Desperate in Des Moines

Desperate in Des Moines

Being a doting dad, I bought my daughter (Drake, 2011) a car so that she could come home often…and so that I wouldn’t have to subject myself to numb-nut monstrosities like the Machine Shed in Des Moines .

I’ve succumbed to The Wife’s entreaties, and we’re headed to Des Moines next weekend. I made reservations at Bistro Montage (http://bistromontage.com/bistro/), which got an ’09 Beard nom, and my daughter said she’s been there “like a gazillion times and it’s awesome,” but I’m hoping for something more…humble and real (though this place looks just fine, and I will use it as my default if nothing more interesting is suggested here).

I checked the Stern’s Roadfood and found some other possibilities that I’m hoping someone here has tried and can report upon:

Smitty’s: http://www.smittystenderloins.com/
Jesse’s Embers: http://theoriginaljessesembers.com/

At Jesse’s site, where they claim to be “Des Moines Favorite Steakhouse since 1962,” they also boast “Voted Des Moine’s 2nd Best Steakhouse by Juice Magazine.” Help me, please.

No Maid Rite on the agenda?

I remember waaaaaaaaaaaaaay back in the day, Zim loved a Nayarit style Mexican place in Des Moines, claimed it was better than Isla Marias. Maybe a little digging can dig it up.

I live near Drake, and have eaten everything everywhere nearby, you would need to be more specific with what you want in order to get some more advice. I wouldn't really recommend either Smitties or Ember's, to be honest.

Some websites of Drake Area or nearby restaurants:

Jethroes BBQ on Forest:
http://www.jethrosdesmoines.com/

La Mie on 42nd:
http://www.lamiebakery.com/

Star Bar on Ingersoll:
http://www.starbardsm.com/index1.html

El Chisme on Merle Hay Road:
http://www.elchismedsm.com/

Woody's Smoke Shack on Cottage Grove:
http://www.woodyssmokeshack.com/

Tyrgyzistan wrote:I live near Drake, and have eaten everything everywhere nearby, you would need to be more specific with what you want in order to get some more advice. I wouldn't really recommend either Smitties or Ember's, to be honest.

Some websites of Drake Area or nearby restaurants:

Jethroes BBQ on Forest:
http://www.jethrosdesmoines.com/

La Mie on 42nd:
http://www.lamiebakery.com/

Star Bar on Ingersoll:
http://www.starbardsm.com/index1.html

El Chisme on Merle Hay Road:
http://www.elchismedsm.com/

Woody's Smoke Shack on Cottage Grove:
http://www.woodyssmokeshack.com/

My tastes are eclectic, so it's kind of hard to be "specific" about what I'm looking for. I avoid chains, of course, which kind of disqualifies Maid Rite, though it’s not out of the question, and I like to eat at places that have some native character and serve food of a kind or caliber I’m not likely to find elsewhere. That said…

It'd be cool to have some good ‘cue of Iowa pork. I just called Woody’s and checked their site, and although they use a GWiv-Disapproved Southern Pride, I’m thinking they might be good for a snack as soon as we get in town (they close at 8PM and all day Sunday, unfortunately – most places seem closed on Sunday).

Jethro’s also may be worthy, though I’m a little suspicious of the look of the place (judging book by cover, I know; can’t help it – if Al Capp were alive, he’d hit this place with a licensing suit, for sure).

Chisme’s is Italian-Mexican – never had an Al Pastor Pizza…but I kind of like the sound of that.

Smittie’s seemed promising; sorry to hear you don’t like it.

The only real eclectic place that I know is open on Sundays is Lucky Dragon on 2nd Ave. Its across the street from two other Vietnamese places, but it sorta has a website with a menu on myspace. A local food writer thinks being open Sundays but closed tuesdays is a French Colonial thing, but I think they just like taking tuesday off:
http://www.myspace.com/luckydragonrest


My only problem with recommending Smitties for tenderloins is that the exposure they get on Roadfood, or Gourmet magazine puts them atop nearly every other place. Its really just an okay, very large, tenderloin. My pictures of tenderloins in Des Moines are here.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/31257680@N ... desmoines/
You will find better tenderloins in the small towns of Oxford or Prairie City, along I-80. If thats the route you are taking.

Jethroe's has already had some legal issues with their theme, and they aren't exactly a small time operation. Their owners operate an expensive seafood place downtown. They do have a full time "smokemaster", and many of the employees go to Drake.

Another BBQ place in the Ingersoll Area is Uncle Wendell's:
http://unclewendells.com/

El Chisme has grown to have quite a following in its two years of existence. They may be moving to a better location. The chef, Jesus, and his wife are there each time I visit. I think they use their dough mixing machine to make their own tortillas, pasta, pizza dough, and bread for tortas. This is a picture of the Fettucinni Alfredo with Chicken, done in their style. It is not the featured item on the menu, by far. Its just for a spin-off blog I am working on right now:

Alas, as it so happens, I am currently on an extended business trip in Des Moines.

While the term "eclectic" means a lot of different things to different people, to me it usually conjures up "unique", "unusual", or "just plain flippin' weird". I have found the following places in Des Moines that are worth the trip:

First and foremost - Fong's Chinese Pizza. The place was originally Des Moines oldest Chinese restaurant or something like that. Then it was bought out by some local restauranteurs with a sense of humor, who wanted to open a pizza joint, but retained some of the original Chinese roots of the place. So, where else can you get Kung Pao Pizza, Thai Chicken Pizza, Crab Rangoon Pizza (don't ask) or Moo Shu Pork Pizza? And if you're not into Chinese inspired pizzas, they have the "Iowan Pizza", which has Canadian bacon, regular bacon, pork (Iowans and their pork, it's a mystery) and Graziano sausage, which is a local Des Moines-made favorite.

Fong's Chinese Pizza ‎
223 4th Street
Des Moines, IA 50309-2205
(515) 323-3333
http://www.fongspizza.com

Next, if you're planning on staying in a Marriott or other big chain hotel, you'll probably be staying not downtown, but rather in West Des Moines, at or near the Jordan Creek Mall. Most of the restaurants there are standard sports-bar chain type (Champps, Buffalo Wild Wings, bleh). There are two decent sushi bars. The best restaurant in the area is Flemings, an upscale steak place. Very nice atmosphere, if more than a bit pricy. Also pretty convenient if you are, say, at your hotel in WDM, and don't feel like driving all the way to downtown Des Moines, which is about 15 miles away. The first time I went there for a quick beer, the guy sitting next to me at the bar was the Governor.

Fleming's Prime Steakhouse ‎
150 South Jordan Creek Parkway
West Des Moines, IA 50266-8141
(515) 457-2916
flemingssteakhouse.com

Finally, if you're into an eclectic/weird mood, take a road trip 20 miles west of Des Moines to the small town or Redfield (it's also on the Racoon River Valley bike trail, which is how I found it). This small farm town has two bar/restaurants. Of the two, I went with the less formal Off Sides Bar & Grill, which, in addition to serving some mean Chicken Gizzards and Livers, also has what to date I've found to be the weirdest menu item in Iowa - Bavarian Pizza. And, yes -it has sauerkraut on it.

Off Sides Pizza & Pub ‎
1119 Thomas Street
Redfield, IA 50233-7736
(515) 833-2900

Best of luck in your travels.

I do have to agree with Vital Information, though. Who goes to Iowa and doesn't eat at a Maid-Rite? There are about 10 of them in the Des Moines area.

BTW - Maid Rite just introduced a new menu item - a pulled pork sandwich.

David Hammond wrote:At Jesse’s site, where they claim to be “Des Moines Favorite Steakhouse since 1962,” they also boast “Voted Des Moine’s 2nd Best Steakhouse by Juice Magazine.” Help me, please.

My favorite bit is from their About Us page, which assures would-be patrons that they "always use hand cut lettuce". My fears that they've outsourced salad assembly have also been assuaged, as their "inhouse salad maker is here to make sure your salad is made to order..."

-Dan

Being an alumni of Grinnell, 50 miles east of Des Moines, I spent many meals having great German food at the Amana Colonies, 40 miles east of Grinnell. I haven't been there in a long time but it may be worth a stop along the way. I notice my 2 favorite restaurants are still there-Colony and the Ox Yoke, along with Ronnenburg. It looks like they've really geared up their tourist facilities so it might be a fun stop.

http://www.amanacolonies.com/

RevrendAndy wrote:Being an alumni of Grinnell, 50 miles east of Des Moines, I spent many meals having great German food at the Amana Colonies, 40 miles east of Grinnell. I haven't been there in a long time but it may be worth a stop along the way. I notice my 2 favorite restaurants are still there-Colony and the Ox Yoke, along with Ronnenburg. It looks like they've really geared up their tourist facilities so it might be a fun stop.

http://www.amanacolonies.com/

Very good that Ox Yoke is right off highway -- we'll be coming by between lunch and dinner, so may stop for snack of potato pancakes, baby beets or such like. Cool rec, Rev.

Ate at several LTH-recommended joints this past weekend, and one of the odder (and most accessible) was Maid-Rite.



This sandwich comes with a spoon, which does help.

I'm sure many LTHers have eaten at this place. I found the flavor not bad, if uneventful, and it greatly benefited from mustard and onions. I would have enjoyed it more, but at this point in the trip, The Wife was so mad at me for stopping at various food places that she just sat in the car and honked the horn, impatiently.

Will post about other eating experiences shorty.

David Hammond wrote:I'm sure many LTHers have eaten at this place. I found the flavor not bad, if uneventful, and it greatly benefited from mustard and onions. I would have enjoyed it more, but at this point in the trip, The Wife was so mad at me for stopping at various food places that she just sat in the car and honked the horn, impatiently.

Will post about other eating experiences shorty.

Twice in the past two years have I tasted something and looked over to my companion and said, "I think that they forgot to put the taste tablets." The first was at the Coors factory and the second was at Maid-Rite.

My wife took one bite and asked three questions:

1) Was this SUPPOSED to be a Sloppy Joe?
2) Did they run out of salt and pepper in the kitchen? This tastes like cheap ground beef browned!
and 3) Why did we go out of the way to find the place?

Then, "I guess its an Iowa thing."

David Hammond wrote:The Wife was so mad at me for stopping at various food places that she just sat in the car and honked the horn, impatiently.

Been there, done that, thanks for the chuckle.

Fong’s

At the other extreme from the relatively bland Maid-Rite was the somewhat flamboyant Fong’s, a new name (and menu) for what was the oldest Chinese restaurant in Des Moines. This new place features relics from the former establishment, like this cool old screen:



The site explains that Fong’s is “a mix of Chinese, Oriental, Polynesian & Italian with a 40’s & 50’s feel.” Based on other site info, I assumed that this place, being in a hipper-happening side of Des Moines (no, not being snide), lined with bars and open late, was likely designed for a late night crowd. To simulate the experience of what I assumed to be the average Fong’s patron, I started with a breakfast zombie.



We had a two pizzas, a moo shoo pork (not as good as it sounds, but passable given appropriately adjusted expectations) and a crab Rangoon pizza:



The crab Rangoon pizza was tasty, though I doubt it will ever be pictured on the cover of Saveur. There were crispy egg roll skins on top, drizzled with chili oil, which complemented the asiago and mozzarella (representing, like the pizza itself, the Italian influence referenced above), some fluffy Rangoonish cheesy composition, and surimi, though the taste of this seafood sausage tended to be buried, which is I believe what this Franken-fish creation was engineered to do in the first place. Overall, good -- if somewhat easy and blunt -- flavors, though I sensed that for the full enjoyment of this place, it helps to be hammered and hungry in the hours just before the dawn’s early light.

Under the heading of “Iowa things,” I believe we can place “Pizza with toppings characteristic of non-Italian cuisines” (cf. pizza al pastor at El Chisme).

Fongs
223 4th Street
Des Moines, IA 50309-2205
(515) 323-3333
http://www.fongspizza.com/

IMO, if you talk about local favorites you have to go to B&B Grocery, Meat & Deli. They've been around forever and happen to have some of the best burgers you'll ever eat! I'm addicted. In fact, I'm also addicted to their breaded tenderloins. They're much better than Smity's!!!

Vital Information wrote:No Maid Rite on the agenda?

I remember waaaaaaaaaaaaaay back in the day, Zim loved a Nayarit style Mexican place in Des Moines, claimed it was better than Isla Marias. Maybe a little digging can dig it up.

Sorry, haven't been keeping up

the nayarit place is sadly closed. but there are a number of decent looking taquerias in E. Des Moines - haven't done real research into them yet

as for actual info on des moines

Jim Leff always loved a vientmese place called A Dong (I thought it decent, but not out of the ordinary)
1511 High Street, Des Moines, IA 50309-3109
(515) 284-5632‎

I can recommend the gelato and chocolate at
Chocolaterie Stam‎
2814 Ingersoll Avenue, Des Moines, IA‎ - (515) 282-9575‎

I think they have a couple other locations as well

I've been to smitty's lured by the roadfood rec as well, it was kind of a cool place and the pork tenderloin was a huge frisbee shaped disc and tasty enough but not fantastic.

I do like George the Chili King Drive-Inn
5722 Hickman Road, Des Moines, IA‎ - (515) 277-9433‎

they took a lot of pride in their offerings

I know this is late but hopefully somewhat helpful

zim wrote:I know this is late but hopefully somewhat helpful

We're headed back for graduation in a year, so it's not too late by any means...and good to hear from you again, zim.

University Ave. betwen the Drake neighborhood and E 14th St has at least 5 taco trucks and 3 joints run by former taco truck owners. Its tough to keep up with the changing owners/locations.

David Hammond wrote:

zim wrote:I know this is late but hopefully somewhat helpful

We're headed back for graduation in a year, so it's not too late by any means...and good to hear from you again, zim.

Did you make it to Bistro Montage? did you get the $18 Elk Burger entree? did it "stack up"?





At the other end of the building from Montage is a BBQ joint with big portions and low prices.



This is Uncle Wendell's full size pulled pork sandwich with mac and cheese. The baked beans are the superior side, with a nearly equal meat to beans ratio:



You get some good texture with different sized chunks of pork:



The bread is baked on site and sliced THICK:


Chik-fil-a inspired carving:


Uncle Wendell's Bakery & BBQ
2716 Ingersoll Avenue
Des Moines
http://unclewendells.com/

Tyrgyzistan wrote:Did you make it to Bistro Montage? did you get the $18 Elk Burger entree? did it "stack up"?

Bistro Montage

I was avoiding writing about Bistro Montage because it was kind of an unpleasant experience.

Few pictures were taken (I was kind of on “vacation” and didn’t want to feel like I was working), though we started with a charcuterie platter that looked a lot like any other charcuterie platter you’ve ever had, and it was a strong open. I was very impressed with the dense flavor of the country pate and the rich, slightly alky-sweetness of the chicken liver pate…but it was kind of downhill from there.

Small predictor of things to come: wine was ordered minutes after we walked in but was not delivered until after the appetizer was served. It was a busy night, so we understood and were, I believe, cool with the server’s flustered apologies. “No worries,” I said, “I see you’re all alone tonight.” And she was: I’m guessing there were maybe 45 tops in the room, mostly full, and this poor young lady was almost running back and forth between kitchen and dining room.

Then the wine we ordered was out of stock, so the server substituted another, better wine at the same price, so that was cool.

Then I ordered the liver and onions and The Wife ordered cassoulet – it’s 7:30PM on a Saturday night and they were out of both. I ordered skatewing and The Wife ordered Guinea Fowl, of which I had just a bite and it was fine.

My daughter, who is forever seeking evidence that I’m the world’s biggest ass-bite, was with us, so I was on especially good behavior, but after giving her a first taste of my skate wing, I took a nibble and got a blast of ammonia. I tried again – this time, the tongue-numbing ammoniated tang stayed with me for over a minute. I asked The Wife to try it and she confirmed. I told the server, who went to the kitchen and came back to offer that the kitchen prepare another plate of skate wing, but by that point, I just said, “No, that’s okay.” Server offered to take one of the apps off the check, but I said, reassuringly I hoped, “It’s okay. Really, we’re not looking for you to comp us on anything.”

But they brought a bouillabaisse, which I thought was a nice gesture…but it was not a good version of this dish.



I’ve made a fair number of these seafood soups before, and when it’s made well, it’s really one of my favorite dishes…certainly one of my favorite soups, but this version would probably not be recognizable as bouillabaisse if you were going by taste alone. The seafood was fine (though I detected a touch of ammonia, but maybe at this point I was over-sensitized to that taste sensation). Clearly the weak link was the broth, a vapid, one-dimensional, thin mixture of not very distinctive flavors (except for NH3) that did not terribly offend, excite or do much of anything for me.

The Chef came by after dinner and apologized (“When skate wing goes south it goes fast”), and that was fine. We were not charged for the skate wing.

It gives me no joy to turn in a report like this, and I honestly I was trying to put this experience out of mind. On a positive note, my daughter did concede that at no point in this somewhat disastrous dinner did I come off as an ass-bite, so that is some victory, however Pyrrhic.

I should have tried the Elk burger.

Bistro Montage
2724 Ingersoll Avenue
Des Moines, IA 50312
515.557.1924

Also, for your next trip, or if your daughter gets a craving, Des Moines is the only place west of Naperville to find a decent Corned Beef on Rye with mustard. The only authentic Jewish deli within a 400 miles radius. And really authentic, excellent stuff. Great latkes. The owner is a Lubavitch rabbi.

Maccabee's Glatt Kosher Deli
1150 Polk Boulevard
Des Moines, IA 50311

(515) 277-1718
http://www.maccabeeskosherdeli.com

tahall62 wrote:Also, for your next trip, or if your daughter gets a craving, Des Moines is the only place west of Naperville to find a decent Corned Beef on Rye with mustard. The only authentic Jewish deli within a 400 miles radius. And really authentic, excellent stuff. Great latkes. The owner is a Lubavitch rabbi.

Maccabee's Glatt Kosher Deli
1150 Polk Boulevard
Des Moines, IA 50311

(515) 277-1718
http://www.maccabeeskosherdeli.com

Funny story, my daughter went in there one day, and like me she is sometimes mistaken for Jewish. So she's chatting with the guys behind the counter, and they ask her what temple she attends (or something like that) and she reveals her gentility. They are shocked. They ask her her last name. "Berg-Hammond," she says (unfortunately, all my kids have hyphenated last names; Berg is The Wife's name). At which guys behind counter look at her with expression that says, "Kid, are you SURE you're not Jewish?"

she reveals her gentility

tahall, didn't you used to be a rabbi once?

i would recommend...

http://smokeydsbbq.com/

Katie wrote:tahall, didn't you used to be a rabbi once?

Why, yes - thanks for remembering. It was a goyous occasion.

tahall62 wrote:Also, for your next trip, or if your daughter gets a craving, Des Moines is the only place west of Naperville to find a decent Corned Beef on Rye with mustard. The only authentic Jewish deli within a 400 miles radius. And really authentic, excellent stuff. Great latkes. The owner is a Lubavitch rabbi.

Maccabee's Glatt Kosher Deli
1150 Polk Boulevard
Des Moines, IA 50311

(515) 277-1718
http://www.maccabeeskosherdeli.com

I second Maccabee's deli - keeping kosher in what was a pleasure to find them on trips to des moines and the corned beef is excellent -

Hi,

Any ideas on where to go for breakfast in Des Moines?

Regards,

Hi,

Marching around the internet I found:

For a French breakfast:
La Mie Bakery
841 42ND ST.
DES MOINES, IA 50312 P. 515-255-1625
Monday - Saturday 7AM - 4PM

For an Italian breakfast, though closed on Sundays:
Crave
218 6th Ave
Des Moines, IA 50323
(515) 282-5282
Hours: 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday through Friday; 7 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday
I found comments they have a egg skillet breakfast with marinara sauce. Anything on the menu with names or Italian heritage are highly recommended. I'd love to go just to understand what they offer. More information here.

Chef's Kitchen
1903 Beaver Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50310-3953
(515) 255-4411‎
5-10 p.m. Monday through Saturday; closed Sunday --- I called, they open at 7:30 am on Sunday for breakfast. I read they offer chipped beef on toast points, that would cause me to stop and take a look.

Waveland Cafe
4708 University Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50311-3302
(515) 279-4341‎
6 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday through Friday; 6 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday; 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

Any ideas on where to go for breakfast in Des Moines?

Regards,

You have to ask? Fong's.

(Really C2, I think you'd like it).