Would you eat cicadas, Des Moines? Let’s discuss in the comments.
While Seeta Lee’s website isn’t going anywhere, this feature is moving to Des Moines: Gems, Guides, and Goodies permanently on Monday, June 3rd. You can subscribe FOR FREE here!
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Thank you, and I’m grateful for your clicks! On to the food!
Des Moines Openings, Closings, and Such
- Closing
- Sorriso Grille permanently closed and is becoming . . .
- Coming Soon
- It’s My Jam Café, owned and operated by the Smokey D’s folks.
- Charlotte’s Kitchen is opening in Altoona. This will be their third location.
- El Guacamole Patio and Cantina is opening in Waukee.
- Chain news: Jersey Mike’s on Fleur passed their inspection, so look for that in the next week or so.
- Moved
- Bella’s Energy Café is moving into a permanent spot.
- I’m hearing Aroy-Dee DID NOT permanently close. Instead, they’ve apparently moved to 4121 SE 14th. I’ve not confirmed this, and I haven’t seen it reported anywhere other than Reddit. So, I’ll be back with official word once I get a moment to drive by.
- Now Open
- Brick and Ember Pizza Company food truck is now regularly operating. If I’m not mistaken, the former owner of Michelangelo’s (from the popular lunch spot, Local Bites) is involved in this operation; however, I don’t think he’s a part of the ownership.
- And Such
- In our random travels, we passed C and T Mobile BBQ. Super small operation. Looked like a guy and his grill.
- Buoy’s Waterfront is a rebrand of The Fleetwood at Saylorville.
- So far, this is all I’ve found on Temi’s Kitchen, a home-based business.
- Some potentially new businesses I’ll be researching this week:
- Bill-Do-BBQ food truck in Norwalk
- 515 Food Truck, which appears to be associated with Teriyaki House in Ankeny, passed an inspection to open soon.
- Rosie Kat’s Homestyle Cooking food truck
- Still nothing on Pizza Pronto
Bits and Bobs
- The Food Truck Fridays series started Friday in Clive.
- LSI’s Global Greens International Market is back.
- Thank you to Food and Wine magazine for naming someone other than Smokey D’s. Again, no disrespect to Smokey D’s, but it’s not for me. Plus, we stan Gwen.
- The Barn Town Get Down is an annual beer festival. This is their third year, and it takes place on June 15th.
- I don’t normally share alcohol-related content, but the folks at Barn Town seem like good peeps, and there will reportedly be food.
- If you’re curious why this is a mostly dry operation, I’ll give you three reasons:
- Alcoholism runs in my family.
- Medically, my body is like NOPE.
- Socially, Sarah Hepola makes the point for me.
- If you’re curious why this is a mostly dry operation, I’ll give you three reasons:
- I don’t normally share alcohol-related content, but the folks at Barn Town seem like good peeps, and there will reportedly be food.
- Chain news: The WDM Red Lobster is still alive. In fact, I know someone who just started working as a server there yesterday.
- I AM HERE FOR THIS. The first time I had Korean BBQ was in 2016 in Los Angeles, and I’ve been craving one here ever since. I adore DZÔ, though I don’t get there nearly enough. So, yeah. Bring on all the K-BBQ.
- We’ve reached the season where I can’t keep up with food news. If I missed something big, please post it in the comments!
WTF, Des Moines?
- I want the Zora building, Des Moines. I have $10.
- If you are an entomophobe (bug-phobic), feel free to skip this. Apparently, eating cicadas is a thing. If you’re into insects of the ocean, a.k.a. lobsters and crawfish, supposedly, cicadas are comparable.
- I’m not interested because wtf gross. However, I know eating crickets is already popular among wellness and sustainability circles. Seems like the gentrification of absolute poverty, but whatever.
- While a lot of people were furious at an eatery for moving from Beaverdale to Ankeny, I wasn’t terribly upset. I wasn’t thrilled, but you have to do what’s best for you.
- Well, said eatery’s delivery range puts their old location into an “extended” area. That, friends, sucks. I don’t pretend to know who makes the decisions on those things, but that seems like a good way to alienate whatever loyal customers remain.
What’s New at G3
- The first Goodies edition came out this week! Become a subscriber to read it and learn how to get your hands on all the deliciousness!
- Later this month, subscribers will get a guide to local drive-thrus.
- $5 a month? Yeah. Worth it.
Life in General
- The best things I ate this week included:
- Literally everything Chef Jacob Schroeder of Crafted Food Services served at May’s Plant Life Pizza Picnic! If you’ve never done this, I HIGHLY recommend it!
Plant Life Pizza Picnic from Crafted Food Services and Plant Life Designs- Goldie’s Dutch Letter Twister: I jones hard for these every year, and they never disappoint! We’d also never noticed that their diner counter is an old bowling lane, which is cool as fuck.
- After putting aside lingering frustration from previous interactions, I finally tried Charlotte’s Kitchen (see top image).
- Based on all I’ve heard, I expected it to become my favorite chicken sandwich, which was also an unfair expectation.
- My thoughts: It’s a beautiful thing. No doubt. And I love that they have a drive-thru. At $8, it’s a damn good chicken sandwich.
- That being said, I have a hard time seeing myself passing Popeye’s, driving the extra two miles, and spending the extra $3 for it.
- I’ll be giving them a second visit to try another sauce, some sides, and their shake this month (hello, Orange Julius copycat). I’m hoping they wow me because I hate preferring a chain over local.
- Personal update: I had a med change, and holy shit, I’m struggling. Let’s keep talking about mental health, physical health, and being medicated, please.
Des Moines! I’ll see you at the end of May, which we’re at somehow already. WTF, Papa Time?
