Dining in Postville, Iowa

Small Town Food?
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I lived my first 10 years in Grinnell, Iowa.  All I remember besides counter dining at Cunningham Drugs, was the Long Horn Steak House and an A & W Root beer Drive In.

Postville is much smaller than Grinnell. It's about 2 square miles and  home to around 2,000 residents, but it sure has some curious food options.

Taste of Mexico
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Don and I were traveling through Postville, 2 years ago when we stopped for lunch. We didn't see many listings on Yelp, but we found Taste of Mexico, in this old corner building.  

Out of Towners
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We got a few looks when we entered.  The other diners seemed to be locals, who all spoke Spanish.  But we were welcomed to a table and given menus.  The menu was a bit weathered, with lots of glued on notices about, service refusal and added gratuity...

But the donkey picture was cute and the prices were cheap. 

​Authentic Decor

Living in Texas, we've eaten at a lot of authentic, family owned Mexican restaurants.  This kind of decor is not unusual. 

But this restaurant had its own Mexican grocery store and a party hall as well. There were also restrooms, but I didn't pay a visit when I heard of Don's adventure. "I had to step over some kind of frozen meats to get into the restroom!" He laughed.  He also was amused that there was a cup with toothbrushes in the men's room. 

Food
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Luckily we had already eaten our meal before Don shared that story. The tostada and burrito plates were only about $5.00!  And the food was right out of Mexico. Perfecto! Don even had a chance to  speak some Spanish with the owner, who warmed up quite a bit.  

Shopping
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After lunch, we walked down the block to the Glatt Market to get some food for dinner that night, since we would be staying at a farm B & B outside of town. 

​Nearby

Just around the corner,  I spotted two Muslim women walking away, in long skirts and head coverings. This didn't seem much like Iowa either.
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​In the Shop

When we entered the store, a man with the traditional hair, beard and dress of an Hasidic Jew, looked up from his conversation with the shop keeper. "Don't you look good!" He spoke to Don with an accent. That was an odd greeting, but Don responded with a cheerful, "Thanks!"   The gentleman was eager to know all about us and why we were shopping in a Kosher grocery store.  We were obvious outsiders, but I was amused at his question, since a number of people have thought I was Jewish in the past.  But we had quite a good time chatting for a while, until he needed to hurry on.

Shopping and Recent History
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After he left, the Ukrainian woman behind the counter began to open up. She told us about the local Kosher slaughter house that had been raided in 2008. Many illegal Mexican workers, were rounded up and jailed.  After the factory reopened, new immigrants came to work. She smiled and shook her head at all the changes. "The factory has had to adjust to the Muslim Somalis, who need to halt work for daily prayers."  

Somehow in recent years, the local Iowa folk, Hasidic Jews, Mexicans and Muslim Somalis have managed to live in this small town, combining their cultures.  It's a complicated story that lead me to some interesting books.  The history is worth Googling.

Dinner Snacks
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​Nadia was not Jewish, but she showed us around. She pointed out the Kosher wine used for Passover and helped us pick out a few snacks to have with our light dinner later at the barn.  

We headed out of town, but didn't manage to spot any cafes that might have been Somali owned. That would have completed our diverse dining experience!


Postville 1916
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As we headed out of town, we spotted a mural featuring an image of The Ringling Brother's visit to Postville in 1916.  We had a feeling this was the bit of Postville History that the old timer locals are most proud of.

Barn B & B
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​We traveled just a few miles to our B&B down the highway.  Our hosts were Iowa natives and went to Postville schools.  Our barn looked over a field of corn.  

There were cows and chickens and breakfast couldn't have been more All-American. 

It's been almost 2 years since our visit to Postville and my mind is still kind of boggled by the memory.  I would love to go back, stay longer, eat more... and ask more questions.