By
Jim Duncan
CVFDude@aol.com
Twitter.com/foodude
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Migsie’s burrito with chipotle aioli,
sour cream and fresh pico de gallo at
G. Mig’s, 128 Fifth St., West Des Moines,
255-4550. Kitchen hours are Sat. - Sun.
8 a.m. - 3 p.m., Tues. - Fri. 11 a.m.
- 2 p.m., Sun. - Wed. 5 p.m. - 8 p.m.
and Thurs. - Sat. 5 p.m. - 9 p.m. |
The bar and grill is an all-American institution
doused with romantic lore. Long before fern
bars, sports bars and brew pubs were invented,
neighborhood bars with short-order grills were
where mid-20th century writers like Raymond
Chandler, Nelson Algren and Studs Terkle hung
their hats and mastered the art of the short
sentence. Robert Sherwood invented film noir
in one. O. Henry found character inspirations
in others. These days the term has been hijacked
by big restaurants with full kitchens (Splash
Seafood Bar and Grill) and even by giant chains
(Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill and Bar), as
if the term alone creates a cozier, more “Cheers”-like
ambiance. Noir songwriter Tom Waits once advised
his audience to beware of any place that spelled
“grill” with an “e” on the end.
Today most authentic bar-and-grills in Iowa
don’t even call themselves that. In many Iowa
small towns, bars simply added grills after
the town lost its last café. Now they often
represent the only prepared food option next
to convenience stores. In the Des Moines metro,
no other restaurant genre has such peculiar
demographics. Our east side is loaded with wonderful,
old fashioned bar-and-grills such as East 14th
Street Pub, Gerri’s Tavern, Norwood Inn, Main
Gate Bar and Grill, East 25th Street Pub and
Kelly’s Little Nipper. Many of those open early
for breakfast, and all produce some excellent
scratch cooking. The south side has its share,
too, including Club 2000 and Orlondo’s on Park.
The ironically-named Highland Park Country Club
has been feeding excellent short-order food
to the north side for decades. In the western
parts of the metro, the only bar-and-grills
where one can imagine Raymond Chandler hanging
out are Eastern Europeans joints like Kula,
Estrada’s and Euro Bar.
One longtime exception was Giff Wagner’s. That
place was a sweet-hearted, surrogate day care
center where retirees hung out with the grandkids
of working moms. Loyal customers turned out
regularly for inexpensive specials like $8 rib
eye dinners and $1.25 tacos. Wagner’s death
last December was mourned like the end of an
era.
Since then the place has been remodeled and
renamed G. Mig’s Fifth Street Pub. New wooden
floors and furniture have polished the place
without much altering to the floor plan or any
of the ubiquitous TV screens. Wagner’s famous
country-western jukebox had been silenced on
my visits. The menu also suggested that the
place has been gentrified. There’s still a $10
steak night, but the cheap tacos have been replaced
with $8 nachos and quesadillas. It’s hard to
imagine a “blood orange olive oil and raspberry
balsamic vinegar” salad dressing ever showing
up on Giff’s menu. Same thing with “crab” salad
sandwiches, although the ones I tried were made
with chewy, salty surimi (artificial crab),
not crab. Other sandwich options included pastrami,
prime rib burgers, beef gyros, buffalo chicken
wraps and chicken breast. Pizzas were quite
thick and doughy with undercooked crust.
Grill work at breakfast (weekends only) was
much better. In fact, the short-order cooks
were so efficient and rhythmic that just watching
them work was a joy. Migsie’s burrito ($6) was
loaded with three eggs, chorizo, hash browns,
avocado, cheese and poblanos. It was served
with chipotle aioli, sour cream and excellent
freshly-made pico de gallo. A traditional breakfast
($5) delivered perfectly-cooked eggs and crispy
hash browns with good, thick cut bacon and excellent
toast. Gentrification did not cover tableware.
Knives, forks, spoons and plates were disposable
plastic.
Side Dishes
Niman Ranch’s farmer appreciation dinner this
year will be cooked by chefs Tyson Grant (Florida),
Charles Kassels (Phoenix), Frederic Morinnequ
(Ritz Carlton Grand Cayman), Scott Pampuch (Milwaukee),
Jeffrey Surprise (San Antonio) and John Villa
(TAO New York). Sept. 8 at Embassy Suites, (641)
579-6594 for reservations. CV
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