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

Iowa State Fair

The Fair is here!! The Iowa State Fair funs August 8th to 18th in 2013.  From cows made from butter to everything you ever wanted that you didn't know you'd ever want on-a-stick, it's fair time!

Some people like to avoid the craziness, but I like to dive right in.  Have you ever seen so many mullets in one place before?

Kids love it too.  There are the over-priced carnival-rides of course.  But, if you can keep your kid occupied with the plethora of animals, the free give-aways (mostly fake tattoos that they want to be covered with from head to toe) in the varied industries building from hundreds of vendors and the little hands on the farm exhibit which is one of our favorites, you can possibly avoid spending too long in line for a $4 ride that they may or may not puke on. The hands on the farm exhibit is where kids go through the motions of being a farmer and milking a (fake) cow to earn (fake) money to buy something in the store at the end.  I'd say kids at least up to age 9 or 10 would like this.

And then there is the food....ahhhh the glorious food.  Three things I never miss are 1. A pork chop on a stick.  That hard to find french cut of goodness smothered with BBQ sauce. 2. A frozen apple cider slush.  Overly sweet, yet tart and perfect for the hot days at the fair.  They sell them in the same building where you find the butter cow and get your egg on a stick.  3. those darn buckets of chocolate chips cookies that you can't resist.  Why are they so good!? With so many choices, why would we pick cookies?  Because they are that good!  We finally came to our senses that we don't have to eat the whole darn bucket in the few days following the fair, they actually freeze really well and pulling out a Ziploc bag of cookies 3 months after the fair and popping them in the microwave for 20 seconds is like re-living the fair all over again.  Do it I tell you.

Well, that's all you are going to get about the fair from me....I am far from a fair expert, but I know there are some of you out there with tried and true tips, like "make sure to come on Eat Side night" so, please share with the rest of us what YOUR favorite parts/foods of the fair are.  Thanks!

Ragbrai fun! Even if you aren't a biker!

Today's guest post is by my fabulous friend Christie who loves to get out and do fun things with her two adorable boys!  Today's adventure helped to prove that you can have fun during RAGBRAI even without the wheels!

What’s this RAGBRAI thing people keep talking about?  It’s just a bunch of crazy people riding bicycles across the state of IA in 100 degree heat, right?  Wrong!  It’s a week long, state wide (literally) celebration!

My oldest son loves riding his bike so I thought he’d get a kick out of seeing some of the bicyclists as they neared Des Moines.  Little did I know that the bikes are just the excuse for many communities to come together to have some fun! 

Dallas Center was the closest stop in the time we had available to go.  I did some research and found all kinds of fun things going on as the bikers rode through.

We arrived around 10:30 and walked the main stretch to see what we could find.  We found lots and lots and lots of bikes along with a lot of yummy smelling food stands.  If I hadn’t had two small kids in tow, I would have started eating my way through Dallas Center.

Biking not your thing?  What about BINGO where the winning number is selected by a chicken or cow dropping their load on a giant BINGO card?  I was hoping to see the action but it was going to be a while before they let the cow loose to do her business so we moved on.

The kids had seen the bounce houses when we arrived so it was time to let them play a bit.   Next to the inflatables was a small gazebo where a band was playing. 

The whole RAGBRAI atmosphere was so upbeat and fun.  We talked to several riders and everyone was so friendly despite having been on a bike for two and half days.  I overheard several riders talking about how welcoming everyone had been to them as well. 

If you get a chance, check out RAGBRAI at any of the upcoming stops this week (they’re in Des Moines!)  The atmosphere can’t be beat.  For more information, you can check out the RAGBRAI website: http://ragbrai.com/ 

Work at a vineyard for a day!

I was so excited to see this e-mail in my inbox!  2 years ago, some friends and I signed up at Two Saints Winery for their annual grape harvest and we had a BLAST!  We did it again in August of this year.  Two Saints does not charge for their day of picking and provides you with all of the supplies needed.  Their next picking date is September 7th, 2013. at 8:00am.  Call Christine at 641-369-2102 to sign up.  You get lunch, a bottle of wine and a t-shirt for helping.

Summerset Winery also taking reservations for their harvest.  They charge for their harvest though. These spots fill up fast so if you want to get in on it, here are all of the details..

Summerset Winery is Now Taking Reservations their 16th Annual FALL HARVEST!
August 24, 31, September 7, 14, 21 and 28, 2013

You may now reserve your spot for our 2013 Fall Harvest!   As a harvester, you will experience the ambiance of the vineyard as you cut the grapes off the vine, feel them crush beneath your feet during the celebratory stomp and indulge your palate in the flavors of our delicious award winning wines throughout the day.  Harvesters receive breakfast, lunch, commemorative t-shirt, wine and the grape stomp celebration.

Reservations are required and the cost is $25/pp. Payment is due at time of reservation and is non-refundable. The grapes need picked even when it rains so come ready, rain or shine.

Schedule:

• 7:30 A.M. arrive at the winery for breakfast and brief tutorial on how to pick the grapes.
• After breakfast head into the vineyard and begin picking an acre of selected grapes.
• Once the grapes have been harvested, bottles of last year’s vintages will be opened andpoured and the vineyard party begins!
• Chow time! You'll be hungry after a long morning of grape picking and cavorting in the vineyard.
• After lunch climb into the barrel and stomp grapes, purchase a bottle of wine for some afternoon libations, place your footprint on the back of your commemorative t-shirt.
• Festivities should conclude around 1:00 - 2:00 P.M.
   

Harvesters should:

• Wear old clothes (grapes may stain)
• Dress in layers (it may be chilly in the morning and warm up in the afternoon)
• Bring pruning shears
• Bring bug spray
• Bring sun screen
• Bring gardening gloves
• Remember, the grapes need to be picked rain or shine!  Bring a rain poncho, if necessary.
   

CALL THE WINERY AT 515-961-3545 TO RESERVE YOUR SPOT TODAY!

Notes: We did this 2 years ago and we were able to bring a child along to help as you can see in the photo.  It is tough work to pick all morning, so please check with the winery for questions about age restrictions and make sure that your child would be able to handle working for 5 hours, etc. 

National Balloon Classic - Indianola

One of my very favorite festivals of the summer is the National Balloon Classic in Indianola.  The 2013 festival runs July 26th to August 3rd.  Activities for the week include a 5k walk/run, morning balloon flights that are free, evening balloons flights that are $3 per person admission (or $10 per car load). Entrance includes the nightly entertainment, the ability to watch the night glows, which are really cool where you can go right onto the field, all of the balloons light up in the dark and it's fun to watch. And there are food vendors and kids games there nightly as well.  You can even camp at the field for $5 per night.

On Saturday the 27th at 11:00am there will be the annual Balloon Classic Parade that starts at Irving Elementary School.  You can schedule a Balloon ride in advance by contacting the official balloon ride operation for the event "On the Fly" at 1-800-690-1287.

The weekday evenings are usually less busy, plan some time to get there as there is often a line to get in to park.

Here is the 2013 Schedule on the National Balloon Classic Website.

The Color Run - Des Moines

Before

After

The Color Run is coming back to Des Moines for round 2 in just a few weeks on July 13th, 2013.  The start is at the State Capitol Building and this 5k really is one of the funnest around.  

The Color run is un-timed, so weather this is your first 5k or hundredth, you are going to be relaxed and have a good time.

There are a few things you want to remember about this race though. With the sheer number of people participating you need to get there early, really early (or I guess really late would work too) or you'll get stuck in a "wave" that doesn't begin running for a while.  They send "waves" to start every ten minutes or so and with thousands of people, your wave can maybe not start until a hour or so after the start time of the race (9am or 1pm).  Plus, finding a parking spot can be tough too, so if you can have someone drop you off that's ideal, or again get there early to find parking.

Try to wear old shoes because the color powder will stay on your stuff, even after washing sometimes.  They give some suggestions on the website about preserving your well-earned color as well.

So aside from logistics, this is seriously fun.  I was a little nervous about the color powder getting in my face at first, but I totally didn't need to worry, it was like corn starch and totally fun to get all over you!

They provide some light snacks and drink at the end and there are plenty of fun downtown places to party after the race too!

So grab some friends and sign up for the color run.  You'll be doing something fun and healthy whether you walk or run and You'll like it!

Dishcrawl Des Moines - Neighborfood

Dishcrawl Des Moines' latest event was a little different than previous events.  Instead of the normal 4 restaurants, this event included 8 stops (plus a few bonus stops for drink specials and a neat store called InnaZONwerld for dip and wine tasting).  There was a groupon and living social deal for this event that made tickets around $20.

While I was accustomed to huge portions at the previous crawls, this crawl boasted smaller potions at each of the 8 stops.  A sampling if you will.

The setup was pretty neat.  You checked-in and got your map of participating restaurants and you were free to hit them in any order you like to start sampling.  A fun thing thing to do with friends since this design makes it a little harder to meet other diners.

Tanya from Capital Pub & Hot Dog did a great job greeting Dishcrawlers and checking in to see if you were enjoying.

Rogue Sweets has some of the best gluten-free cupcakes I've ever had and I always enjoy their sweets. Look for them to grow quickly here in Des Moines.

I was excited to find a premium Italian Ice stand here is Des Moines with Little Jimmy's and I liked the portion size, but was a little disappointed in the flavor choices of bubble gum and blue raspberry.  This is a product that is unfamiliar in this market, but very popular on the coasts and this was a big chance to introduce it here and I don't think the flavors went over well.  Watermelon would have been a huge hit.

I was excited to try Mad Meatball again after trying their tasty meatballs at the grand opening, but they were serving their pizza.  It was good, but the portion size was on the small side.  Go back for meatballs when you get a chance!

I was pleasantly surprised by Plain Talk Books and Coffee.  Their panini's were tasty and they had a wonderful selection of hard to find books.  I'll be coming back for lunch and to browse more at this spot.

I love New World Cafe, but wished the owners would have discussed their concept with us a little because it's such a neat place.  I tried to ask Sugar Blasted Sweets some questions about her products, but she wasn't really interested in chatting.

All-in-all, this was a fun event and Mandi, the Dishcrawl Ambassador really works hard to coordinate a fun event.  Since some aspects of the crawl, like the friendly-ness of the of the vendors and the portion-sizes of the samples are out of her control, I can't blame Dishcrawl for that, but I can say that I have been impressed with Mandi and Dishcrawl Des Moines and look forward to the next crawl!

These events are great opportunities for smaller/local businesses to showcase their products as well as try some of the larger restaurants in town when they are willing to participate.  A portion of ticket sales go toward charity and the more we support local events like this, the better they get!  This was the first big event they've hosted, so look for these events to keep improving in the future.  =)