trza's Profile
[Iowa/Illinois] Mississippi River area
If you like small town pre-fab rail car diners then The Fort Sandwich Shop in Ft Madison, Iowa is good. Just outside your territory is Schera's in Elkader.
Dinner in Des Moines
You have every bistro in town minus Baru 56 and their new casual place Tartine in Clive.
Iowa - Regional Food ideas anyone???
The loosemeat/maid-rite/made-right sandwich is not complicated, and the only ingredients are ground beef and salt with a steamed bun.
A huge portion of Iowa soybeans are exported to China, up to a quarter of the whole deal someday according to forecasts. So its like Iowa is growing ingredients for Chinese food.
North Carolina hounded headed to Iowa...
The Little Bohemia Bar & Grill in the Czech Village just recently got their kitchen back to a full menu of what they served before the flood. Worth checking out.
North Carolina hounded headed to Iowa...
Newtons Paradise Cafe in downtown Waterloo, next to Cedar Falls.
Crispy Breaded Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches
Don't sleep on the loin from Westside Maid-Rite close to downtown in Cedar Rapids
downtown des moines
The best Vietnamese places are just outside downtown, and the best Indian places are in the Suburbs.
Des Moines Update
Tartine is new, but its like a casual version of Baru.
Smokey D's north location is a model of BBQ and crowd control efficiency, they get nearly as many people as the Olive Garden in Ankeny.
Zombie Burger wins the "best online promotion" award for new restaurants in Des Moines this year. They ran out of food and had lines out the door when the place opened. All of this for burgers.
Americana downtown is new also.
Specialty food shopping in Des Moines
The new cheese store on 42nd St will open soon, or its already open.
Des Moines Update
What are you comparing the loin from Saints Pub & Patio to, if I may ask? I had always put off trying it because the place is owned by some people who mostly operate trendy bars, but they do have good wings that are 50cents on weekends. Tully's across the street advertised a half pound loin, but like most of the stuff on the menu, it was poorly executed.
For fried chicken, try the Q in West Des Moines.
Des Moines questions
The Little Nipper changed management and remodeled the interior recently, I haven't been there since.
La Mie is exactly what everyone says it is.
10 Days in Omaha With Car (where to eat?)
Western Iowa has some decent hometown scratch cafes spread out over an enormous geographical area. Check your map to see if you are anywhere near:
Susie's Kitchen in Stanton (SHORT HOURS)
Farmer's Kitchen in Atlantic
Cronk's Cafe in Denison
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Farmer's Kitchen
319 Walnut St, Atlantic, IA 50022
Susie's Kitchen
404 Broad Ave, Stanton, IA 51573
Driving i-35 between KC and Des Moines
Secret Spots from Trza:
Sale Barn Cafe: in Lamoni Short hour cafe closes at 2pm, homemade everything from pies to casserole to baked bread and full breakfast. Outside smells like cows. Call ahead.
900 E Main St, Lamoni, IA
The Dinky Diner in Decatur City serves a good breakfast in an original double-wide prefab diner manufactured in the fifties.
The Roadside Inn in Martensdale advertises a "famous giant loin" on the menu, but you can find a better one ten miles off the freeway in Old Peru, right next to East Peru at the Peru Bar and Grill, get off on the Truro exit. My review is here:
http://des-loines.blogspot.com/2009/12/peru-bar-and-grill-in-old-peru.html
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Roadside Inn
325 N Highway 28, Martensdale, IA 50160
Dinky Diner
104 NE 4th St, Decatur, IA 50067
Des Moines Delis (old school)
There is always the Kosher Deli on Polk Blvd, they once had a relationship with the big kosher meat operation up in Postville.
Driving along I-80
the tenderloin map of iowa
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=204174415584031850620.000487584186059458b31&ll=41.943149,-92.878418&spn=3.350314,9.876709&z=7
river road in iowa restaurants
Scheras in Elkader
Scheras in Elkader
Scheras in Elkader
107 South Main St
Elkader, IA 52043
(563) 245-1992
http://www.scheras.com/
Return of Raul's in Des Moines
I have never heard anything good about the place, but I understand it was one of the first mexican restaurants in the Des Moines area. Its location has been a death knell for new places, with constant openings and closing on that street for the last ten years.
Best Lunch in Des Moines?
I'm not sure Des Moines has any real OMG THAT WAS AWESOME type of places for special lunches. There are plenty of low-key places with good value, but this isn't the kind of town that leaves teenager's impressed with anything. If you avoid The Machine Shed, you should do just fine.
mngal is heading to Des Moines with the kids (9&10) for a few days - Any places to not miss?
Bobfrmia, Jhojo, and Inthewater all eat in Des Moines regularly, you should give us more criteria for some reccomendations.
Des Moines Update
La Mie closes at 4 in the afternoon and turns into a bistro with a different chef. Le Jardin opens at 5. A lot of the good stuff at La Mie is sold out early.
DSM Register Readers' Top 100 Poll
I think this kind of poll gives a huge advantage to places with facebook and twitter followers, or even just a generally young clientele. Metromix is an annoying website with very little content, I prefer des moines alive for user reviews. I saw the promotins to vote in this list, and I have an account but never bothered. I think Cityview's reader polls come out soon.
Farm-to-table restaurants in Ames and Des Moines?
I would have to recommend Suburban Restaurant in Gilbert on Highway 69 just north of Ames. Its great if you want comfort food.
http://www.suburbanrestaurant.com/
Goldies in Prairie City is run by a twenty-something who serves burgers from his family farm in Jasper County. Most of the stuff on the menu probably comes from other sources.
Avoid the Machine Shed at all cost. Total puke city.
48 hours in Des Moines: Where should I eat?
If you are heading East of Des Moines, Goldies in Prairie City recently won the Iowa Pork Producer's Best Tenderloin Award for 2009. Its an Ice Cream Shop open year round near a state park.
My photo's are here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/31257680@N05/tags/prairiecity/
all that is good to eat in Des Moines
Hey Bob, what night is "wing night" at Jethro's? I think they are half price on one night each week. This has been bugging me for a while because I can't remember.
For Bosnian/Serbian/Croatian food, try the cevapi (grilled meats with pita bread), or meats/cheese wrapped in filo dough, or giant pita bread sandwiches at these three places. Each are total dives:
Gyros Grill Drive-Thru at 2831 Douglas Ave
Saraj's The Place for Gyros 3811 Douglas
Euro Bar and Grill 7625 Hickman in Urbandale
Dinner in Des Moines?
I uploaded some of my pics from Kelly's Little Nipper to my flickr page:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/31257680@N05/tags/nipper/
Battle's BBQ in Ames and Nevada, IA
I was in the Indianola location yesterday. It seemed like just another BBQ shack to me. There was just one overworked employee and a bunch of slow-cookers. The sauce had some bite, but thats about it. There wasn't pulled pork on offer either.
Its probably not in my Indianola top lunch spots after Crouse Cafe and the One-Stop Sandwich Stop, .
