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/

Town Hall Tavern to open

Jeremy Morrow, currently partner & chef at Azalea & Zen, previously found at Star Bar & Bistro 43. The restaurant is set to open by March 1. I am a fan of Azalea myself, but can't always put down $30 an entree every time I want to go out to dinner. This should be a great treat to have some of his creations at a more moderate price.

I have tried the posole, it is delicious and satisfying. The shrimp & cheese grits had been served at one time with a pork chop at Azalea & while I am not a pork fan, the grits were absolutely amazing. I am interested in checking out his rendition of a papusa (El Salvadorian fave from the farmer's market). And the piece de resistance, Banana bread pudding with bourbon caramel. My mouth is watering already.

Check out the menu: http://townhalldsm.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

Tandoor Update

As of last week when I drove by Tandoor, the location was open and the sign still read Tandoor. Although I heard the chef had gone over to Namaste. If anyone knows any details, please comment.

Torroco! Italian Grill - Urbandale, IA

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, you know how summers get. More cookouts, less restaurants, less time to write reviews... Here goes!

I had not heard good things about Torroco, but decided to try it out myself.

Upon pulling into the parking lot I noticed that they had a good sized patio, always a plus in my book. When the weather gets warm, I LOVE to dine al fresco. So we opted for a seat on the patio. We did walk thru the restaurant though & I loved the interior. The walls were a nice warm and spicy red. (note that I also have a red room in my house) Still, we opted to go outside.

At first glance the menu was great, not run of the mill Italian. We started with Arincita (which I knew as Arancini, but oh well) a risotto ball breaded & fried. I first discovered this treat in Italy 10 years ago & fell in love. After much laboring & consulting with the staff my dining partner ordered the pasta Bolognese (Niman Ranch Pork, slow cooked with tomato broth over penne), the waiter said this was melt in your mouth and so flavorful. I settled on Linguine Tutto Mare (linguine in a sherry cream sauce with shrimp, crab meat & oysters) also on the recommendation of the waiter.

The Arincita arrived and the breading on the risotto balls was far to heavy & greasy. Not bad enough for me to not eat them, but really disappointing. There was a small salad served along side and it was drenched with an extremely tart lemon vinaigrette. Definite thumbs down on the dressing.

Unfortunately our main dishes weren't any better. The Bolognese was flavorless, believe it or not. How is a slow cooked meat sauce flavorless? That must have taken some effort. My dish was very fishy tasting, and the sauce didn't seem to have much flavor at all.

My dining partner & I both determined this place wasn't even worth a second visit. Definitely very disappointing.

Visit their website: http://torroco.com/

Azalea Restaurant (downtown Des Moines)

Last Dined: 6/28/08

I had heard rumors that Azalea (in the old Hotel Kirkwood on 4th & Walnut downtown Des Moines) was going down hill. I decided I needed to check that out.

On this visit we decided to sit in the lounge so that we could try some of the lounge menu, which is comprised mostly of some of the small plates from the main dinner menu, pizzas, and some other items that do not appear on the dinner menu (fish & chips, black Angus burger, crispy chicken sandwich with provolone & marinara). However upon examining the dinner menu, I noticed they had revamped their preparation of lamb and I had to try it.

Here is what we ordered:

Crispy calamari with roasted tomato aioli - The outside of the calamari was so light, unlike many other heavily breaded or battered which will hold on to the oil. The aioli was nice, not over-powering. The calamari itself was maybe a smidge more done than I would have liked, but not really chewy like you will get some places. All and all a really good bet.

Olive-goat cheese crusted rack of Niman Ranch lamb with grilled eggplant Potato fritters and Romesco sauce - I ordered my lamb medium rare, more towards rare than medium, and it was cooked perfectly. There was just a bit of goat cheese and olive mixture on each portion of lamb, very tasty. And although goat cheese and olives can both be strong flavors, it complimented the lamb and did not over power. The potato fritters were like balls of mashed potatoes with some sort of light batter on the outside, that was then deep fat fried. Very tasty, although I am a fan of potatoes in any form. The eggplant was cut into strips with olive oil and maybe rosemary to compliment the rosemary with the lamb. I wish there was more of that on the plate. This lamb concoction was even better than their previous lamb preparation. In fact everyone in my party agreed that the olive, goat cheese, Romesco sauce should be combined to make a tepenade for bread for the small plates menu or as a pizza topping.

Salami, fontina, capers, roasted red peppers and basil - A good value, a great one person meal. There is nothing like wood oven pizza. If there were any complaints about this dish, it would be that the salami was too thickly sliced and that the pizza could have been cooked a smidge longer, however that would be nit-picking.

Vietnamese pork roll with cole slaw - The pork was marinated and very tender. It was served on a hoagie style roll along side a mass of fairly bland and uninspiring cole slaw. The sandwich gets high praise, the side not so much.

As far as I can tell Azalea is tasty as ever.

See my first review: http://diningindesmoines.blogspot.com/2008/03/azalea-restaurant.html

See Azalea's website: http://www.azaleadsm.com/