Town Hall
Tavern meat loaf
Town Hall Tavern
1250 8th St., West Des Moines,
267-1121
Monday through Saturday
11 to 2 a.m., Sunday 11
a.m. to midnight. |
Town Hall Tavern
Jeremy Morrow is back. The chef-restaurateur
has done as much as anyone to
create a quality restaurant scene
in Des Moines with Bistro 43,
43, Star Bar, Azalea and Zen.
Too many cafés made him
more of supervisor than a chef
and burned him out. He tried selling
insurance briefly before realizing
he needed to cook. He does that
again at Town Hall Tavern on Eighth
Street in West Des Moines.
“I moved to Des Moines to open
up Toscano’s for Jimmy Lynch.
That was across the street then,
where Skybox is now. So this represents
the closing of a cycle for me,”
Morrow said.
Eighth Street has also come full
cycle. Lynch and Paul Trostel,
the most influential Des Moines
restaurateurs of the boomer generation,
also began their careers there.
Trostel moved on after opening
Cork & Cleaver, but Lynch
became the face of the street
with Jimmy’s American Café,
Cabo San Lucas, Toscano, Eighth
Street Seafood and Pain Pane.
For most of two decades, Eighth
Street remained the hottest strip
in town, even as the suburban
zeitgeist sprawled west. By the
new millennium, Eighth Street
had lost its groove. Lynch retreated
downtown and other places came
and went, too fast — Danielle,
Garcia’s, Fratello’s, Coaches
Corner, Bordo’s. Piff.
In the last six months, Eighth
Street turned a new corner. Tandoor
reopened, better than ever, with
talented chef Sheik Naseem as
owner. Skybox Lounge opened last
fall with Matt Pearson running
a cutting edge (see Side Dishes)
kitchen. It transcends the usual
sports bar with sports car road
rallies and tent parties for Kentucky
Derby planned. Jimmie’s American
Café and the remodeled
Walnut Creek Inn now anchor a
genuine restaurant hot zone, with
four excellent cafés within
half a block.
In a building that originally
housed Happy Chef, Town Hall puts
Morrow back where he is happiest.
He remodeled the Sticks-created
atmosphere of Cabo San Lucas,
which had been undisturbed through
three previous restaurants. Arty
Mexican décor was sanded
and painted in earth tones. It
takes commitment to turn two thousand
dollar tables into two hundred
dollar tables. Similar commitment
is shown to nouvelle cuisine,
which sneaks onto a menu of American
comfort foods. Beef tongue hash
with frisee and fried egg, fried
green tomatoes with mozzarella,
buttermilk biscuits with ham gravy
and shrimp and cheese grits all
show off Morrow’s Tennessee roots.
Blackened tofu with pesto and
a “steak and eggs” dish that employs
homemade pastrami with panko crusted
eggs, show off his culinary edge.
They share a menu with eclectic
comfort (every dish costs less
than $15, the average dish is
priced less than $10) foods. Pecan
crusted fried chicken (an 8th
Street icon), perfectly seared
Angus burgers, Niman Ranch steaks
and smothered Eden Farms pork
chops comforted me with Old Iowa
familiarity. Pozole (hominy stew)
and pupusas comforted me with
New Iowa staples. Chicken and
waffles brought South Central
Los Angeles comfort food to town.
Covered with excellent bourbon
pan gravy, stuffed meat loaf had
a spectacular crunchy crust plus
melt-in-mouth stuffing of spinach
and cheese. It was plated with
good garlic, mashed potatoes and
crisp onion rings. Ribs were not
Jethro’s class yet. Mine had not
been smoked long enough to produce
a ring, nor to break apart with
the hands. Too many dishes came
with the same sides. French fries
did not travel well on “to-go”
orders, but homemade potato chips
did. Slaw was dominated by sharp
blue cheese.
Banana pecan bread pudding and
fried apple pie (fresh apples
in a puff pastry) were everything
one expects from a top Southern
chef. Chocolate pudding was for
fans of heavy chocolate. One Food
Dude tip — $13 chicken and waffles
included a hind quarter of deep
fried chicken with half a waffle
pie. A fried chicken kid’s plate
included the same chicken pieces
with French fries instead of waffles,
for just $6.
Side Dishes
Skybox Lounge now has a popular
Wednesday sushi night. Only sushi
is served but it’s redefined for
Iowa with braised pork, fried
walleye, duck breast, goat cheeses
and lots of tempura starring.
CV
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