Tag Archives: Des Moines

January 4, 2018 · 7:56 pm

A little bit of Brooklyn in Des Moines – St. Kilda Bakery and Cafe

The new St. Kilda Bakery & Cafe, tucked away in an emerging downtown neighborhood of old brick warehouses converted into lofts and newly constructed apartment buildings, grabbed my attention initially because its owner is London-born and Australian-raised and promised an “Australian-style cafe.” That’s new for Des Moines.  Then I learned from a friend – a Des Moines native who lives in Brooklyn’s stylish Prospect Heights neighborhood – that St. Kilda’s owner previously ran a bar/restaurant in her NYC neighborhood. (Apparently he’s married to a Des Moines native, hence the move here…)

Anyway, St. Kilda (named after the owner’s hometown near Melbourne) has an urban contemporary  vibe and “modern, healthy-style”  food, based on my first lunch there last month.  Located in the attractively renovated warehouse now known as the Harbach Lofts, south of MLKing Parway downtown (a few blocks northwest of Principal Park, home of Des Moines’ minor league baseball team, the Iowa Cubs), St. Kilda  is a small but  airy tan-grey-white space with pale hard wood, concrete and redbrick. My friend Denise and I shared the avocado toast (an entree that appears to be all the rage today) and a steak salad with a poached egg on top. Both were attractively presented with  clever ingredients (beyond smashed avocado, the toast included charred corn, feta, tomato salsa; the surprisingly light steak salad included figs, pears and a bacon vinaigrette) — so not as ordinary or easily-made-at-home as you might think.   I look forward to trying dinner there sometime soon. (Here’s DSM Mag’s take)

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December 6, 2017 · 9:46 pm

A new kind of dining at The Foundry in Valley Junction (WDM Iowa)

This new bar/food truck emporium/hangout is something new for the Des Moines area, as far as I know. Located inside a former 1890’s red-brick rail car repair shop and iron foundry,  The Foundry’s “Hall” is both rustic and high-tech, with long wooden tables and benches but also lots of gi-normous (over 6 foot high) computerized screens on the wall that broadcast sports shows and movies as well as let you know when your order is ready.

cozy space inside The Hall

To order food from a food truck in attendance (they rotate), you go up to a computer kiosk, tap on the name of the food truck you’re interested in to get its menu, tap what you want to order, pay using a credit card (not sure if you can use cash) and wait for your name to pop up on the overhead screen and then pick up your order.  No server involved, that we could tell. At least for the food.

Ordering at the kiosk

But you do order drinks from a server.  And we bought some coffee (from downtown’s Horizon Line, which sadly was way too bitter) from a real human being standing behind a coffee cart. We went on a Sunday midday so it wasn’t an ideal time to assess the place but it did offer the makings of a fine Bloody Mary Bar. There were only two food trucks there when we visited but guessing there are more and not sure if there is a schedule.

The food can also be ordered by downloading an app for “The Hall.”

The Hall also has great spaces to hang out and play board games (also provided). Happenings including Tuesday trivia nights, Wednesday card nights and pop-up events from ballet to beer bingo to movie screenings and sports game-watching. On December 17, there’s a homemade gift market for last-minute holiday shoppers.

On tap for next year is some sort of kitchen operation that’s a nonprofit seeking to combat hunger and homelessness, plus provide skills training – so that will be interesting to see – and a distillery.

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November 6, 2017 · 1:42 am

Do not miss the “tape show” at the Des Moines Art Center

It is way cooler than it sounds, this show with giant site specific installations by artists who,use tape as their medium. Check out the photos here for proof. Our long overdue visit happened to coincide with an open house for kids and families from Findley Elementary School who worked with one of the artists on a installation of colorful bouquets taped  onto the gleaming white exterior of the Richard Meier wing. How cool is that? The kids seemed so excited to be the belles of the ball at the art center which threw a reception for the kids complete with servers with trays of delicious looking kid-friendly appetizers including grilled cheese sandwiches. And in the I.M. Pei wing long tunnels made of very strong tape were strung across the galleries, strong enough for kids and even their parents to crawl through. I love that the art center was willing to do that! Continue reading →

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November 3, 2017 · 10:06 pm

for future reference West DSM: The Foundry!

A hall full of food truck fare?
Sounds interesting!

Looking forward to checking out The Foundry which opened recently in West Des Moines’ Valley Junction. See: Details here!

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November 2, 2017 · 6:40 pm

Regina Spektor at Hoyt Sherman in DSM!

The invigorated Hoyt Sherman continues to offer great performances, most recently one last Monday by one-of-a-kind singer/songwriter Regina Spektor who soldiered her way through 2.5 hours of performing almost completely solo on stage, sometimes accompanying herself on piano or guitar, even singing a Capella, while battling bronchitis. Pretty gutsy and very talented. So pleased that Hoyt Sherman is once again offering phenomenal shows (Elvis Costello, Joe Jackson, Ben Harper, Lucinda Williams, Regina…to name a few)!

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September 17, 2017 · 11:43 pm

Check out my story in Rails-to-Trails Conservancy’s magazine: the Raccoon River Valley Trail

Here it is!  Click here! (This is the photo taken by my friend Denise…that was used below. And yes, that’s me riding….)

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September 12, 2017 · 7:06 pm

Captain Roy’s – a new spot to stop while biking on the Neal Smith Trail in Des Moines

Good thing Dirck remembered that there is a new place to stop, as we were riding our bikes on the Neal Smith Trail near Birdland Marina  on Des Moines’ East Side Sunday.  We rode right past Captain Roy’s, without noticing it, but backtracked and found a pleasant little clearing with outdoor tables and a deck overlooking the Des Moines River, as well as a food truck serving burgers and chicken and waffles and a small building with a takeout window  for beer and other drinks. We sat in the sunshine, watching the occasional boat go by on the Des Moines River, enjoying a late summer/early fall day.

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August 16, 2017 · 4:06 pm

Iowa State Fair 2017 – gorgeous weather brings lots of people but doesn’t feel crowded

The weather was so perfect (sunny and almost cool, not hot or humid) last Saturday that I feared the fairgrounds would be uncomfortably crowded. There were tons of people but the fair didn’t feel any more crowded than usual for a Saturday. There was a long line at the Dairy Barn, which is to be expected, and it remains the one place where I always feel sweaty, even in relatively cool temps, because there’s no shade.

But there was hardly any wait to get an egg-on-a-stick from the Iowa Egg Council inthe Ag Building or to get a ticket for the Sky Glider. We sailed right into the Pork Producer’s tent for dinner – maybe because it was relatively late? (about 7 p.m.)


The Midway did look cleaner, brighter and less seedy – as promised with the rebranding as Thrill Park. And I did overhear someone actually ordering a cheesy fried enchilada funnel cake – one of the “new foods” at the fair. No thank you. Other than that, just enjoyed the usual highlights, with the added bonus of having two of our grown kids and their significant others with us!

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August 7, 2017 · 3:33 am

Real onion bhajis in Des Moines…at a Nepalese Restaurant no less!

I fell in love with onion bhajis in the 1980s when I lived in London and started going to Indian restaurants. But I have rarely found them on menus in Indian restaurants in the U.S. so when I spotted them on the menu at Kathmandu, a new Nepalese restaurant on Des Moines south side, I had to violate my pledge not to eat Indian food at the restaurant (we wanted to stick with Nepalese entrees since we’ve rarely had Nepalese food) and glad I did.

 They were the real deal. crispy clumps of cut onions, battered and fried, served with two sauces. THink Indian onion rings that look more like a sloppy latke. WE also had chicken moma, a Nepalese dumpling and a Nepalese version of saag (spinach) creamed with chunks of potatoes. the restaurant looks like a bodega from the outside, on an uncharming thoroughfare known for ragtag shops, cheap motels, pawn shops, rough bars, used cars and immigrant- owned businesses.

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August 5, 2017 · 3:13 pm

Finds at the Downtown Farmers Market – Des Moines

“There’s usually nothing new down there,” my husband muttered as I persisted in heading down a side street (near the new HyVee) in downtown Des Moines during the Saturday morning farmers market.

And he’s usually right. But this time of year, chances are he’s wrong – and he was. Spotting a crowd gathered around a vendor, we arrived at Coeur Bread which turns out to be new (or new to us and this particular market location) and makes noteworthy bread, which is hard to do in such a crowded field these days. The flavors are different – raspberry feta is delicious, “hot chocolate” a little odd but not too sweet, jalapeno corn has visible kernels and a kick. And the texture is perfect – dense, chewy, crusty and dusty on the outside, both the little rolls (sort of the size of charcoal brickets) and the loafs, sweetly wrapped in brown butcher paper with a little brown ribbon.

I was also pleased to see the return of Butcher Crick, which sells gorgeous heirloom tomatoes – all kinds of odd shapes, unusual colors and best of all, discernable flavor. And the sellers are so enthusiastic it’s hard not to suddenly drop $8 on a handful of beauties.

With fresh produce so bountiful and widely available this time of year, I’ve come to restrict my Saturday farmer’s market shopping to things I can’t find elsewhere and raspberry-feta bread and dusty red or tiger-striped tomatoes fit that bill.

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