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.

Zuzap

We've been to Zuzap Thai restaurant a few times now and have always had solid experiences.  It's located on University Ave. in Clive, but you can't quite see it from the street, it's set back behind some other shops in the plaza.

For lunch on the weekday, the restaurant was packed, but the service was still quick and efficient.  It was fun hearing the owner greet regulars already knowing their order and calling them by name.

We must have been in for dinner on our last visits because this was the first time I noticed their very neat "Lunch Sets".

$7.95 includes an egg roll, soup of the day and an entree.  For an extra charge, you can pick a soup off the menu and pick your appetizer instead of the egg roll and soup of the day and includes a drink.

I chose the corn cake and coconut soup along with Pad See Ew and my hubby got the Basil.  Everything was very good, except we realized that they used a lot of salt in everything we ordered.  My hubby said that while his sauce was every good, there could have been more sauce and I agreed with my dish as well.

I normally really enjoy the thai coconut soup.  It's creamy with chunks of white meat chicken and has a tangy flavor.  I still enjoyed it today even though it was obviously more salted than usual.

The portions were great for lunch and the lunch sets were a great value.

The restaurants is casual enough to bring the whole family, but cozy enough for a date-night.  Nice to have a good Thai restaurant on this side of town since the my other go-to Thai places on the West side are down the road a few miles in WDM (Cool Basil and King & I) .

I also left with a warm-fuzzy feeling after reading my fortune-------->

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.

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!

Viva La Bamba

I'm hard-pressed to pass up a fajita Friday.  So fortunately, Viva la Bamba (this time the location on Grand Ave, there is also one in Urbandale) stood up to the challenge.

Unfortunately, Viva La Bamba is one of the restaurants losing a lot of business because of the bridge closure at 63rd and Grand since it's location just over the bridge, on the Des Moines side.

Another interesting tid-bit is that, this summer a chain in Chicago called the owners and told him the name was infringing on their Mexican food chain's name copyright and he had to change it.  They agreed to change the name to just "Viva Mexican Restaurant", but the signs still boast Viva La Bamba for now.

So, today, I took detour around the construction and it was totally worth it.  I just love the Mexican restaurants who serve bean dip along with chips and salsa for an appetizer.  Honestly, I could probably just eat the whole basket of warm chips with their chunky (and very fresh) salsa and bean dip for lunch and be a happy camper.

But, alas, it was Friday (so fajitas were a must) and they'd probably not appreciate it if I only ate the free stuff and left.

Anyway, These were some darn good fajitas.  A huge portion of good quality chicken and fresh veggies accompanied by the familiar rice, beans, salad and tortilla that most restaurants serve.

A solid fajita Friday at Viva la Bamba.  Give them some love, especially since the bridge will now be closed until at least the middle of December.  Prices are great and they have margarita specials often!  They need our support!

Wasabi Tao

Wasabi Tao is the sister restaurant to Wasabi Chi (which is located near the Merle Hay Mall) and is located downtown on Walnut St, right across from the Gramercy Tap.

Being that I'm on a Bento Box kick, I stopped in for a Bento Box of course!  I'm getting quite versed on the Bento Box offerings at each restaurant in town and I definitely have some favorites.  It's refreshing that each offers such different options and I was not disappointed with Wasabi Tao's.


They have such a large selection that it was hard to choose.  They offer chicken, steak or salmon teriyaki, shrimp tempura, yaki udon or sushi or sashimi boxes.

I went with the chicken teriyaki so I could keep it an even playing field to make a better comparison with other boxes I've tried it town.

I have to say, Tao's box stood up the competition pretty well.  At $8.50 it's just a great value.  I was first impressed that I was offered a spicy egg drop soup in lieu of the miso and it was fantastic.  You can't go wrong with creamy ginger dressing over some fresh salad and their California roll was excellent.  The chicken teriyaki was in a rich sauce and I appreciated the fresh steamed veggies.  The shumai wasn't my favorite "obligatory fried side" that I've had in a local box, but it was tasty.

Over-all a winning box.  More food than I could finish for lunch and so much variety.  Ahh..the   wonders of Bento Boxes.  They service a lot of the downtown lunch crowd so it gets busy at lunch time, but they are fast and efficient with a good amount of seating.

It's obvious that I'm addicted to Bento Boxes and I'll happily order one from Wasabi Tao again soon.  Try it out or come in just for the great sushi, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Sam & Gabe's

It had been quite some time since our last visit to Sam & Gabe's.  It's always been a place we'd recommend for a special date-night or anniversary dinner or other celebration.  Since then there have been some mixed reviews about the restaurant on Hickman Rd in Urbandale, so we wanted to check it out again.

Sam & Gabe's has been in business for quite some time and has really become a favorite among locals.

Even though the restaurant is a good size, reservations are encouraged since thy tend to fill up quickly, especially on the weekends.

We dined early on a Friday evening and the place was already bustling.  Our server was very friendly and our salads and meals came out promptly.  We did notice that she forgot to tell us about the specials as we overheard her telling the table next to us shortly after we ordered.

I was very excited to learn that they now have gluten-free pasta available.  My husband and I ordered the linguine and Italian sausage and the beef tenderloin medallions gorgonzola to share (highly recommended to us).  We wanted to try the Italian nachos as they also came highly recommended, but we just knew we wouldn't be able to finish it all.  We have also tried the antipasto platter in the past and it was quite memorable as a nice appetizer.

The pasta sauce was very tasty and the beef medallions were full of flavor.  We did order them medium and they came out very rare though.  They were eager to make us happy though and fix it.  I think that's what matters most.

All-in-all, a nice meal.  I did catch a few things that other reviewers have noted though. For instance, they didn't have the ingredients for the drink my hubby ordered, and they did not offer us grated cheese for our pasta, but we saw the next table over being offered fresh grated cheese.

These are obviously things that shouldn't be overlooked at this price point, and are some of the things that make a meal memorable.  This was not enough to deter us from coming again though.  They did earn double points for having gluten-free pasta available and being able to order most of the pasta dishes gluten-free.  They are open for dinner Tues - Sat and they have such an impressive selection of house made dishes.  Check out Sam & Gabe's for your next date-night or celebration and let us know what you think.

Mandela African Restaurant

I kept driving by this restaurant named Mandela African Restaurant on Douglas Ave, just up the way from Taco Casa and knew I needed to try it.  Googling it didn't give me much info and no one I asked had tried it yet.  So today, my friend and I went to check it out.

We were greeted by the very friendly owner and had a seat of our choosing.  The restaurant is pretty small, but it was pretty slow over the lunch hour too.

We were given a menu, but were really encouraged to try the fried rice and wakye.  The fried rice was tasty mixture of rice and vegetables in savory spices.  It was very good and served with a piece of fried chicken and salad.  My friend ordered the wakye and it was also a flavorful dish of rice and beans also served with fried chicken and salad.

My friend and I both agreed that the chicken was excellent.  A crispy outside with a juicy inside and the seasonings in the fried rice were very good.  It must be tough for them to keep a full menu going when it is slow at lunch time, so they have a limited menu.  I'd love to come back and try some of the African specialties like fufu.  A dough ball that you eat in pieces after dipping in soup.

Owners Bright and Caroline Atubra were happy to share their story of coming to America in search of greener pastures and living their dream of opening up this restaurant to bring authentic food as well as the message of peace.  They named the Restaurant Mandela's after Nelson Mandela so that his message would be present here in Iowa.  Before becoming a US citizen, Bright served in the US Navy in California before moving to Iowa, becoming a citizen and opening this restaurant in June.

The Atubra's enjoyed lots of customers when they first opened, but said once the excitement died off, people are forgetting about them and advertising is very expensive so they are relying on word of mouth right now.

They would love to cook for you these popular meals inspired from Ghana where they are from, so please visit them and show them some love!  The restaurant is very casual and they cook each item from scratch, so give yourself some extra time and don't expect them to have every menu item for lunch until business picks up.  But you will enjoy friendly service, huge portions and good authentic African food here.  It's certainly family-friendly (they even have Mandela fries on the menu).  Try them out!

EPLDSM Night @ Confluence Brewery

We are pleased to announce that our event on November 7th at Confluence Brewery raised $500 to donate to Greater Des Moines Buy Fresh, Buy Local.

There was plenty of food, beer and fun and we appreciated each and every one of you who came out to the event!

A Huge THANK YOU to all of the vendors, entertainers and donors that made this evening happen!!

 

Raffle Doantions:

Kritter Knits & More

Peace Tree Brewing

Moonbugs Art Classes

Padded Little Seats

Grounds For Celebration

Radiant Om Yoga

Dishcrawl Des Moines

The Durr Family

Vander Sluis Chiropractic

Chick –fil-a Paradise Pointe

Tarre De’Amore Farms

515 Brewing Co.

Rogue Sweets

Noodles & Co. – Jordan Creek

J Sayles Design Company

Buy Fresh Buy Local

Confluence Brewing Company

Mo'Rub

Norwex

Vendors:

Confluence Brewing

Mo’Rub

Tamales Industry

Noodles & Co. - Jordan Creek

Rogue Sweets

 

Entertainment:

Jerry Lorenson

Dishcrawl Des Moines

Des Moines Derby Dames