Don't Eat Here

I should have known by the pop music blaring from the speaker outside The Plain and Fancy that it’s not as Amish as it’s cracked up to be. In fact, a more apt name would be "The Plain and Crappy, and Expensive."

If the music hadn’t given it away, our “Amish” host’s lavalier mic should have. That or something they had called "Amish Experience F/X Theater." In all fairness, the place doesn’t claim to adhere to the strict doctrine of the Amish. It’s just Amish-ish.

I enjoy things both plain and fancy, but for some reason the combo proved deadly. As a ravenous consumer of local foods, I was optimistic about my odds at the P&F. I figured that even a copy of a cuisine religiously mandated by an Ordnung had to be good. I was wrong.

As Seth quipped after our meal, "If I were Amish I would hate this place." Well I'm not Amish, and I do.

Also, don’t eat at the Red Avocado in Iowa City. It’s everything meat eaters say about vegetarians come true.