This place’s Italian Beef was highly recommended by a reviewer on another site and finally got the chance to try it today. This is definitely a neighborhood bar – as several other patrons / regulars asked us how we liked our drinks and dinners. Granted, the area looks a little on the rough side as you pull up but the service and food were both great – all handled by one lady behind the bar.
On the recommendation of another patron, we started out with Bloody Marys with pickle vodka and I highly recommend them – not too salty or thick. For our meals, my wife ordered the Italian Beef (see picture) and I went with the Chicago Dog (see picture). As always, we each shared tastes and found both dishes to be very good. Our neighbors ordered the Italian Beef with Cheese (see picture) and Chili Dog (see picture) – and both of them thought they tasted great, commenting especially about how good the chili was.
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Italian Beef with CheeseChicago DogChili DogItalian Beef
Stopped back with friends to have Armadillo Eggs (see picture) and Pretzel Crusted Sauerkraut Balls (see picture) and while they were still good, both were over-cooked and fried to a crispy dark brown color. As such, I reduced the food rating to 4*. This time we also enjoyed the Rouladen Rolls (see picture) and found them to also be very good. A solid stop for appetizers and a great selection of German beers.
06/16/2023
We have stopped here for biers and appetizers several times while downtown and this most recent stop added another item to the ‘must try’ appetizer list. They have an extensive tap and bottled bier selection – many of which are from Germany, so are pretty unique for the area.
We have had the Armadillo Eggs (see picture) appetizer several times and have really enjoyed it every time. How can you go wrong with jalapeno poppers inside a chicken breast – and wrapped in bacon! On this visit, we also tried the Pretzel Crusted Sauerkraut Balls (see picture) and also found them to be excellent – and the dipping sauce is a great complement.
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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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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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Have had on my Want to Go list since Cityview listed it for best local bar food in 2022 and finally had the opportunity after the Craft Beer Festival. While we were a little leery of what it might be like near the airport, we were pleasantly surprised by the exterior (see pictures) as we pulled up…and remained positively impressed with the interior decor (see pictures).
Cityview called out their New York Steak & Peppers sandwich (see picture) and it looked great, so my wife went with that for her choice. For our second entree, I went with the Philly Chicken with Fries (see picture). As we always do, we shared tastes of each of our meals and both of us enjoyed both offerings – finding the food quality definitely worthy of the title of Best Bar Food.
If you are in the area or have a little time waiting on a flight, you won’t be disappointed with a stop at Francies.
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This is my wife’s favorite brewery in town and we’ve been here a number of times, but finally getting around to writing a review. On this trip, it was a stop at the end of the Lemon Trail Ride, as the cold, wind and rain caused us to cut the ride a little short.
We started with an order of Exile Fries (see picture) as we have always enjoyed them on previous visits – and today was no exception, crispy and so flavorful! We also shared a Spinach & Artichoke Dip (see picture) and it to, was delicious and highly recommended!
For our meals, we ordered the Exile Burger w/ Truffle Fries (see picture) and Sweet Chili Shrimp Tacos w/Brussels Sprouts (see picture). As we always do, we shared tastes of each dish and both thought that everything was delicious. They have very good Brussels Sprouts here that we often order as an appetizer, but given the other appetizers today, we enjoyed them as a side instead – definitely try these if you haven’t already.
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Several friends had great things to say about HomeGrown, so we took the opportunity to go there this weekend with our son and daughter-in-law. The decor is modern and yet country-like (see pictures) and the restaurant had great lighting with glass on 2 sides.
We started with drinks and an appetizer to share – I ordered the Vietnamese Coffee (see picture) and we shared 2 homemade Pop Tarts (see picture). I really liked the Vietnamese Coffee (how can you go wrong adding sweetened condensed milk to cold press coffee?) and the Pop Tarts were great also.
For our meals, I ordered the Salsa Verde Pork & Eggs (see picture), my wife ordered the BLTA&E (see picture) and my son ordered the Biscuits & Gravy (see picture). We each tasted each others dishes and thoroughly enjoyed all of them. The pulled pork in the Salsa Verde Pork & Eggs was moist, the eggs were done perfectly as ordered (over-easy) and the potatoes were done just right with some great seasoning. The BLTA&E was tasty and we all commented that the Biscuits in the Biscuits & Gravy were very light and crumbly.
You won’t go wrong with a stop here for Breakfast or Lunch – but I would recommend that you make a reservation, as they are very busy.
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Homemade Pop TartsSalsa Verde Pork & EggsBLTA&EBiscuits & GravyVietnamese Coffee
Several friends recommended this place within a few days, so we took the opportunity to stop by with friends from Brazil who also enjoy sushi. We were advised to get reservations as they are very busy and even at noon on a Friday, the earliest we could get a table for 4 was 8:15 – so I highly recommend getting reservations.
We arrived a few minutes early and were immediately seated near the sushi counter (see pictures). A very modern and lively atmosphere along with friendly service. Our server was Deja L. and she was fantastic – excellent recommendations and a friendly demeanor…the kind of person you would want representing your business.
We started with drinks and a shared appetizer – I ordered the Cherry Vanilla Cola (see picture) and we shared the Combo Dynamite App (see picture). The drink was good as expected and the Combo Dynamite App was dyn-o-mite (as the name implies).
For our meals, I ordered the Volcano (see picture) and my wife ordered the Fire Cracker (see picture) – both Chef’s Special Maki and both on the recommendation of Deja. We really liked both of them and would definitely order them again as well as recommend them for you to try. Our friend ordered the Salmon Roll w/cucumber (see picture) and also really enjoyed it.
We were definitely tempted to order dessert, but ended up deciding to pass and stop for another cocktail on the way home instead. We can definitely understand the strong recommendations for this place as we offer the same – fantastic food and service…just make sure to make reservations!
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Cherry Vanilla ColaCombo Dynamite AppVolcanoFire CrackerSalmon Roll w/cucumber
This place has been on my Want to Go list since being listed in Cityview as a favorite. My wife and I took the chance to try it out for dinner last night and while nothing stood out that would make it ‘top of the list’ of Thai restaurants in Des Moines, it is clearly a solid option if you enjoy Thai food.
For our dinners, I ordered the Yellow Curry with chicken and brown rice at a 4 out of 6 pepper spice level (see picture) and my wife ordered the Panang Curry with beef at a 4 out of 6 pepper spice level (see picture). Our server shared that these were the #2 and #1 most popular dishes there, respectively and after tasting them we can understand why.
As we always do, we shared tastes of each others dishes and both of us enjoyed both dishes. The 4 pepper spice level seemed good for both of us also, as it was enough to make your nose run a little, but not so hot that it required lots of water while consuming it. I would recommend both of these dishes if you are stopping by to eat.
The atmosphere was modern and clean and the value seemed in line with other Thai options in Des Moines. The only slight hiccup during our visit was my Yellow Curry that I ordered with chicken. For some reason, our server mistakenly delivered calamari instead. It was still very good (didn’t want to waste it and send it back) and our server was kind enough to bring some steamed chicken on the side to add to the curry.
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Since finding this place in the Pub Pass last year and hearing a good recommendation on their burgers from our neighbor, I’ve been anxious to give it a try. We had the chance this week while my brother and sister-in-law were visiting, so stopped by to try out their Happy Hour.
While admittedly it doesn’t look like much from the exterior (see pictures), the decor of the interior was unique (see pictures). They have a very good selection of tap beers (see picture) and their most unique drink was their Old Fashioned Slushy (see picture), which I ordered at the suggestion of our server and thoroughly enjoyed.
We already had plans to eat dinner elsewhere, so we just ordered Buffalo Cauliflower (see picture). The initial smell made us think that it was going to be extremely spicy but after tasting it, we found it to be a good balance and quite tasty. I look forward to the opportunity to stop by another time for a burger.
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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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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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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
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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This place has been on my Want to Go list for a while and finally got to try it last night. My wife was quite hungry, so we thought we would quickly resolve that and try out some $5 apps during Happy Hour. While the first external impression was a little negative (store front came across as a fast-foodish), we immediately felt better after stepping inside – very nice atmosphere and bustling with activity.
Long story short…we arrived just before 6pm on a Friday, didn’t have a reservation, were told it would be “5 minutes” – then proceeded to wait 50 minutes before we were seated. We thought we would help the time pass by enjoying a cocktail, so asked the primary server about ordering a drink (behind the bar seating area is food preparation only and no bartender). He said he would be back “in a second” to take our order, but never did return.
Other than cooking, bussing tables and table clean up, he was the only one doing everything else in the service area of the restaurant. While he was very friendly, pleasant and apologetic – he clearly could not keep up with all of the demands of the customers and made some mistakes. If he would have help on the service side, they clearly could move more people through (all told, we spent 2 hours and 20 minutes there) and increase their revenues while providing better service.
Now onto the good part – the food and drinks were FANTASTIC (see pictures for menus and food / drinks)! I did make one mission trip to Peru that was quite enjoyable and introduced me to ceviche and pisco sours – but have not have the opportunity to sample a lot of their cuisine.
For starters, I ordered a Pisco Sour (see picture) and it was delicious – very foamy egg white on top and the cinnamon / presentation was great! For appetizers, we ordered Chicharron de Pescado and Causa de Pollo (see pictures). I absolutely loved the Causa mashed potato / chicken salad / avocado stack and the Pescado was also very good.
For our dinner, my wife and I shared Cremoso Ceviche (see picture) and Arroz Norteno (see picture). As our 5* rating implies, we loved both of them – as the name implies, the ceviche sauce was a bit creamy and the Arroz dish was fresh and very tasty. If you read my reviews, you know I love sweets – so the meal wasn’t complete without Alfajores Peruanos (see picture) for dessert. Again, it is highly recommended – the soursop ice cream is best described as unique (the first word used by both my wife and myself) and the caramel cookies were great – caramelly, yet not too sweet.
Do not go here unless you have reservations (the place was packed and stayed so until less than an hour before closing when we were there) or go during a less-busy time. If you do that and are patient with the service, you will definitely not be disappointed with the food! As the pictures show, the presentation is fantastic and it tastes every bit as good as it looks – I highly recommend the food and cocktails! If you found this review helpful, please show your appreciation with a Like or a Follow.
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Pisco SourCausa de PolloChicharron de PescadoCremoso CevicheArroz NortenoAlfajores Peruanos
