Well that was a nice surprise and dining option during a long layover. The Vegas shake shack opened last October, about the time we stumbled upon one just about to open at the Minneapolis airport. Apparently it’s a trend, with shake shacks at airports in Nyc (jfk and laguardia), Phoenix, Dallas and Los Angeles (LAX)!
Pho 515 – Des Moines
I worry that eating in Vietnam may forever have spoiled me and that no Vietnamese restaurant in the U.S. will have anything near the great food we had. So far, that’s been true. I’ve visited two Vietnamese restaurants in Des Moines and both fell far short of Vietnam. But maybe that’s too high a standard.
Pho 515 is in a corner of a huge Asian supermarket on Des Moines’ near north side and I’ve meant to go there for ages. Finally made it and at lunch the place was packed, mostly with Asian diners. My crispy pork with turned out to be large moist chunks of pork with an almost burnt orange crispy rind that was very crunchy. The dish itself was bland but the quality was good. A friend had a pho with supposed crab cakes but we never figured out if/what they were. It did have some tasty tofu. I’ll definitely give the place another try — there was a great selection of banh mi sandwiches. (Pho 515, bills itself as the “ONLY Artisan Style Banh Mi bakery in Iowa.”) I also want to do some wandering around the supermarket which looked full of interesting things!
Filed under Des Moines, Uncategorized
Hotel Vetro, Rosanne Cash at Hancher, Pullman’s, Rapid Creek Cidery – Iowa City
Rapid Creek Cidery
We almost never stay at a hip hotel but decided to bunk at The Hotel Vetro, a sleek high rise overlooking Iowa city’s ped mall (a mixed bag, we discovered) during a February trip here to see/hear Rosanne Cash at University of Iowa’s Hancher Auditorium. (Nice to hear a female singer whose voice has held up as she’s gotten older.)
Although we decided to stay overnight because I was concerned about possible snow or ice-slicked roads common in February, the weather was actually fine. So we could have barreled home on Interstate 80 after the concert. But it was nice not to have to. I looked for our usual cheap Airbnb or old school bed & breakfast but the Hotel Vetro room ($144) was fairly comparable price wise so we went for it. It was fun to be right in the middle of the action downtown — except late at night when loud kids left the many bars. I could hear women’s piercing laughter and yelling in particular, especially near closing time at 2 a.m. (I developed a sudden intense cold so didn’t sleep most of the night, even without the drunk kids.)
We went to a few favorite shops – Textiles, Design Ranch, Active Endeavors,Iowa artisans…and made obligatory book purchases at Prairie Lights. Dinner at Pullman’s was excellent – crunchy slightly spicy fried chicken with soft biscuits and fresh honey, a burger sandwich with crispy fries and who knew they have homemade grapefruit for this sneezing customer?
Hancher is always a great. We love the new Caesar Pelli building, much more than the previous one destroyed by a flood. I’ve gotten to the age where I appreciate watching a band (in this case folk/Americana with five excellent musicians) from the comfort of a plush seat. It felt very relaxing, civilized. Okay, I’m getting old (although I did sit in a patch of dirt on a hillside last summer for the Hinterland festival outside Des Moines, listening to live music by Brandi Carlisle, Maggie Rogers, etc.)
Brunch was at the fabulous Rapid City Cidery, in an airy building made of old barn wood overlooking an apple orchard (Wilson’s) in the countryside just north of Iowa City. Operated by the James Beard Foundation-nominated former chef/owner of the now-closed Lincoln Cafe in Mount Vernon, Iowa, the cidery’s food did not disappoint. My omelette had perfectly cooked fresh fancy mushrooms, olives and feta. Dirck’s more standard fare was all about fresh ingredients prepared well – two bright yellow fried eggs, long pieces of crunchy bacon, roasted potatoes, a biscuit served with homemade apple butter. We need to get back there some day for dinner.
Filed under Iowa City
Blanco, Luckinbach, Fredericksburg, Johnson City — Texas Hill Country
Finally got back here about 10 years after my first visit on a tour bus, visiting farms (a peach farm, lavender farm, winery) with some Iowa farmers. This time I had a rental car so I could zip off to fairly out of the way places on roads with names like Farm to Market, although not as many places as I wanted to hit. Need more than one day for that. Next trip I’d like to go to: Gruene, Comfort, Welfare, llano.
Blanco was almost my favorite because it seemed like a normal place almost, with more ranchers than tourists. I did stop at the gift shop next to the Rosebud Cafe where I found good local pottery to buy as gifts and expensive Mexican embroidery. The town square reminded me of Winterset, Iowa, with its limestone courthouse, but the Texas courthouse is smaller… It too has been a movie set (True Grit) as has the Winterset courthouse (Bridges of Madison County).
I kept making wrong turns to get to “downtown” Luckinbach but finally realized it was on “the Luckinbach Loop” and looked like a western movie set with a big parking lot and an old (authentic) post office. Inside the post office is a rustic gift shop and cozy bar in the back where two old guys with a hearty sense of humor were playing a mean guitar and banjo. Very versatile, they played “hillbilly disco” and even some bluegrass-ish Motown. They happily entertained a handful of people who had wandered in and sat on wooden benches in the little bar. The dance hall and beer garden, adjacent, looked like they’d be great fun for hearing live music. Love that there’s music all over Austin and environs (Austin bills itself as the live music capital…I guess Nashville and Memphis have other billing.) Also was live music at the airport now where we are sitting on mock bleachers in a mock food truck courtyard listening to a four piece band ( not the real Asleep at the Wheel, as the sign above them says.) (p.s. our flight ended up being cancelled just as we were boarding: mechanical issue. Now we have to stay overnight in Dallas. And leave for Dsm early. Hoping we get there tonight.)
Fredericksburg was too touristed and German for me, but there were lots of shops and German restaurants in old stone buildings along the long flat main drag. I ate a brat loaded with sauerkraut at the old German Bakery. I prefer the more grilled brats in Madison, Wisconsin.
I made a quick drive though the LBJ ranch in Stonewall and visited his reconstructed birthplace. His gravestone is across the road. The place is vast — 2000 acres. Unfortunately the Texas White House, LBJ’s House, is closed due to structural issues. That would have been cool. I really liked visiting Truman’s Winter White House in Key West.
I also drove past Johnson’s boyhood home in Johnson City, so named for generations of his ancestors that lived and ranched there.
Filed under Texas, Uncategorized
Blanton Museum/Ellsworth Kelly chapel, micklethwait craft meats, Hotel Cecilia, Uber Airport Ride app pick-up – Austin
Rainy day in Austin, not the best day to experience Ellsworth Kelly’s chapel on the university of Texas campus, next to Blandon Art Museum. It is spectacular when the sun shines through…a docent showed me a photo. Oh well, pretty cool without sun too. This also wasn’t the day to eat at micklethwait craft meats which I didn’t realize is a food truck. But we weren’t going to miss what may have been our best meal of the trip. Superb bbq brisket and pork ribs and delicious sides – beans, slaw, potato salad. Fortunately we found a dry picnic table with a big tarp over it and it wasn’t too cold. We also walked over to a hipster convenience store…name was Pickin’ or some sort and had a killer sandwich list and beer selection and good fancy coffees. The rain let up a little son we Ubered over to South Congress so Dirck could see it. We had fun wandering through Allen boots, even though we aren’t in the market for cowboy boots and we stopped st the Hotel San Jose where I loved staying six years ago and visited its sister hotel nearby, Hotel Cecilia, which looked as cool.
Sad to leave Austin and return to cold snowy Iowa but feel lucky we made it here. P.S. Austin is trying out a new approach to Uber pickups at the airport. The pickup is a line akin to a taxi line, a specially designated ride app pickup area in the garage where the rental cars are, a short walk from the terminal. Worked well. You order an Uber and then stand in a fast moving line and get the next Uber in line, taxi style except an Uber attendant emails your driver enters your pin/reservation number. Beats landing at a chaotic airport arrival area and trying to figure out which car is your Uber.
Filed under Texas
Kemuri Tatsu-ya, antone’s, launderette – Austin
Tex-Jap sounds bad (unlike Tex-Mex) but Kemuri Tatsu-ya is a restaurant that fuses Texas and Japanese fare. Interesting idea and sort of worked. The restaurant designer must have had fun, mixing good ole boy Texas and Japanese izakaya (informal pub) decor, think cattle skulls and lanterns. Perhaps the most natural mashup we had was well-grilled smoked pork ribs with gochujang hot red chili paste. The corn with crema and chilis tasted almost Cuban. The ramen dipped in a broth with brisket bits was tasty but unwieldy.
East Austin seems to be the place for inventive food by young chefs, maybe because they can afford the rent, although that may be changing with gentrification.
It seems still at that point where pioneers like Launderette feel out there, geographically and gastronomically, which I appreciate…I credit my parents for this. They ran an art gallery in an otherwise prosaic neighborhood and it felt like a happy surprise to encounter an interesting art gallery. Launderette was hopping (glad I reserved tables at all these places). Excellent unusual burger (pork and beef), frites and mussels. And mean margaritas! Louder than I like but diners were a happy lot.
Our friend Art recommended Antone’s, a blues club that turned out to be a block from the Hilton (where we have a great view from the 17th floor). Antones was sold out Sunday but almost empty Monday with no cover and we lucked out with the Brad Stivers band. Brad plays a mean guitar– rockabilly and blues — and sings well too. Realized he’s my son Noah’s age. Only 28. We hoped to see his drummer Lindsay Beaver’s band Tuesday but Brad filled in for her. Bigger crowd. Lindsey is booked at the Des Moines Marriott downtown on feb 15 so maybe we will catch her there. Didn’t know the Marriott has live music. Turns out it’s the annual Des Moines bluesfest!
Filed under Texas, Uncategorized
Suerte, The Driskill Hotel Bar, Austin by bike, Gueros Tacos
I rode all day on a bike around Austin’s Lady Bird Lake before noticing the name of the bike I’d rented was the same as my grandson’s (aka Linus). Fitting end to a fantastic day. Coming from subzero Iowa, Austin was glorious — in the 60s, flawless blue skies, breeze. I may have gotten a sunburn. I’ll take it.
I rode about 12 miles, I think, all the way around the lake trail plus a jog up the hill on South Congress to meet an old friend and native Austinite (Allison) for lunch at the popular Guero’s Taco Bar. It was almost warm enough to swim at glorious Barton Springs Pool – a huge natural pool carved out of springs- in Zilker park and I had my suit this time (unlike 6 years ago when I vowed to revisit some day and swim) but I decided I didn’t have enough time and I loved riding too much to stop. swimming there remains on my wish list.
The trail system along the narrow Lady Bird Lake and on passageways between huge skyscrapers downtown is impressive and I felt safe sharing the trail/bike lane with pedestrians, scooters and cars. My rental from Austin Bike rental and tours got off to a rocky start when I walked past the place three times before realizing it located in a metal storage container plopped down in a food truck court in a small pocket of undeveloped surrounded by glass high rises. (How very Austin.) And the container was locked. eventually some nice girls arrived and I was on my way with a very comfortable and sturdy 7 speed “Linus” bike, a helmet, lock and pack to carry stuff.
Breakfast was at a little cafe and yoga studio terrace on the north bank of the lake – with a lovely view of early morning kayakers and paddle boarders. It was MLK Day so a busier Monday than usual. Great to see so many people out enjoying the day and lake.
Austin is a boom town, as my friend Allison confirmed at lunch, packed with new buildings and trendy restaurants. We went to one last night called Suerte, which serves some form of masa (corn meal) with various proteins, think masa tacos with flavor-packed pork or goat meat. Afterwards, we wandered over to the famous old Driskill hotel where the bar was hoping with elegantly dressed members of Austin’s film crowd, celebrating the SAG movie awards. Great people watching and live swing band in old western bar. perfect opening night in Austin.
Filed under Texas
Views from on high – at Des Moines’ MacRae Park
There’s a very cool new protruding ramp known as “the EMC overlook” at MacRae Park on Des Moines’s south side offering dazzling views of downtown. We also took in some new views from the new Chris Coleman bridge in Gray’s Lake Park. Looking good Des Moines.
Filed under Des Moines, Iowa
The 606/Bloomingdale trail in 60 degree weather- Chicago
Wow, it’s 63 degrees and sunny on Christmas Day in Chicago. Perfect for a walk along the 606/Bloomingdale trail, Chicago’s answer to NYC’s High Line. Much less crowded and a little less refined. Not as much public art or enterprise, which is fine. We walked above some gentrifying neighborhoods west and north of downtown, starting in Wicker Park/Bucktown and then west to Logan square and Humboldt Park. There was a respectable trickle of people, many walking dogs or with little kids, a few bike riders and runners including one shirtless guy and a tank topped woman. (Again, this is Chicago in late December!)
Last night, on Christmas Eve, we joined a lively crowd at Imperial lamian, a Chinese restaurant downtown for dinner. The food (ribs, noodles, a fun dessert that looks like a giant ostrich egg and dissolves into cake and ice cream when hot fudge is poured over it) was good, nothing amazing but it was a fun scene and perfect for the occasion. We also took in the Andy Warhol exhibit at the Art Institute, which was more interesting than expected.
Filed under Chicago
TakeBetsywithyou 