We have stopped here for food on a couple of occasions and have found it to be an above average pub food location with an interesting historical atmosphere. Today, we stopped by to try out their Happy Hour that we found on www.happyhourdesmoines.com and enjoyed our stop as well as the service and interactions with our server, Brent – who was fantastic! Brent went out of his way to give us great service, including bringing sample tastes of their local brews without even being asked – to encourage them over the Busch Lights that our guests ordered.
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Since my brother and Sister-in-law who were visiting hadn’t yet tried a Dutch Letter, we had yet another chance to visit Nan’s while driving through the Valley Junction area during their visit.
In addition to the Dutch Letter (which we’ve always found to be delicious), we also ordered their specialty – the Almond Creme cookies for each of us to try. They are so light, crumbly and delicious – don’t leave without sampling at least one! Lastly, my brother ordered some Peanut Butter Crispy treats and as you might expect – we all found them to be delicious also.
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If you follow my posts, you know that I’m a sucker for sweets – so it was hard not to like this place. We were in the area and heard about it from friends, so stopped in while my brother and Sister-in-law were visiting. As you might expect in a place like this, there was a great selection of chocolates and pretty much all things sweet. While the prices were a little on the high end, they weren’t out of line with other similar places in higher traffic / rent areas.
They are known in some reviews for their chocolate covered bacon (what can’t be good if it includes bacon and chocolate, right?). While I found the bacon / salt with the chocolate to be a good combination, my wife and I both commented that it would have been even better if the bacon inside was more crispy. I love dark chocolate and sea salt caramel though – and their Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels were absolutely delicious!
Assuming you like sweets since you read this far into the review, you will definitely enjoy a stop here to pick up some local, great tasting and unique sweets!
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This place has been on my Want to Go list for a while and got the chance this week while my brother and sister-in-law were visiting. While it was admittedly a little difficult to find buried in the middle of a strip mall – overall, it is a solid stop with a good selection of what you’d expect to find in a bakery (see pictures). We entered through the back and while the large deck was empty in March, the posted summer pictures look like it would be a great place to have breakfast and a coffee.
For my meal, I ordered the Southwest Omelet (see picture) and my wife ordered the Sausage & Mushroom Omelet (see picture). My Sister-in-law ordered the Quinoa Black Bean Salad (see picture) and my brother ordered the Ham and Swiss Sandwich (see picture). We all enjoyed our orders, with the only negative being that the toast included with the omelets was toasted too long and ended up very hard. The bread itself was good though, as my brother commented that he really liked the bread on his Ham and Swiss Sandwich.
The interior atmosphere was clean and modern and the presentation of the prepared foods was great. The things that held me back on a 5* were the strip mall exterior, plastic eating utensils and the venting / duct work on the ceiling above the kitchen area. From our table in the dining area, the kitchen ceiling showed an accumulation you might expect in a kitchen area that would look much better with a good cleaning.
Lastly on the service, I marked it down a bit due to the time it took for someone to help us at the front counter (several workers there, but seemed pre-occupied with other tasks and didn’t initially even acknowledge we were there or ask if we would like help). Similarly, after our order at the counter, the food was dropped off at our table with very little interaction of any kind and no follow up during or after our meal.
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We stopped here shortly after moving into the area 2 years ago and had the opportunity to go back tonight while celebrating Birthdays of our son and daughter-in-law. I enjoyed the atmosphere and the smell when you walk in and thought the food was above average, the value and service only rate average to me.
We started with a round of drinks – and since the Tequila Sunrise (see picture) was the special for the night, we each ordered one. We decided to order Crab Rangoon (see picture) as an appetizer and thought they tasted quite good. For our main meal, we ordered the Family Platter (see picture) and added 1/2 pound of sausage. While the butter and seasoning flavors were great, I felt that the seafood and sweetcorn were over-cooked and a little tough / rubbery as a result.
While it can be tough to rate the quality of the food for a place like this, I landed on a 4 based on the taste being good but the cooking time being a bit too long. Given how messy it is to eat, this likely isn’t a place where you take a first date nor wear your Sunday best clothes. Relative to this type of food, this is a reasonable place to enjoy some good Cajun seafood and seasoning.
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Family Platter w/ 1/2 lb SausageCrab RangoonTequila SunriseBirthday Shot
We stopped here for dinner this weekend while staying at a house on Gull Lake and enjoyed our stop. From the outside, it had a large log-cabin type of appearance – but the strongest feature here was the atmosphere and the beautiful lighting and stone work that awaits you when you walk through the front door. It was truly an amazing visual experience to see!
We started with a round of drinks. I had the Old Fashioned (see picture) and was honestly quite disappointed with it as it seemed to be nothing but straight bourbon and possibly a slight dash of bitters. My wife ordered a Margarita and both of us thought it tasted quite good.
For dinner, my wife and I decided to split the 16 oz Ribeye (see picture) while she added the salad (see picture) and we shared the Popovers (see picture). I really liked the Popovers and the flavored butter that came with them. My wife enjoyed the flavor of the salad, but didn’t like that it had to be cut at the table to eat it. The Ribeye was above average in flavor and was prepared as ordered – and the Cheesy Potatoes (see picture) were fantastic, so rich, creamy and delicious.
Last but not least, we ordered a piece of Turtle Cheesecake (see picture) and that quite frankly was likely the highlight of my meal – I thought it was wonderful and would highly recommend that you end your meal with a piece of it yourself!
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Turtle Cheesecake16 oz RibeyeCheesy PotatoesPopoversOld Fashioned
I always try to stop at a brewery in a city we are visiting so couldn’t pass up the opportunity to check out the Roundhouse and was glad that we stopped. We were surprised at how many cars were in the parking lot and were impressed with the additional activities (such as axe throwing) that they advertised.
The building and interior were modern and clean and the service was friendly and quick. The beer selection was good (around 20 on tap) and my wife and I shared a 6 sample beer Flight. We found most of the beers to be well above average and rated them all in Untappd.
Definitely worth a stop if you are in the Nisswa / Gull Lake area.
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It was a Friday during Lent so we were looking for seafood takeout options to take to our son’s place for a late lunch. This place was right along the way, so we ordered ahead to pick it up on the way by. While I love trying new places and like to support small businesses, I feel that this place is going to need some management assistance to stay alive. For starters, my wife wasn’t able to order online through their website and was tricked into signing up with a contract with another company when she thought she was placing her order for the food. Therefore, she gave up and called in instead…and while taking our order, the order-taker suddenly stopped taking our order and proceeded to yell at one of the other employees.
Since we ordered ahead over the phone, I dropped my wife off at the door and waited outside with the vehicle running as I thought it would be a quick stop to pick up our food. After 15 minutes of waiting, I parked the vehicle and went inside to see what was going on with our order. My wife then informed me that the menu in the store was different than what she ordered based on what showed online. Beware that the in-store menu does not include beverages as is shown in their online menu and the prices are higher.
Once the food was finally finished and we got it to our son’s house, we found the food to be relatively good. The best part in my opinion was the Hush Puppies (see picture) with the Shrimp & Fries basket (see picture) also being tasty. We weren’t as impressed with the Fish & Fries basket (see picture), as the breading was very dry and cornmeal like, with little to no flavor or seasoning.
Bottom line is that the food was reasonable for a fast food restaurant, but the service is definitely not fast. Don’t expect that they will be organized enough to have your food ready if you call ahead – I’d order at the restaurant and make sure you have about 15 minutes available to wait for the food.
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This place was directly across the street from the Hilton Garden Inn where we were staying and since we didn’t stop here for dinner, we stopped here for an after-dinner cocktail on the way back to our room.
Given our penchant for unique cocktails and my love of spicy and smokey drinks, we really enjoyed our stop (see cocktail pictures below). Our server was very friendly and helpful relative to helping us find a great cocktail for our tastes and in addition to enjoying the drinks, we had great conversation with a couple of people at the bar.
The food that was being served while we were there looked and smelled delicious, so we look forward to stopping back here for dinner sometime on another visit.
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We came across this place somewhat by accident while staying at the Hilton Garden Inn a block up the street. The Thai Pop across the street from the hotel caught my eye, but my wife was interested in American food for the evening so I did a quick search and talked her into the Blue Duck Kitchen based on their reviews and menu items.
We were impressed from the moment we walked into the place – unique, modern, clean, friendly and welcoming – with the owner floating around and making sure things were just right throughout the evening. Since we were there before official dinner hours and the dining room was still closed, we took a seat in the bar and decided to enjoy a few Happy Hour items from the sign (see picture). That brings me to the first call-out for great service – Leo was a fantastic bartender, was knowledgeable about the various drink selections and made wonderful Happy Hour food suggestions.
I started with an Old Fashioned (Happy Hour special – see picture) and wanted some food since we hadn’t eaten lunch, so Leo suggested the Kimchi Dog (see picture) – talking about how great it was. We were a little unsure about ordering a hot dog in a nicer restaurant, but went with his suggestion – and boy were we happy that we did. The hot dog was split in half the long way, had a nice ‘snap’ skin and was made with high quality meat. That, combined with the quality bread used for the bun and the great seasonings made it a dish that both my wife and I loved so much that we ordered another – the Chili Dog (see picture), which was also delicious!
We were then called to our table in the dining room…bringing about the 2nd call-out for great service – Alisha was quite the treat as our server. She was knowledgeable and friendly – and had great information about the menu items as well as some great recommendations! I usually don’t mention that I do reviews until after the meal is complete, but decided to flip the script tonight as there were so many things that looked great on the menu, so wanted Alisha to pick for me.
For our dinner, my wife ordered the Chef’s Catch (see picture) and I Alisha surprised me with the Nashville Hot Frog Legs (see picture). Both of us loved our meals and as I told Alisha – while I never would have ordered the Frog Legs, I thought they were delicious. The Nashville Hot sauce was great (loved the burn) and the macaroni and cheese that they were served on was rich, creamy and tasty. I highly recommend both dishes.
As good as everything was, we just had to try some dessert. While Alisha suggested the Strawberry Crepe Cake (as did others we met later in the evening), we were afraid that would be too much – so went with the Chocolate Chip Cookies with sea salt (see picture) and coffee. They were bite-sized, warm (fresh out of the oven) – firm on the outside and yet so soft and wonderful on the inside. The next time we come back, we will have to try the Strawberry Crepe Cake – but that doesn’t take anything away from these cookies, as they were delicious!
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Nashville Hot Frog LegsChef’s CatchKimchi DogChili DogOld Fashioned (sweet)Mezcal PalomaChocolate Chip Cookies & CoffeeHappy Hour
I’ve been waiting quite a while to try this place as I had heard and read multiple stories about how good their smoked meats are – and finally got the opportunity to go with some co-workers tonight. Boy what a treat it was, with the BBQ meat being some of the best I’ve had and the service from Abby nothing short of exceptional – friendly, energetic, knowledgeable & not afraid to share her opinions! While I couldn’t go 5* across the board given the plastic eating utensils, Styrofoam containers for sides and $8+ tap beers, this is truly a gem with some great character just a short drive north of Des Moines that is also set up very well for take-out.
We started with a round of drinks – the tap selection was more than expected for a smaller community outside of the Des Moines metro (see pictures). For dinner, Abby was kind enough to recommend the Brisket (fatty) and Ribs (see picture) paired with Jalapeno Cream Corn (see picture) and Potato Salad (see picture). The fun little ‘treat’ at the bottom of the Jalapeno Cream Corn container was a few Fritos corn chips – which made a nice crunchy complement to the corn. My co-workers ordered Brisket (lean – see picture) and Brisket (lean) with Pulled Pork (see picture). Even though the meat didn’t need any sauce, I enjoyed the Wildfire BBQ Sauce to not only add it to my meat and cornbread, but also bought a bottle to bring home (see picture).
All of the smoked meat was delicious, with the fatty Brisket being extremely moist and flavorful (as might be expected from its name). I sampled some of the Fries and also thought they were very good – excellent flavor without the extremely high saltiness. I really enjoyed the roadhouse feel and decor throughout the building (see pictures) along with the pin board showing where their customers lived (see picture).
Lastly, don’t leave without sampling at least one of their Sweet Treats. Abby recommended the Oatmeal Cream Pie (see picture) as one of their originals and favorites as well as the Nutter Butter Nanna Puddin (see picture). While both are pre-packaged as per the pictures, both of them tasted fantastic and I highly recommend them both.
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I’ve heard about this place and driven by it multiple times thinking that we needed to go sometime and last night finally presented its opportunity. Friends were in town and we were enjoying some Happy Hour specials from happyhourdesmoines.com at a nearby pub when the owner asked if we were going to the comedy club.
We decided to give it a try ordering tickets on our phones while at another nearby restaurant. Tickets weren’t too bad ($17/person) but there was a 2 item per person minimum order, so I was bracing for some really expensive food and/or food.
While finalizing our evening plans, we checked out the menu and were pleasantly surprised by both the food selection as well as the pricing. After reviewing the menu, we decided that we would plan to eat at the Funny Bone before the show, so we arrived a little early, ordered drinks (see Lemon Drop Martini picture) and then ordered our meals.
I went with a basket of sweet potato fries while my wife ordered the Buffalo Chicken Sandwich (see picture) and our friend ordered the Chicken Strips (see picture). The sweet potato fry basked arrived early, so we all enjoyed them with the sauce that was provided. I shared the Buffalo Chicken Sandwich with my wife and was pleasantly surprised with how good it was.
I found both the sweet potato fries as well as the Buffalo Chicken Sandwich to be at least in line with other nearby pubs and restaurants. The fries were flavorful, crispy on the outside and soft and warm on the inside. The Buffalo Chicken Sandwich was loaded with hot sauce (very juicy) and the bun tasted great. Our friend also thought that the Chicken Strips and fries were very good – so we would recommend both of them.
I was a little hesitant and not sure what to expect here, but found the atmosphere (it was packed for the early show on Saturday night), food, comedy and value to all be good enough that I look forward to a return trip in the near future.
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This is a donut lovers paradise without a doubt – with almost any size, shape and flavor of donut that you can imaging…and a catchy business name to top it off. I have stopped here on several occasions and enjoyed a variety of different donuts, so am convinced that it would be very hard for anyone to not thoroughly enjoy a visit.
I can say with confidence that if you like donuts, you will definitely find it worth your while to stop and sample a few (or a dozen…).
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We enjoyed an earlier stop at The Breakfast Club in downtown Des Moines, so looked forward to the opportunity to try out this new location closer to our home. We got the chance this weekend when friends were in town visiting and all of us were very glad that we stopped here.
We started the meal with a round of Bloody Mary’s – all of us agreed that they tasted great, were not overly salty and were ‘light’ in that they weren’t thick and pulpy. I pulled the atmosphere down a little due to the music being too loud for our tastes, making it more difficult to visit at the table.
For our meals, I ordered the Farm Boy with over easy eggs (see picture), my wife ordered the Deburgo Benny (see picture) and our guests ordered the Pad Thai Quinoa (see picture) and Basic B (see picture). We all exchanged tastes of each dish and everyone was very happy with their dish. I would highly recommend all of them with my only slight negative being that the Deburgo Benny gravy seemed a little salty.
The Breakfast Club finds a good balance between keeping portion sizes reasonable – leading to prices that are a competitive value. This value does not come at the expense of food quality or flavor either – as the dishes were all very tasty and presented very well, as the pictures show. This is a great stop for breakfast / brunch / lunch without the need to travel downtown for those of us who live on the northwest side of Des Moines.
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Pad Thai QuinoaBasic BFarm Boy with over-easy eggsDeburgo Benny
We have stopped here several times before…especially during Lent for their Friday night fish fries. Since it was Ash Wednesday and we were in the area for Mass…it seemed like a good idea to stop here to have some seafood on the way home. Suffice it to say that we were a little disappointed in their seafood options given the restaurant name – fewer than a handful and to substitute shrimp for chicken in a salad was an additional $5. Based on their current menu, it seems that Blue Chicken might be a more fitting name for the restaurant. But I digress…
The food presentation was great and the flavor was average – but the service was definitely above average, as Courtney took good care of us. Following a Jalapeno Margarita (we enjoyed it, just be forewarned that it does have a pretty good spicy bite to it), we ordered our meals.
I ordered the Grilled Salmon (see picture) and my wife ordered the Blue Shark Chopped Salad (see picture). I thought the brocolli was cooked well – I like a little crunchiness left in my veggies and that is what was delivered. The salmon was slightly overcooked, but not to the point that it was overly dry and the mashed potatoes seemed a little bland (didn’t taste much butter or seasoning). The blue cheese on the chopped salad was delicious as was the shrimp (other than having to pay $5 more for the shrimp vs. chicken and only having 8 on the salad).
Lastly, I knocked the Value down to below average not only due to the shrimp add-on mentioned above, but also because we found a 3% CSC (assume customer service charge as a result of using a credit card). I almost never carry cash anymore – doing everything with credit and am disappointed with any restaurant that charges extra for the use of a credit card. That is a business decision on their part, but they need to keep in mind that rather than get cash to go back next time, I likely will select another place instead…so I’m not sure they come out ahead in the end.
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Walked by this place on numerous occasions and finally took the chance to stop for dinner tonight. Nothing super fancy as far as the atmosphere, but the food was top notch and our server (Ethan) was also excellent.
We started with a Cafe Sua Cheese Foam hot drink – mostly because we hadn’t had one before and wanted to try something different. Boy was it delicious – best way I can describe it is a great cappuccino with a foam that has a wonderful salted caramel flavor to it that feels wonderful in your mouth! If you haven’t tried one of these before, I highly recommend that you give it a try.
For an appetizer, my wife and I shared a Banh Mi sandwich (see picture) that was one of the best that we’ve had – I would have been happy to have that for my meal. For our dinner, I ordered the Pho Special (see picture) and my wife ordered the Broken Rice (see picture). We weren’t exactly sure what broken rice was, but Ethan described it as rice topped with an egg – and it was every bit as good as his recommendation. As is our standard, we shared our plates and both of us thoroughly enjoyed both dishes.
If you are looking for some great Vietnamese Pho or an excellent hot or cold Asian drink in downtown Des Moines, you won’t be disappointed with a stop at Pho Real. We definitely won’t hesitate to stop by again, even if only for a drink – as there are so many more to try!
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Saw that this place won best Burger in town (specifically recommending the Smashburger) in Cityview, so asked our neighbors to join us and ventured downtown for dinner after the big snowstorm. Given the name, I was expecting a fairly high-end and expensive place – so was a little surprised when we walked in to see a colorful retro-diner decor.
While one of the servers shared that a previous reviewer had made disparaging remarks about the workers appearance, I’ve shared in my online profiles that I enjoy servers with some character, opinions on the food and a story to tell. I found the atmosphere to be quite inviting with friendly and professional workers looking for ways to be of service to their customers.
Given the award and recommendation for smashburgers, I ordered the Uncle Denny (see picture). I loved the soft, moist bun and found the Duke’s mayo & pepper jelly to be the perfect level of spice to complement the smashburger and bun. The included fries were also very good – great combination of crispiness on the outside, yet soft inside.
My wife ordered The Big Gym with Tots (see picture) and also enjoyed it – commenting especially on how good the tots were. She liked the fact that the tots were nice and crispy on the outside and not soft / soggy. Our neighbor ordered the The Chili Charles (see picture) open-faced chili burger on Texas Toast and also enjoyed it. Admittedly, it looked so good that I think that is what I will try on our next visit.
The pricing, including $5 tap beers, seemed reasonable and the burgers were top-notch. A great retro-diner experience that you will want to try!
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The Uncle Denny SmashburgerThe Big Gym SmashburgerThe Chili Charles
I stopped by before an appointment to check out the menu and prices and decided a return trip was definitely warranted. I ended up meeting my wife here for Happy Hour food and drinks just a week later and we both really enjoyed the visit.
We started with the Cosa Nostra wood-fired pizza and Bitter Melon Mojito shared drink – both recommendations from our waitress and both delicious. I wasn’t familiar with the shared drink concept before this, but think of it like getting a pitcher of the drink along with glasses to share.
Next, we were still a little hungry so went for the Stuffed Mushrooms (again at our waitress’ suggestion) – and found them to be cheese-covered deliciousness!
Lastly, and might I say best of all given my sweet tooth, we ordered a piece of Tiramisu to share. Do NOT leave without trying a piece – smooth, fresh, delicious, light and possibly the best I’ve ever had!
You won’t go wrong stopping here for a meal…especially if you take advantage of the Happy Hour!
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Update: We stopped back again last night with our son and again enjoyed the experience. I’m also happy to report that they made improvements following my initial review regarding poor lighting (and clutter) in the restaurant. The lighting was much better, enabling me to take some better-quality pictures (see below). From this, I increased the Atmosphere rating to a 4*.
We ordered Lamb Curry (see picture), Chef Special Grill Platter (see picture) and Coconut Chicken Curry (see picture) along with Garlic & Butter Naan (see picture). We really enjoyed all of them – with the Chef Special Grill Platter providing the most food (including full chicken drumsticks) and the Coconut Chicken Curry having the best flavor (even though it my son ordered mild and I prefer spicy). I ordered the Lamb Curry as Hot on the spicy level and my wife ordered the Chef Special Grill Platter as Medium…but I’m suspicious that they mixed those two up, as hers was the spiciest at the table and I ordered extra spice for the Lamb Curry.
Service was good for drink orders and food orders as well as a follow up shortly after we were served to check on spice level (and bring more spice…). Following that though, we ran out of rice and wanted another bowl but after unsuccessfully waiting for our server, I walked over to the kitchen area and asked for another bowl.
Overall was still a very good experience and we really liked all of the food, so I wouldn’t hesitate to return and would recommend it as one of the better Indian / Himalayan restaurants where I’ve eaten.
11/09/2022
My wife and I stopped here for dinner to give it a try and are sure glad that we did. While the service and atmosphere were average, the food was all delicious!
We ordered plenty of food, expecting to take the extra home with us for later meals at home…so enjoyed several meals. For the main course, we ordered Coconut Chicken Curry, Lamb Biryani & Shrimp Fried Rice (see pictures of each…poorer quality due to lighting). For sides, we ordered Tandoori Roti (found it to be dry), Cheese Naan & Raita along with Rasmalai for dessert (pictures of each attached).
We ordered each of the main dishes medium to medium-hot spiciness and really enjoyed all of them! Don’t leave without trying the Rasmalai for dessert – described as cheesecake soaked in a sweet milk, it was delicious and not overly sweet! We will definitely be back!
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My wife’s co-worker recommended this place, so we stopped for a quick drink after our dinner on the way out of the area to check it out and gather information for happyhourdesmoines.com.
We liked the atmosphere and the value for the drinks seemed in line with other similar locations. The service at the bar was average but the Salty Pretzel (see picture) was good, although a bit salty. We will have to stop back to try the food sometime.
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