The Pesky Diner

By now you likely know about the latest trend in cold confections: pay-by-the-weight self-serve frozen yogurt. If the last time you went out for froyo was at a TCBY circa 1988, it’s time you venture to one of a handful of Des Moines-area shops that generally have a fruit in their name: CherryBerry, Lemon Tree, Orange Leaf, or Menchie’s.

What’s that? You’ve never heard of the rare Israeli menchie fruit? Kidding aside, all you really need to remember is Menchie’s. While the others all follow the sevenish-year-old coastal trend of coming up with a fruity name, setting out ulta-mod furnishings, serving up about a dozen wild yogurt flavors and even more toppings, CherryOrangeLemonShop, or whatever they want to call themselves is missing something: Menchie’s.

Now some of you may have already found your non-Menchie’s favorite, and that’s ok. The others out there are not bad. They are just not as good. Menchie’s flavors tend to be richer, more creative, and leave no sour aftertaste. Some of my favorites have been roasted pistachio, sweet Georgia peach, green apple tart, and pecan praline. The topping selection, which is half the fun, always seems a bit stronger at Menchie’s. Most of these stores carry a wide variety of fresh fruit, nuts, candies, and sauces, but as of my most recent visits, only Menchie’s carried peanut butter sauce. Trust me on this one – you’ve got to try it.

So what’s with the name Menchie’s? Is it really Jewish? Word on the street is that while the local franchisees are not Jewish, they get this question on occasion. All of the yogurts are certified kosher and are even labeled “Chai (in Hebrew), I’m kosher!” The name for the store, according to the San Diego Jewish Journal, came from a nickname co-founder Adam Caldwell gave his wife Danna—the other co-founder—while they were dating. She corrected him on his Yiddish usage—a girl can’t exactly be a mench—but the name stuck. Even their executives have some pretty Israeli sounding names: Yotam Regev, Amit Kleinberger, and Elie Balas! But really, is that what you care about when you are out for yogurt? You should care about the taste and the experience. A+ on both of those fronts.

Here are five tips for your first—or 100^th—visit:

• The cups are HUGE; you don’t need to fill them up.
• Gummy bears and gummy worms freeze into hard nuggets. Maybe that’s Jewish karma as these are two of the only non-kosher items in the store (if you view gelatin as treif).
• As tempting as it may seem, don’t mix every flavor in your cup. Get a second serving or come back again if you really can’t narrow it down to two or three.
• Do you really need that heavy banana slice? You are charged by the weight, so try the much lighter raspberries instead.
• Remember to sample the flavors before you go big—that’s what the mini-cups are there for!

And finally… Menchie’s has the best spoons of all the yogurt shops. They’re shaped like kid’s characters—which clearly adds to one’s yogurt enjoyment. You can collect them all, but I suggest enjoying your dessert with the new puppy dog spoon, which has an uncanny resemblance to the cutest puggle in the whole world, Wilbur.

That last paragraph was the first of potentially many collaborations with my wife Lil. She clearly has a knack for this writing stuff.

A quick thank you to the folks at Juice, specifically Jess Knight, for featuring my pesky dining habits in print. Click the good looking guy below to read the article: Keeping kosher in Des Moines

Photo by Jonathan Quinn

How often do you lunch more than 5 minutes away from your office? It takes a special reason, or in this case a special place, to get me away from my immediate workplace surroundings. Host, a new downtown lunch spot is worth a trip, even for the kosherish diners of Des Moines.

I’ll be the first to admit that it is the treif options that allure the crowds into Tony Lemmo’s newest joint. Tony, as you may know, is the brains behind Cafe di Scala and Gusto Pizza Co. Corned brisket, chicken pot pie, and curried chicken salad look to be the big sellers, but if you steer clear of these, you are left with more than an afterthought salad.

First, the important details. Host is open to the public only a few hours each weekday: 11 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. to be exact. The location is easy to find if you know your way around downtown: 1220 Locust, next to Jimmy John’s and where Flour was located until recently. The atmosphere: totally casual. Order at the front, get a number, and a server will bring you your dish.

Back to the food. My two visits yielded two completely different style dishes that could be viewed as simple, but ended up with quite a bit of complexity.

Visit one: Scala egg casserole w/greens, onions, tomatoes, and crème fraiche. If you are a breakfast-for-lunch type of person, this is the way to go. The tomatoes and crème fraiche were definitely the most memorable components of this large slice: just enough acid and dairy to break through the voluminous egg creation. This dish comes with a side and I went for that day’s soup selection: spinach.

Have you ever had eaten something that you know is at once outrageously healthy and delicious? That’s Host’s Spinach soup. It was not overly complex, but it accomplished finding complex flavor out of a handful of ingredients. I have a feeling the majority of Host’s soups will be of the non-traditional variety, making the visit worthwhile to soup fans.

Visit two: Prairie Breeze & double cream grilled cheese on brioche with white truffle oil. Much like the grilled cheese sandwiches at Centro and Django, this is probably not what you are expecting. In that, I mean delicious on a refined palate level. At once creamy and gooey, the umami factor is high. You should not feel ashamed ordering this grown-up take on a childhood favorite, even as your dining partner orders the fancy-sounding Calabrese shaved pork loin. The refined flavors in this sandwich are not exactly the type your kid expects on take your child to work day.

I ordered the sweet potato salad as my side. And while it didn’t exactly have the assumed addictiveness of illicit drugs as promised by my dining partner, it was still pretty delicious. This take on potato salad was high in acidity from the vinegar dressing, and it wonderfully offset the creaminess of the grilled cheese.

Options to attempt on future visits include Mediterranean quinoa, carrot bisque, and spinach salad with choice of coriander or fennel vinaigrette.

If you are looking for a fresh taste using local ingredients, Host is worth a trek from your office. I am looking forward to seeing how this place evolves.

The purveyors of the fried goodness that is the subject of this post may be surprised to read that I’m not writing glowingly about their most famous dish. The University Library Cafe at 3506 University Ave in Des Moines may be known for their homemade nachos, however it is their french fries that truly steal the show. We’ll get to the fries in a bit.

Full Court Press, owners of some of the greatest eating and drinking establishments in our fine town, purchased the nearly 20-year-old University Library Cafe from its founder at the beginning of this year. Although I never once stepped in the place before new ownership took over, anyone who drove by on busy University Avenue was able to see that the nachos served there had won many awards. The new owners knew not to mess with something so popular, and from what I understand, not much changed.

The Library Nachos, one of five nacho dishes on the menu, is the only version sans-meat. While they don’t disappoint, I wouldn’t call them a show-stopper either. The Library Cafe’s take on nachos are made in house, flour tortilla chips and all. They are unlike any other nachos you have likely encountered, and not half bad. The chips are airy and greasy in a good way, and take well to the standard toppings of beans, cheese, cheese sauce, pico, salsa, sour cream and mild banana pepper rings. At the Library it’s about the chips, not the toppings. This is a meal in itself, or goes over well when splitting with your dining partner.

Searching the menu for other suitable kosher-ish dishes will leave you with one: grilled cheese. Here again, I remain a bit underwhelmed. Slices of cheese are melted between two massive hunks of Texas toast. This sandwich is all about the delicious and beautifully grilled bread while the Havarti/American cheese mix seems like an afterthought. It all depends if you go into lunch craving toast or cheese, I guess.

While the nachos and grilled cheese may have left me wanting, the Library fulfilled my desires when it came to sides. Although my doctor may take me to task on this one, I am going to have to say that this place is worth a visit solely based on french fries and onion rings. A side of either will set you back $1.95, and trust me, you’ll be happy to trade a few precarious steps toward a clogged artery for a few minutes of bliss.

While I’d give the rings 7 out of 10 on the flavor scale, the giant portion size surely increases that to an 8.5+. The fries, although a bit smaller in scale than the order of rings, come in at about 20 on that 10 point flavor scale.

I remember a certain local chef claiming that there are few things more important than consistently perfectly cooked fries. They must be: Served hot. Crispy on the outside. A bit potato-y on the inside. Seasoned just right. It’s unfortunate to say, but I am mostly disappointed when I eat that local chef’s fries. The Library, however, gets it right. Every time and on every account.

So would you go to a restaurant based on a side dish? I sure would, and I do. And hey, it doesn’t hurt that they have quite a beer selection to boot!

Postscript: The Library Cafe offers breakfast on the weekends, including fried potatoes. I hope to try them soon.

Although it has only been around since 2008, Django feels like a Des Moines classic. This should be no surprise to anyone familiar with George Formaro’s chef-ing talents or Orchestrate Management’s restaurant management skills. This restaurant is a class act, but how does it stand up to the Pesky Diner’s limited menu? Astoundingly well for a French restaurant (but not so shocking if you know anything about Chef Formaro’s penchant for veggie cuisine.)

Each section of the somewhat ambitious menu has something a semi-kosher diner would be pleased to have on their plate – other than the steak and shellfish sections that is. What follows is a recap of what I’ve tried. Or you can stop reading after the following sentence: If you haven’t been here yet, it’s worth your while to make reservations.

House Caesar with Salmon: A decently sized, perhaps slightly overdressed Caesar with a perfectly broiled filet of salmon placed on top. I have ordered salmon main courses at restaurants where the piece of fish was smaller. Here you get that nice piece of fish and the salad for $9. Such a deal! The croutons are pretty amazing too, which isn’t surprising considering they are made from South Union bread. The Manchego cheese is a nice touch, but the fresh black pepper the server so nicely cracked on my salad came out finer than the contents of the shaker on the table. Try loosening the screw at the top, bub.

Tuna Nicoise Salad: A classic dish done well. Perfectly seared tuna with all the fixings. You can’t go wrong ordering Django’s classic preparation of this dish.

Grilled Salmon: This place knows how to cook their fish! The whipped potatoes are pretty magical here, and if you’re lucky enough to visit in early spring, you’ll get some fresh, locally grown asparagus to boot!

(Not surprisingly I haven’t tried the) Beef Bourguignon: Lil has tried this and gives it high marks, along with the freshly made egg noodles it’s served on. They are able to make this dish without bacon, so just ask. If you ask really nice, I bet they’ll serve you a plate of egg noodles.

Wild Mushroom Crepes: Three mushroom filled crepes, just like mama used to make… if you grew up in Paris. Ok, so none of you had this childhood experience I’m guessing. The closest I came were the crepes served at the French restaurant my friend’s family owned while growing up. They had just moved from Spain by way of France and the crepes starred prominently at their brasserie, Café de Paris. Django’s are just as good and are topped with a beautiful roasted red pepper béchamel. Oh and filled with goat cheese. You can’t go wrong with goat cheese.

Mushroom Faux Poivre: This vegetarian take on Steak au Poivre, peppercorn steak, was fantastic. Two seared Portobello mushroom caps are slathered in a creamy peppercorn sauce atop sautéed vegetables. Order this dish and you will understand how one can increase their girth whilst being a vegetarian. Served with dauphinoise potatoes – translation scalloped – this meal proves you can be fully satiated on vegetables (and full-fat dairy) alone. Django also serves a sandwich featuring the mushroom and sauce, which I can only imagine is also a goodly choice.

George’s Veggie Burger: Why would you go to Django and order this? Order basically the same sandwich at Gateway Market’s café and save a few bucks. It is nice to see it though, I guess.

Grilled Cheese (for grown-ups): To be honest, I have yet to order this. I recently enjoyed a similar dish at Centro, which is also driven by Chef Formaro. If they are at all similar, this is well worth ordering. I know, it’s weird going out to a fancy shmancy restaurant and ordering the grilled cheese, but dang it was good at Centro.

Other notes:

• Check out the cheese plates, as they are pretty stellar.
• No corkage fees, ever. Hop on down to Trader Joe’s, pick out one of their 5 kosher wines, and save $30+. Or, if you choose to go with one of Django’s wines, you can use the restaurant’s iPad to match your meal to the perfect in-house wine.
• George Formaro knows how to make French fries. They’re better here than they are at his new Zombie Burger joint across the river.

Step right up boys and girls, it’s time for the greatest state fair there is: The Iowa State Fair! While the fair is known for its treif delicacies (see tenderloin sandwiches the size of a car, foot-long corndogs, and hot beef sundaes), there are plenty of high calorie, deep-fried , and other cardiac arrest-inducing foods for the kosherish crowd to indulge in. This post will give you the run-down of my state fair food experiences so you can help plan your time at the fair. Check out the Iowa State Fair website’s food section if you want more details on where to find these items.

Favorites

Hard-boiled egg on a stick: The Iowa State Fair is of course known for its foods on a stick and my favorite is the hard-boiled egg. Found in the Agriculture Building, this free treat can be sprinkled with seasoning salt. After you grab your egg, wait in line to see this year’s Butter Cow.

Deep-fired candy bars: The deep-fried candy stand by the grandstand features Oreos, 3 Musketeers, Snickers, and Twinkies. Of these I can only truly recommend the Snickers and the Twinkies. Both hold up surprisingly well, whereas the Oreos turn into deep-fried cake.

Veggie corn dogs: Just north of the Varied Industries Building you’ll find the Veggie Table. This stand sells a vegetarian version of the state fair staple food on a stick, corndogs. These dogs are tasty and worth the hugely marked up price. Trader Joe’s sells an outright amazing veggie corndog, but it’s not possible to eat one of those while standing in the Iowa State Fair Midway. To round out your meal here, order some deep-fried veggies and marvel in the way that man has turned one of G-d’s healthiest creations into a death warrant. Mmmm.

Frozen chocolate turtle mousse on a stick: This was a new one for us last year. Lil and I decided we needed a quick cool down, and relief came in the form of this chocolaty dessert. Our shared mousse lasted about 90 seconds.

Honey lemonade: Ready for another cool down? The Iowa Honey Producers Association booth on the top level of the Agriculture Building sells one of the best honey lemonades I’ve ever had for just a couple bucks.

Mini chocolate chip cookies: If you’re with friends, go for the bucket. They’re tasty, but trust me, you’ll want to eat these when they are fresh out of the oven rather than after carrying them around the fairgrounds all day (the chips will melt and the cookies will turn stale).

Almost Favorites

Tater ribbons: I like my fried potatoes crunchy whether they come in chip, fry, or ribbon form. I’ve ordered these three times and each occasion left me wondering why. Order these and you’ll have a basket full of soggy, oily, potato-y mess that even a gallon of Heinz couldn’t help salvage.

Giant pickle: My favorite mass-produced pickles are made by Claussen. They’re crunchy, tangy, and most important, tasty. The giant pickles sold at the state fair tend to taste like the ocean. If you’ve ever swallowed seawater, you’ll know that’s not a compliment.

Deep fried pepper jack on a stick: I’m a major pepper jack cheese fiend, so I was excited to taste this last year. You might want to consider spending your money elsewhere. Although the cheese was nice and stretchy, it had no peppery bite and tasted like I was eating hardened oil. What’s another name for hardened oil? Oh yeah: fat.

The Future is Now

The 2011 Iowa State Fair will feature a bevy of new food items to tempt even the most audacious eaters… and these three will soon be in my belly.

Fried butter on a stick: “Butter dipped in a honey flavored batter and fried golden brown on a stick,” according to the state fair website. This might be a ticket straight to the hereafter, but I have got to try at least a few bites.

Chocolate covered fried ice cream on a stick: My favorite part about going to Garcia’s growing up was the fried ice cream. I wonder how the fair version will fare?

Red velvet funnel cake: If you just read that and didn’t have the sudden urge to drive to the East Side for a sample, have someone check your pulse.

What’s your favorite veggie state fair food? What did I miss that you think I need to try (do not say salad on a stick). What did I get wrong? And most importantly: when is deep-fried beer coming to Iowa?!

Did you know Des Moines is known for its tacos? Ok, maybe it’s not, but this California native has enjoyed some of the best tacos around, right here in the heartland. Among my favorites are the vegan chorizo tacos from Tacopocalypse, El Bait Shop’s fish tacos, Dos Rios’ fish tacos, and the topic of today’s post, fish tacos at Taqueria Sonora.

What? You’ve never heard of Taqueria Sonora? They’ve been around for just over a year at 800 First Street in West Des Moines. I remember reading about it in the Des Moines Register when they opened, but not until a few weeks ago did I finally drag my downtown living tush to West Des Moines for dinner.

These all look about half empty because I took this picture 2 minutes after it arrived to the table instead of right away.

But first, the salsa. My lovely wife Lil judges Mexican restaurants solely on salsa. Her favorite Mexican restaurant in the world is Pancho Villa Taqueria in San Francisco, and it is mainly because they have an all you can eat salsa bar. We heard rumors of Taqueria Sonora’s five varieties and were pleased to see six! While Pancho Villa still wins over Lil’s heart and soul, I have to say both do an amazing job. In addition to the five salsas shown in the picture, there is a standard “table salsa” which doesn’t disappoint. All six are homemade, and all six are free with dinner. These salsas run from mild to a heat-filled habanero, so make sure you have the waiter explain each salsa for you.

Beyond the salsa there is of course the food. I ordered two fish tacos (one grilled, one beer-battered), and a cheese chimichanga. Other than these three items, I think I was limited to a veggie burrito and maybe ordering fajitas without meat. The rest of the menu is treif city, with less traditional-by-Iowa-standards parts (tongue, head) and animals (goat) featured. From non-kosher-esque reviews I have read of the place, these items are pretty good. Let’s stick to my order though, going from worst to first.

Yes, there is a chimichanga hidden beneath the lettuce.

I was pretty excited to see a cheese chimichanga on the menu. I think the last chimichanga I ate was at Garcia’s, probably celebrating a family birthday 20 or so years ago. Not as good I as I remember, and probably because it’s just a deep fried cheese burrito. I ended up being upset that I ordered this because it was too filling, taking away the possibility of ordering more of what was to come.

I ordered a fish taco in both preparation styles mainly so I could write about both here. I was more in the mood for grilled fish but I took one for the team, I mean blog. The grilled fish was ok. Not spectacular, not really memorable, but better than most. I would order it again. I’d write more, but remember I just said it wasn’t really memorable?

Again, I couldn't help but take the first bite(s) before taking the first picture.

Here’s what was memorable: the beer-battered fried fish taco. Wow! Have you ever sunk your teeth into something that was crisp but not crispy, firm but not too firm, and wrapped in goodness? It was that good. I’m praying that when I go back, my first experience with this taco does not turn out to have been a fluke. How to make this better? Order a side of guacamole like I did and spread a little in the delicate tortilla they server these up in. The next time I go to Taqueria Sonora, you can bet I will be ordering three or four of these, a side of guac, and extra rounds of salsa. Ok, and maybe a margarita.

Where’s the best fish taco you have ever had, and what made it good?

Many restaurants struggle to provide creative meatless options, however pizzerias tend to be different. It is pretty easy to skip the pepperoni and sausage when it’s now common to find toppings like artichoke hearts, fresh basil, and even goat cheese gracing pizza menus. Des Moines has seen a pizza renaissance lately with joints opening up like Flour, Bagni di Lucca, Fong’s, and most recently Gusto Pizza Co. All four of these restaurants provide delicious kosher-ish (remember they still have treif in the kitchen) options that are out of this world good. This post will focus on Gusto.

Before I get too far into this, I will let you know that I am friendly with Gusto’s part-owner Anthony Lemmo, Chef Sam Auen, and marketing whiz Phil James. You’ll just have to trust me when I say that my relationship with them had no influence on this review.

Since its opening on January 31, I have been able to make it to their trendy location on the corner of Ingersoll and MLK thrice. Although you can take your order to go, this pizzeria has the kind of comfy modern feel that will make you want to grab a table. Gusto is a fast-casual place where you order at the counter and have your food delivered to the table.

Enough about the location though, you’re here for the food! Do yourself a favor and scope out the menu. Gusto’s pizzas are thin crust, maintaining their crisp texture even when piled high with toppings. The culinary team has figured out a way to deliver crusts that are not only crunchy on the outside, but just a tad bready on the inside. The best of both worlds for my style.

Although I will never be able to try such inspired pies as the Thai Kwon Dough (there’s no point in getting this without the chicken in my opinion), or the brisket topped Duke, I have tried both signature ‘zas that come meatless by default.

To be honest, I am not a huge mushroom on pizza fan; the Mona Lisa started to change my mind. Rosemary olive oil, garlic, cremini mushrooms, tomatoes, kalamata olives, and two cheeses come standard. I went ahead and added artichoke hearts and garlic roasted peppers for good measure. It doesn’t get much better than this.

Frank's Special

The other veggie, the Formag-A-Trois, added garlic, red pepper flakes, and basil to the three cheeses insinuated by the name. One of the best things about Gusto’s pizzas is that you can actually taste every ingredient. Try ordering the veggie pizza at a typical pizza place and you’ll know this is something special.

Custom order your pizza and things start to get interesting. I won’t bore you by naming the traditional veggies, but check these out: garlic roasted peppers, banana peppers, carrots, giardiniera, cilantro and bean sprouts. With the exception of banana peppers, I don’t think I have seen any of these ingredients at any pizza place before. Stellar.

Believe it or not, there is a non-pizza menu too, and the star of those selections happens to be vegetarian! I’ll get to that soon, but on this menu, I was able to choose from two sandwiches, a pasta, two salads, and homemade cannoli. For the kids, you can even get a PB&J calzone.

Back to the star: the Frank’s Special sandwich. How often do you see something on the menu that says special – and it’s meat free? I don’t think I even saw that when I lived in San Francisco. Frank’s special starts with a chewy garlic focaccia that has just enough crunch. Add fried eggplant, basil pesto, provolone, red onion, and tomato and you’ve got one of DSM’s finest sandos. Like the pizzas above, you can clearly taste each ingredient. The sandwich comes with choice of salad, pasta salad, or soup. The night I ate there, the soup happened to be a vegetarian sweet onion and arugula; I had to try it. Despite the hoity-toity sounding name, the flavor was on the money.

Gusto Pizza Co. is a great addition to the Des Moines pizza scene. Despite the apparent heavy competition, the pizzas and sandwiches are unique enough to stand out from the crowd. Give it a try for an experience of what Tony and team call “Divine Pie.”

What’s the best pizza you have ever had and what made it so good?

As my friend and fellow food blogger Sam Auen tends to say, welcome back (tens) of readers. A few Pesky Diner-worthy restaurants have opened since I last wrote: Flour, Taste of Thai, and Big City Burgers and Greens. A fourth, Gusto Pizza Co. will be opening on Thursday. (EDIT – Gusto’s opening date is not set in stone. It will likely be next week) This post will focus on Big City Burgers and Greens.

Side note: Did you know that since my last post another blogger tried to tear me to shreds? Apparently I am not good enough to be critical of a restaurant. I won’t bother linking to that blog, but needless to say, it hasn’t deterred me from pressing forward. I feel honored to be hated so fiercely!

Back to business. From the moment I saw the press release announcing BCBG in October, I knew I’d love it. I had recently returned from a trip to LA where high-end, uber-customized burgers are quite the trend. My friend took my wife and me out to Twenty Five Degrees in Hollywood and we were impressed. 13 different kinds of cheese! 13 different sauces to top burgers with! Hell, you even have your choice of green chili or Hatch green chili!

What did Des Moines’ incarnation bring? Nine kinds of cheese! More importantly for this pesky diner, two very different veggie burgers and a tuna burger. Oh, and six amazing looking salads, plus dozens of ingredients and dressings to custom build your own. Impressive.

Unfortunately BCBG is only open for lunch, otherwise I think I would have eaten there about a dozen times by now. It’s tough going out for lunch these days when I have to make it home in time to walk Wilbur, by far the cutest puggle in the world. At this point I have been lucky enough to escape for two meals.

My first time out I enjoyed the Tuna Burger. This seared tuna delight comes with red and green chilies, along with an orange ginger vinaigrette jicama slaw. I know, sounds awesome. And it was. This meal will set you back $7.50, or twice the amount of a standard burger, but boy was it delicious! This sandwich is inventive – where else in town can you get orange ginger vinaigrette jicama slaw?

The Tuna Burger. Official Photo from http://bigcityburgersandgreens.com

I had to try the Big City Fries, as they are a house specialty. These fries feature asiago, white truffle oil, and Italian parsley. Here I was slightly disappointed, but it wasn’t BCBG’s fault. The asiago came off a little strong for my taste buds. I am sure that is a big draw for some. I like to douse my fries in ketchup for the most part, but the Big City Fries were not designed for this purpose.

My second time out I was tempted to go for the tuna again, it was that good. How could I pass up two different veggie patties though? While in line I talked with a BCBG employee about which veggie patty was better. She liked both, but warned me that the Metro Veggie Burger patty was a bit susceptible to falling apart. That’s not a big deal to me, but I decided to go for the Garden Burger instead (I’ll try the Metro next time).

The Garden Burger is a portabella cap with sautéed peppers, onions and goat cheese. There’s also grilled tomatoes, lettuce, and chipotle mayo in this sandwich. It is tough to go wrong with this set of ingredients, but I decided to one-up it by adding avocado. The result was delicious! I also decided to get a side of giardiniera. My wife and I agreed that it wasn’t that great. All of the great giardiniera I have had before provides a nice layer of heat. This version was bland. Lesson learned.

The Garden Burger. Official photo from http://bigcityburgersandgreens.com

Given my prior experience with the Big City Fries, I decided to tone it down with just the French fries. I know, plain Jane. It ended up being pretty tasty, actually. In an attempt to try more of the menu, I got sides of the house-made Big City Sauce and Big City Steak Sauce for the fries. While both sauces were good, I am now a devoted fan of the Big City Sauce. It’s heavy on the garlic and mayo, and reminded me of my favorite French fry dip from my trip to Belgium nine years ago – garlic mayo. I’m sure my officemates appreciated that stench after lunch, but it was worth it.

So what is this review missing? Salad. I have not yet had the opportunity to try the salads, but I am excited to do so. Topping options include fried onions, jicama (Mexican potato as Hy-Vee calls it), scallions, and seasoned marinated tofu. The Pesky Diner will return for this, along with dressings like Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette, Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Garlic, and Orange Ginger Vinaigrette.

Here’s the low-down: I will be back and often. If you work downtown, this place is a no-brainer (they even offer online ordering). If you work in the burbs, this is well worth the 15 minute drive. My wishes: stay open for dinner and offer custom sliders so I can have the two veggie burger options and the tuna in one sitting.

Have you been? What are your thoughts?

Remember, don’t be afraid to be pesky

El Salvador. It’s a country most people only think about a handful of times in their life. Somehow, miraculously, El Salvadorans have found their way to Des Moines. If you are a connoisseur of prepared foods at the Des Moines Downtown Farmers’ Market, you have likely stopped by, or at least seen a line in front of Papusas El Salvador. (By the way, I love the name of this business. It’s like opening a restaurant in El Salvador called American Hamburgers.)

If you haven’t tried a papusa yet, let me give you the brief overview (thank you Wikipedia): thick hand-made corn tortilla filled with meat, cheese, slaw & salsa.

Although I have had a papusa at the farmers’ market before, I generally think of this dish as lunch. The Catchfire Media crew recently took the D Line to the World Food Festival in the East Village, and I was happy to see Papusas El Salvador as a vendor. Lunch = Decided.

As the Pesky Diner, I skipped on the meat options and decided on the spinach and cheese. After all, who wants a mouthful of melty, ooey, AND gooey cheese? Oh, that’s right, me. I went with the spinach and cheese anyway.

Here’s what you get:

The tortilla is more like a thick corn pancake. This is a good thing as a normal corn tortilla would not hold all the weight of this dish. On top of that you have about a pound (ok not really a pound, but a heck of a lot) of cheese. The cheese, as I stated above, was melty, ooey, AND gooey all at once. Get a load of this!

A decent amount of spinach was mixed in, but not too much. After that you have your slaw, which according to Wikipedia, is called curtido. This was actually one of the best parts of the dish, and I think next time I’ll ask for extra. Imagine shredded cabbage (which I’m not normally a big fan of), mixed with shredded carrots and onions, and pickled with citrus juice. Very good indeed. On top of that you had some salsa, which was actually quite hot – another good thing. I was worried that this papusa would not be enough of a lunch for me, but boy was it ever. This thing was weighty and delicious.

In full disclosure, I did get some crappy baklava for dessert at the food festival. Honestly I was just trying to support more than one vendor. Instead I supported my own gluttony. That was an overpriced mistake.

Do you have a favorite food today that you hadn’t even heard of until you were an adult? This is one of mine. I’d love to see yours below.