Category Archives: Des Moines

January 29, 2014 · 2:41 am

New Des Moines Art Center Restaurant

Des Moines Art Center
Des Moines Art Center.jpg
Established 1948

Finally got a chance to check out the new restaurant at the Des Moines Art Center operated by the chef from Baru 66 – it remains a lovely place to dine, even on a cold winter Sunday. The food was good although I wasn’t bowled over.  The best entree was a special – a thick juicy hamburger topped with greens, a fried egg and prosciutto (I think.) My “artisan lettuce salad” had lots of fresh greens, with walnuts, croutons and yes, prosciutto (detect a theme?) which was good but it was underdressed and not much value for $11. My tomato bisque (for $3) was not as creamy, hot or substantially portioned as I’d hoped but good flavor and chopped texture. We also tried the La Quercia Melt , a toasted sandwich with prosciutto (La Quercia is the name of the award-winning, Iowa-produced prosciutto), brie, sweet mustard   and the presentation was pretty stark – small sandwich on white plate for $13 – but my niece seemed to enjoy.

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January 5, 2014 · 4:49 pm

Check out the Drake University Chamber Choir – in Des Moines and England!

The Drake University Chamber Choir performs at St. Martin-in-the-Fields in 2010.

The Drake University Chamber Choir performs at St. Martin-in-the-Fields in 2010.

For my music-loving friends in London, here’s a treat from Des Moines – Drake University’s Chamber Choir will perform free concerts at St. Paul’s Cathedral at 5 p.m. Jan. 20 and at St. Martin-in-the-fields (Trafalgar Square) at 1 p.m. Jan. 21,  as well as at Oxford and Cambridge during a 12-day concert tour January 10-22. These are some of the talented vocal students that my choir, the Drake University Community Chorus, sings with during our semester concerts. Closer to home (in Des Moines) the chamber choir will perform a free concert on Thursday Jan. 9 at 7:30 at Grace United Methodist Church. Here’s the scoop on the England tour from the Register: Drake choir to kick off series

While in England, the choir will to sing in the cathedrals of Gloucester, Coventry, and Ely, at both Cambridge and Oxford (St. John’s College Chapel, Cambridge; Merton College Chapel, Oxford), St. Martin-in-the-Fields and St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, and at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon, and St. Nicholas Church in Witham.  The Chamber Choir was selected by the American Embassy in London to inaugurate its new series at St. Martin-in-the-Fields.

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December 10, 2013 · 4:33 pm

Spectacular photos by Howard Buffett – visit World Food Prize hdqters in Des Moines

I’ve heard great things about Buffett’s photos and about this building, which I last visited when it was the Des Moines Public Library! I’ll be there Dec. 21!

You Are Invited…

You are invited to join us at the World Food Prize Hall of Laureates on Saturday, Dec. 14, and Saturday, Dec. 21, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. for our Holiday Open House. Come and hear the spectacular acoustics in this historic building, and explore our world through photos.

There will be a live performance of seasonal Christmas music by the Grace Church Ensemble, as well as the opportunity to tour our new 40 Chances: Finding Hope in a Hungry World international photography exhibit by Howard G. Buffett. These two elements will bring us together around an important theme at this time of year, to unite us all in the spirit of alleviating hunger that is still experienced by so many in the world.

Please share this invitation with all of your friends, colleagues, family members, and other community members and encourage them to join us. There is no admission charge and it is a wonderful opportunity to experience our beautiful building during this special time of year. We hope to see you there.

Please visit www.worldfoodprize.org/visit for directions and more details.

The World Food Prize
100 Locust Street
Des Moines, Iowa 50309

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December 10, 2013 · 12:16 am

A good Vietnamese restaurant in Des Moines

Cover Photo
TNT Vietnamese Restaurant - Des Moines, IA

TNT Vietnamese Restaurant

Be still my beating heart – I think I may have found a good Vietnamese restaurant in Des Moines!! I tried the TNT Vietnamese Restaurant in the Harding Hills Shopping Center off  MLK Parkway and my main gauge – a dish I try at every Vietnamese restaurant, a noodle and lettuce salad called Bun with eggroll and sliced pork – was excellent. The eggroll was crispy and nicely seasoned. The meat tasted like real meat, had the texture of real meat and was crispy and juicy at the same time, if that’s possible. Nice lightly BBQ flavor too. A nice touch that I’ve never seen before on this dish (and trust me, I’ve tried it at a half dozen Vietnamese restaurants) was a little pile of what appeared to be crispy toasted onion bits. Sweet! My companion’s Pho (a traditional broth with noodle and meat) also had a good flavor and beef that tasted like real beef. Bravo! Alas, the atmosphere of the place is pretty spartan – making it more a lunch than a dinner or festive occasion option.

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November 25, 2013 · 1:31 am

Dreaming of Good Asian food in Des Moines

Mu xu rou.jpg

Just back from yet another disappointing “Asian” meal in Des Moines. in recent years, Des Moines restaurants in general have definitely improved but there are still some major holes in the offerings, especially when it comes to Asian food …especially Chinese. When I was a kid in the the 1960s and 70s, Chinese good was the major option available in suburban Detroit. Cantonese….I’m talking the kind of dishes mentioned in Jennifer 8. Lee’s wonderful 2008 book The Fortune Cookie Chronicles (a history of American Chinese food/restaurants that oddly begins and ends in Des Moines), dishes like egg foo young, egg rolls, sweet and sour pork, lo mein, General Tsu’s chicken, Mongolian beef,  Kung Pao Chicken, Beef and Broccoli, Chow Mein…nothing too fancy. But the food seemed fresh, with real meat and vegetables.

Later in the 1970s, we started getting dishes like moo shu pork (photo above). But in Des Moines at least, Chinese has been overtaken by Thai and Vietnamese and of course sushi, which is probably the most available and, at a place or two, the best Asian option here. But our favorite Thai restaurant has gone downhill. The Vietnamese place everyone goes to here has never impressed us (we far prefer Saigon Market in Wichita. Yes Wichita.) And Chinese in Des Moines, well I give up after yet another bad meal last night. My major complaint has to do with the poor quality of the meat at  Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese restaurants. The Vietnamese restaurants’ pork tends to be gristly. At the Chinese and Thai places, the chicken and beef are so over tenderized that they hardly resemble meat. The texture is all wrong, sort of vapid, melt in your mouth. Ick. And the favors are either way too salty or way too sweet. And the sauces too thick and goopy.

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November 17, 2013 · 7:58 pm

Tips on flying Southwest out of Des Moines

Southwest Airlines Logo.png
IATA
WN		 ICAO
SWA		 Callsign
SOUTHWEST
Founded March 16, 1967

As word comes from today’s DMRegister that there’ s talk of trying to expand the selection of direct Southwest flights out of Des Moines (Orlando and St. Louis but no promises and would happen, at the earliest next summer), I’ve been thinking about advice I’d give to people flying Southwest out of DSM right now – based on my first trial run earlier this month. And here it is:

– Although Southwest offers no fee to check your luggage (how refreshing), I am glad I didn’t check mine because if I had I wouldn’t have been able to switch flights in Las Vegas at the last minute after my LAX flight was delayed and I hopped aboard a Burbank flight. Or so I gather. The first question the counter agent asked me after I inquired about switching was whether I’d checked my luggage. I hadn’t and miraculously I was en route to Burbank minutes later. When I got to Burbank, I received another update on my original LAX flight. It still hadn’t left Vegas, delayed over 2 hours and counting…

– Paying the extra $12 or so to get priority boarding was definitely worth it!! Otherwise it is essential to check in as close as possible to exactly 24 hours before flight time so you get a good position in line, preferably A group or failing that B group but NOT C group. Those folks get the middle seats and there’s less likelihood, if the plane is booked, of getting an overhead spot to stow their luggage. The one flight I didn’t take and pay the extra $12 I got an A44 number in line – not bad. And I ended up with a good aisle seat close to the front of the plane (so I could exit quickly and make my connection).

– Speaking of connections, in Las Vegas my flight arrived in the C terminal and I had to haul a** to make my connecting flight in the B terminal, which seemed like miles away (with only a few moveable walkways). The slot machines strewed in the corridors didn’t help as I had knots of people to get around while dragging my suitcase. I don’t know if this is always the case on the DSM-Vegas-LA flight. (The one I took was at noon on a Friday out of DSM.)

– My connection at Chicago’s Midway was much much better – the Seattle-Midway flight landed in a gate only three gates away from the Midway-Des Moines flight. Yippee!! (This was on the 2:30 Wednesday flight from Seattle to Midway and the 9:30 pm flight from midway to dsm.)

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November 3, 2013 · 4:54 pm

Rooting for the Hotel Pattee and the Whiterock Conservancy – Perry/Coon Rapids Iowa

The DM Register has a good profile of the new owner of the Hotel Pattee – a one-of-a-kind gem of a boutique hotel in Perry, Iowa, about 45 minutes west of Des Moines. Here’s hoping he succeeds! In another Register section is a story about the Whiterock Conservancy – a developing tourist attraction about 30 miles west of  Perry in Coon Rapids that will offer trails for mountain biking, hiking and horseback riding (more  below – it would be great to visit on a perfect fall day like today in Des Moines where the autumn foliage is spectacular this year!).  Put these two together and maybe there’s a successful weekend travel package (which has been part of the issue with the Hotel Pattee…since there are limited things for tourists to do there).

In 2000, when I wrote a story for the NYTimes travel section Historic Hybrid in Iowa, NYTimes 11/26/2000 about a stay at the historic Garst Farm in Coon Rapids (which now falls under the umbrella of  Whiterock Conservancy and is still a lodging option from what I can glean from the website whiterock conservancy website )  we went on a very memorable 2.5 hours horseback ride with our kids. They were very little (ages 8 and 7) to be riding on such big horses by themselves so I was a bit of a wreck but they survived. I ended the account of our trip with a visit to the Hotel Pattee. It can be done!

Another good activity option near Perry is the High Trestle Trail with it’s awe-inspiring 13-story high bridge, hidden in the middle of nowhere, spanning a  glorious river valley.

WHITEROCK, CROSSING A THRESHOLD

Next summer Whiterock will embark on the construction of our long-planned 35 mile backcountry trail!
The entire new backcountry trail will be open to walkers and hikers as it meanders among the forested slopes above the Middle Raccoon River. Sixteen miles of the trail will be a winding single track designed specifically for mountain bikers. bicycle riderAnother seven miles will be for equestrians.The final twelve miles will be double track shared by all users, including those using low power vehicles to allow those with mobility restrictions the opportunity to enjoy nature. horses and riders Trail users will also be able to access nine miles of other existing trails which connect to downtown Coon Rapids and many more miles of river upstream.

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October 14, 2013 · 1:59 pm

There is a detour to get around the closed section of the Neal Smith trail in DSM

We weren’t exactly sure where the closed section of the Neal Smith Trail was, so when we arrived on the trail yesterday – a gorgeous fall day for a bike ride – at the Sycamore Access Trailhead just north of Interstate 80 on NW66th in Johnston and found a big barrier and closed for construction sign, we were bummed. But a man with a strong German accent peddled up and told us how to get around the closed segment, giving us classic Iowa instructions: continue east to the Casey’s (a gas station), turn right, ride for awhile til you get to a short bridge over the Interstate, then take the first right, go past two white farmhouses and you’ll see a black pickup parked next to the trail entrance.

Sure nuf’!

We peddled east on NW 66th, turned right on what my map suggests is NW26th, through a strange no man’s flatland of fields and sandpits and the occasional old house, across a short bridge with battered pavement over I-80 and took the first right at the old white farmhouse (on a street that is NOT on my map) and voila – the trail. OPEN!

Funny that we got this information from a visitor to Des Moines. He spent his first 30 years in Munich but now lives in Wisconsin and was rendezvousing in Des Moines for a bike trip with his brother, who lives in Omaha – and also has an equally strong German accident….He peddled up soon after we started talking. Good to see out-of-staters enjoying Iowa’s trails – they had rode the day before on the High Trestle Trail, the one with the stupendous bridge.)

Just fyi: This from the DNR: A portion of the Neal Smith Biking and Hiking Trail will be closed for repair beginning Aug. 21. The trail will be closed from the Sycamore access to Morningstar Drive in Polk County, a distance of about three miles. Trail repair is expected to be completed in late October, depending on weather conditions.

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September 29, 2013 · 4:03 pm

The “Southwest effect” in Des Moines – fares down but I still haven’t flown Southwest

A young man dancing, swiveling his hips. He has dark hair, short and slicked up a bit. He wears an unbuttoned band-collared jacket over a shirt with bold black-and-white horizontal stripes. Behind him, on either side, are a pair of barred frames, like prison doors.

So according to the DM Register there has indeed been a “Southwest effect” in Des Moines – i.e. fares have dropped about 6 percent since Southwest FINALLY decided to grace us with its presence. Southwest-effect-slashes-Des-Moines-prices. And that’s great! Oddly I’ve yet to fly Southwest. Up until yesterday Southwest only flew to Chicago from DSM  (twice daily). But  today it will begin flying to Las Vegas which should open up western routes to places like Tucson/Phoenix and L.A. where I need to fly. An Elvis impersonator and Vegas showgirls will be on board to kick off the new Vegas flight!

On the few occasions when someone from my family has opted to fly to Chicago (vs. drive or take the Megabus) they’ve opted for other airlines that have dropped their prices as a result of Southwest’s arrival – and as I recall they’re lower or more convenient times than Southwest. Still I would like to thank Southwest by flying the airline sometime – should it prove cost-efficient and convenient.

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September 12, 2013 · 3:47 am

hair frisk on 9/11 at Des Moines airport.

flying on 9/11 was a little eery but for the most part just fine. I had absolutely no wait at airport security in Des Moines. oddly empty but I was told that’s not unusual for a 10 am midweek flight. But oddly, After I did the scanner thing, the guard asked the squeeze my ponytail. A hair frisk of sorts.

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