My main disappointment with the December farm-to-table meal by the chef of the Wallace House in Des Moines was that, to our surprise, the meal wasn’t held at the Wallace House, a pretty 19th century building in the Sherman Hill neighborhood. Apparently the place isn’t big enough any more for the event so it was held at nearby Hoyt Sherman Place, which was pleasant but still…I’ve been there before, for several weddings during the 1990’s and have not been the Wallace House.
From what I gather, other Wallace Center meals throughout the year on Thursdays are held at the Wallace House. Click here for details. I’ve also enjoyed meals during the summer prepared by Chef Katie Porter at the Wallace’s old farmstead in Orient, about 45 miles west of Des Moines. (Details below. It’s closed during the winter, last I heard.) Henry Wallace, fyi, was an extraordinary Iowan — U.S. Vice President under FDR (1941-45, until he was replaced by Truman for being too liberal) and an agricultural innovator who founded the powerhouse agricultural seed company Pioneer Hi-Brid (now technically known as Corteva Agriscience, after it was bought by DuPont, which then merged with Dow Chemical. and then spun off as a standalone company).
The food was good – honey nut squash and apple soup (that could have been hotter, but I say that about most soups at restaurants and large gatherings); beef short ribs braised in red wine with a delicious potato kale cake and grilled vegetables; and apple ginger crisp that was a little on the dry side (more oatmeal-y, than I like) served with a sage ice cream. For the price $48, a glass of wine or can of beer could have been included. Seemed a bit steep. Nice live music by the John Krantz Duo and of course, great company with a table full of friends.
Where Farm & Table are Just Steps Apart
Friday Lunches and Dinners at the Country Life Center
The Gathering Table restaurant is located inside the historic barn replica at the Henry A. Wallace Country Life Center near Orient, IA. Open to the public on Fridays, the restaurant offers lunch and dinner menus centered around the more than 40 varieties of fresh produce grown in the 12 acre on-site garden and orchard. Seasonal fresh fruits and vegetables that are rich in flavor and beauty are complimented by beef, pork, lamb, poultry, cheese and grains. Menu options change almost weekly.
Walk-ins or reservations are welcome for lunch. Please make your reservation by 3 pm for dinner. Live music is on hand every Friday evening; call us to find out who is performing.
The Gathering Table may need to close because of private events such as reunions and wedding receptions. These dates are posted in advance. We apologize for any inconvenience. No lunch or dinner will be held on Friday, November 23 in observance of Thanksgiving. Our final dinner for the season is November 30. Lunches end for the season on December 14.
Please call 641-337-5019 for reservations or email Lisa Swanson.
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Millie did well last night at the comfort inn although as we expected, she slept with us, which didn’t help my ability to sleep. she only barked a few times, when other people were coming into mearby rooms. She ate her dinner but was too distracted this morning to eat again. We saw two other dogs in another room. One little one yapped a little. We are not sure we were charged for me, although we were told it was an extra $10.
It only took about 30 years but last night, friends dragged me over to Carl’s, the famed dive bar in Des Moines’ Sherman Hill neighborhood. From the outside, the worn wood building looks like it’s about to collapse. Inside, the place was bigger and brighter than I expected, with a lively and diverse crowd enjoying Tuesday night live music by local musicians. I’m not big on bars – I don’t drink much – but I get the draw of this place and see why people (including many a visiting Democratic operative) love it. It feels “authentic.”
I got a chance to do what I love to do most in NYC (besides seeing old friends and family): Wandering around interesting pockets of the city.
The second day, I started at the Spring Street station and wandered south into Little Italy and Chinatown, then a little west to Soho (western section is still charming, along Thompson and Sullivan/Spring and Prince Streets) and then up to Greenwich Village/NYC, stopping for a nutritious lunch (not) of a chocolate chip cookie and coffee at the wonderful old Vesuvio bakery storefront on Prince Street (now technically the Birdbath Bakery despite the iconic storefront from the 1920s) and admiring a gated mews lined with pretty old carriage houses, MacDougal Alley, just north of Washington Square Park. Reminded me, fondly, of London. I lingered in front of 1 Fifth Avenue, an elegant old building where my parents got married (when it was a hotel, I believe). Then I ended up at The Strand bookstore and at Union Square where I caught the #6 subway back to the Upper East Side.
Thanks to the Krause Corporation (owner of the Kum & Go convenience store chain) for opening its fantastic new headquarters downtown for a day of public tours. So many people wanted to walk around the five-story Krause Gateway Center, designed by Italian architect 
The building is unlike any other in Des Moines — or elsewhere that I’ve visited–with its massive scale and sculptural look including high glass walls separated by four overhanging white horizontal planes. The glass walls on the main floor are 29 feet high — higher than any other such walls in North America except for an Apple store in New York City. The space is very light (naturally) and the building almost translucent. From the building’s south side, you have a fantastic view of the sculpture park below and if you look north, down a long hall, you can gaze through another window at a street leading up to the Sherman Hill neighborhood.
The interior design is sparse and clean with immaculate desks – in various configurations and groupings. There are high top tables, lower top desks, sitting spaces in an upholstered nook that felt a bit like a padded cell (except one side is open.) Most people don’t have assigned desks. Employees do get their own locker, to store their stuff, which they remove and place wherever they plant themselves during a given day. I gather this is au currant office design (and supposedly spurs more collaboration) but also takes some getting used to for employees accustomed to the creature comforts of their very own cubicle, slathered with family photos, gag bobble-heads and stacks of yellowing paper, yes, paper.
None of that to be found at the Krause Gateway Center, where the furniture is clean and contemporary, popping with color including orange and red Swan chairs, the famous chairs designed in 1958 by Arne Jacobsen for a Copenhagen hotel (I grew up with white Swan chairs in our ancestral home) as well as deep blue, orange and green high-backed chairs and couches. Big dramatic pieces of contemporary art also pop off the white walls and blond wood paneling –and there’s even a second floor art gallery, open to employees only.
The roof has vegetation that apparently will grow — and features stupendous views of the city, although I worry that the fencing at the edges isn’t high enough.
On the Saturday after Thanksgiving in Water Mill, we made our annual visit to the amazing book sale at the Southampton Public Library where often newly released books can be found for a fraction of their original cost.
Then for something new, seven of us crammed into a wooden booth at Sip n’Soda, the local soda fountain (since 1958) for some no frills food that was pretty good including crisp onion rings, good malts and shakes and a decent BLT and burger. We liked the old fashioned no frills vibe, the long counter, the booths.
A high school classmate I haven’t seen since high school (i.e. 41 years ago) who lives in Iowa City introduced me to a restaurant there – Crepes DeLuxe. It’s a charming little hole in the wall just east of the PedMall (and the public library). I recommend the salmon crepe. I also did a little shopping, finding a very warm hat/scarf at White Rabbit and some great clothes (Simpli brand!) on sale (albeit still pricey) at Textiles.
TakeBetsywithyou 