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Tell me about Des Moines (only for March Madness)

KingBobo81

By KingBobo81
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KingBobo81

KingBobo81 542

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I don’t think this belongs in the travel forum because it is tournament related … and really, who in their right mind is going to Des Moines, especially when it is sub-freezing temperatures?
 
I’ll be heading up there on Wed - anybody else from Surly going? What does one do in Des Moines? Where is the best spot in town to watch games on Fri?

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Al_4_ISU

Al_4_ISU 12542

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Des Moines is a great town, and I'd expect you'll have a pretty good time.  Wednesday and Thursday look like pretty mild weather but we're getting some crazy Canadian polar vortex shit that will plummet it over the weekend.  Des Moines got whacked with snow last weekend I think too, which is very unseasonal, and puts a damper on some of the things you can do.

More cultural/not-exclusively eating/drinking things to do:

-I always found the Des Moines art center to be worth my time if you want to do something along those lines.  Touring the Iowa State Capitol is really interesting if you're into history and architecture.

-Xbk Live and Wooly's usually have good shows going on.  Xbk has Jesse Daniel playing on Saturday night.  That should be a really good show.  Wooly's is in the East Village and walking distance from any downtown hotel.  Xbk is in the Drake neighborhood and requires an Uber.

-If you want to brave the weather, I always loved the biking and walking trails through the city.  Especially at Gray's Lake Park.  Awesome place to go for a run.  There are trails that follow both the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers and their various tributaries through the city.

-The sculpture park on the west end of downtown is cool as well.

Partying things:

You will be in Des Moines for the NCAA Tournament AND St Patrick's Day.  St Pat's is a huge fucking deal in that town.  There's a big parade downtown on Friday and many bars are open at 6AM.  Court Avenue will be a drunken shit show literally all day.  The cold weather might throw a wrench in that, but if not the people watching is top notch and you will be guaranteed to have a good time.  If you want to get away from those crowds a little, I'd recommend taking an Uber up to the Beaverdale neighborhood and hitting up Cooney's Tavern and The Beaver Tap.  All of this will be going on on Friday.  Looks like the parade is at noon.  Here's the route http://www.friendlysonsiowa.com/Parade/New Map 2022.jpg  There are a bunch of bars and restaurants adjacent to the area labeled "tailgating party" and the sculpture park would be a good place to catch the parade.

Food things:  

I always really enjoyed the Des Moines food scene.  I don't spend near as much time there these days, so you may get different local recs but all of the places I'm recommending are still going concerns and places I like a lot.

-Breakfast:  Waveland Cafe on University Ave west of Drake was always my spot for breakfast.  Can be a bit of a wait.  La Mie Bakery on 42nd makes some fantastic French pastries.  Smokey Row is my go-to Des Moines coffee house, and it's located in Sherman Hill, which is a cool neighborhood just northwest of downtown.  Mullet's is just across the Raccoon River from downtown and has a great breakfast as well, and a good place to get your pre-game drinking started.  They have a full bar, and pretty good Bloody Mary's.  Lastly, I'd throw Drake Diner in the mix.  It's a block off the Drake campus and has never disappointed me.

-Lunch:  I'm a sandwich guy.  Between Manhattan Deli on Ingersoll (west of downtown) and B&B Grocery & Deli on the south side, you've got my two favorite spots.  Manhattan is a no frills style deli with great sandwiches.  Cash only.  B&B is like walking back into time.  It's a corner grocery run by a couple of smart-ass brothers that has a kitchen in the back in an old neighborhood.  Palmer's on Ingersoll is a little fancier but you can get some very healthy options.

-Dinner or Lunch:  If you want something more in the downtown area, it's tough to go wrong with the combo of El Bait Shop and The High Life Lounge.  These are two of Des Moines more well known establishments and they're run by a bar/restaurant group called Full Court Press.  All Full Court Press establishments are guaranteed to have quality food, quality drinks, and a unique vibe.  I'll reference any of their places with (FCP) going forward here.  El Bait Shop is one of America's best beer bars, full stop.  There is an absurd amount of beer on tap in there.  The adjacent High Life Lounge is like walking back into the 70's.  Nothing but cheap domestics on tap, and Midwestern comfort food on the menu - in the best sense of the term.  Other immediate downtown places that I recommend are Hessen Haus (FCP) a German bar/restaurant, Royal Mile (FCP) a British bar/restaurant, Fong's Pizza (open late night for slices).

I think one of the real highlights of the Des Moines food scene is the Italian.  The south side is heavily Italian, especially in the area just across the Raccoon.  A stop at Graziano Brothers' market is always fun, and keep your eye on any menu for use of their products.  Their sausage is fantastic.  For DSM Italian, I've always loved Tumea & Sons.  Barratta's and Latin King are a few others I'd put high on the list.  Definitely more "dinner" type places.

Some other places I've always liked were Flying Mango in Beaverdale, which has a bit of a Carribean flair to their menu.  Gerri's on the east side, across from the State Fair, has some of my favorite wings on the planet.  Jethro's, which is a BBQ place, has amazing wings.  Their cue is mediocre, so don't bother, but if you're craving wings, they're tough to beat, and they have a good beer selection.

For late night drunk munchies, Big Tomato on Ingersoll has some of my favorite drunk pizza ever.  Lots of vendors downtown will have food too.

I was too poor for real fine dining when I lived there, but when I was splurging on an expensive meal, I'd often go for Django or Centro.  Django is a French place on the west side of downtown.  Centro is a high end Italian place a block away.  Had great experiences with both.

This post is getting unwieldly, so I'll follow up with bars.

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Al_4_ISU

Al_4_ISU 12542

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There are far shittier places than Des Moines with threads in the Travel forum, too.

I'll add that Des Moines has some really good BBQ and Mexican spots, but there's no way anyone here could be objective about that and will just inherently shit on it, so I'm not even going to bother with pointing anyone in those directions.  I'll keep it more locally focused.

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Al_4_ISU

Al_4_ISU 12542

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Bars/Shit I Forgot

I will do this by neighborhoods:

East Village - The East Village is the area between the Des Moines River and the state capitol building.  It is home to the Locust Tap, which is one of the world's great dive bars.  If you're partying in Des Moines and don't get there, that's on you.  The neighborhood in general has gotten gentrified as hell and there are a bunch of hipster joints that I'm not familiar with.  Zombie Burger is pretty damn good, but kind of over the top.  The Beechwood Lounge is a fantastic dive bar dedicated to Budweiser.  AJ's is always a hoot, and a good place for silly late night karaoke.  The Iowa Tap Room (FCP) is a favorite here.  100+ Iowa brewed beers on tap, all Iowa ingredients for the food.  

Downtown/Court Ave:  I already mentioned the places I like down there.  There are a shit load of bars, and they're the kind of places that you'll see hot 20 somethings puking on each other.  That can be fun at the end of the night, or if you're single.  It can also be real fucking annoying.  Johnny's isn't my favorite place, but it's a phenomenal location and will have all the games going on.  Buzzard Billy's is a cajun place adjacent to the basketball arena that's usually a good time.  They have a ton of TVs, decent food, good beer.

Western Gateway:  This is the west end of downtown, where the St Pat's parade will be.  Most of these places are bars/restaurants.  Americana has a great weekend brunch, but otherwise I'm less familiar with these joints.  They're pretty popular.  Exile Brewing is here.  They have some solid beers, but aren't my favorite.  The food is excellent though, and they're owned by the same people who run the Latin King Italian place.

Sherman Hill:  Cool old neighborhood NW of downtown.  Carl's Place is another great Des Moines dive bar.  Lua Brewing is arguably the best brewery in the state, and definitely in the city.  Big Grove Brewing has a location there as well.  It's a 2nd tap room, as their main location is in the Iowa City area.  They make some great beer.

Ingersoll:  This is a street that starts downtown and goes quite a ways west.  What I'm calling the Ingersoll district is the area west of MLK.  This is home to a bunch of great dive bars and some unassuming restaurants.  For dive bars, I adore the Alpine Tap Room and Greenwood Lounge.  There are a bunch of other bars along Ingersoll.  Wellman's is a fun place to watch games, but the food is mediocre.  Star Bar is kind of boujie, but fun.  Eatery A and Lashelle's are two new food joints that I haven't been to yet, but everyone raves about.

Beaverdale:  a former suburb that was annexed into the city, NW of Drake.   I lived here from the fall of 2009 through spring of 2012.  Absolutely loved it.  Cooney's Tavern is a low key legitimate Irish bar, that also makes some of the best Bloody Marys on the planet.  Goodson's is a cool corner bar with good food and drinks, and Beaver Tap is another dive bar I dig.  The Dam Bar is in the old Tilly's location, and I always liked Tilly's.  They have a cool roof top.

Drake:  The areas surrounding Drake University.  Gets sketchy as you go more than 3-4 blocks east of the campus.  The West End is a tiny collegiate dive.  Peggy's is a slightly larger collegiate dive.  Lucky Horse is a great burger/beer place and The Library (FCP) is a sneaky good spot for lunch and beers.  You might get shanked east of 23rd Ave though.

Breweries:  Lua, confluence, 515, Exile, Barntown.  Those are my favorites.  Barntown is way the fuck out in Waukee, but if you like sours and hazy IPAs, it's well regarded and they have great food.  Lua is the place that gets all the accolades.  Confluence is my favorite.  515 is really solid, out of the way, and low key.

 

I'll add more shit if I think of it.  I could write about this at length.  I loved living there and could absolutely move back.

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gernblansten

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On 3/13/2023 at 8:40 AM, Al_4_ISU said:

Des Moines is a great town, and I'd expect you'll have a pretty good time.  Wednesday and Thursday look like pretty mild weather but we're getting some crazy Canadian polar vortex shit that will plummet it over the weekend.  Des Moines got whacked with snow last weekend I think too, which is very unseasonal, and puts a damper on some of the things you can do.

More cultural/not-exclusively eating/drinking things to do:

-I always found the Des Moines art center to be worth my time if you want to do something along those lines.  Touring the Iowa State Capitol is really interesting if you're into history and architecture.

-Xbk Live and Wooly's usually have good shows going on.  Xbk has Jesse Daniel playing on Saturday night.  That should be a really good show.  Wooly's is in the East Village and walking distance from any downtown hotel.  Xbk is in the Drake neighborhood and requires an Uber.

-If you want to brave the weather, I always loved the biking and walking trails through the city.  Especially at Gray's Lake Park.  Awesome place to go for a run.  There are trails that follow both the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers and their various tributaries through the city.

-The sculpture park on the west end of downtown is cool as well.

Partying things:

You will be in Des Moines for the NCAA Tournament AND St Patrick's Day.  St Pat's is a huge fucking deal in that town.  There's a big parade downtown on Friday and many bars are open at 6AM.  Court Avenue will be a drunken shit show literally all day.  The cold weather might throw a wrench in that, but if not the people watching is top notch and you will be guaranteed to have a good time.  If you want to get away from those crowds a little, I'd recommend taking an Uber up to the Beaverdale neighborhood and hitting up Cooney's Tavern and The Beaver Tap.  All of this will be going on on Friday.  Looks like the parade is at noon.  Here's the route http://www.friendlysonsiowa.com/Parade/New Map 2022.jpg  There are a bunch of bars and restaurants adjacent to the area labeled "tailgating party" and the sculpture park would be a good place to catch the parade.

Food things:  

I always really enjoyed the Des Moines food scene.  I don't spend near as much time there these days, so you may get different local recs but all of the places I'm recommending are still going concerns and places I like a lot.

-Breakfast:  Waveland Cafe on University Ave west of Drake was always my spot for breakfast.  Can be a bit of a wait.  La Mie Bakery on 42nd makes some fantastic French pastries.  Smokey Row is my go-to Des Moines coffee house, and it's located in Sherman Hill, which is a cool neighborhood just northwest of downtown.  Mullet's is just across the Raccoon River from downtown and has a great breakfast as well, and a good place to get your pre-game drinking started.  They have a full bar, and pretty good Bloody Mary's.  Lastly, I'd throw Drake Diner in the mix.  It's a block off the Drake campus and has never disappointed me.

-Lunch:  I'm a sandwich guy.  Between Manhattan Deli on Ingersoll (west of downtown) and B&B Grocery & Deli on the south side, you've got my two favorite spots.  Manhattan is a no frills style deli with great sandwiches.  Cash only.  B&B is like walking back into time.  It's a corner grocery run by a couple of smart-ass brothers that has a kitchen in the back in an old neighborhood.  Palmer's on Ingersoll is a little fancier but you can get some very healthy options.

-Dinner or Lunch:  If you want something more in the downtown area, it's tough to go wrong with the combo of El Bait Shop and The High Life Lounge.  These are two of Des Moines more well known establishments and they're run by a bar/restaurant group called Full Court Press.  All Full Court Press establishments are guaranteed to have quality food, quality drinks, and a unique vibe.  I'll reference any of their places with (FCP) going forward here.  El Bait Shop is one of America's best beer bars, full stop.  There is an absurd amount of beer on tap in there.  The adjacent High Life Lounge is like walking back into the 70's.  Nothing but cheap domestics on tap, and Midwestern comfort food on the menu - in the best sense of the term.  Other immediate downtown places that I recommend are Hessen Haus (FCP) a German bar/restaurant, Royal Mile (FCP) a British bar/restaurant, Fong's Pizza (open late night for slices).

I think one of the real highlights of the Des Moines food scene is the Italian.  The south side is heavily Italian, especially in the area just across the Raccoon.  A stop at Graziano Brothers' market is always fun, and keep your eye on any menu for use of their products.  Their sausage is fantastic.  For DSM Italian, I've always loved Tumea & Sons.  Barratta's and Latin King are a few others I'd put high on the list.  Definitely more "dinner" type places.

Some other places I've always liked were Flying Mango in Beaverdale, which has a bit of a Carribean flair to their menu.  Gerri's on the east side, across from the State Fair, has some of my favorite wings on the planet.  Jethro's, which is a BBQ place, has amazing wings.  Their cue is mediocre, so don't bother, but if you're craving wings, they're tough to beat, and they have a good beer selection.

For late night drunk munchies, Big Tomato on Ingersoll has some of my favorite drunk pizza ever.  Lots of vendors downtown will have food too.

I was too poor for real fine dining when I lived there, but when I was splurging on an expensive meal, I'd often go for Django or Centro.  Django is a French place on the west side of downtown.  Centro is a high end Italian place a block away.  Had great experiences with both.

This post is getting unwieldly, so I'll follow up with bars.

I had a good time Des Moines. El Bait Shop sheer number of taps can make it difficult choosing beers. It's like having 300 channels of television and not knowing what to watch because it takes so long to figure out what's on. Best to go in with a plan on what you want to drink. Obviously, hit the High Life Lounge and enjoyed the vibe. If you go to one, you have to go to the other. The Continental was okay for drinks.

Enjoyed Royal Mile a couple times. Both the pork sandwich and another big sandwich that seemed liked it had corned beef, bacon, turkey, ham, swiss, and who knows what else. The Breakfast Club was a good breakfast with bloody marys. 

Both Confluence and 515 were both worth hitting up.

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Al_4_ISU

Al_4_ISU 12542

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25 minutes ago, gernblansten said:

I had a good time Des Moines. El Bait Shop sheer number of taps can make it difficult choosing beers. It's like having 300 channels of television and not knowing what to watch because it takes so long to figure out what's on. Best to go in with a plan on what you want to drink. Obviously, hit the High Life Lounge and enjoyed the vibe. If you go to one, you have to go to the other. The Continental was okay for drinks.

Enjoyed Royal Mile a couple times. Both the pork sandwich and another big sandwich that seemed liked it had corned beef, bacon, turkey, ham, swiss, and who knows what else. The Breakfast Club was a good breakfast with bloody marys. 

Both Confluence and 515 were both worth hitting up.

I've never actually gone to the Continental.  Looked a little boujie for my tastes.  Breakfast Club is newer and I've never been, but heard good things.

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Al_4_ISU

Al_4_ISU 12542

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21 minutes ago, deadshank said:

Skunk River is “better.” Of course, the fineries of the North or South branch could be argued for days on end. 

We used to get hammered on the Skunk in college.  In a dry year it I’ll straight up dry out by Ames

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Al_4_ISU

Al_4_ISU 12542

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20 minutes ago, KingBobo81 said:

I take back any tongue in cheek trash I talked about this town - aside from ridiculously cold weather, Al’s area rules and I would highly recommend a visit.

This is absolutely not normal weather.

Well, it’s normal in as much as we can have literally any weather condition in March. But yeah, Des Moines’ a gem and I love it dearly.

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