<p>Saw that in a contest Grinnell (the town) was named 3rd in the entire country as Coolest Small Town. Bet it will be on the Grinnell website!</p>
<p>On a somewhat related note, the May/June edition of Midwest Living magazine features Des Moines, 54 miles west of Grinnell, as one of Five Top Food Towns in the Midwest, along with Madison, WI, Traverse City, MI, Ann Arbor, MI and Bloomington, IN. The Des Moines restaurants mentioned include La Mie, Uncle Wendell’s BBQ, 801 Chophouse, Django, Sage, Bistro Montage, Miyabi 9 and a gourmet grocery, Gateway Market. </p>
<p>It also mentions a bakery in nearby Pella, Jaarsma Bakery, and two restaurants in Iowa City, Hickory Park and the Red Avocado.</p>
<p>We’ve been to that bakery in Pella. It is lovely.</p>
<p>We also ate at a nice Ethiopian restaurant in Iowa City.</p>