This place was recommended to us by a great server (Scot) at Sopra Bistro when we mentioned that our next stop was for ice cream. It is our understanding that it opened relatively recently, but given the great flavors and taste…I’m guessing it will do well.
We ended up going with a Salted Caramel and a Pistachio for our choices and while we found each of them a little more salty than we’d prefer, they were both delicious! My apologies…as we started eating them too quickly and didn’t get pictures.
If you are looking for some great gelato in the heart of Lake Geneva, you will love this place!
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Our friends made reservations to enjoy this place during our annual trek to visit them near Lake Geneva. Boy, do they know how to pick restaurants to impress us during our visits (we never want to go home…)! From the moment that we were seated until we left (and introducing us to the owner in between), Scot took fantastic care of us! The portions are on the small side and the prices above average…but that worked for us, as it left room for an Ice Cream stop after dinner!
We started with a round of drinks – my wife going for the Cassandra (see picture) and myself going with the Smoke Break (see picture – a Kentucky beer and a shot of Mezcal). We both tasted each others drinks and both found the Cassandra to be delicious. I ordered the Smoke Break because it came with Mezcal and if you follow my posts or see the recipe on my site – I LOVE Mezcal Palomas in the summertime. I’m not a huge fan of sipping straight alcohol though (like it mixed so I can drink instead) and didn’t find anything special about the beer…so wouldn’t order it again, especially given the price.
The Table Bread (see picture) was delicious along with the spread. For starters, our friends ordered the Brussels (see picture) and my wife and I shared the Beets Me (see picture). Both of these salads were unique, fresh and delicious – so I’d highly recommend them.
For our dinners, our friends ordered the Sausage & Peppers (see picture), my wife ordered the Greatest Of All Time (see picture) and I ordered the NOLA (see picture). We all shared tastes of each others dishes and I assure you that there was a lot of “that’s delicious” after each bite! You absolutely won’t go wrong with any of these dishes!
We had our hearts set on Ice Cream up the street for dessert and Scot even had a good recommendation for a new gelato store just 2 blocks away (the next review…). You will love a stop here for dinner – just make sure that you make reservations…and say ‘Hi’ to Scot!
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A co-worker visiting Des Moines was hungry for a salad bar and asked about Ruby Tuesday. He got me thinking about the salad bar, so I enjoyed that (way too much actually…left stuffed) along with a $3 Margarita (see picture). I absolutely love the dark bread buttery toasted croutons – especially when they have just been brought out and are warm! There aren’t as many salad bars around anymore, but this place has one of the best.
My friend had the Jalapeno Bacon Queso Burger (see picture) along with the salad bar. He loved the salad bar, but preferred his bacon more crispy and found the bun to be a little on the soggy side (possibly due to the queso).
It is tough to beat this place for value and it has a decent selection at the salad bar – all of which I found to be fresh. This is a solid stop for your budget, especially if you go with the Daily Specials.
12/2021
Met a friend for lunch just as they opened for the day and ordered the grilled chicken sandwich with grilled zucchini. The food was fresh, hot and tasted great, but was a little disappointed in how long it took to get it for after we ordered (about 15 minutes).
Overall, is very convenient to my work location and I will likely return – so don’t hesitate to recommend it.
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We have driven past this place many times and thought about stopping, but had usually already eaten and were driving home. This afternoon we had the chance and decided we’d give it a try over our old standby Hacienda Vieja just up the road a block. The thing that stood out the most was the lengthy food and bar menus (see pictures) – making it hard to make a decision on what to order.
We started with drinks and that ended up being a little frustrating, possibly attributable to a language / communications challenge. We asked several times if they served Mezcal, since we love it and finally the server said he would go ask at the bar. He returned and said that they didn’t serve Mezcal, so I ordered a Michelada instead. While walking to the bathroom I walked by the bar and checked out the liquor behind the bar and saw a bottle of Mezcal, so pointed it out to our server who happened to be standing there (later seeing that they show at least 5 different kinds in their bar menu – see pictures). With that information, I asked our server to change my order to a Mezcal Paloma (see picture) and my wife got a Watermelon Basil Shaker (see picture). The Watermelon Basil Shaker was very good and there was a generous quantity served, although we didn’t taste or see any basil in the drink.
The complimentary chips and salsa (see picture) were average – they tasted good but were very typical / standard for what you get at many Mexican restaurants. For our meals, we ordered the Pollo Mango Street Tacos (see picture) and Ceviche Al Gusto Mixed (see picture). The Ceviche was very good and while we received standard chips instead of the plantain chips mentioned in the menu, we really enjoyed it. The Pollo Mango Tacos were a little bland to both of our tastes, as we each commented about it and looked for hot sauce to give it some kick, but otherwise were hot, moist and tender.
Even though we were both very full from all of this food, I couldn’t help myself once I saw Tres Leches and Limoncello Cakes on the menu. We asked the server for a recommendation between the two and he suggested the Tres Leches Cake, so we ordered it and asked him to put it in a container to go (see picture). Of course we did have to open it in the restaurant and have a couple of bites – it was delicious. A little on the sweet side, but very spongy, moist and flavorful – definitely a great addition to finish your meal!
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Several people have recommended Truman’s for lunch and we finally got a chance to stop by as a part of the Summer Stir in Des Moines. The first thing you see is that it is an old house that has been remodeled into a restaurant. You have to look closer at the sign to see the next item of significance – “KC” in the name of the restaurant. If you are a Kansas City Chiefs fan, you will love this place – especially, I’m told, during football season.
For our meal, we ended up sharing a Korean BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich (see picture) on the suggestion of the bartender as we weren’t that hungry and had eaten some at one of the other stops on the Summer Stir. As the bartender suggested, the Korean BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich was very good – moist, quality bun surrounding juicy flavorful pulled pork. The french fries were undercooked to my taste – barely crispy on the outside and mushy inside, but I kept the food at a 4* due to the sandwich.
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We had not heard of this place and only stopped in because it was one of the stops on the Summer Stir. Other than the crowd caused by the Summer Stir though, we found this place to be quite unique and ended up staying for a bite to eat and a cookie.
We saw a large pan of paella cooking outside on the sidewalk and saw the signs that Friday is their Summer Paella Night. Given how much we like paella, we ordered a serving. Unfortunately I didn’t get a picture, but it was served in a cardboard box for carryout and tasted very good. I should point out that other orders in the restaurant were served on nice plates with silverware so the cardboard was unique to the paella and to go.
After seeing the cookies in the display case by the front door, I couldn’t leave without trying at least one of them. I ended up ordering an Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookie (see picture) and shared it with my wife. I’m a sucker for sweets…and when you combine espresso, chocolate and sea salt sprinkled on the top – you can’t go wrong. It is delicious and I highly recommend that you stop by and try one yourself!
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I’ve always known Fleming’s to be a top-notch restaurant, have visited at least one other location and justified the cost by celebrating our wedding anniversary. Thinking we could save some money while gathering information for HappyHourDesMoines.com, we decided to go early and take in their Social Hour.
For Social Hour cocktails, we enjoyed the Olive A Martini (Dirty – see picture), Time is Honey (see picture) and Tequila me Softly (see picture). All of them were very good, but the Olive A Martini (Dirty) is what we went back to for our final selections. In addition to the cocktails, we also ordered the Tuna Wontons (see picture) and REALLY liked them – delicious light guacamole topped with some raw tuna!
For our dinner, we took advantage of the Taste for Tuesday 3-Course Menu for Two special with the Tomahawk option. The flavored butters that come with the table bread (see picture) are very tasty. We went with the Lobster Bisque (see picture) and Wedge Salad (see picture) for our salads, shared them and found both to be excellent. For our sides, we went with the Sauteed Mushrooms (see picture) and Fleming’s Potatoes (see picture) and both were quite the treat.
Lastly (and most importantly for my sweet tooth), my wife ordered the Chocolate Gooey Butter Cake (see picture) and I ordered the Olive Oil Cake (see picture). I don’t believe I’ve ever had an Olive Oil Cake before, but it was light, spongy and delicious. Of course we shared and it probably goes without saying given the name, but my wife really loved the Chocolate Gooey Butter Cake and I agreed.
Given the cost of dining here, this place will remain on our Special Occasions-Only list, but if you are looking to make an impression with an important person or group…this is the place to go!
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Chocolate Gooey Butter CakeOlive Oil CakeSauteed MushroomsFleming’s PotatoesPrime TomahawkWedge SaladLobster BisqueTable Bread & ButterOlive A Martini (Dirty)Tuna WontonsTime is HoneyTequila me Softly
Our son and daughter-in-law invited us to eat with them after the days events at the John Deere Classic and we ended up picking the Tap 22 Grill & Bar. It doesn’t look like much from the outside (a refurbished industrial / farm building – see picture), but the inside is quite another story (see pictures).
They appeared to be short-staffed in the kitchen – possibly overwhelmed by the extra customers coming from the John Deere Classic. Tanya, did a great job keeping us informed on the order status and keeping our drinks full.
I ordered the Tin Can Nachos (see picture) for my meal and to share with the table and another guest at our table ordered the Arizona Chicken Sandwich (see picture). The sandwich and fries were very good and the Nachos were likely the most unique delivery that I’ve ever seen. As the name implies, they come with all the ingredients layered in a tin can and then the server lifts off the top at the table (see picture) to leave a delicious stack of chips and toppings!
I would definitely stop by on another trip when it isn’t so busy – and I highly recommend that you try the Tin Can Nachos when you go. Also, be sure to say ‘Hi’ to Tanya – she is a wonderful server!
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We were in town for the John Deere Classic and a coworker highly recommended Miss Phay Cafe, so we gave it a try for dinner on our arrival. What a great place! While the outside facia was modern and professional (see pictures), the inside was breathtaking (see pictures). Absolutely beautiful decorating everywhere that you looked, with seemingly no detail left to chance – with fantastic musical ambiance to top it off!
My wife started with a Cucumber Smash and I went with the Saigon Mojito (see picture) – both on our wonderful server Cara’s suggestions and both were absolutely delicious! For an appetizer, Cara suggested the Crab Cheese Puffs (see picture) and they were like a little taste of Heaven! So soft, creamy and rich inside the crispy pastry crust – and the included homemade dipping sauce is also amazing (I might have eaten the rest of it with a spoon after the Puffs were gone…).
For our meal, my wife ordered the Suko Thai Noodles (see picture) and I went with the Lemongrass Beef Noodle (see picture). Both again on Cara’s suggestions – but not until after pointing out that the alternative I was thinking about was not spicey (and I wanted something spicey). I like her opinions and directness!
I am so glad that this place was recommended to us and I highly recommend that you stop and give it a try. When you stop, make sure to say ‘Hi’ to Cara – she is a fantastic server who is full of great detailed recommendations and has just the perfect amount of sassiness to make for an enjoyable experience.
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Returned again on our next business trip to Dubuque and this time was able to enjoy a full meal and not just appetizers with a group from work.
On our server’s recommendation, I ordered the Gyro (see picture) and others at the table ordered Fish Tacos (see picture) and the Black & Blue Burger (see picture). All of the meals were delicious and the portions were large, so you won’t go away hungry.
Even with as full as I was…there is always room for at least a few tastes of dessert! Like the last visit, I suggested that we order cheesecake to share (Salted Caramel & Chocolate) – and again everyone at the table found them delicious. I even got one of the locals hooked enough to vow he would order it again every time that he came back! Like I said in the earlier review…do NOT go home without trying it!
06/06/2023
This place was highly recommended by a local (especially their White Truffle Parmesan Fries and Wisconsin Fried Cheese Curds), so our group stopped by to try them out before heading downtown. In addition to these, we also ordered the Steak Bites and unfortunately due to the group setting I wasn’t able to capture any photos of the food on this stop.
As for my thoughts on the food, while the White Truffle Parmesan Fries and Wisconsin Fried Cheese Curds were both solid appetizers, I actually liked the Steak Bites best of all – and most of the group agreed.
What really stole the show though was when I saw a sign for the fresh-made Salted Caramel Cheesecake (again, sorry – we dug into it so quickly that I don’t have a photo). We ordered a piece of it and a piece of the Chocolate Cheesecake (each delivered with a spray of whipped cream) so the group could sample some of each and compare. As good as the Chocolate Cheesecake was…it just couldn’t quite reach the exquisite taste and mouth-feel experience of the Salted Caramel. DO NOT leave without at least sharing a piece of the Salted Caramel Cheesecake – most at the table agreed that it was the best cheesecake they have ever had – so light and yet so good!!
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We stopped at the previous business (WISCO) and found that they were remodeling with new owners…so waited for the new restaurant to open and tried it out for Happy Hour (from HappyHourDesMoines.com). The bar area is beautifully lighted (see pictures) and there is a professional painting of numerous GOAT sports figures on one wall. It was just a few days after they officially opened and unfortunately, their tap beer wasn’t working that night – so we made due with mixed drinks instead.
My wife started with a Margarita 1800 (see picture) on our server, Steph’s recommendation – and it was very good. I stuck with the well drinks to take advantage of the Happy Hour specials…and we soon found ourselves ordering food and making a night of it.
We started with Cheese Curds (see picture) which were very good…and the dipping sauce was delicious! I then ordered chicken wings (see pictures) and my wife ordered Cod (see picture) – again on Steph’s suggestion. Both entree orders were delicious – crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside and oh, so tasty. I would definitely recommend all of the above items when you stop.
This is definitely a great stop for a drink and/or food – and when you stop by, make sure to say ‘Hi’ to Steph – she is fantastic!
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This place has been on my Want to Go list for a while and finally got to experience it on Father’s Day since we were in the area (and I LOVE ice cream). It is a bit of a surprise as you pull up, as it is in a very residential area – leading you to initially think the map is wrong. The exterior is clearly recognizable as a business though and everything about this place is quite unique if not a little eclectic – from the modern facia to the black cat painting on the sidewall…and then the black cat bike in the patio area.
Sticking with my nature of wanting to try something new, my wife and I ordered the Ice Cream Nuggets (see picture) split between 3 Classic & 3 Killer Bees – and really enjoyed them. As the name implies, they looked like chicken nuggets…but were filled with ice cream and had a corn flake crust. If you’ve ever had fried ice cream at a Mexican restaurant – think of it as that but on a smaller scale with bite-sized finger-food portions. They were very good – and the Fudge dipping sauce was an excellent complement!
If you like ice cream as much as I do, you will definitely want to stop and sample some made from scratch daily unique deliciousness!
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It was Father’s Day…so I got to pick where we went for lunch. If you follow my posts, you know I prefer experiencing new foods and places and this place looked interesting. The outside is nothing special…just a storefront in a strip mall along University – but it is what’s inside that matters.
We started with a round of drinks (see picture) while we reviewed the menus. On our server’s suggestion, I ordered the Pernil Plate (see picture), my wife ordered the Carne Frita (see picture), and our sons ordered the Cubano (see picture) and the Camarones (see picture). All of the food was delivered promptly and I sampled some from each of the plates – finding each of them to be worthy of a recommendation. My only concern was that I found the pork on the Pernil Plate to be a little dry to my liking.
For dessert, I ordered a Pastelillo for us to try and share. Similar to my pork comment above, I found this to be a little dry. While that is possibly the way it is supposed to be made and served, I like a little more moistness in my desserts – so wouldn’t order it again.
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This place has been on my Want to Go list for a while and then a local highly recommended it, so met visitors from out of town here for lunch. This is a fast food restaurant where you order at the counter, find a table with your order number flag and then they deliver your order to your table. With that said, I found Charlotte’s to be at the high-end of fast food restaurants and based on the comments from others in line is clearly a local favorite.
The menu only includes chicken sandwiches, wraps and salads (see video board pictures), which keeps things easier and lets them focus on doing chicken well. I went with the Chicken Tenders Combo (see picture) and one of my guests ordered the Original Sandwich Combo (see picture). The chicken was crispy, juicy and delicious and the fries were also very good – crispy on the outside and warm and soft on the inside. I also ordered Char’s Sauce & Sweet Thai Chili sauce – which were great on the chicken as well as dipping the fries.
I definitely see why this place generates so much local chatter and look forward to bringing my wife back to try some additional menu items such as the Brussels Sprouts & Crab Rangoon. If you are in the area and looking for a solid chicken meal in a clean, modern restaurant – you will definitely want to give this place a try.
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Had coupons since hearing about someone going to a live band here and following on Facebook – and were in the area after Mass one evening, so gave it a try.
The first challenge was finding the place. While our phone map took us to the entrance…it isn’t super clear how to get to the restaurant and we had a couple of false starts. First at the marina office near the road and then we turned around on the winding path before getting to the restaurant thinking it was leading nowhere. Just keep driving – you will eventually get there…
Once we finally found the restaurant, the view was great and probably the largest draw – hard to top relaxing at a table with food and drink while watching the lake and boaters. The facilities are what you might expect for a seasonal dock business with public access…functional, simplistic and a little crude – not what you would find in even an average place on land.
With that said, we found the drink selection and the food to be above average. We each ordered burgers (see pictures) to use our coupon. We both shared samples with each other and found them both to be solid – soft, moist buns, fresh toppings, crispy fries and good flavor.
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We stopped here because it was on our walk to dinner from our hotel…and a friend that joined us for the weekend was named Tom. We ended up liking the place enough that we stopped back for brunch the following morning before heading out to the concert.
For our brunch, I started with a Brunch Messenger (see picture) and my wife went with the Bloody Maria (see picture). We shared tastes with each other and really liked both drinks – and while the pricing seemed reasonable ($10/$12), the drinks were quite small.
For our brunch meal, I ordered the Frittata (see picture) and my wife ordered the Croque Monsieur (see picture). Again, we shared tastes of each other’s plates and both of us enjoyed and would recommend both. The hash browns were cooked well, tasted great and weren’t too greasy – and the same could be said for the Croque Monsieur, which we were able to eat without dripping grease all over.
The drinks during evening hours were unique and tasty…but again on the small side and quite pricey (what you might expect in the downtown area). The brunch was reasonably priced though and tasted quite good, so I’d highly recommend this place as a brunch stop during a downtown weekend visit.
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We have eaten at several Jack Stack Barbecue venues in Kansas City and have really enjoyed them, so when this place was within walking distance on a recent stay, it rose to the top of our list for dinner. We had another couple that met us for the weekend and while the husband had been here once before for a work event, this was the wife’s first visit (and boy did she leave satisfied!).
We had a group of 4 and wanted to try a little of everything, so went with The Pitmaster (see picture) for our entree. It was so hard to pick from the side offerings (see pictures), as all of them sounded so good. As we have become accustomed to, the barbecue was absolutely fantastic! All of the meats were SO tender and full of flavor – easy to cut with a fork and they just melt in your mouth!
If you haven’t experienced barbecue at a Jack Stack – you don’t know what you are missing. You will absolutely fall in love with the great food and atmosphere, so I highly recommend this place for lunch or dinner during your next trip to downtown Kansas City!
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Believe it or not, we’ve lived in Iowa for a year and a half now and this was our first stop at a Maid-Rite! We were traveling with friends to the Luke Combs concert in Kansas City and looking for a place to stop along the interstate. They recommended it based on their experiences with one in Illinois many years ago and we are so glad that we stopped.
Although it is a technically a fast food restaurant where you order at the counter and they deliver your food to the table, the food was very good and the service was above average.
Our group ordered a Tenderloin sandwich (see picture), several MEGA sandwiches (see picture), Sweet Potato Fries (see picture) and Fried Okra (see picture). Of course you have to have a MEGA when you stop, as it is what built the restaurant, but the Tenderloin and sweet potato fries as well as the okra were all very good. If you follow my posts, my sweet tooth is well documented…so I couldn’t leave this place without sampling a caramel shake – it was delicious and I highly recommend you finish your meal with one on your way out to the car.
Yes, it is fast food, but this place is quite unique, is an Iowa institution and has a very nice attached Amish country store. Definitely worth a stop for lunch, dinner or one of their multiple sweets options!
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We were determined to have a steak tonight while in town on business travel and several other places that we checked weren’t open on a Tuesday night. This place is quite an impressive venue – wide open atmosphere that highlights the chefs in the kitchen and their work. The only thing holding this place back from a full 5* in my book is the value…as the pricing was quite high – but when you come here, it is probably for a special occasion!
Due to the fact that we had already stopped at another venue for appetizers, I ended up going light and splitting the Ribeye (see picture) with a fellow employee. As you might expect in a restaurant of this quality, it was fantastic and one of the better ribeyes that I’ve had.
As long as you come prepared for your meal being quite expensive, you definitely will be happy with the food, atmosphere and service. I would highly recommend a stop here for your next special occasion – just don’t forget to make reservations, as they are VERY busy.
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I’ve been here a few times on business trips but just finally posting some pictures along with my review. I’ve enjoyed sampling different beers on each visit and have also had food on at least one other occasion.
Our table started with Hangry Sprouts, Curb Your Enthusiasm cheese curds and Zeit Bites (pretzel bread bites) – all of which were above average bar food (sorry, no pictures of them). For my meal, I ordered the Carolina Burger (see picture) with Sweet Potato Fries. While it was above average overall (especially the fries), I found the pulled pork on the burger to be quite dry. Another person at the table ordered the Lobster Mac & Cheese (see picture) and thought it tasted good – had just hoped there would be more lobster in it.
If you are stopping by to try their beers, this is definitely a great stop and if you decide to add food to your stop, you can expect better than average appetizers and entrees.
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Carolina Burger w/ Sweet Potato FriesLobster Mac & Cheese
