local level.
 Green Drinks is a great way to learn and to connect with other local environmentally-minded people.
For general info and a list of local green events visit the website. To receive email reminders and info on Iowa City Green Drinks, join the email list.

Green Drinks, Red Avocado & Iowa City EcoCabs

Iowa City Green Drinks meets on the second Thursday of each month, and the next gathering is this Thursday, July 8th at The Red Avocado (521 E. Washington St.) beginning at 5:30 pm. Everyone is invited to join this informal group for food and/or beverages while discussing a wide range of environmental issues (and ideas) in the Iowa City area.

At the June gathering, our local contact Risa Dotson- Eicke reported that the group discussed bottled water and two 2009 documentaries: GasLand and Tapped. "We also talked about edible planting in urban areas, like medians in Des Moines and beans in downtown Iowa City. We discussed the uses of used kitchen grease from restaurants, including bio-diesel, and whether or not the containers that soy milk and boxed soup come in are recyclable." Green Drinks is a great way to learn and to connect with other local environmentally-minded people. For general info and a list of local green events visit the website. To receive email reminders and info on Iowa City Green Drinks, join the email list.

By the way, The Red Avocado has been with us here in downtown Iowa City for more than 10 years. If you check the website for this vegetarian/vegan restaurant, you will see that they have started working with Iowa City Ecocabs, a local bicycle cab service which will deliver Red Avocado lunches every Friday to the downtown area. Sounds like an interesting topic for another post!

Check it out: Iowa City Green Drinks Gathering on June 10

The next Iowa City Green Drinks gathering is happening this Thursday, June 10th at The Red Avocado (521 E. Washington St.) beginning at 5:30 pm. Green Drinks is an international organization in 700 cities worldwide. Iowa City Green Drinks, one of 8 in Iowa, meets every 2nd Thursday.

Everyone is invited to join this informal group for food and/or beverages while discussing a wide range of environmental issues (and ideas) in the Iowa City area. Green Drinks is a great way to connect with other local environmentally-minded people.

For general info and a list of local green events visit the website.  To receive email reminders and info on Iowa City Green Drinks, join the email list.