We tried out the new Spanish restaurant Lurra Cocina in downtown Des Moines last Saturday night with friends and it’s off to a good start but could use some refinements. For starters, the “one-person” paella should be considerably bigger. Good flavor and seafood/meat in the dish but surprisingly skimpy portion. Especially if you’re going to charge $18, there should be more rice at a minimum. I’ve never ordered or made paella that didn’t produce leftovers…But this time, I was almost hungry after I ate it. Others enjoyed their hanger steak and pork dishes.
The appetizers were good – especially the stuffed dates (and I don’t even like dates much). And I was very impressed with the flan which wasn’t too sweet or too heavy. Crunchy churros with chocolate dipping sauce were delicious too. Atmosphere was pleasant – a bit loud but not too and fun to have the big picture windows looking out on a suddenly hopping downtown restaurant scene!
Another busy day exploring Detroit. We went to The Heidelberg Project, a crazy art installation that is located on two blocks of inner city Detroit that looks more rural than urban these days, with many vacant lots full between the occasional inhabited house in various degrees of disrepair. Some of the houses have become canvases outside (the polka dot house was my favorite) and then there are piles of strange objects strewn across he lots — old appliances, lots of stuffed animals, dolls, signs painted as clocks, shoes.
First stop Shinola, where we admired the sleek decor, the watches and bikes and almost total absence of price tags. next door at willy’s, a high-priced boutique, then to jolly pumpkin for a light lunch in cool post industrial decor (Korean short rib pizza with arugula; curried potato chips.
TakeBetsywithyou 