Bistro
Des Moines Area Community
College Bldg. 7,
2006 South Ankeny Blvd.,
Ankeny, 964-6369
Open weekdays when school
is in session 11:15 a.m.
- 1 p.m., some Sundays and
Thursday nights.
Reservations suggested. |
Bistro at ICI
The Iowa Culinary Institute (ICI)
is one of the state’s best-kept
secrets in higher education. Since
a 2005 expansion, the school has
served a cosmopolitan student
body of about 150. Students come
from countries such as Spain,
Canada, Brazil, Lebanon, Jamaica,
Costa Rica, Thailand and half
a dozen countries in Africa. ICI
has even graduated six students
from Tibet. To visualize the institute’s
influence on Central Iowa dining,
imagine the local scene without
George Formaro (owner chef Centro,
Django, South Union, Gateway Market
Café), Terry Boston (Executive
Chef of Des Moines Golf &
Country Club), Kurt Chausse (Executive
Chef of The Café and Aunt
Maude’s), Dan Dixson (Chef de
Cuisine at Sage), Jeff Duncan
(GM of Dos Rios), Nick Illingworth
(Chef de Cuisine at Bistro Montage),
Hal Jasa (founder of Underground,
Inc.), Ephraim Malag (Executive
Chef of Tournament Club of Iowa),
John Weiler (Executive Chef at
Fleming’s), Chris Ranallo (owner/chef
of Ranallo’s) and Hong Willer
(owner/chef of Café Shi).
All are ICI grads, and I could
go on.
An even better kept secret is
the college’s teaching restaurant
Bistro, which is open to the public.
Each year, second-year students
cook under staff supervision while
first-year students wait tables.
Not every student masters that
latter role quickly. On one recent
visit, my waiter exclaimed “Oh,
wow, the plate is **** hot. Can
I borrow your napkin?” That happened
on just the second day of the
new school term. Second-year students
began the year in better form.
Creamy corn soup was a revelation
even compared to those in Des
Moines’ best restaurants. Bistro’s
was made with freshly shaved corn
and Pickett Fence’s cream, a natural
dairy in Woodward. Salads were
made with fresh, local greens
and homemade dressings — a tomato
vinaigrette stood out.
Fish tacos delivered filets of
whitefish in a lemon garlic slaw
with a mango chutney. It was paired
with roasted new potatoes. Stuffed
chicken was served “airline style”
with the winged bone rising from
the breast. It had a zingy glaze
of Dijon and herbs de Provence
and was paired with home made
potato chips. Bistro’s gyros were
the best I’ve had in Des Moines
with thinly sliced, perfectly
seared lamb served on fresh pita
with cool tzatziki (yogurt based
sauce), olives, onions and garden
fresh tomatoes. Glazed salmon
was perfectly cooked “rare,” as
ordered, and accompanied with
fresh fruit. From an Asian buffet,
I sampled bone-stock noodle soup
with pork and myriad vegetables,
perfectly crisped pot stickers,
nori-wrapped sticky rice with
avocado and crabmeat, and a stir-fried
dish.
Pound cake was served with a firm
crumb that nicely absorbed its
chocolate Kahlua sauce. A hot
apple cobbler was simpler and
easier to appreciate. The fruit’s
texture burst on the teeth, and
the pastry was perfection in a
pie tin. Like the best apple pies,
it had been seasoned with restraint.
Bistro also serves about fifteen
themed, multi-course dinners each
year on Thursday nights, including
some special feasts created with
l’Association des Cuisiniers de
la Loire. That professional culinary
group sends top chefs to Des Moines
each January from our sister city
St. Etienne, France. Bistro’s
daily menu offers four sandwiches,
two salads and four entrees. Entrees
and sandwiches come with soup
or salad and a choice of side
dishes. Salads come with soup.
A pizza of the day, a buffet of
the day and a quiche of the day
are also offered. All orders cost
just $8. Dessert did not cost
extra, although that wasn’t mentioned
on the menu or by the servers.
I’ve seen better values — but
not in this country during the
last couple decades.
Side dishes
Matt Pearson (Dish, Torocco, Club
Car) is running the kitchen at
the new Skybox, where Coaches
Corner used to be… The downtown
Coney Island, an original skywalk
vendor, closed. That makes Winston’s
the senior restaurant on the skywalk
system. CV
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