Posted April 09, 2014in Belly Up To...
“Odd.” The word carries a three-part meaning: strange or unusual, an unplanned occurrence, or made of different types. All are true when it comes to encapsulating the feel of this unique stop nestled in Ames’ north end. Oddity No. 1: Oddfellows was born on eBay. “I was actually searching the
Read More →
Posted April 02, 2014in Belly Up To...
Clive has a new secret — a bar. Of course, it’s no secret that Clive has a bar. Clive has many bars. But, at Secrets, there’s Rufus. As if you’re walking into his house, Rufus greets each patron at the door with a non-threatening little bark alarm to let you
Read More →
Posted March 26, 2014in Belly Up To...
One of the most clever euphemisms ever invented is calling a strip club a “gentlemen’s club.” If you’ve ever been to one, the male patrons along “sniffer’s row” are anything but gentlemen. They don’t extend a chivalrous hand to help the ladies off stage or pull out the chair for
Read More →
Posted March 19, 2014in Belly Up To...
It may not be as pump priming as Panama City, and it’s certainly colder than Cancun, but Spring Break means things are heating up at Beer Bucket and Burgers on Des Moines’ northeast side. Whether students are back home from school looking to take their minds off of the fact
Read More →
Posted March 12, 2014in Belly Up To...
Anyone who knows the city streets only as far as they’ve had to navigate from the interstate to their job is probably unaware that a decade ago the McCoy family once ran a pool hall in Beaverdale. Even fewer people likely know that when McCoy’s closed in that location, the
Read More →
Posted March 05, 2014in Belly Up To...
“Oh great. It’s a cop bar.” That was my friend’s first reaction when I invited him to belly up with me at the new Honors Lounge in Clive. And to be honest, it was my first notion, too, after a quick creep on Honors’ Facebook page turned up the bar’s
Read More →
Posted February 26, 2014in Belly Up To...
Remember that moment in Walt Disney’s animated film “Alice in Wonderland” ─ when the shrunken young heroine finds herself lost in a flower garden and does her best to assimilate with the budding, blooming ladies who belong there by right of roots? Despite her gifts of beauty and song, Alice
Read More →
Posted February 19, 2014in Belly Up To...
At the Highland Park Country Club, the best seat in the house is one that probably won’t hold your weight. “We’re on our 34th year, and that’s probably been there for 25 of ’em,” said owner Gary Stone as he reluctantly lowered the tailgate from a 1970-ish Ford pick-up that
Read More →
Posted February 12, 2014in Belly Up To...
There’s a secret place around an unsuspecting corner, hidden beneath the hubbub of hub traffic between the two mall hot spots in Valley West — Younkers and JC Penney. If the two department stores were entrenched in a heated match of tug-of-war, 34’s Sports Grill would be that soft, squishy
Read More →
Posted February 05, 2014in Belly Up To...
Fans of the late comedian John Belushi, college students and adults who love to revel in those college glory days, have found their haven at the new Delta House on East Euclid Avenue where the beloved neighborhood bar Scooter and Bab’s once ruled. A couple years ago, owners of Scooter
Read More →
