Posted December 05, 2012in Belly Up To...
Sazz is most commonly known for its vintage clothing line from the 1970s; there’s also Caffe Sazz, an authentic Turkish restaurant in the U.K.; a Sazz Coincatcher is a character in the role-playing game “World of Warcraft” — those who already knew that might also be aware of Jak Sazz,
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Posted November 28, 2012in Belly Up To...
Nevermind that the bar is named after his dog, a miniature schnauzer named A.J. — a “ladies’ dog.” And the fact that the owner of A.J.’s on East Court, David Moravek, knows how to grill a mean steak (Monday is steak night) is almost irrelevant. The dueling pool tables in
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Posted November 21, 2012in Belly Up To...
Here’s a fun game to play with your friends while you’re waiting for your food at the bar. Give ’em the old Abbot and Costello routine with a witty text: “Hey, come share this pizza with me. I’ll buy u a beer! ” “OK! Where ru?” “The Other Place.” “What
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Posted November 14, 2012in Belly Up To...
John Martin gets asked a lot of questions when customers belly up to the sleek, blue concrete bar at Confluence Brewing Company — questions about how he came up with the vast range of craft beer flavors, where the names came from, how long he’s been brewing his own beer
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Posted November 07, 2012in Belly Up To...
Rudy’s Bar and Grill is like a presidential candidate — it changes its image depending on the crowd. By day, it’s a family-friendly, “classy” restaurant touting a menu of ingredients from local sources and furniture and appliances refurbished or re-used from pioneers of the industry — a testament to its
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Posted October 31, 2012in Belly Up To...
Did you know Mitt Romney’s name is actually Willard Mitt Romney? At a barbecue restaurant in Altoona, the longtime bartender and manager Nick Agness likes to entertain folks with tricky trivia, clever quizzes and quips. Like Romney, Claxon’s Smokehouse and Grill was coined after the middle name of the owner,
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Posted October 24, 2012in Belly Up To...
Get bruised shins, bloody knees and white knuckles at Lot 33 coffee bar and lounge — the newest member of the Ingersoll crawl. Trust me; it’s more fun than you think. The sound of bruised shins might make you cringe, but you’ll feel no pain after tossing back this Crown
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Posted October 17, 2012in Belly Up To...
Like my first step when I was too young to remember; like Graduation Day; like my first time to the election booth; April 4, 2011, was the long-anticipated day that served as that proverbial rite of passage that is the 21st birthday. For my first legal drink, I chose Charlie’s
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Posted October 10, 2012in Belly Up To...
Vintage Wine and Spirits doesn’t seem like your normal fit for Cityview’s Belly Up feature. It’s a wine store — at first glance, anyway. But, if you’ve ever visited the corner shop along Mills Civic Parkway in West Des Moines, you know it’s more than just a store. It’s a
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Posted October 03, 2012in Belly Up To...
My neighbor has hops growing on his backyard fence. He caught the craft brewing fever a few years ago. This has fostered a passion not unlike the one that’s been growing in Des Moines since the ’90s when Stone Brewing Co. threw corporate American beer back into the faces of
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