Mondo's Tomato Pie: Avoid!

In a word, avoid Mondo%26#39;s in Coralville. I had read some positive reviews and thought ';Let%26#39;s not eat at the known quality restaurants (Brown Bottle, Olive Garden) when we%26#39;re in Coralville visiting our son at school, let%26#39;s try something new.

It was a mistake. From start to finish the waiter pushed the expensive entrees, wines, etc. and everything was pretty pathetic. We didn%26#39;t even want our leftovers.

I probably would have said something but we were entertaining our son%26#39;s girlfriend for dinner and I didn%26#39;t want to cause a scene.

Mondo's Tomato Pie: Avoid!

That%26#39;s too bad. We%26#39;ve had some good meals at that small chain. Next time you%26#39;re in IC and want to find some value and good food, you might want to try:

-- Jade Sisters. It%26#39;s in a strip mall on the same side of Highway 6 as Mondo%26#39;s... head toward the mall. Better menu and prices than Three Samuri, which is fun but can be overrun by drunken fraternity parties.

-- Devotay.. On the other side of Van Allen Hall from downtown, the small bistro owned by Chef Kurt Friese offers a tapas menu for sharing, so you can have a decent varied meal without spending a fortune. Friese is a big slow/local food advocate (don%26#39;t take that to mean slow service... the concept is to allow diners to enjoy the food AND each other%26#39;s company instead of turning tables over for a profit.) He publishes Edible Iowa River Valley -- www.edibleiowa.com -- which ALWAYS has articles on where to get great food. (Graze, downtown, does kind of the same thing, but we find it overpriced for what we got.)

-- New Pioneer Co-Op... Not a restaurant, but they%26#39;ve got a to-go section that allows you to pull together a gourmet tail gate. Go Hawks!

-- Red Avocado -- North of downtown, near Mercy Hospital. It%26#39;s a funky vegetarian treasure with a national reputation.

--- 126 -- Downtown, on the west end of the ped mall, this is a little more upscale, but still reasonable, particularly lunch. Another advocate for local foods, this is the one my daughter, a UI junior, and son, a UI freshman, insist on eating at when we visit.

Mondo's Tomato Pie: Avoid!

when you visit your son next time, check the on-line

restaurant inspections before you visit.

First of all, Olive Garden is not a ';known quality restaurant.'; Things might taste good sometimes, but so do TV dinners and thats basically what you%26#39;re getting- pre-packaged, preservative stuffed, frozen meals.

Also, sometimes the more expensive items actually are better (that%26#39;s why they cost more) so your waiter was trying to recomend something you would like. And that%26#39;s just what servers do. They make thier money off of tips, which increase with a hgher bill - with the exception of some cases when customers assume everything is the servers fault.

If you don%26#39;t like your food, politely tell your server and get something new. Don%26#39;t ';cause a scene.'; Then, tip your waiter well for being so accommodating.

I have to agree with Bjengaking... we are new to the area and still trying things out. We had the oh-so sad Sunday brunch at Mondo%26#39;s and it was enough to make us decide to avoid it in the future. The food and service were pitiful.

The Jade Sisters was quite good, a nice little surprise in a town of Chinese mucky fast-food. We look forward to going back there again.

On the topic of places to revisit, we also recommend Oasis Falafel and Exotic India. Oasis Falafel has good cheap food, and a funky campus feel. The service tends to be slowwww at Exotic India, but the food makes up for that overall. We want to try their lunch buffet sometime soon.