New Dining Trends Take Hold In “Meat-And-Potatoes” Iowa

Writers for the Des Moines Register newspaper who spoke with experts about trends in technology, health and dining found, for example, that Iowa’s chefs are catering more to the dietary requirements of vegans and vegetarians. Though “still a meat-and-potatoes kind of place,” they wrote, Iowans can find restaurants that serve tasty vegetarian meals. Other Iowa trends uncovered: gourmet pizza shops offering smaller pizzas and one slice servings; epicurean meals served in “one-night restaurants” at special events; increased use of non-traditional pork cuts, such as pork bellies and shanks; more menus featuring hand-crafted sausages and sausage dishes; greater use of unusual and exotic ingredients, such as smoked olive oil, hay, local Iowa honey and pimento cheese; and the re-emergence of pies, “both sweet and savory.”