Category Archives: 2) Frequent Destinations

December 10, 2011 · 4:32 pm

Coming in from the cold at The Cheese Shop in Des Moines

The Cheese Shop is such a nice addition to my local neighborhood strip mall – The Shops of Roosevelt in Des Moines.  I finally visited yesterday after driving by it’s fogged-up glass windows for days, vaguely seeing people gathered at tables and around the cheese counter.  Struck me as a particularly warm place to come in from the cold – and so it is.

I sat at the wooden bar (salvaged from a local architectural salvage shop) by the cheese counter with a friend, sipping a small glass of amber-colored cider (the kind with alcohol) and nibbling on a plate of artisanal cheeses, including a delicious Vermont cheddar (although not the delicious Vermont cheddar we ate in Grafton, Vt. when we were there in September), hearty bread from La Mie (a few doors down in the center) and fancy olive oil.

Yes the cheese is pricey (some are $27 a pound) and next time I will try to sit at one of the three or four tables rather than the counter (better for carrying on a private conversation) but this place is a keeper.  I hope it continues to find customers and does well.

Good also to see The Shops  filling in after a period when several businesses left. Never good to have empty store fronts.  And there’s a fun mix at the moment that sort of reminds me of an old town square with the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker. You can visit “The Cheese Shop,” “The Soap Shop” and “The Juice Company.” (Reminds me of  Tucson’s fondness for one-syllable, to-the-point shop names like “Sauce,” a pizza place, which is next to “Frost,” an ice cream shop.) Plus you can get baked goods/a meal (at La Mie), a haircut, upscale second-hand clothes,  one-of-a-kind handmade jewelry, not to mention do a little yoga and, if need be, get some body-cracking  from a chiropractor.

Fun Fact according to the DMRegister: One of the cheese shop owners is the son of the guy who opened the original Timbuktuu Coffee Shop in the same strip (where La Mie is now.)

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December 7, 2011 · 3:12 pm

Gourmet hot dogs – from Chicago to Des Moines

About a year ago, I found myself in a long line of people stretching down the block from a small brick building that is home to Chicago’s renowned (apparently) hot dog haven…Hot Doug’s (aka “the Encased Meats Emporium and Sausage Superstore.”)  After waiting about 20 minutes on a chilly afternoon and hearing that the wait might be over an hour longer, we left and went to a very good Cuban restaurant nearby.

I’m hoping the wait won’t be as long but the dogs will be as good at Capital Pub & Hot Dog Co., just south of the East Village in Des Moines. From the outside, the place looks like an old roadhouse that matches its gritty industrial neighborhood that is slowly slowly gentrifying.  The pub – located in a 19th century building  originally built for Irish immigrants working on the railroad, the Des Moines Register reports – is selling 100 percent beef dogs (also turkey and vegan dogs) in 13 guises. They’re thick (maybe like my favorite dogs – kosher hot dogs?) – and cooked to order (whatever that means with a hot dog – surely people don’t eat “medium rare dogs”).

One favorite is the Chicago Dog (natch), which sports yellow stuff (mustard, onion), diced tomato sweet relish, sport peppers, pickles and celery. The Mobayashi dog sounds way weird – tempura battered and fried, dressed with spicy mayo, cream cheese, cucumber and, of course, wasabi. I may have to go for the non-hot dog sandwich – the Southside Link, made from locally-made (Graziano’s) Italian sausage with giardiniera pepper relish (which I first ate at a street fair in Chicago, yum) and cheeses.

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December 2, 2011 · 2:26 am

Japanese restaurants in New York City

Tying up some loose ends from our trip last week to New York City, here are two Japanese restaurants for future reference:

– Menchanko 55 on W. 55th street – an inexpensive Japanese noodle house with good soup, vegetable appetizers, rice balls. No sushi.  I had the soup with brown broth, pork slices, veggies, noodles. Yum.

– IchiUmi – a Japanese seafood restaurant my friend Merida recommends, located at 6 E. 32nd street. It’s website promises: “The best sushi and seafood buffet in NYC at a very affordable price.”

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November 29, 2011 · 3:15 am

Bad luck with Delta Airlines but good corned beef with dad in Detroit

arrgh…On both my departing and return flights between Des Moines and NYC, there were mechanical problems that caused delays and/or heart palpitations. En route, during the Detroit to LaGuardia leg, as we were trying to land in a cloudy rainy New York City, the pilot suddenly reversed course and went back up into the clouds. “You may have noticed we tried to land,” he explained over the intercom. “But we decided not to as a result of an anomaly in the braking system.”

WHAT???

He then told us he’d be trying to land again in 10 minutes and there shouldn’t be any further problems.

GULP.

After what seemed like a very long 20 minutes, he did successfully land the plane on what appeared to be an exceedingly long runway. (good idea) and as the wheels touched down and the pilot pumped the brakes, we passengers clapped. And eagerly deplaned.

Then today, we get in the plane at LaGuardia on a beautiful sunny day, taxi out to the runway for an ON TIME departure, only to return to the gate because some water is leaking in the bathroom. An hour and a half later, we are airborne and our chances of making our connecting flights (having lost our original one-hour layover) are slim. I did call from the stalled plane and was told my daughter – who was going onto Cedar Rapids – wouldn’t be able to go on the 4 p.m. flight to CR if she missed the 12:20 one – but there was one seat left on the 7:51 p.m. flight. Feeling like a contestant on Lets Make a Deal, I had to choose between door #1 or #2. And decided to book the 7:51 and try to go standby on the 12:20 should we arrive in time. So we arrive in Detroit at 12 and of course the connecting flight is miles away in another concourse but I run and run and get to the gate just as the door is closing and I BEG the already harried-looking desk person to let Lily get on standby. She balks at first but I look pathetic enough that she gives me the ONE SEAT left on the whole damn plane. And away Lily goes. And of course I’ve now missed my 12:24 p.m. flight to Des Moines (in yet another concourse) and the 4:35 p.m.  is unavailable but, earlier, when the plane was stalled at LaGuardia, I grabbed a seat on  the 7:30 p.m. flight.

Best of all, I call my dad in suburban Detroit and he picks me up and we have a very nice unexpected afternoon together starting with a delicious corned beef sandwich at a little deli on Woodward Avenue (Deli Unique in the Ramada hotel of all places.) So all ends well….and I’m finally home in Des Moines.

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November 26, 2011 · 2:52 pm

New York City – Japanese noodles, a Fireside chat, drink at doc’s

During our annual whirlwind tour of NYC during thanksgiving we have:

– eaten very good japanese noodle soup at a restaurant that begins with an M on West 55th Street. (I’ll dig up that name when I can.)

– Strolled past the cool Lady Gaga holiday windows at Barney’s on Madison Avenue

– Had a long leisurely lunch with an old friend from London in the “casual elegant” Fireside restaurant of the Omni Berkshire hotel in midtown

– Met an old college friend for a beer at Doc Watson’s on 2nd Avenue between E. 77th and 78th

– Dodged the crowds watching the parade balloons being inflated on the upper west side by ducking into Scaletta for dinner (good bolognese!)

– Dodged the crowds watching the parade on Thanksgiving Day (at one point, I simply joined the tail end of the parade after the crowds along the sidewalks got to large and scary). I was the irritated looking woman in civilian clothes walking along side cheerful yellow and red costumed paraders holding up the Macy’s inflated stars. My expression: don’t dare to stop me.

– Cut through the crowds of people about ready to Occupy Best Buy on the upper west side after Thanksgiving dinner

– Took a glorious late night walk on Thanksgiving from central park west to central park south and then up Lexington Ave. to E. 69th where we stayed

– Joined 10 other relatives at a chaotic Penn Station to take the train to Southampton.

– Bought some last-minute gifts in Southampton – a novel at Book Hampton, an ice cream b’day cake at Carvel, some knickknacks at Home and Nature

 

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November 22, 2011 · 1:17 pm

NYC here we come

We leave for NYC on this rainy morning in DM and as always, excited to see friends and family but dreading some of the hassle involved in navigating the airports and the city during the Thanksgiving holiday. On tap:

– dinner tonight at Il Corso in midtown with family and friends

– lunch tomorrow with an old friend from London at Fireside in midtown; drink in early eve with old college friend at Doc Watson’s on upper east side; dinner with family at Scaletta’s on upper west side (first I have to figure out if I can get a cross town bus, given the parade set up right – including the balloons that are blown up on 77th, right outside the restaurant.)

– Parade party at my cousin’s apt on Central Park West (I’ll be walking across the park and hope to arrive when the parade has just passed by – so I can cross the street….), Thanksgiving dinner at other relatives down the street.

And so on….Happy holidays!

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October 27, 2011 · 11:42 pm

Pilgrimage to new FLWright hotspot in Mason City

Just back from a tour of the Historic Park Inn Hotel in Mason City, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Fantastic$18 million renovation of the 101 year old hotel and bank buildings (now a lovely hotel with 27 rooms.) And the FLWright aficionados have discovered the place – both tours offered today were full of people, some almost as knowledgeable as the docents giving the tours. Next time, I’ll have to book a room and stay for the night. Also found a good place to eat – new spot about two blocks west of the hotel call Chop with very affordable salads, sandwiches, egg dishes served in stylish room with FLWright overtones (same ochre colored, scallop patterned plaster walls etc.)/ Lovely day.

Did I mention this is the only hotel designed by FLW that remains? (I think there’s a hotel in Oklahoma that’s in a FLWright building but it wasn’t originally designed as a hotel. Must doublecheck that.)

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October 24, 2011 · 6:11 pm

One coffee with a raw egg please? At Susie’s Kitchen in Stanton Iowa!

I waited with baited breath the other day to hear which Iowa cafe the foodies Jane and Michael Stern (of roadfood.com fame) would recommend after hearing a plug for their segment on the NPR show The Splendid Table. And the winner is….Susie’s Kitchen in the southwestern Iowa town of Stanton, famous for all things Swedish including apparently Swedish coffee made with a raw egg. I went there years ago – and of course remember the distinctive water tower shaped like a Swedish coffee pot (there’s also a coffee or tea cup water tower now, I gather.)

Apparently this isn’t fancy-schmancy barrista coffee – this is  a more watery, lighter Iowa cafe coffee that townies spend hours drinking (sometimes using their own cup hung in the cafe), and the secret, we’re told, is that Suzy (0r whomever) mixes ground coffee with a raw egg and then boils it  “to clarify the brew”…  (see http://splendidtable.publicradio.org/listings/111015/ to hear the Sterns’ description.)

Doesn’t really make me want to jump in a car and drive two hours from DM to Stanton but Susie’s pie does, especially her Fruit of the Forest pie, described by the Sterns as: “a multi-fruit extravaganza of apple, rhubarb, strawberry, blueberry, and raspberry heaped into a golden, lard-rich crust that is light, flaky, and flavorful.”  Susie’s is at 404 Broad Ave (712) 829-2947

By the by, Stanton is also the home of the actress (Virginia Kraft) who played Mrs. Olson in ye old Folger’s coffee TV commercials. During my visit years ago in late April, I  found myself walking around the small town with a strolling group of men singing in Swedish and stopping at neighbors homes to drink…what else…coffee.  It’s the town’s Swedish tradition of welcoming May by singing “Skona Maj” or “Beautiful May.”
Here’s water tower photos!

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October 11, 2011 · 10:41 pm

Zingerman’s and other Ann Arbor Highlights

Nice 36 Hours story in the NYTimes last Sunday on the penultimate college town, Ann Arbor, Mi. (Go Blue!) Zingerman’s deli gets a nod, as well it should. Other highlights and things to explore when next passing through:

Nickel’s Arcade for upscale shopping and coffee at Comet Coffee

Hill Auditorium for visiting top-notch theater, dance and classical music concerts

Mark’s Carts – ethnic food carts in a courtyard on Washington Street between first and Ashley streets.

Angelo’s – for breakfast, then off to the Farmer’s market.

The Ark – famous folk house now known for world music too apparently.

Pacific rim  for pan-Asian food

Logan for wild boar Bolognese (hmmm)

Frita Batidos for cuban food

Cafe Zola for french, italian and turkish food

 

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October 10, 2011 · 11:40 pm

now for a little self-promotion…hot off the press: The New York Times, 36 Hours: 150 Weekends

A New Yorker cartoon recently summed up the typical contents of a blog that it’s: 1/3 how to sew, knit, cook, whatever, 1/3 kvetching of one variety or another and 1/3 self-promotion. Or some such.

With this blog, I’ve tried not to do much of any of that. But hey, what’s wrong with a little self- promotion – especially when, sadly, I won’t earn anything else  from the re-publication of two of my stories for the NYTimes  in an upcoming 774- page coffee table travel book.

So be on the look out for  The New York Times, 36 hours: 150 weekends in the USA and Canada which should be available in November I’m told and includes my stories on Oak Park (Illinois) and on Iowa’s Coast (yes, coast – along the Mississippi).  They’ve been updated since they ran several years ago – but not entirely by me.

Here’s some promo material:

The 740-page book includes the Times’ top 150 travel destinations, from cities and towns to natural wonders across America. Practical recommendations for the over 600 restaurants and 450 hotels is inside with color-coded tabs and ribbons to bookmark favorite cities in each region. Nearly 1,000 photos, most of them from The New York Times archive made it in, making it small enough to throw in your suitcase but big enough to enjoy from your favorite reading chair. The new illustrations by Times illustrator Olimpia Zagnoli of Milan, Italy look fantastic, and includes easy-to-reference indexes and detailed city-by-city maps,.  This will be TASCHEN America’s top title of the year.
 

The New York Times, 36 Hours: 150 Weekends in the USA & Canada
Hardcover, 16.8 x 24 cm (6.6 x 9.4 in.), 744 pages
EUR 29.99 | USD 39.99 | GBP 24.99 | JPY 5900.00

The best of the USA & Canada: The highly acclaimed New York Times travel feature finally available in one updated volume

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