Guilty pleasure
Deep-fried delights of love for those with a soul Des Moines certainly offers guilty pleasures. You know, like drinking a craft beer at a movie theater at 10 a.m. on [...]
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Posted January 02, 2019in Joe's Neighborhood
Posted December 05, 2018in Joe's Neighborhood
Miffy comes to Des Moines
Pastry is the world’s language. “I try to show flaws because flaws are human.” Tom Sachs, press release 2008, concerning the Miffy Fountain. Henriette Priester is helping me learn Dutch [...]
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Posted October 31, 2018in Joe's Neighborhood
Jim Duncan – 30 years and counting
He’s not your traditional food critic. “The guys running this restaurant are from Hyderabad, India.” Now you just have to wait for it, folks. There’s always more. His mind is [...]
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Posted October 03, 2018in Joe's Neighborhood
If we build it, the bikers will come
There are more bikes than residents in the Netherlands. “Protected bike lanes are different from conventional bike lanes where the bike lanes are placed along the curb and protected from [...]
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Posted September 05, 2018in Joe's Neighborhood
‘A friendly, honest place.’
“My motto is to buy from people you know and as close to home as you can get.” — Lisa Bean Nearly 45 years ago, the Iowa City Coop was [...]
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Posted August 01, 2018in Joe's Neighborhood
The much-needed parade
We all need a reprieve. The summer evening is hot and close. Steam rises up from the damp grass. Only mosquitoes and myself are out. I suspect folks are a [...]
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Posted July 04, 2018in Joe's Neighborhood
Synchronized swimming: art or drowning?
FINA artistic swimming rules. A Ballet Leg is assumed. Maintaining this position, the body is rotated backwards around a lateral axis through the hips to assume a Fishtail Position. The [...]
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Posted June 06, 2018in Joe's Neighborhood
The bartender’s windows
“I don’t do interviews,” he says without a smile. His eyes sweeping both sides of the bar while he pours the beer. Really? The timbre of his voice catches me by surprise [...]
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Posted May 02, 2018in Joe's Neighborhood
A rowdy crowd
They drift north from Holy Trinity to The Donut Hut on Douglas Avenue “I’ll only give you my first name,” says the dapper old man with the swept-back white hair and [...]
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Posted April 04, 2018in Joe's Neighborhood
Making banana bread
When you’re in a crisis, people bring you food. Grease the bottom of your pans. Combine all the dry ingredients including the cinnamon, nutmeg, flour, baking powder, baking soda and [...]
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