Proof - Downtown Des Moines

Last dined: 2/20/09

Proof is located at 13th & Locust, Des Moines, IA, former location of Beggar's Banquet. The restaurant itself is a sleek, modern, minimalist place. Concrete floors, Swedish looking furnishings & lighting, stunning view of the downtown skyline. It can be noisy due to the concrete floors, and the space is a little tight.

Proof is mainly a lunch spot. They do dinner on Fridays only & do a Prix-Fixe menu of 4 courses for $40. You can go for the whole menu, or you can pick & choose your courses. But be aware, they only have one selection from each course available, so make sure that you check out the menu for that week before you make your reservations.

This was my second visit to proof. The first time I attended the theme was Greek. I chose to have only 2 of the courses, the Moussaka which was delicious & a decent sized portion, if not totally filling; and the dessert.

On my last visit the theme of the evening was unclear. On the menu were phylo-wrapped brie with an apple & pine nut salad; house cured salmon with soba noodles; chicken roulade with quinoa & shitake mushroom vinaigrette; red velvet cake with beet ice cream. The appetizer of brie & apple salad was tasty but teeny tiny. There was maybe a one and a half inch square piece of phylo dough that had a bit of brie (not even a half inch tall) with a couple paper thin apple wedges & a few greens. I am not one for giant portions, but be aware, these are some of the smallest portions I've encountered in Des Moines. The main dish was smaller than most I've had at Trostel's Dish, supposedly small plates. The second course was delicious, but left me wanting more. The third dish was more flavorful than described by the menu or the waitress, but I am not fond of bell peppers, which were not mentioned in the description. The dessert was unbelievably disappointing, to everyone in my party of 5. It was like a medium sized bran muffin, topped with whipped shortening with a smidge of sugar added. The cake was not red, nor velvety & not a hint of cocoa powder. The beet ice cream didn't really taste like anything but cream, worse than Vanilla. And by the time it got to our table, there was about a tablespoon left unmelted. This was honestly the most disappointing dessert I have ever eaten. The rest of my party felt the same way. We followed our visit up with bacon wrapped tater tots and beer at the High Life Lounge.

Bottom line, the food here is good (with the exception of the red velvet cake), but small portions and over priced. I would try it again, but can't say that I can in good conscience recommend this without further study.

http://www.proofrestaurant.com/