Posted October 05, 2022in Food Dude
Restaurants on the outskirts of town have been development pathfinders. When Eddie Webster’s opened in 1970, it was miles of cornfields away from the houses. It introduced central Iowa to flagons of wine, Alaskan ice cream cocktails, and a menu of steaks and lobster, no pasta or chicken. Eddie built
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Posted August 31, 2022in Food Dude
National chain restaurants are true believers in templates. They don’t deviate much from one store to another in menu or floor plan. Des Moines restaurant groups take a different path to expansion. Full Court Press likes to open completely new restaurants from one to another – Hessen Haus, Red Monk,
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Posted August 03, 2022in Food Dude
When a new ethnic cuisine comes to the metro, it almost always arrives in a low-rent neighborhood in Des Moines. Our first Vietnamese, Thai, Indian, Pakistani, soul food, Ethiopian, Kenyan, Korean, Salvadoran and Jamaican establishments all entered the local market that way. In the early 20th century, Des Moines newspapers
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Posted July 06, 2022in Food Dude
Despite what Karine Jean-Pierre keeps saying, it’s hard to imagine gas becoming cheaper any time soon. That leads some to plan errands with military precision. It helps when you can do multiple things on the same trip. Chester’s (fried chicken) made it their business plan to only operate within other
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Posted June 01, 2022in Food Dude
Four decades ago, the wise men of Des Moines invited architect and prophet Mario Gandelsonas of Princeton to town. Gandelsonas presented a vision of a future Des Moines that predicted the allure of East Village, a developed right bank of the Des Moines River and the western gateway. As soon
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Posted May 04, 2022in Food Dude
One baffling question facing the contemporary restaurant world: Who first thought that endless menus were a good idea? The Cheesecake Factory leads America with a 23-page menu that includes 85 different chicken dishes and just short of 6,000 words. According to Business Insider, this works because the menu size generates
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Posted April 06, 2022in Food Dude
When Machine Shed was merely conceptual, Mike Whalen visited other places he felt would be competitors. After seeing Cracker Barrel, he told his designers that he wanted to be Cracker Barrel on steroids. Everything at Machine Shed is supersized — silverware, steak knives, booths, plates, serving sizes, tables, signs, etc.
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Posted March 02, 2022in Food Dude
Des Moines is blessed with lots of outstanding Vietnamese restaurants. Thank you, Gov. Ray. One of them is raising the bar. Pho 515 is about 90% of the way done with a major remodeling. It is enclosed now with lovely new furniture. All that is left is the installing of
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Posted February 02, 2022in Food Dude
Anna Dolce is a wonderful addition to the West Glen area. It is not a national franchise, which is a rare thing in this neighborhood. It is a collaboration between two of Des Moines’ most creative groups of restaurateur/bar innovators: Dark Side of the Spoon — which has 10 different
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Posted January 05, 2022in Food Dude
Des Moines has long boasted of an extraordinary number of Italian, mostly Calabrian, restaurants. Since Bob Ray opened the state to immigrants from Southeast Asia and Mexico in the late 1970s, Des Moines has added so many excellent Vietnamese, Thai, Lao, Michoacan, Jalisco and Central American restaurants that Tony Bourdain
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