Miyabi 9 (East Village, Des Moines, IA)

Last Dined: September 2008

Miyabi 9 is a Japanese & sushi restaurant located in the East Village right between the Olympic Flame & the Grand Piano Bistro. It's a long narrow place with light wood on the walls, concrete floors, cool bathrooms.

There is usually a wait, but never fear, you can go over to the piano bistro and have a drink while you wait.

This is definitely the trendiest sushi place in Des Moines, the best is debatable. Don't get me wrong, Miyabi has great sushi (especially for Des Moines). I do not find it's variety or quality to be any better than the newly opened Samurai, the quality of fish at Waterfront is probably better, the variety at Appare is probably better.

Fair warning, if you order nigiri (piece of fish a top a portion of rice) there will be wasabi between the fish & rice, so make sure if you do not want that to request it without. Also, there is a pork dumpling they serve there on the appetizer menu that has a lot of wasabi & it goes straight to your sinuses.

There's a lot of standard fare, spicy tuna rolls, caterpillar, dynamite, etc. All very tasty. Their nigiri & sashimi also very good. I haven't had too much there that I didn't care for. The volcano appetizer was a little disappointing, it really needed to be served with some toasts or something. The mushroom appetizer, same thing. There isn't really an item on the menu that I "must have" unlike the other sushi restaurants in town, although all are good.

Aside from sushi they do have noodle & rice dishes, none of which I have tried. I'm sure they are lovely, but I've only ever witnessed people eating sushi there.

Bottom line: It's a must for sushi lovers
No website available.

Namaste Indian Restaurant (Clive, IA)

last dined 9/28/08

Being a big fan of Tandoor when it last closed, I was anxious to try Namaste again after they stole away their executive chef.

Their restaurant has added a door between the grocery & the restaurant. They have also painted the walls a shade of beige & added new track lighting. The same kitschy pictures grace the wall. Over all the ambiance was not really much improved.

I decided to get carry out, ordered Palak Paneer & Lamb Briyani for comparison sake, as have tried both there and at Tandoor. I was told 20 minutes for pickup. We arrived 5 minutes early, but waited another 25 until our food was up. There was one waiter working, he seemed very overwhelmed with his 3 tables and confused at times.

The food was identical to food I've had in the past at Namaste. It was nothing like the food I've had at Tandoor. The Palak Paneer was very thin consistency, the cheese cubes were on the rubbery side. I had asked for a between mild & medium spiced dish & it was much hotter than the "medium" Lamb Briyani. The Lamb Briyani was dry & greasy at the same time & did not have a lot of lamb.

I was not at all impressed with the state of affairs at Namaste. I am excited to return to Tandoor since they have re-opened to see what it is like there.

Bottom line: skip it.
No website available