Jersey Guys

Finally got my first taste of Jersey Guys Pizza in Beaverdale.  I've heard a lot of good things about it being pretty authentic to Jersey.  The owners are young guys straight from the East Coast.

I'll start by saying that being from Boston, my hubby and I have been trying unsuccessfully to find New England House of Pizza-style pizza since we moved here.  There is definitely a difference between Jersey-style and what we've been searching for, but this is the closest we've found.  And don't get me wrong, head downtown to Pizzeria Regina in the North End in Boston and this is exactly what you'll find.  But hey, this is Jersey Guys and not Mass guys, so we weren't expecting it to be exactly the same =) 

The Greek-style which is what you'd find in a House of Pizza is more of a crunchy and buttery on the bottom and chewy on the top crust, but the toppings were close.  This pizza was mighty fine though.  This style is also very popular in Italian restaurants that aren't House of Pizzas in Boston and they hit it right on.  Their sauce it excellent and makes a difference in the taste of everything they make, not just the pizza.

What stuck out to me were the hoagies.  Perfect mixture of seasoning, cheese and the most awesome tangy marinara sauce.  I prefer an actual fried chicken breast as opposed to chicken fingers to be used in my chicken Parmesan subs, but that was a small detail.  It was the best chicken parm I've had since I've been in Iowa.  And it was HUGE, easily sharable by two people with big appetites.

I also liked the pizza fries.  They didn't just put sauce and cheese on top, but they made the effort to make a few layers so there was sauce and cheese on each fry.  A creative dish.

All-in-all this was a great meal.  The have a lunch special that includes two slices of pizza (with a select topping) and a can of soda for about $4.25. Great deal if you just want to try the pizza.  But I'd recommend giving a sandwich and pizza fries a shot too.  Good stuff.

Palmer's

If you live anywhere near Des Moines, you've probably eaten at a Palmer's Deli by now.  

There are now locations in West Des Moines, Urbandale, Downtown, Ankeny and Ingersol Ave in Des Moines.

While I have always been a fan of their tasty soups, large salad selection and fresh sandwiches, what I'm most is excited about is that now most of their menu can be prepared gluten-free. Even the soups and sandwiches.

On my last visit I ordered the apple orchard sandwich on gluten-free bread and it included roasted turkey, provolone, granny smith apples and apple butter.  Yum!  They even had gluten-free cookies for dessert.

They also have spectacular egg salad which the hubby ordered.  Just fresh eggs, the right amount of Mayo and not too many fillers.  Awesome.

I will warn you that they get pretty busy during the lunch hour, so try to go when you can get there early or have a few extra minutes to wait in line.  Well worth the wait though.

You are sure to enjoy anything you order.  Make sure to try a brownie for dessert if you aren't gluten-free...Ah-ma-zing!

Don't forget about their breakfast!  The omelets are awesome and so is the Challah french toast!

Wok in Motion

On our way to the Funny Bone to see Dave Coulier a few weeks ago (which was hilarious by the way...cut. it. out), we stopped in to Wok in Motion for dinner.  It's located just across from Abelardo's in West Glen.  They offer stir fry Chinese dishes and sushi.

Sadly, we were one of two occupied tables for dinner on a Saturday evening at around 7pm.

The restaurant is casual but inviting and you can choose from about twenty seats or sit at the sushi bar.

They are open M-F for lunch and for dinner daily with lunch and dinner on Sat.

We had no complaints with our meals as they were cooked to order and service was prompt.  We ordered the pot stickers and crab rangoon for appetizers (apparently we were really hungry) and the Jack Daniels infused Mongolian steak and the Kung Pao chicken.  At $12 and $9 respectively for our meals, we were satisfied.

It was definitely a step up from your normal fast food Chinese joint and we've had the sushi in the past and it was good, but not particularly memorable.

If you're shopping at West Glen or dancing the night away at Tonic or Shotgun Betty's next door and need some food, stop by and check them out for something different.  If you like Mongolian beef, you'll like the Jack Daniels beef.  I'd order it again.

Over-all, a very casual, tasty experience.  Go here if you are looking for a step up from fast food, but more causal than a Cafe Su or Red's.

Cocktail Wars Des Moines

I hope you made it out to Cocktail Wars, hosted by Dishcrawl Des Moines at Iowa Distilling Company in Cumming on Tuesday!

What a fun event!  Four local Mixologists whipped up some yummy cocktails using Iowa Distilling Company's Iowa Shine Whiskey, Steel Drum Rum and Prairie fire Whiskey.  So fun!

There were two ticket options, The VIP which included early admission as well as a behind the scenes tour and goodie bag and General Admission.  Both were under $40 (with $10 coupon floating around) and both included 4 nice sized servings of the 4 cocktails.

Mixologists included Nick Eldrige form Americana, Dave Murrin-Von Ebers from Hessen Haus, Angel Cotten from Cattoors on Grand and Hailey Workman from the Lime Lounge.

Party-goers had the same idea as me when it came to judging!  I thought Angel Cotten's Burnin' Pink Lady was the most creative, Dave Murrin-Von Eber's Bumpin' Granny was the tastiest and the all-around favorite was the Hot Toby.

Emcee Ben Gran provided some comedy, Rogue Sweet provided some kick-butt cupcakes made with the Iowa Distilling Co.'s whiskey and other local vendors provided snacks, candles, jam and even jewelery for the gift bags.  Great event Dischcrawl Des Moines!

To the left are the recipes for the 4 cocktails sampled at the event!  Pick up some Iowa Shine or Prairie Fire at your local grocery store, or stop into The Iowa Distilling Company for some samples and a free tour!  The totally nice owners would love to show you around!  Then you can try some of these recipes out at home!  Read more info about The Iowa Distilling Company here.

OOoohhhhh.....Bacon!

I don't know what it is about bacon than makes Iowans go crazy, but thousands of people buy tickets for the Blue Ribbon Festival every year, and I'm one of them!

It's seems that we aren't surprised by dishes that include bacon anymore.  Has it all been done?  Bacon ice cream, bacon-rangoons, bacon cookies, bacon tacos...they can all be found at Baconfest!  Has it all been done?!  I think that's part of the draw of the festival for me...Seeing what they can come up with and seeing if it actually tastes good!  Some are hits and some are misses, but it's all part of the fun.  Unlimited bacon samples from producers are included with your ticket along with $5 in bacon bucks (to try the dishes from the restaurants), 2 drink tickets and swag.




Loosen your pants, or hey, dress up like a piece of bacon!  The 2014 Baconfest is set to be the biggest event to date with 12,000 tickets available.  They go on sale on 12-12-13 @ well, 12:12:13 of course!

Even though there are more tickets available this year than in past years, they'll still sell out fast!  You can also opt to buy your ticket in conjunction with one of three bacon elegance dinners (held in the few weeks before the big event) or you can buy a table of 10 or the Bacon University package or be one of 3,000 to get married at the Festival!  The theme is Viva Las Bacon!  You know what they say..."What Happens at The Bacon Festival..."

Time: February 1st, 2014 10:00am-5pm

Place:

Iowa State Fairgrounds
3000 E Grand Ave Des Moines, IA 50317

Wasabi Chi

I have really enjoyed my experiences at Wasabi Chi.  It's located on Douglas right near the Merle Hay mall.  It's sister restaurant, Wasabi Tao opened last year downtown.  

As you can probably guess, I was in this last visit for a Bento Box to continue my Bento Box tour of Des Moines!  I assumed it would be a lot like the one I had at Wasabi Tao, which was great because I liked it a lot.

To my surprise, it was much different.  I ordered the teriyaki chicken box and was promptly presented with miso soup.  I did hear another diner ask for hot and sour soup instead of the miso, so apparently that's an option too.

The miso soup was ok, but not as awesome as the spicy egg drop at Wasabi Tao.  My salad could have used a little more ginger dressing, but overall it was a great box.  And at $7.95 a great value as usual.

The chicken was juicy and especially good.  The "obligatory fried side" was a shrimp rangoon (tasty).

I like that they offer kids meals (Little Ninja meals) and they really have a wide menu including lots of Asian favorites like Pad Thai, fried rice and of course lots of awesome sushi.  Wasabi Tao and Chi both do a great job producing constantly good sushi.  Check out both locations and see which is your favorite!

Salisbury House & Gardens

I had always heard the The Salisbury house was a beautiful place to visit, full of history.  It's on Tonawanda Drive in Des Moines (not far from the Art Center).  But, with a little one, I never really found a time to visit.  That is, until I realized all of the fun events that they do throughout the year!  We went to their Halloween event last year, and my son couldn't wait to come back for this year's event.  They had face painting, Story-time with Dan Wardell, fantastic decorations, crafts, spooky science experiments and more. It's a great event.

I had no idea until this year that they had Christmas-time events too!  We attended the Chocolate-making class hosted by Beaverdale Confections at the Salisbury House and it was a blast!  My six year old can't stop talking about it.  It was only $20 and he took home over 30 pieces of chocolate!

Luckily, my friend Lisa was able to attend the Gingerbread house workshop and she was nice enough to share about her experience with us!  Thanks Lisa!  You might remember Lisa from her last guest post about The Little Gym =)

Hi!  Lisa here guest posting today about the Gingerbread workshop at Salisbury House in Des Moines.  

My 6 year old has been asking to make a gingerbread house, and I’ve been wanting to see the Salisbury House-so this was a perfect fit!!  

We opted to purchase one house and one student ticket for $20, but if you have more than one child, you might want to purchase more than one house.  

We were greeted on a very cold day by a nice volunteer in a big golf cart offering rides up from the street (overflow parking) to the house.  Once inside the house, we were led downstairs to a room that smelled of candy!!  The gingerbread house kits came with candy, but the volunteers had provided a ton more!  There was a lot of decorating, and a lot of eating the candy!!  Christmas music was playing while everyone worked away.  After we were finished, we were encouraged to leave our gingerbread house to dry and take a walk around the house.  

My 6 year old enjoyed the tour as much as I did!  Our favorite room was Edith’s bathroom…check it out and you’ll see why.  The Salisbury House was beautifully decorated for Christmas!  This included a huge tree, some local celebrity decorated gingerbread houses, and Santa in the garage next to a gorgeous red Packard!  Overall, a great local experience.  They have a lot of events and are supported by donations so check it out!  http://salisburyhouse.org/

Make sure your follow us (Eat Play Love Des Moines) and The Salisbury house on Facebook so we can remind you about upcoming events! =)

Saraj

We really enjoyed our lunch at Saraj Restaurant the other day.  It's located at 1300 50th street, right off of 235.  

Saraj offers Bosnian food, but there is definitely something for everyone.  In addition to their traditional Bosnian dishes like Sirnica and Zeljanica (Phyllo dough stuffed with cheese or cheese and spinach) they have a variety of American items like onion rings and kids options to please everyone.

 We opted for the Bosnian Gyro which has the same fillings as a Greek Gyro you might be used to on Greek-style pita bread, but uses the thicker Bosnian bread and the chicken kebab.  Their tzatziki sauce was very good.  I was not a huge fan of the meat used in the beef gyro and will order it with the kebab chicken next time since the tender chicken was the highlight of the meal.  It had great spices and was really good with the fresh veggies and sauce. 

The fries came out hot and crispy and were a hit with all of us.

No worries bringing kids and/or picky eaters here, they offer hamburgers and chicken nuggets too.

They also carry a number of fresh bakery items like baklava and oblatne (thin wafer cookies with caramel or chocolate).  That was what we got as you can see in the photo.  Very good if you have a sweet tooth.  Make sure to save room for dessert.

They also offer freshly made cabbage rolls, but only on Friday nights, so I can't wait to go back to try them since I'm a big fan of cabbage rolls.

Definitely give Saraj a shot for something different.  It's in a convenient location and the service was good.  It wasn't lightening speed fast, but I'm willing to wait a little for cooked to order, hot food.  We'll be back soon!

Ps. They also have a location in Urbandale!