Posted February 05, 2020in Food Dude
Restaurants here mostly known for unexpected delights rather than fine-dining superstars. University Avenue is chock full of happy eating surprises. Many of those are hidden away in real estate that entices the initiated rather than the drive-by diner. This is the street of the precisely named Fast Mart & Chester’s
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Posted January 01, 2020in Food Dude
Bartender’s Handshake and Lucky Lotus add personality to Des Moines’ most eccentric street. No other restaurant neighborhood in Des Moines has changed more, and more often, than Ingersoll Boulevard. It was home to the first franchise food joint in town — Henry’s. Many others followed including Burger King, Hardee’s, Howard
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Posted December 04, 2019in Food Dude
It’s survived multiple fires, the deaths of two owners, other natural disasters, and the loss of parking lot access from Grand Avenue. Doing interviews lately about the lost restaurant traditions of Iowa, I started wondering what has not been lost but would be deeply missed if it was. This is
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Posted November 06, 2019in Food Dude
Serving common dishes uncommonly well Motley School Tavern does not take itself too seriously. Its name plays on Shakespeare’s motley fool, and the stock market analysis company of that name that reminds customers not to take any guru too seriously. The idea at the restaurant is to serve common dishes
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Posted October 02, 2019in Food Dude
Stars of the appetizer menu included the pata de negro Iberico, the leg of the most coveted pig in the world for charcuterie. Bistro Nomad sits downtown with a view of Jaume Plensa’s sculpture Nomade. It certainly lives up to its name. The café is owned by an Ames pair
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Posted September 04, 2019in Food Dude
The biggest Thai place in town is also my favorite. Forty years ago, Thai cuisine was a new thing in Des Moines. Prasong “Pak” Nurack and his wife, Beni, introduced us to their native food on weekends at the Italian cafeteria Little Joe’s on Court Avenue. Later they would move
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Posted July 31, 2019in Food Dude
For three years now, Harbinger is the only restaurant in Iowa whose chef has been recognized by the James Beard Awards as top 20 in the Midwest. It’s a 55-seater that has a distinct personality. It serves no pizza, no burgers, no French fries and no gargantuan plates. Most people
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Posted July 03, 2019in Food Dude
This place is on my list of top five restaurants in Iowa. July is America’s month of reckoning with all that is true and constant in our makeup. We celebrate traditions with a bombast of fireworks and pride, returning home to pay respect to roots, friendships and blood. The other
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Posted June 05, 2019in Food Dude
Probably just what suburban diners want. Pad Thai is much more than a restaurant named for a famous dish. One of the world’s most famous inventions, Pad Thai is also a government-created cause. In the 1940s, Thailand suffered a rice shortage due to war and floods. Prime Minister Plaek Phibunsongkhram
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Posted May 01, 2019in Food Dude
The most popular order is the Gaucho Experience. Al Punto is the first Argentine restaurant in central Iowa in a couple decades. It’s close to being the most thoroughly Argentine steakhouse experience one can find in North America. Housed in a venue that was most recently Saison but most famously
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