Lulu and I are in Des Moines for the week. She’s been taking part in Speech and Debate Nationals here, and I tagged along. Wasn’t sure what to expect- the downtown area is very quiet and there aren’t a ton of places, but we’ve eaten very well.
RoCA https://www.rocadsm.com/ We had our first and 6th dinner at RoCA. The first night was wonderful. They have lots of small, shareable plates and we made the most of that after a long day of travel. Goat cheese stuffed peppadew peppers, seared tuna over Asian salad, a mushroom and blue cheese flatbread, and sliders were all really tasty. Unfortunately last night’s meal there was a bit off. The stuffed peppadews were still delicious, but smashed potatoes were undercooked (twice), and the sliders smelled off. The wait staff looked very irritated with the kitchen, but were wonderful with us. I’m guessing just an off night.
Fresko https://www.freskodsm.com/ lots of fun, and delicious. We’ve been twice and are going again tonight. We’ve tried a couple of sushi rolls (a little too many ingredients for my taste, but still very good), and tacos. They even have a seitan chorizo taco that Lulu loves. More seared tuna, and tuna tartare. We’ve tried 2 desserts: chocolate, and an olive oil cake. Both delicious.
Americana https://americanadsm.com/menu/ upscale bar food. Hot day, cold beer, decent food. Lettuce wrap appetizer was huge and very good. Impossible burger was perfectly fine and very filling. Truffle mac and cheese sort of meh.
Malo https://www.malodesmoines.com/ Tex-Mex. I have to admit that I am pretty easy to please when it comes to this kind of food, and $5 happy hour margaritas. Shared a trio of dips with chips (smoky salsa, guacamole, queso) and both got cheese enchiladas with green sauce. More sauce than I would have put on myself, but I was happy.
Hoping the pictures work, and that this helps someone who ends up in Des Moines.
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