Cityview | Central Iowa's Independent Weekly

Cityview’s Summer Bar Guide

Summertime means warm weather, and warm weather means sitting on a patio enjoying a cool drink. So what better way to kick off the start of summer than with our annual Summer Bar Guide? The following is a comprehensive list of taverns, nightclubs and favorite watering holes in central Iowa. While there are many great patios throughout the metro, our staff highlights five in the area where patrons can sit back, relax and take in the view all at once. By no means is this a list of the best, but rather five places that are unique in style and location. They are the perfect outdoor destinations where you can kiss your worries goodbye and say hello to summer. Cheers to seeing you there....Read More>>

Write-ins, an old scandal, and Mr. and Mrs. Dvorsky

This is bad for Chet Culver: In last week’s primary, 2,150 Democrats cast write-in votes against the governor, who was unopposed on the primary ballot. That’s 3.8 percent of the 55,921 votes cast for the race — the highest percentage of write-in votes against an unopposed gubernatorial or senatorial incumbent of either party in recent memory.

That’s not a good sign for Democrats.

Eight years ago, when Tom Vilsack was running for a second term, the write-ins against him totaled 1.4 percent. The write-in votes against Sen. Tom Harkin in his last three elections ranged from 0.6 percent to 1 percent. (But Chuck Grassley also has a little problem. Republican write-ins against him last week totaled 1.9 percent of the 184,431 cast. In his most recent runs — in 2004 and 1998 — the write-ins were a minuscule 0.2 percent.)....Read More>>

Young, post-hardcore rockers A Skylit Drive surprised by their success

Youth is being served in this town like never before with the addition of all-ages shows at venues like the Vaudeville Mews, House of Bricks and People’s Court.
A few weeks ago, I interviewed Motion City Soundtrack for this column. Looking ahead at upcoming performances by artists like Justin Bieber, Attack Attack!, Ingrid Michaelson, The Devil Wears Prada and Adam Lambert, it seems as though there is no shortage of breaking, young artists playing Des Moines, including the California-based, post-hardcore sextet A Skylit Drive....Read More>>

Pad Thai’s missionary noodles

Naming a restaurant after a single dish has produced mixed results in Des Moines. Spaghetti’s, Crepes, and Philly Cheese Steaks didn’t last long here, yet Rice Bowl, Coney Island, Noodles and many Maid-Rites have all endured the fickle winds of taste. Pad Thai has a lot more going for it than food on a plate. Jutamas Roongsawang and Ekhasit Kittivirunwat’s new restaurant on Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway is named for the national dish of Thailand, one that also represents sustainable economics, and making ends meet in hard times. Thailand Prime Minister Phibunsongkhram popularized the dish in the 1930s, much like Herbert Hoover did corned beef hash, to inspire citizens to stretch food budgets in the Depression. Wanting to wean his people off imported rice, Phibunsongkhram promoted the dish to encourage noodle making in a country with a wheat surplus. Pad Thai became a symbol of Thai nationalism and continues to gain popularity long after the Depression ended...Read More>>”