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.

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!

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!

Win a free Milkshake contest!

Chick-fil-a has Peppermint Chocolate Chip Milkshakes again!! Yum! Who wants a free one courtesy of Chick-fil-A Paradise Pointe?! Just "like" our status on Facebook about the contest and head over to https://www.facebook.com/cfaparadisepointe and "like" their page. That's it! I'll announce FIVE winners at the end of the day 11/20/13!

Halloween Hoopla

The Halloween Hoopla is an annual event hosted by the West Des Moines Parks and Rec department.  It is held at the Nature Lodge at Raccoon River Park and it's a great place for this event.  Seeing the animals at the lodge is an added bonus for the kids.




We've gone for the past several years and my son loves it.  They offer Hack rack rides around the lake which is pretty cool at night, pumpkin decorating (pumpkin included in admission), crafts and roasting marshmallow for s'mores. Juice and coffee are included in admission as well.



The cost is $3 for ages 2-11, and $5 for ages 12 and up.



While this year's event has come and gone, keep your eye out for next year's event!  We'll be sure to let you know about it on our Facebook page!
https://www.facebook.com/EatPlayLoveDesMoines




Registration is done on the WDM website: https://reconline.wdm-ia.com



They start registration for this event in the late summer usually.  We'll keep you updated!