Nadia Corwell

I did not expect to find a proper British tea room on a quiet Main Street in northeast…

By Nadia Corwell · Oct 15

October feels a little early to think about a holiday roast, but apparently that is exactly when the…

By Nadia Corwell · Oct 14

I could smell the smoke before I even made it through the parking lot, which felt like a…

By Nadia Corwell · Oct 14

Pumpkin picking always sounds like a quick fall errand until the farm has other ideas. You pull in…

By Nadia Corwell · Oct 13

Fall is usually when I remember how expensive a new jacket can be. That is also about the…

By Nadia Corwell · Oct 13

The trouble with visiting an Iowa orchard market for apples is that the apples rarely get the final…

By Nadia Corwell · Oct 12

I was expecting the usual RV park entrance. I was not expecting horses to be part of the…

By Nadia Corwell · Oct 12

I expected a quick breakfast stop. Then I walked in and realized the whole place was basically one…

By Nadia Corwell · Oct 11

October is when I start finding excuses to take the longer road through Iowa. A quick drive can…

By Nadia Corwell · Oct 10

I knew this was not going to be a normal grocery run when I looked at the total…

By Nadia Corwell · Oct 10

I meant to make a quick stop near the Mississippi and somehow ended up climbing three floors of…

By Nadia Corwell · Oct 9

I knew dinner was going to be a little different when I found the staircase leading beneath the…

By Nadia Corwell · Oct 9

A dining table has a rough job in my house. It has to handle everyday meals, paperwork, family…

By Nadia Corwell · Oct 8

I knew breakfast was going to be serious the moment the plate hit the table and I started…

By Nadia Corwell · Oct 8

I knew I was in trouble when the quilt backing alone needed more yardage than anything left in…

By Nadia Corwell · Oct 7

There is something very satisfying about finding an Iowa diner with the lights still on when almost everything…

By Nadia Corwell · Oct 7

The view was already good before the sun went down. Then the blue lights came on, and I…

By Nadia Corwell · Oct 6

I walked in looking for pierogi and immediately forgot about my shopping list. Cyrillic labels covered the shelves,…

By Nadia Corwell · Oct 6

Fresh-made noodles are a good reason to cross Iowa. This small restaurant caught my attention with a kitchen…

By Nadia Corwell · Oct 5

I went in looking for lunch and somehow came out planning three more meals. The sandwich was partly…

By Nadia Corwell · Oct 5

I knew dinner was heading in an interesting direction when the soup tasted like the squash had barely…

By Nadia Corwell · Oct 4

By October, I start treating Iowa orchard signs like road-trip suggestions. I may tell myself I am stopping…

By Nadia Corwell · Oct 4

I had barely stepped inside before the drive started feeling worth it. The smell of pizza hit first.…

By Nadia Corwell · Oct 3

I almost drove past this Iowa restaurant without noticing it. From the road, the place barely announces itself.…

By Nadia Corwell · Oct 3

I had to stop and look at the sandwich for a second before picking it up. The pastrami…

By Nadia Corwell · Oct 2

When people are lining up for donuts before the farm day has really started, I pay attention. That…

By Nadia Corwell · Oct 2

I thought I was stopping for apples. A few hours later, I was still there. I had wandered…

By Nadia Corwell · Oct 1

You know that moment when everyone else gets excited about the menu and the gluten-free person starts hunting…

By Nadia Corwell · Oct 1

I thought this would be one of those ten-minute history stops. A few old walls, a couple of…

By Nadia Corwell · Sep 30

You do not have to be in Kansas City or Texas to smell barbecue smoke halfway down the…

By Nadia Corwell · Sep 30

I keep hearing that Iowa is flat, and every fall I end up finding another trail that proves…

By Nadia Corwell · Sep 29

So where do Iowa quilters go now that JOANN is gone? Turns out, the answer involves a lot…

By Nadia Corwell · Sep 29

By October, Iowa back roads start looking like invitations. Changing leaves frame the highways, orchard signs pop up…

By Nadia Corwell · Sep 28

I went into this central Iowa restaurant telling myself I would be sensible. That plan lasted roughly until…

By Nadia Corwell · Sep 28

There are easier reasons to cross Des Moines before breakfast, but apparently I chose an apple fritter. I…

By Nadia Corwell · Sep 27

I had driven through enough eastern Iowa river towns to think I knew what was waiting around the…

By Nadia Corwell · Sep 27

I smelled the barbecue before I had even figured out where to park. That felt like a pretty…

By Nadia Corwell · Sep 26

By six in the morning, people are already showing up for pastries in this tiny Iowa town. Wait…

By Nadia Corwell · Sep 26

One tube of glue. That was supposed to be the whole trip. Then I started looking around. A…

By Nadia Corwell · Sep 25