By Jim Duncan CVFDude@aol.com

Michael’s Restaurant & Lounge

Michael’s Restaurant & Lounge 4041 Urbandale Ave. Des Moines 255-9894

Food Dude recently declared that East Side restaurants breed a greater sense of community than those in any other part of Des Moines. Readers quickly complained that our point of view was blind to the charms of Beaverdale. This column and our ink brother at Relish have both praised the legendary Christopher’s as well as Chef’s Kitchen, but to clear up our overall vision of the Beaverdale food scene, we heeded readers’ advice and headed to Michael’s.

Our first impression was similar to what one feels when opening a time capsule. Stylish diners seem to take their fashion cues from magazine and album covers, such as Golf Digest circa 1960, or “Perry Como’s Greatest Hits.” Whenever we visited, Hogan caps and cable-stitched cardigans were de riguer with Michael’s lunch crowd. Dinnertime was less masculine, but no less, Kennedy era. Ladies still powdered their noses here, and hostesses anticipated their questions by greeting guests with, “Don’t worry, your regular table is still open.” Breakfast brought a huge, more diverse crowd, equally divided between a younger set that filled the entire dark bar room (smoking) and a family set that packed the bright dining room (non-smoking).

Like most neighborhood cafés with significant bar business, this is an everybody-knows-your-name atmosphere. Waitresses (we never saw a male waiter) also seemed to know everyone’s drink of choice and favorite grandchild. They were quite patient with newcomers, too. Daily specials spark the dining room business — catfish Monday, rib Tuesday, prime rib Wednesday and New York strip Thursday all presented full dinners for under $15, including salad or soup and side dishes. Our prime rib and New York strip were both perfectly executed, and that’s a rare thing even in more expensive steakhouses.

The superstar of this kitchen, though, is the great food icon of Iowa — the breaded pork tenderloin. A little perspective: This sandwich was invented in Cedar Rapids’ Czech community in the late 19th century, not in 20th century Indiana as Hoosier propaganda asserts. It’s so important here that the Iowa Pork Producers (IPP) now declare a Tenderloin of the Year, and nominations for that award rose from 90 in 2004 to 274 last year. The original winner was Darrell’s Place in Audubon County, which is also the home turf of Michael’s owner. The second IPP winner was Dairy Sweet in Dunlap. Jonesy’s in Solon has been advertising the best tenderloin in the state for decades. We’ve tried all of those places, and Michael’s is better. It ranks with 25th Street Café’s as the best we’ve had — crunchy, thick and huge.

Nice dinner touches included: fresh vegetable medleys, such as zucchini and sweet peppers rather than the ubiquitous carrots and broccoli; good gravy (hey, this is the 1960s isn’t it?); excellent hand made burgers; and homemade soups. Salads were more regrettably stuck in the ’60s: Even a “vinaigrette” dressing was horribly sweet, which probably suits the mostly iceberg lettuce. Breakfast was highlighted by some good apple cakes and an “Audubon County” sausage gravy with biscuits. Mike’s potatoes were a welcome scratch-made alternative to standard frozen hash browns.

Desserts were ordinary, and the wine list was more of a wine Post-it note, but the bar was a fun, full-service place with $2 bloody Marys. And in ’60s mode, Michael’s is one of the few restaurants in town where smokers and non-smokers are treated with “separate but equal” respect.

Food skinny

Outside of Iowa, pork tenderloins are now called “Iowa Skinnies.” The trendy scratch diner Comet Café in Milwaukee touts this special. … Every Tuesday is now “Fat Tuesday” at Mojo’s on 86th featuring Cajun and Creole small plates, $5 martinis, rotating desserts (including their signature bananas fosters shortcake), plus Rob Beasley’s regular Louisiana recipes that make you smile. CV

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