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.

Des Moines Holiday Events Extravaganza!

It just happened that my sister and my nephew were in town visiting this week from Boston, so what better time to fit in every Des Moines Holiday Event we could into the shortest amount of time possible.



The week started with the Ugly Sweater Run at Principal Park.  What a fun event!  Lots of gigantic Holiday inflatables for cool photo ops, candy canes and more.  Runner brought toys for Toys 4 Tots that went right to kids in our community.




If it wasn't -1 degree with the wind chill, it would have been a fabulous family friendly event.  There was a Groupon for it, so only $20 got you registration, a hat, hot chocolate along the 5k route and 2 beers or hard ciders at the end.  Fun event!  Looking forward to next year!



Next up, we hit the Jordan Creek Mall Santa and Build-a-Bear for their Holiday "Bears".  Nathan picked the Rudolph and of course we spent the ridiculous amount of money on the matching hat, scarf and sweater for Rudolph, you know, because it was too cute not to.



Our elf (Named Elephant) returned for the season which is fantastic because my kid always behaves a little bit better when he knows the creepy elf is watching him.




While at the mall, we also got to check out Live, Love, Bake which recently opened up near Banana Republic on the first floor of the mall.  They have a cupcake kiosk.  What a great idea and they have really great cupcakes!  I tried a gluten-free chocolate-chip and it was really fabulous.  It was a little more pricey than the competitors around town at $4, but it was huge!  It was moist and delicious though and worth every penny.





In the middle of all of this, we had time to meet my friend Carye for a painting class, via El Arte Uncorked, to make some festive Christmas ornament paintings.  We also got some matchy-matchy photos of the boys taken since they only see each other a couple times a year.




Continuing the fun, we had our Thanksgiving meal at Tally's in Beaverdale which was fantastic as always.  Robert's (the owner) wife has celiac disease, so there is always a ton at Tallly's that is gluten free for my family members to eat.



We don't discriminate around here and since we have all sorts of heritage going on in our family, we made time for Latkes and Hanukkah house building!  It was really for the kids, but they lost interest quickly and the grown-ups ended up doing the building...




What the kids did love was the chocolate we picked up at Beaverdale Confections! I just love this shop.  We picked up Thanksgiving, Hanukkah and Christmas themed chocolates along with fantastic gift baskets for only $10 each!  They'd make great teacher gifts!  (hint, hint...) A great stop to celebrate Small Business Saturday too.  



Once our Thankgivukkah celebrations were over (and my brief dabble in Black Friday Shopping in which I stood in line for an hour and a half for an iPad deal...not worth it),we headed to the Festival of Trees and Lights at Hy-vee Hall.  This is one of my most favorite events of the season and is for such a great cause that is very near to my heart.  Every year this events gets bigger and better is lots of kids crafts, train rides, beautiful trees including a scavenger hunt, snacks, silent auction and entertainment.  Definitely an event not to miss.


Luckily we still had time to take our annual drive through the Jolly Holiday Lights at Waterworks park where you can drive through thousands of holiday lights throughout the park for $10 (more for limos and busses and only $5 on Monday nights) to benefit Make-a-Wish foundation.  We love turning up the Christmas music, drinking hot cocoa and enjoying the lights.  They had 3D glasses available a few years ago and Nathan loves to wear them every year, they don't offer them anymore though, but that's what he's wearing in the photo.


That takes us to our road trip to The Scenic Valley Railroad and Museum in Boone for the Santa Express train ride!  This is always a hot with the kids.  You ride the train out to "The North Pole", read the Santa Express book, drink hot chocolate and eat cookies and there is of course a visit from Santa.  It was my 2 year old nephew's first train ride and he was enthralled for every minute of the hour and a half excursion.



We fit in a trip to the Science Center, which I highly recommend during the holiday to catch the Polar Express in the IMAX theater and check out the current traveling exhibit which is very cool.



Today, we end our very busy visit with family with DIsney on Ice at Wells Fargo Arena.  Many Iowans have made this a Thanksgiving week tradition every year.



Are there any Holiday events that you love to do in Des Moines (or close-by)?  We'd love to hear about them!



For me, it's back Ugly Sweater Party planning!  Our annual Contest/Party is being held soon and we can't wait!  Here's a photo of some of our friend's from last year's event!  I'm getting the fruit cakes and leg lamps ready!

PS...I almost forgot!  A new find (for me) this year is the Lincoln Place Lights this very cool house at 129 Lincoln Place Drive in Des Moines (not far from DMU).  They have a fantastic holiday lights display, that if you set your radio to 94.3, their light show is in sync with the music!  Check it out!

Goodsons-Beaverdale

 I had a chance to catch up with my good friend who lives in Beaverdale over lunch at GoodSons, a popular Beaverdale restaurant.  


I had only been there for drinks and appetizers before and enjoyed the hummus plate and friendly service.


They offer a selection of panini's, salads, cold sandwiches and desserts.  Appetizers are only $5 on Monday's.



The restaurant was pretty empty at lunchtime on a Wednesday afternoon, but half of the parties there had kids along.  GodSons doesn't offer a kids menu but a grilled cheese panini is on the menu and if your kiddo isn't picky could easily share.  The tables are actually chalk boards and they have chalk available to go to town on the tables with. That really helped to keep my friend's kiddos entertained while we ate.  They also didn't mind that we brought along some snacks from home for the kids.  


While it took a little longer than we hope for our meals to arrive, it was worth the wait since they both came out hot and fresh.  My vegetarian friend was impressed by the uniqueness of the veggie panini. Lots of fresh roasted veggies with a good amount of heat (spicy) and very filling.  I really liked the cheeseburger panini with lots of gooey cheese.  The crunchy panini crust was a welcome change from a normal bun.  The potato salad wasn't particularly noteworthy, but it was cold and tasty and went well with our panini's.  At around $8 for a panini it was nice lunch and would make a great dinner as well.   Check it out and don't be afraid to bring the kiddos along for lunch.

Grounds For Celebration

In Windsor Heights, right near the Mustards Restaurant on University Ave is Grounds For Celebration.  They have other locations in Beaverdale as well as the Somerfield plaza on Mills Civic in WDM too.

This is more than just your typical coffee shop.  They of course serve your normal line-up of lattes, smoothies, shakes and teas.  But, at lunch time, they have a full menu with table-service.  The menu includes pasta, salads, sandwiches fruit plates and my favorite, the chicken salad croissant.  The chicken salad is full of relish and grapes.  Sweet and tart with tender chucks of white meat chicken, just how I like it.  For about $8.75 you can choose two menu items served with fruit for a wonderful lunch.

They atmosphere is cozy and the staff is friendly.  They also carry an assortment of locally made bakery items including gluten-free cookies which is great because coffee shops don't always offer something for people with allergies.  They also had some gorgeous looking cakes and muffins all from locally-owned bakeries.

They had a selection of breakfast sandwiches available and even have gelato.

This is the perfect place to meet some friends over a cup of coffee or lunch and dessert!  I once attended a baby shower here and it was perfect.  Casual atmosphere with a relaxing feel and good food and coffee.  Check it out!

Local Yocals

Ok, I don't do this often, but here I go....I'm telling you that you HAVE to try this.  Local Yocals is a new company owned and operated by a super nice guy named Jeremy Jessen who is not new to the food industry.  He is well versed in locally-grown and produced food from his past experience and brings that to us in the form of grass-fed burgers served on freshly-baked buns made from Iowa-grown wheat and locally-sourced fixin's even down to the potatoes for the fries.  

Oh, it doesn't stop there, the loaded fries are adorned with beer cheese sourced from Confluence Brewing's beer and Eden Farm's bacon.  You can't get more local than this.  You can taste the Iowa in this food!

Local Yocal's popularity is growing fast as evidenced by their standing Friday night appearances at 515 Brewing in Clive, The Beaverdale farmer's Market on Tuesday's and the Valley Junction Farmer's Market on Thursdays.  These are just a few places you can grab one of these amazing treats, but the best way to find them is to "like" them on facebook here, to get the latest info about where they'll have their stand set up to make you some of this made-to-order goodness. At $5 for a burger and $3 for a side of fries, it's a bargain.

They also carry Thelma's Treats ice cream sandwiches for dessert.  Also produced by an amazing local company.  Seriously, you gotta try it.

Chef's Kitchen

I'm a big fan of Chef's Kitchen in Beaverdale.  They are open for dinner Monday thru Saturday and for breakfast on Saturday and Sunday.  

Locally owned and operated, they aim to impress with huge portions of quality food.  Check out the pancakes that are bigger than your face!

While dinner is great (here's the menu), serving American fare ranging from seafood and steaks to pizza and pasta and bigger than life salads, my favorite time to visit Chef's Kitchen is for breakfast.

Check out the breakfast menu including breakfast deBurgo, skillets, omelets, pancakes and french toast. I'm so glad we have another quality breakfast option in town!

I'm a fan of the skillets.  My favorite is the Panther with lots of fresh veggies and sauteed potatoes with onions and peppers topped with cheese and eggs of your choice.  We are also fans of the specialty pancakes like sweet potato and apple-pecan. Yum!  One is enough to feed even the biggest appetites! And at $2.29 it's a steal!


Each day they make enough cookies to fill the cookie jar in the front of the restaurant and if you're quick you might be able to score one.  When they're gone, they're gone.

They have an impressive drink list as well and the homey atmosphere is great to grab dinner and a drink with friends and hang out for a while.  Perfect for a night out with friends, date-night or even a family-friendly meal.  The kids menu is varied enough to cover most picky eaters.