By Jim Duncan CVFDude@aol.com

East Side Grill & Vineyard

The East Side possesses the heart of a small town. More than in any other part of Des Moines, its sense of community bleeds the true blood of loyalty to its neighborhoods and their institutions. Some East Siders tell us they have dined out three nights a week for decades without ever crossing the river to eat. They swear they never will, too. But Lee Township is suddenly a community in crisis as two main arteries in this town-within-a-city have hemorrhaged.

Four Seasons, Judy Ames' venerable diner, closed as usual during the Iowa State Fair, but this year it never re-opened. Soon after that, Hilltop Lounge & Restaurant, a 700-seat facility that has surely hosted more wedding receptions, graduations and political action meetings than any other place in Central Iowa, announced it would close in November, barring the appearance of a surprise buyer. These two restaurants put in a combined 83 years of community service - helping people with their walkers, calling cabs when dessert was served, loaning out umbrellas, remembering birthdays and the names of everyone's grandchildren. Small town dynamics are subject to unique laws of physics. One of them is that a single legend can be replaced, but the sudden disappearance of multiple legends creates a vacuum that will suck the soul out of a place that doesn't fight back.

The East Side is no such place. As soon as Four Seasons closed, D's Main Gate Lounge, previously known as a NASCAR bar, began serving breakfast and lunch, beginning at the un-lounge-like hour of 6 a.m., a time when the Four Seasons was already packed with regulars. Soon after that, a sign appeared on the window of the Four Seasons announcing that "Waveland East" was coming soon. That gesture makes sense, but a name change might be wise in this most provincial part of town. Then, kitty corner from the Hilltop, East Side Grill & Vineyard (ESG) opened, serving lunch and dinner with the same friendly style of Four Seasons.

The first thing we noticed at ESG was that someone helped us up the steps, quickly informing us that there was handicap access on the other side of the building. The second thing we noticed was that this used to be a Mexican restaurant. New owners had the practical sense to leave the superb hand-crafted booths and the shiny bar alone. Even some parrots and a Corona sign survived the transition. ESG has a modest slogan: "Well done meals for a rare price." To those ends, it mixes some scratch cooking (a Four Seasons signature) with more convenient, trendy processed dishes. Burgers were old-school, irregular hand patties of fresh beef, cooked to perfection and loaded to order. Gyros of lamb were sliced with a sear, but they were served on pita that fell apart badly, a tell tale sign of either old bread, or bread that has been subjected to rapid temperature changes. The Mexican reminders made me wish for fresh tortillas with my gyros. Hot beef sandwiches were state of the diner art, made from flavorful pot roast, not the boring rounds so popular on the West Side. Soups of the day included chicken and dumplings with old-fashioned spoon dumplings.

Pasta favorites can be ordered with good homemade meatballs. Deep-fried chicken was served so fast it nearly burned our tongue. Steaks particularly lived up to the restaurant's motto. Where else can you find a U.S. Choice filet, treated to the Greek (creamy) version of de Burgo, with soup or salad, potato and bread, for $12.50? In that vein, a children's menu offered four dinners under $4, and glasses of house wine cost $3. A refreshingly candid waitress admitted that desserts came from Sam's Club.

You can't replace legends like Four Seasons and Hilltop, but the spirit of the East is alive here.

Food Skinny

First Cup opened this summer in the Grand View College neighborhood, with coffee, full breakfasts, deli and karaoke, live music, movie nights and a smoking section. 2100 E. 14th St. ... The Twisted Bean, a coffee drive-by, has opened at 6155 S.E. 14th Street. CV

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