My long weekend in Des Moines, Iowa was ,y virgin visit to the state's capital and I cam away finding amazing food everywhere, not to mention some of the friendliest folks around.
My first night at the Maytag Dairy Farm 40 miles east of town in the middle of nowhere, the Des Moines Metro Opera catered and amazing meal from Table 128 in town featuring Pork Chops with Maytag Blue Cheese, Grilled Corn, Beans, awesome biscuits and so much more. A real treat before the opera was the complimentary popcorn, made from the corn right next to the opera stage set outside! There were Maytag Blue Cheese & bacon popcorn as well as what they call Chicago popcorn (Cheddar & caramel mixed!!), there was an anise/orange which I skipped. After the opera, the cast and operagoers enjoyed the best ever Strawberry-Rhubarb pie made by a local woman in nearby Newton. It was a great first night. The other evenings I ate at the theater in Indianola and the food was a decent buffet, but needs no review.
One lunch at Bubba's in the city featured the best brined and fried chicken I have ever had that was so juicy I needed multiple napkins and the crusty skin was so good I at every last crumb. The mashed garlic potatoes won't win a prize, but the beans were delish. Sunday brunch, also in town, was at St. Kilda's, and when I arrived at 1130am the place was heaving. There was one party of 10 waiting for quite some time and it turned out to be the soprano lead from Fledermaus the night before! I was lucky enough to get a counter seat with a view of the whole place and enjoyed my one course of Salmon Burger with Avocado, slab bacon, fried egg and arugula on a gorgeous fresh seeded bun. The coffee was delish. It was a quick stop, but if you want to go reserve ahead!
The last meal and only real dinner out was at Harbinger, where Iowa native Chef Joe Tripp set up home just a year ago who has won TWO James Beard Awards for best Chef in the Midwest over the years. I invited 5 opera singer client/friends and we all had a truly amazing time. The grained wooden tables and chairs are pretty, but don't offer much rearend comfort; bu there are some bench leather seats along the walls. The walls have gorgeous lathed wooden bowls from local wood sculptors as well as jars with fresh sunflowers; one wall has a giant dried wreath. There is a small bar and the small space that seats under 50 is open to the kitchen at the side. I arrived early and started on a bottle of Stolpman Vineyard 2016 Roussanne from Ballard Canyon, Lompoc (Santa Barbara area), California. The rich unfiltered wine had tones of melon and pineapple and went with virtually everything, but drank beautifully alone. Our server Katelyn was extremely accommodating as we all ventured through the menu of 5 starters and twelve or so mains, but they were all really small plates meant for each person to have 4 or so. Some folks opted for the five course Chef's Tasting. I never did get a price on that menu, but the average cost per person without the drinks, tip or tax was about $45, and we ate a lot for 3 hours!
Many of the dishes can be viewed on my facebook page and are presented below in no specific order.
Haikuri Turnips were grilled over Thai Fruit wood and came with Nasturtium, Buttermilk and Green Tomato Marmalade (the marmalade enough was able to send us into ecstasy) was the first course of the tasting
Squash Blossom Rangoon was battered and deep fried with Tomato Sweet & Sour Sauce and Chinese Mustard. I started with this crunchy delight and it was the 2nd course for the tasting.
Spicy Eggplant toast with Thai Basil, Crispy Shallots and Pickled Fresno Chili looked a bit odd, but got raves, but the
DUCK EGG inspired by Japanese omelet was a Tamago Custard with Smashed New Potatoes, Garlic Chives & Bacon Consomme that was truly a major breakthrough in cooking.
They also have Steamed Buns and the Vietnamese Meatball with Chili Glaze, Aioli and Cilantro got high marks as well.
The third course of the tasting was a perfectly grilled Miso Glazed Octopus and the
fourth course was a Superb Pork Loin with fermented Black Beans, Blueberry Vinaigrette(more like a gastrique) and Squid Ink.
Baby Heirloom Carrots (flavors of Thailand) with Lemongrass Marshmallow, Toasted Peanuts and Flowering Cilantro may not sound so interesting, but these were some of the best carrots from local farms and the lemongrass marshmallow was an inspiration that made the dish simply unequaled to any carrot dish ever had before in my mind.
I adored the English Pea Gnocchi-inspired Mochi with House Ricotta, Pine Nuts, Snap Peas & Tendrils which was probably one of the heaviest plates and at $9 was truly unbelievable.
My main course was the Lucky George Farm's Rabbit (memories of claypot in Singapore) with magnificent local mushrooms, broken rice and scallions. The dish was cooked perfectly so the rabbit shone, but like a stew without a single tiny rabbit bone.
By this time we had moved on to the celebratory Balfour Pinot Noir/Chardonnay Leslie's Reserve Sparkling Wine from Hush Heath Estate in Kent, UK and if this is where "champagne" is going in the future it's a good sign. It was intensely bubbly but full of wonderful yeasty flavors. It was even better using the Riedel crystal. Our dinner was right after the matinee of the remarkable Jonathan Dove masterpiece "Flight" and two of it's singers had joined us, so champagne was in order for it was one of the most memorable operatic encounters of my entire life.
The many plates were not that filling so dessert was in order and some chose the Lemon Meringue Blueberry and Spice which had a large lemon pudding with toasted meringue cookie.
The tasting menu dessert was a Carrot Cake with Dehydrated Thai Chilis and while there was cream cheese involved, this was not your traditional carrot cake; it was divine, as was the entire evening with such a great group of singers.
This meal alone proved what Des Moines is capable of and I understand there are many other wonderful dining spots, so I guess I will have to return again for another Des Moines Metro Opera season!!
