Tumea & Sons - Des Moines, IA

Last Dined 7/18

Tumea & Sons is a Des Moines institution. Hidden away south of Downtown, this non-descript building is well worth the trek. The interior is not any more inspiring than the outside. Vinyl booths & 1970's elementary school floor tile. Thankfully, this is the kind of place that none of that matters.

The menu is your typical Italian restaurant fare. Pasta dishes, parmesan dishes, etc. etc. However typical the menu may be, they do it right.

We started with the calamari. This is the only thing that I've tried that I cannot recommend. The calamari was pressed into a stick and fried (it looked like a fried mozzarella stick). It was served up along side honey mustard, which did not really go with the dish (and we couldn't find our waitress to get marinara). Next we tried the salad with homemade dressings. Typical iceberg lettuce, dressing was tasty enough but nothing spectacular. Next we tried the vegetable soup, which was actually quite tasty for such a plain dish. Better than the salad I dare say. As far as main dishes go, we sampled veal parmesan with a side of pasta, lasagna with a side of alfredo sauce, and pastacina. All of the dishes exceeded expectations. Even the side of pasta. The pasta wasn't homemade or anything, but the marinara sauce was deliciously spicy and flavorful. The same marinara sauce was used in all 3 main dishes. The lasagna was ordered with a side of alfredo sauce & the was absolutely decadent & better than mom's (don't tell her I said so). The pastacina (pasta with sausage, beef, boiled eggs, baked with cheese on top) was also great, although not the best I've had. The veal parmesan was tender, not unusually so for veal, very flavorful, and the marinara really put it over the top.

Everything we sampled at this eatery was very solid. This restaurant out shines Baratta's and Gino's for sure. Definitely worth the out of the way trip. Beware, they don't take reservations for parties smaller than 6.

http://tumeaandsons.com

Django - Now no cork fee, ever!

Last dined: 12/27/08
You may or may not have heard that Django now has no cork fee. Anytime. This is fantastic news for you fine dining/wine lovers looking to save a few dollars. Django was recently named best new restaurant, and I would say it is just Best Restaurant, flat out. The prices are very reasonable, the food is fantastic, not at all fussy, the setting is true to a real French brasserie. Now, you can even bring your own bottles of wine from home, no extra costs.

If you have not tried Django yet, I would urge you to try it. The Filet Rossini is one of the most amazing things I have tasted in Des Moines. It is a filet mignon topped with rich, creamy foie gras. Not a fan of foie gras? Try the decadent Macaroni & cheese, the delicious bouillabaisse, or even one of their burgers & fries (fried in duck fat of course).

http://www.djangodesmoines.com/

The Flying Mango

Last dined: 12/30/08

I am a strange creature, especially in this corner of the world. I confess, I am not a barbeque fan. There! I've said it! I've never been one to get excited about big hunks of meat in general. I don't hate it, but let's say I avoid barbeque if given a choice. Hence...I have not visited one of Des Moines most renowned establishments, the Flying Mango.

I begrudgingly agreed to go for dinner recently. I was happy to find their website complete with menu online so that I could search out something on the menu that wasn't barbeque or Cajun. I was pleasantly surprised to find several selections to fit the bill. Including Latin Strip Steak with Chimichurri Sauce, Grilled Mahi Mahi, Lime and Garlic Chicken with Mango Salsa over Black Pepper Fettuccini.

The location is very odd for a hip restaurant, 4345 Hickman Road. The parking situation is deplorable. I arrived around 7:15 on the Wednesday night before New Years and the place was full, as was the small parking lot as well as the available street space surrounding the restaurant.
The inside of the restaurant is painted warm, vibrant tones. As you walk in the door, the kitchen area is to your left. If there's a wait, you wait right there where you can see & smell the cooking. That area is also not very large, so hopefully there aren't a lot of people waiting with you. In the dining area there is art hung that I understand is for sale, so the art changes frequently. The restaurant is cozy, and according to my dining partner does not belong in Des Moines. I'll disagree, I am increasingly impressed with the Des Moines dining scene and think that's an insult to Des Moines, but you decide for yourself.

We tried the chicken salad appetizer with tortilla chips. Not a lot of flavor there. Two of us at the table ordered the Latin strip steak with Chimichurri sauce, the other two the Louisiana platter which includes red beans & rice, Creole chicken & andouille sausage. I have previously tried steak with Chimichurri on a recent trip to Puerto Rico. I was hoping for a fairly authentic dish & I'm afraid they didn't really deliver. The Chimichurri sauce did not have as much flavor as I was hoping & it was a strip steak instead of flank steak or skirt steak. Chimichurri sauce is a mix of olive oil, lemon juice parsley, garlic, salt & pepper, sometimes also shallots, or other green herbs. The menu calls it Latin pesto, which is a pretty fair comparison, however in this case it wasn't very flavorful & the large cut of meat overpowered the drizzle of sauce. I will say that the steak was cooked just as I ordered & the waitress was quick to say if it was not as we wanted to let her know. The Louisiana platter was under whelming as well. The sausage was not hot, the red beans & rice didn't taste very authentic, although were better than say a box of Zataran's. The highlight was the Chicken Creole, very flavorful. The cornbread at the Flying Mango is very tasty. I am told they change varieties frequently. We had some mango in ours, as well as cinnamon butter on top. The Louisiana platter comes with cornbread, but the Latin steak did not so we ordered a side.

They had an above average selection of wines by the glass and had Templeton Rye stocked at the bar. The service was great, and many of the dishes on the menu sounded pretty imaginative. I would say that it did not live up to the hype of the recent title of Best Restaurant in Des Moines, but I would come back for a second visit if someone suggested it. I am sure that people who love barbeque would have a lot more affection for this place than I did, but I'm definitely glad I gave it a try.

http://www.flyingmango.com/
menu: http://www.flyingmango.com/restaurant-menu.html

Tandoor Restored to its Original Brilliance

Last dined: 11/15/08

I have seen it with my own eyes. Tandoor is reopened & is as good as it ever was. According to our waitress, the original cook purchased the restaurant from the old owner. For a brief time when everything was being worked out, the cook did work at Namaste, the stay there was very brief. I had my old stand-by, Tikka Masala for comparison sake. It was just as good as ever. My dining companion had the lamb curry which was also delicous.

If you liked Tandoor before the change in ownership, I guarantee you that you will still love it. And if you like Indian food, this is the best I've tried in Des Moines.

Website: http://www.tandoorwdm.com/

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

Namaste India

Last dined: 6/12/08

Namaste India (located at 7500 University Avenue in Clive, IA) is an Indian restaurant and grocery located in a strip mall where Sam & Gabe's was formerly located. We visited the restaurant for dinner, although they do also serve lunch.

As you walk in the front door of Namaste you will see a surprisingly large grocery off to your right and the restaurant off to your left. The restaurant is brightly decorated with a wall sized photo of the Taj Mahal as well as smaller pictures of goings on in India.

This was my first visit to Namaste, primarily because I am hooked on Tandoor, a stone's throw away (I am sad to report it looks to be closed indefinitely). We ordered an appetizer of lamb samosas, but were told they were out, so we ordered chicken instead. For those not up on Indian cuisine, a samosa is a thin pastry shell stuffed with meat and/or vegetables and deep fried. It turned out they were out of chicken samosas as well. They asked if I would like something similar, but could not describe what it was. It amounted to batter dipped chicken pieces, fried, served with a spicy creamy sauce and a thin sweet sauce. I never learned the name of the dish, but they were just average. Like an American chicken nugget with snazzy sauces.

For a main dish, my dining companion ordered the Lamb Bryiani. Bryiani is a traditional dish of seasoned rice with meats or vegetables. They delivered a heaping portion, definitely large enough for two meals. The seasoning was very good, spicy, but not too spicy (believe me, I am a light weight when it comes to heat). But the lamb seemed to fall short. It was over done, not tender, which really detracted from the dish.

I ordered chicken Choorma, which was a chicken curry dish. Bits of chicken with the bone still in the flesh in a large bowl of thick, creamy yellow sauce which was served along side basmati rice. This dish was perhaps a smidge spicier than the Bryiani, however, still not too spicy for my tastes. I thought that the flavor was creamy and complex. My dining companion felt that there was a bit too much citrus flavor. I attribute the citrus flavor to cilantro, which the menu stated was in the dish, and did not find it to be too much. On the contrary, I had to stop myself from consuming the entire heaping portion.

I found the food at this restaurant to be good, although not excellent. The prices however were in the $10-15 range, which I thought were perhaps a bit too much given the fast-food ambiance and the average dishes. The prices here are in line with Tandoor, although below Tandoor's standards. The staff also was not terribly attentive. We had to ask for water refills.

They do offer a lunch buffet Tuesdays thru Sundays. If you are unfamiliar with Indian food, this is a great way to discover what it has to offer and explore what tastes suit you.

Their website domain is currently down, but should they renew it:
http://www.namasteindiaia.com/

phone: 255-1698
hours: Tues-Thurs 11am-9pm
Fri & Sat 11am-10pm
Closed daily 2:30-4:30
and all day Monday

Django

Last dined: 6/6/08

I visited Django again and have to say that I was not disappointed.

We started with onion rings, mussels, and a cheese plate. I would say the only of these three that was worth it were the mussels. The onion rings didn't taste like anything out of the ordinary to me. The cheese plate was good, but the cheese was sort of sparse. The mussels were fresh & delicious, just like last time, and a bargain at only $8. Definitely a better buy than the lobster & crab cakes and foie gras that I sampled last time.

This time I tried the Macaroni Gratin (with Gruyere & pancetta). It was very decadent and a bit oily.

Two people at our table had the chicken which was very good. I would not normally order roasted chicken at a restaurant, too boring for me. But this was a generous helping of chicken over pureed potatoes accompanied with veggies. Both were pleased with their selection.

One person ordered a burger topped with foie gras, which was good, but maybe not worth the extra $8 it cost over a regular burger. To me the extra flavor wasn't quite worth it.

One person ordered the salmon, which he said was good, but was not raving about.

Another ordered a "steak frite" which he thought was very good quality meat & well prepared.

I'm sure I will soon be a regular!

http://www.djangodesmoines.com/

Django

Visited 5/23/08 (first Friday open)

Django (located in the Hotel Ft. Des Moines at 210 10th Street in Des Moines, taking the place of Bistro 43) is a restaurant that claims to be All French – No Attitude. Do not let the fact that it is a French restaurant deter you. This is the type of French cooking you get at a home in France (I speak from experience). Despite the fancy sounding names of the dishes, I assure you that everyone should be able to find something inside their comfort zone (although well to the delicious side of your comfort zone). They do have onion rings & French fries after all.

The ambiance of the restaurant is very much a French brasserie. Dark woods, leathers & brass abound. It really transported me to France. The menu is also pretty authentic Brasserie fare. These are solid basic dishes, nothing over-thought or too experimental. These dishes have been gracing French tables for hundreds of years. The prices are not what one imagines when thinking of French food either. I found the prices to be very inline with the quality of the food & the portions. Even a bargain!

Let me start by saying, we visited Django in their first week open. Any restaurant will have issues during their first week as they work out the kinks. The kinks here were minimal. The only issue that we really encountered was with the Cassoulet. Cassoulet is a pretty simple dish that can be likened to French chili. It is a base of white beans with an assortment of meat (traditionally a good assortment) cooked for a long time. This version has sausage, bacon, and duck leg. The beans unfortunately were underdone. The meat was delicious, the seasoning was delicious, the beans, a bit on the crunchy side. When brought to the attention of the waiter, they graciously threw a free dessert our way. However in my opinion, when trying to build a reputation, and half of the dish is basically inedible (albeit the inexpensive portion of the dish), the dish really should have been comped.

We sampled the foie gras and lobster & crab cake appetizers. I am a big fan of foie gras, and I know it is not for everyone. If you are going to sample this for the first time, may I suggest you do so somewhere else. I have had better foie gras, and larger portions for this price than I did this evening (notably at Le Fou Frog in Kansas City and at a place called Ave in LA). It was ok, but I personally don’t like to spend $12 on a small portion of “OK”. The lobster & crab cakes were tasty, although standard restaurant fare from what I could tell. The next time I definitely plan to sample the frog legs.

For entreés we ordered the aforementioned Cassoulet, Moules Frites (sautéed mussels with a giant side of fresh fries) and the Bouillabaisse. The mussels & the fries were delicious, large portions of both. The mussels were served in a cast iron pot and you had a choice when ordering of 3 or 4 different sauces. I believe we tried one that involved white wine & cream & it was very tasty and very fresh. The Bouillabaisse also came in a cast iron pot. It was absolutely delicious, a big hit with everyone at the table. And as is tradition was a jumble of shrimp, fish, scallops, mussels & topped with a crusty baguette. Hearty fare.

Looking around at other tables I saw many other delicious looking dishes. I can’t wait to try the Tuna Niçoise and the Coquilles (scallops) St. Jacques.

Being a French restaurant there was a good selection of wines at average prices. We had a nice Cotes du Rhone, a light French red wine.

We sampled two desserts, a dark chocolate cake served with hazelnut ice cream and a custard with berries baked inside topped with vanilla. They were both good, but given the French penchant for dessert & pastries, I expected more. Hopefully they will be expanding their dessert menu to include many tarts.

Over all, very good for the first week out. I will definitely be going back & have high expectations for their future. This may just be my new go-to celebration restaurant.

See their menu: http://www.djangodesmoines.com/Django_Dinner.pdf
Visit their site: http://www.djangodesmoines.com/

Principal Riverwalk Restaurant at Wells Fargo Arena

Last dined: 4/25/08

I have dined at the Riverwalk (at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, IA) restaurant 3 times, all before shows at Wells Fargo (as that is the only time it is open, for events). The first time was not too long before it had opened. They were doing a prix-fixe menu at this time. I remember that the food was solid, if a little pricey.

The second time was not too long ago, before the John Mayer concert. They had a menu posted on the website, and we had all perused it & found items to try. When we arrived, we were told they were only serving the bar menu because there were not enough reservations to have a full menu. We were made to choose from your typical bar fare, nachos, chicken fingers, burgers & sandwiches. It was fine, $8-12 for everything.

The third time was 4/25. I called to see what they were doing with the menu (after the last experience...). They had about 3 apps, 3 entrees, 3 desserts, none of which sounded great. Two of us ended up having the fettuccini with shrimp, and a light alfredo sauce which tasted like it should cost $7, however the price was double that. The two others in our party opted for a salad & a dessert. Also over priced. The service was terrible, many tables that ordered after us got their food before us. It took about an hour from the time we ordered. The waitress was not terribly apologetic about it either.

Unfortunately there are not a lot of restaurants within a block of Wells Fargo, so if you are with someone who cannot walk very far you don't have a lot of options. But I will say there are hot dog & pizza vendors inside, and next time I will probably be opting for that.

I will not be going back to the Riverwalk Restaurant.