By Jim Duncan CVFDude@aol.com

West of the city on the road to Adel, I spotted a soon-to-open Z'Mariks Noodle Cafè. Surely this was a sign that the world is turning upside down. Z'Mariks is synonymous with downtown Iowa City where its inexpensive noodle and rice bowls serve an obvious customer - budget-minded students seeking something their parents don't eat. On the surface, Z'Mariks seemed as appropriate in Dallas County as a hip-hop club in West Glen. Research soon revealed the world had already turned. Another Z'Mariks is open and thriving across the street from Jordan Creek Town Center. Was this the end of all boundaries, the final triumph of the youth culture? I had to see for myself.

Z'Mariks blazes many trails. The first West Coast style pan-ethnic noodle shop in Iowa is also the first counter cultural restaurant to advertise a location as "Behind the Kum & Go." That helped me find the place, west of the restaurant row on Jordan Creek's artificial lake. Ambiance-wise, Z'Mariks works the same way the big franchise joints to its east do, transporting customers in time or place. But, instead of presenting a corporate-controlled Italian-Chinese-Mexican-Chesapeke experience, this locally owned noodle shop sends one back to college, with simulated wood floors and reproductions of European food posters. The music was the college coffeehouse variety and TVs covered sports, but with no volume.

The place is in touch with its feminine side. Judging from the crowds, that's good business strategy. Bar owners would kill for the customers we saw there for lunch - mostly well-dressed young women. At dinnertime it also accommodated softball moms, with whole softball teams in tow. It all made sense. Where else can you find a wide choice of pasta dishes, that don't include meatballs, and sell for less than $6 (kids' meals cost less than $3.50)?

How do they do it? The low-cost system means you wait in line, order and pay; meals are delivered to your table. (A conspicuous tip jar defiled the cashier station.) Vegetarian offerings included nine noodle bowls, six rice bowls, four salads and two soups. Add-ons included shrimp, chicken, tofu, cheeses and veggies. Things were surprisingly good, but uneven, for the prices. The best bowls were: bow tie pesto, with an obvious pine nut flavor; and a mac & cheese made with kid-pleasing curly cavitappi in a blend of cheeses that captured that most difficult texture. Alfredo fettuccine was fine too, with perfect al dente noodles and a sauce topped with fresh herbs. Less successful was "kith-a-raki" with orzo overcooked to mush.

Rice bowls didn't offer the range of choices that the noodle menu did. All came with boring long grain white rice, or a brown rice could be substituted for a small charge. No jasmine, basmati, or coluso, nor any rose, sweet, or sticky rice. The customer base isn't exactly Asian, but there's so much more to rice bowls than offered here. That said, Seoul saute and Thai stir fried bowls both came with perky sauces and fresh vegetables. Some vegetables seemed ubiquitous. Broccoli florets appeared in just about everything we ordered. What happened to their stalks? That's the part of the plant that works best for stir-frying and sautèing. Other veggies were better, especially perfectly cooked snap peas and carrots.

Salads were quite nice for this time of year, with crisp romaine dominant, nice homemade dressings and fresh Feta. Good Italian bread accompanied salad and soup orders. Condiments impressed with top-grade soy and pepper sauces, plus fresh sliced lemons and limes. Even "to-go" containers were superior products - the kind with which students build dinnerware sets, to their parents' chagrin.

Z'Marik's Noodle Cafè
7450 Bridgewood Blvd., WDM, 267-1240
Sun. - Wed. 11-8; Thurs. - Sat. 11-9

Food News

Sonny's Pizza Bistro is a Scornovacco family satellite that makes its own sausage, meatballs, pizza dough, sauce and something called "meatball stuffed shrimp?" Open at 6594 NW 6th Drive, Saylor Township...Tony Lemmo (Cafè di Scala) is talking about opening a pizzeria in Dogtown.

Comment on this story | Return to top