February 17, 2014 · 4:53 am

World Food Prize Headquarters and Howard Buffett photo exhibit in Des Moines: worth a visit

I finally got to walk around the renovated downtown library in Des Moines that is now the headquarters for the World Food Prize and was blown away by the restoration/renovation effort. It was always an elegant 19th century building but it got pretty shabby in the mid 1990s when my children visited the library there regularly as Downtown School students. With all its stain glassed windows and murals and wood it always hinted of a previous, more elegant life. Now it’s back to its former glory and well worth a walk around. The restored WPA murals on the bottom floor are particularly interesting, tracing the history do Des Moines from prehistoric era to 1941. And the Howard Buffett photos of people from across the world facing hunger issues is mesmerizing. So visit when
You can. (There was an open house last weekend.)

THE WORLD FOOD PRIZE HALL OF LAUREATES is open to the public for tours from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., free of charge, on most Tuesdays and Saturdays. Please call 515-247-2222 for open house dates. Click here for more information.

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February 16, 2014 · 6:00 am

Taking the el from midway/Kendall college dinner/joes stone crab/Joffrey ballet…Chicago!

Whirlwind trip to Chicago but well worth it. got to see some of my favorite people, my aunt, my son, my sister and niece. Got a dose of big city culture and crowds– a fantastic contemporary program danced by the Joffrey Ballet, a stroll along Michigan avenue! shopping in Eataly? some good food too including dinner at Kendall college, where the food was prepared and served by the students who go to hospitality and culinary school there. (Pretty good food, okay service but the kids are trying their best!). We also had a nice lunch at Joes stone crab which I haven’t been to since I was in ninth grade and in Miami beach(not south beach back then) with my grandma Betty. had a fabulous crab Louis salad that was even better than the one I make (must remember deviled eggs using the sauce Louis, hearts of palm, avocado, greens) and yes, sublime key lime pie. Onto Milwaukee tomorrow on the train, hoping to beat a snowstorm here also,there will probably be one in Milwaukee. Ahhh winter in the Midwest.
Ps flew into midway on southwest and took the el to my aunt’s. Piece of cake. Orange line to Roosevelt then red line north to Clark/division.

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February 9, 2014 · 4:38 pm

When in LA – maybe visit Chef Roy Choi’s Kogi or Pot

About KogiChef Roy Choi made a big splash on this season’s “Top Chef” by being remarkably candid and foul-mouthed about how much he did not like the food the poor frazzled chefs had cooked up for him. Padma looked aghast. But apparently HIS food is worth a try so maybe we will give it a go when we’re visiting my brother in LA next month. Maybe he’ll prove to me that Korean food is worth all the hype. Our options appear to be Kogi, kogi website which the NYTimes travel section dubbed “the city’s hottest food truck, selling his now classic Korean taco” and Pot,  “a veritable Korean market, at the Line hotel in Los Angeles’s Koreatown.”

The Pot website lists only drinks (“only” isn’t quite the right word since the menu sports four pages of drinks!) but the Line Hotel plugs the food….

POT – COMING SOON

KOREATOWN AND KOREAN FOOD THROUGH THE EYES OF AN AMERICAN WITH KOREAN BLOOD. HOT POTS, BLOOD SOUPS, FRENETIC ENERGY, BBQ. IT’S THE LATE NIGHTS ON THE STREETS, IT’S A JOYOUS CELEBRATION OF LIFE. MOST OF ALL, IT’S GOOD TIMES AND GOOD FOOD IN THE HOOD.

WWW.EATATPOT.COM

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February 6, 2014 · 3:53 pm

What to see en route from Ames Iowa to Coffeyville Kansas?

 

Largest Community Rolled Ball of Twine in Cawker City, Kansas

From time to time, I field questions from friends like the one below (a Kansas native, I might add,  who is a longtime Iowa transplant.)

A friend is driving down to Coffeeville, Kansas from Ames and wants to know what weird and wonderful things he should stop and see along the way. So up your alley!
 
Is the biggest ball of string even remotely along the way? He’s willing to go a little off the beaten path, and loves quirky things.
 
What can you recommend?

Wow – that route is a challenge. If he takes 169 south from Kansas city – which appears to be the fastest route – he’ll just miss the Flint Hills, which are one of my favorite Kansas places. If he takes 69 south, another option, he’ll go through some places I remember as interesting – Fort Scott, Baxter Springs and Pittsburg. He should check out this story on southeast Kansas from the NYTimes Frugal Traveler done http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/07/travel/in-kansas-museums-fried-chicken-and-yes-oz.html last summer.

 As for the aforementioned “biggest ball of string, ” it is actually “the second largest ball of twine” (or sometimes the largest depending on the definition) and it’s in Cawker City – in North Central Kansas so not on your friend’s route, alas.  How weird is it that I know this stuff?

Route 66 Soda Fountain, 2008 in Baxter Springs!

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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 27, 2014 · 8:34 pm

Milwaukee in February – why not?

It’s hard to get excited about a trip to Milwaukee in February – especially when it’s been so darned cold here in the Upper Midwest. But the NYTimes travel section yesterday had a story about the Walker’s Point area that got me a little psyched. (Granted I’ll be there more for work than pleasure but hope to sneak in a quick walk around town.) Here’s the story:  In Milwaukee a district for a bite or a brew

Of particular interest to moi:

BRAISE

Servers note that 90 percent of ingredients used at the two-year-old restaurant — with the exception of coffee, tea, spices, citrus and chocolate — are sourced from regional farms. Menus change daily, but the cooking by the chef David Swanson is consistently hearty and robust.

1101 South Second Street; 414-212-8843; braiselocalfood.com

CLOCK SHADOW CREAMERY AND PURPLE DOOR ICE CREAM (The cheese appeals more than the ice cream this winter)

A cheesemaker and a separate ice cream business share production and retail space in the newly built, LEED-certified Clock Shadow Building. Tours ($3) offered by the urban creamery (come Wednesday or Friday to see the popular cheese curds being made), culminate in cheese samplings. The popular Purple Door, known for unusual ice cream flavors like whiskey or chai with pink peppercorn, plans to move at the end of the month and reopen nearby in March.

Clock Shadow Creamery, 138 West Bruce Street; 414-273-9711;clockshadowcreamery.com. Purple Door Ice Cream, 205 South Second Street; purpledooricecream.com.

ANTIQUES ON SECOND

The biggest of several antiques stores in the area, this one opened in 2010 in two merged early-19th-century warehouses. Shoppers can ride the operator-manned freight elevator between three floors stuffed with vintage clothes, wood chests, record collections and eclectic finds like a midcentury vinyl living room set.

1039 South Second Street; 414-645-9640; antiquesonsecond.com

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January 24, 2014 · 4:10 pm

Cozy cafe chain not so bad for breakfast at least…

As fate would have it, I happened to eat for the first time at a Cozy Cafe in the Des Moines area (the original one, in Clive) one day before the DM Register pretty much panned it . The breakfast I had was pass-able. The service was very good (it was quiet on a cold Wednesday morning) and I was surprised by the hip cheerful decor.

Datebook diner review Cozy Cafe

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January 23, 2014 · 7:49 pm

The washington Post: “Why Iowa Rules”

Sally Field 1971.JPGGuess I’d agree with much of this (except the Machine Shed breakfasts which are a bit much)Washington Post story

but can’t help thinking of the famous Sally Field Oscars acceptance speech: “you like me right now. you like me!”

 

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January 20, 2014 · 5:18 pm

Wow and Norwegian airlines flights to london – cheaper?

This from airfarewatchdog on cheaper flight options to london:

How to Save: The big trick that will help in 2014 is finding affordable airfare; other than accommodations, this is going to be your largest expense. With new low-cost transatlantic airlines like Norwegian and WOW promising to undercut major carriers’ prices in the coming year, it will likely be easier to pick up an affordable plane ticket to the British capital this spring and summer.

WOW Air, the new Icelandic low-fare airline, announced it would start flying between Boston and London/Gatwick this spring. Similar to Icelandair’s long-term flying pattern, flights will be via Reykjavik: leaving Boston in the evening and arriving in London the following morning, with the morning departure, afternoon arrival reverse pattern.

So far, WOW hasn’t announced anything about Iceland stopovers, but I’ll be very surprised if the line doesn’t offer stopover packages.

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Flights will be in A320s, at a slightly below-average 30- to 31-inch pitch but average or better width. Although the airline is single class, you can reserve the extra-room exit-row seats and even guarantee an empty middle seat by paying extra.

Fares aren’t available yet, but the fare pattern will almost surely continue the carrier’s policy of offering very low fares to early buyers on at least some dates. Currently, for example, fares from London to Reykjavik are as low as £98 each way (about $157), including the onerous British passenger duty and a £6 “payment fee.” The only surprise is a very stiff charge of £19 for one checked bag.

Whether WOW flights will appeal to U.S. and Canadian travelers depends on one main factor: Will the fares be low enough to offset the increased flight time (compared to nonstops) and the hassle of an overnight stop? Back in the regulated days, low fares on Loftledir, the precursor to Icelandic, got a lot of budget travelers to accept those conditions, and many of them opted for a quick Iceland stopover. WOW seems to be hoping to replicate that formula.

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January 19, 2014 · 4:46 pm

A plug for my aunt’s book of Antarctica photographs!

This from the Wall Street Journal:

Most travelers will never visit Antarctica—and even if they do, they likely won’t see it in this way. Artist Diane Tuft traveled there in 2012 on a National Science Foundation grant to document the effects of ozone depletion on Antarctica’s light. Her gorgeous results are collected in the new book “Gondwana: Images of an Ancient Land.” This is the natural world abstracted—snow sculpted by the wind, folding upon itself; shapes that might be boulders or grains of sediment, depending on where the photographer stood. Though they may feel fresh, many of Ms. Tuft’s shots capture eons-old formations, such as jewel-like air bubbles that were frozen into a lake thousands of years ago. $95, assouline.com

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