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.

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.

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

 

Shhhhh...It's a secret!

Dishcrawl Des Moines' first Secret Supper did not disappoint.  Tickets were $49 and guests were told of the meeting location and menu the week of the event.

The first Secret Supper was prepared by Chef Mike Holman in the private room at Dos Rios Cantina and Lounge on Court Ave.  I had the pleasure of interviewing him before October's Battledish competition and you can read about it here.

The venue was cozy and nicely decorated for the intimate group of 15 for the event.

This was seriously one of the best meals I've had in a while.  Chef Holman outdid himself on this one.  Drink pairings were also offered and got rave reviews from the diners.   I was smitten with the blood orange cocktail I had.

The Amuse course was a cold smoked seared foie gras with black mole, duck chicharron and black mint & apricot compote.  The flavors surprisingly blended so well together.  It was excellent.

The first course was an ancho infused tamale with slow braised goat shoulder, charred tomatillo salsa and jalapeno pickled onions that added just a little kick. It was superb and the goat was tender and delicious.  I loved it.

The second course was a sweet corn bisque with fried octopus, crispy chorizo, cilantro and garlic jalepeno crema.  These flavors
together worked so well.  This was a favorite among a lot of the diners.

The third course was a seared sea bass with Spanish cannelloni ragout, braised swiss chard and lemon ginger espuma.  They must have had this bass flown in today because it was incredibly fresh and and perfectly flakey.  It was my favorite dish of the evening.

The fourth course was picadillo stuffed rotisserie quail with crispy tacu tacu dressing and romesco cream sauce.  Chef Mike called it his version of Thanksgiving.  It was fantastic.  Almost too cute to eat, but the flavors meshed so well.

The fifth course (yes, another course!) was a chile crusted rack of lamb with fried smashed plantain, spiced black bean sauce and mint jalapeno jam.  The black bean sauce made the dish.  I didn't care for the texture of the plantain as I'm used to it a bit softer, but the flavors of this dish were great.

The sixth and final course was a dessert of leche fritz, goats milk caramel, vanilla apple chutney, powdered hazelnut espresso brittle and white chocolate cinnamon tuile.  Can you imagine fried cream?! It was stellar.  Heavy and sweet and heavenly.

This was an overall great event.  I feel like Dishcrawl's events get better with each one and I'm looking forward to Cocktail Wars next month.  Great job Chef Holman and the staff at Dos Rios and kudos to Dishcrawl on a great first Secret Supper event.

Fong's Pizzeria

If you've been to Des Moines, you've probably heard of Fong's Pizzeria.  It's an Asian restaurant turned pizza joint.  Well, I guess I can't really say "turned" since the menu, including the pizza, is mostly Asian inspired as is the decor of the restaurant still.

With pizzas like Thai Chicken, Fongolian, Beef, Happy Family and even Crab Rangoon (which is wildly popular), you'll think you are ordering off a Chinese food menu, but what you get is truly unique. You can also get most pizza's gluten-free by the way!

On my latest visit, I tried the Kung Pao Chicken.  It was really very tasty.  Not overly spicy, but it definitely had a kick.  Picture a plate of Kung Pao Chicken in a zippy sauce with veggies, but on a pizza crust instead of served over rice.  My dining partner had the veggie taco pizza and was also pleased.

Even though it was 11am, it's hard to resist Fong's tiki drinks, so we didn't!  My friend ordered her go-to drink, the Mai Tai and I chose the Bahama Mama.  Really, I ordered it just because of the cup it is served it in.  ---->

The menu has an array of salads, sandwiches, appetizers, pizzas and even desserts.  The bar is well stocked and the atmosphere is fun.  They are also one of the only places to get some late night slices in the Court Ave area downtown.  They are open til 2am most days!

They offer lunch and happy hour specials as well and you get a good bang for your buck here.  The restaurant is quite family friendly for lunch and dinner and turns more into a bar in the late hours.  They of course have more traditional pizza and sandwiches if you aren't feeling so daring, but check it out and try something new!  You might be pleasantly surprised at how good crab rangoon on your pizza is!

Isla Cozumel

Usually when I'm in Urbandale for lunch, I end up at Sam & Louie's Pizza and a lot of times  Incredible Pizza (which has pretty good gluten-free pizza actually) because of the kiddo.  But I decided to try something new and headed over to Isla Cozumel.  It's in the same plaza as Taki in the former Mama Lacona's location.  I was struck by the sign that boasted $5.99 lunch fajitas and $6.99 dinner fajitas and I knew that's what I'd be trying.

It's easy to identify that you are in the former home of Mama Lacona's, but it does a good job making a Mexican joint too with some added decorations.

The menu was varied as most Mexican restaurants in town are and included most of the local favorites like enchiladas, tacos, burritos, etc. I always appreciate when ethnic restaurants include American choices for the kids because as much as I thought my child would be the kid that inhaled curry and exotic cuisine like it's his job, alas, he is a typical picky 6 year old who wants grilled cheese and french fries at every meal.  I digress...

My fajitas were good.  A great portion size for the price. well-seasoned chicken and your typical sides of re-fried beans, rice, salad &guac.

The service was great and fast.  Friendly waitstaff and a clean restaurant.  I'd dine again especially for their daily specials.  Kids 9 and Under eat free on Mondays.  $2.99 margarita's on Wednesdays.

If you like most of the other Mexican restaurants in town, you'll like this one too!  Always nice to have another option in Urbandale.

Eat Play Love Des Moines Night @ Confluence Brewery!

Don't miss it!  Proceeds from this evening's event will go to Buy Fresh Buy Local Des Moines!  This is a family-friendly event!  Please RSVP on our facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/407552842680118/?ref=3&ref_newsfeed_story_type=regular

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.