Let’s get right to the point here. We love great food. We seek great food. We find great food. Then we eat the great food. And here in Iowa we have come to know that some of the best ways to make all that happen is the good’ole fashion church supper. The annual Korean Food Bazaar at All Nations Baptist Church has attracted their own families, all around food lovers, and enthusiasts from all over the Iowa City area. On this day it brought in Team Goodvin for another round of memorable meals on The Iowa Gallivant!
The welcoming started within a second of walking into All Nations Baptist Church and you were instantly lured to the aroma of delicious food coming from the church hall. Step up and pay for your meal tickets from the ladies at the table and get after that incredible meal you came for.
Start with a cool and very refreshing drink as you walk in with a glass of cinnamon ginger punch. This has the sweet and spiced flavor that Korean folks have been knocking back for generations during these gatherings. Garnished with toasted pine nuts, this icy drink gives you a quick kick start to the meal.
A legion of loyal volunteers comes together for this meal and they are incredible when it comes to walking you through the choices. We’re no experts on Korean food and they made us feel right at home explaining the flavors, textures, and ingredients as we made our way down the line. Top left is the Rice cake in spicy sauce. Just the right amount of heat in the sauce that coats the chewy dumpling like rice cake and tender veggies.
My personal favorite on the day was the fish cake skewers. The fish cakes were very tasty but the broth it was swimming in was something I could consume by the gallon. Our daughter Leah LOVES sushi so she was excited to get a veggie Gimbop. Korea’s own roll of sticky rice and seaweed packed with delicious and fresh ingredients. Gigi’s favorite was Bulgogi. One of the greatest beef dishes on Earth and you can thank Korea for it. Luckily, you can get this in Iowa City too! With it was fluffy rice, more freshly cooked veggies and a lot of the classic fermented cabbage known as kimchi. If you know Korean food you know there would be plenty of kimchi to go around.
Family was the theme of this day’s visit and the smiles from everyone that working the bazaar made everything that much better. Their traditions and creative food were on full display with every smile that saw us have a beautiful meal. Home cooking is the best kind of cooking no matter where you’re from and there’s plenty of it to go around at All Nations Baptist Church every year in late April.
On behalf of our entire family, we thank all the volunteers who put in countless hours to organize and pull-off events such as this. Your hard work and genuine gratefulness was beautiful to see. This was a church supper we’ll never forget. We hope to see you all again!