Radish
721 1st St. Grimes, 986-1900
Daily 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.;
Mon. - Thurs. 4 - 9 p.m.;
Fri. - Sat. 4 -10 p.m.;
Sunday brunch 9 a.m. - 2
p.m. |
Radish
Grimes is growing faster than
May radishes. The town’s population
spurted more than 133 percent
since 1990. Like most formerly
rural communities on the brink
of suburbia, Grimes promotes itself
as the best of two worlds — still
quaint as small town values yet
sophisticated as urban chic. Since
World War II, signature restaurants
have been successful sales tools
for this kind of community image.
In the 1950s, Silhouette and Vic’s
Tally Ho were deemed worth the
drive through cornfields to what
would become the new Urbandale.
In the 1970s, Trostel’s Greenbriar
introduced city folk to Johnston
in similar fashion. While Mike
and Peg McGuigan’s The Radish
is hardly ahead of the population
growth in Grimes, it’s still the
first restaurant beyond Johnston
with a lure to attract significant
numbers of diners from the city,
as well as farms, in the other
direction.
The Radish occupies a former
home with nostalgic, country inn
trappings and landscaped lawn.
The McGuigan’s fire the friendly
“Come over to my house” ambiance
by greeting customers at the door
and encouraging them to use the
kitchen and side entrances, where
chefs and dishwashers also greet
everyone like old friends. Mike
has a lot of those after 35 years
working at several legendary Des
Moines restaurants — Johnny &
Kay’s, Guido’s, 801 Steak &
Chop House, Toscano, Fratello’s
and more. While all those places
represent tradition now, they
offered something new and exciting
in their day. The Radish straddles
such tricky ambivalence, too.
Sunday dinner revives a lost Iowa
art form, one that The Silhouette
represented — family style, pan-fried
chicken dinners, with mashed potatoes,
green bean casserole and salad.
That’s the entire menu and when
the chicken runs out, it’s over.
It often runs out by 7 p.m.
The rest of the week, menu service
features mostly traditional favorites,
expertly executed, and some unique
charms. From the appetizer menu,
I tried: light onion rings; chicken
fingers breaded in almonds and
corn flakes with honey tones;
and sautéed mushrooms in
a good Cajun cream sauce with
distinctive flavor of caraway
seeds. I’d have preferred that
latter dish included only mushroom
caps to accommodate the sauce.
A fine Kansas City ribeye came
with a generous portion of caramelized
onions, peppers and mushrooms,
a salad, a side of mashed potatoes
and a radish garnish for $19.
The menu indicated that salads
and potatoes had extra charges,
so it was a pleasant surprise
they didn’t. Gorgonzola pork chops
were less appetizing, dry with
a sauce that didn’t compensate.
The house specialty fully deserved
its billing — cannelloni stuffed
with a sausage blend of veal,
beef, pork and chicken, baked
with fresh herbs, cheese and a
creamy marinara. Jack Daniels
ribs hit the small window of perfection
during which baby backs pull easily
from their bones without falling
off. Salads and radishes were
the only items that missed high
marks — I know it’s barely spring,
but I’ve been buying better produce
in supermarkets.
From the sandwich menu, Iowa
standards were exemplary — hand
breaded tenderloins, chicken fried
steaks and hot beef. Lunch’s big
score though was its state-of-the-art
savory cheesecakes: BLT, sun-dried
tomato pesto with chicken and
shrimp; and salmon with wild mushrooms.
Among desserts, the Italian wedding
cake was sheer perfection, bread
pudding disappointed with the
predominant flavor of burnt cocoa.
Radish has a full bar and short,
moderately priced wine list with
several available by the glass.
Side dishes
Ames’ Eric Ziebolt, who started
his career at Aunt Maude’s, is
on the final ballot (top five)
for this year’s James Beard Award
(JBA) as best chef in the Atlantic
states, at CityZen in Washington,
D.C. … Andrew Meek’s Sage is one
of four nominees for the Golden
Clog Award for best restaurant
“not located in a food stronghold.”
Created by food writers Tony Bourdain
and Michael Ruhlman, the Golden
Clogs are an anti-establishment
version of the JBAs. CV
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