Fusion and Vino 209 are fun
A simple lesson Godfather’s Pizza founder Willy Thiesen once told us that for a new restaurant to be successful, it first must be fun in its own special way. That [...]
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Posted January 02, 2019in Food Dude
Posted December 05, 2018in Food Dude
Gazali’s trove of delights
The ambiance is collegiate chic. Gazali’s is a secret trove. They have been around since the 1980s when they began in Valley West Mall and have been in their current [...]
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Posted October 31, 2018in Food Dude
Eggs & Jam, a fan I am
Eggs & Jam is a rare bird in Des Moines. Its exact array of plumage, diet and song has not been seen or heard here before. The breakfast hotspot is [...]
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Posted October 03, 2018in Food Dude
It’s Irina’s!
Winner of CITYVIEW’s Ultimate Steak de Burgo challenge It was inevitable. Russians won an American election, yet no one called for an investigation of Kremlin collusion. Irina’s won the Ultimate Steak de [...]
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Posted September 05, 2018in Food Dude
Cosmopolitan Des Moines update
Who doesn’t love dumplings? A friend who spends time in France each year was baffled about the popularity of Subway with the Gallic people. A lover of French breads and [...]
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Posted August 01, 2018in Food Dude
New kids and how they measure up
In terms of per store profits, Chick-Fil-A is by far the most successful American chain restaurant. McDonald’s leads them in total sales and profits but trails them by a lot [...]
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Posted July 04, 2018in Food Dude
Sports bars carve new identities
Establishing an identity in the restaurant world is wrought with the same anxieties as it is for a teenager. How can you stand out as unique and still fit in [...]
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Posted June 06, 2018in Food Dude
Breaking loose
Some ethnic cuisines here are modeled on the same templates and recipes. There must be more than a dozen Mexican restaurants now that serve pretty much the same menu. Italian [...]
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Posted May 02, 2018in Food Dude
Gastro sodbusters get serious
Will wagyu finally sell in central Iowa? On the western frontier of the metro, where the last strip malls push back the Nebraska sky, culinary pioneers Sean and Andrea Gleason [...]
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Posted April 04, 2018in Food Dude
More changes on the local restaurant scene
Some are a bit confusing Change is constant, in physics or the restaurant business. As with all paradoxes, there is no rule to find one’s way to success in such [...]
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