We start with a recent news story from the Taipei Times that reports that blogger “Liu” (劉) was sentenced to 30 days in jail and fined NT$200,000 for criticizing a Taichung beef noodle restaurant for serving food that was too salty, being overrun with cockroaches, and having a bully for an owner – a fellow named Yang (楊). Apparently, an investigation did not find the described unsanitary conditions and the court found that Liu had only had a single side dish. Liu has since apologized and, her appeal having been lost, is presumably on her way to a Chinese prison.
Next up is an expat Lebanese blogger living in Kuwait who writes the food blog 248am.com. He published a blog entry about his experience at the Japanese chain restaurant Benihana. Here is what he had to say:
The chicken was very chewy (I could swear it was undercooked if not raw) and tasted terrible.
Even the rice and the veggies that came with it tasted bad AND were under cooked.
There is no word on the current status of the lawsuit.
The third case arises from Belfast, Ireland. In that case, a newspaper critic named Caroline Workman working for the Irish News reviewed Goodfellas restaurant in Belfast. She said that the experience was “joyless,” that the squid was “reconstituted fish meat” and that the chicken marsala was too sweet and “inedible.”
The owner of Goodfellas sued for defamation and managed to get a jury to award £25,000 in damages. However, following an appeal to Her Majesty’s Court of Appeals, the verdict was overturned. The court agreed with the newspaper that the review was subject to protection under British law as “fair comment.” The day after the Court of Appeals overturned the verdict, the London newspaper The Times sent a reporter to revisit the restaurant to see if things had improved. Perhaps emboldened by the ruling, he had this to say about the Chicken Marsala:
“Without the court papers to confirm what I had ordered, I’d have guessed I was eating thin strips of mole poached in Ovaltine. It is revolting. It is ill-conceived, incompetent, indescribably awful. A dish so cruel I weep not only for the animal that died to make it, but also for the mushrooms.”
Said as only a journalist for the British newspaper could put it.
A fourth case comes out of the USA, Philadelphia to be specific, and was reported in the Philadelphia Magazine. An anonymous (he hides his physical identity) food critic named Craig LaBan writing for the Philadelphia Enquirer posted just the following 44-word review of a restaurant called “Chops” in City Line, which I take is in the suburbs of Philadelphia:
“A serious power-lunch crowd makes this sunny room feel like ‘the Palm on City Line.’ A recent meal, though, was expensive and disappointing, from the soggy and sour chopped salad to a miserably tough and fatty strip steak. The crab cake, though, was excellent.”
The restaurant owner sued, claiming that the meat that they serve for dinner was USDA Prime. It turned out that the review was of the meat served for lunch (note that the short review mentioned lunch — how could he miss that?), which is not necessarily USDA Prime. But that did not stop the lawsuit. After three years of litigation the case was settled on undisclosed terms in April of 2011. I suspect that the restaurant got nothing, but that is just a guess.
So, what does a food blogger do with stories like this? First, though there are many cases involving suits against bloggers, cases against food bloggers are still fairly rare. Second, most of these stories arise from outside the USA ,which is probably the hardest country to successfully sue a blogger. Third, it helps if you take pictures of the food as you can prove that you actually ate there. Of course the Kuwaiti blogger took video of the food being prepared (check out his webpage). It appears from my review of the video that the cook knew nothing about how to cook (but what do I know?), and he still got sued.
Winefest billed itself as Iowa’s premier wine tasting event, with wine tasting seminars, special entertainment, and nationally-renowned vintners. Every year it seems that I am out of town on that weekend, so it was not until this last weekend that I actually got to try Winefest for myself. For anyone with even a passing interest in wine and food (in that order), Winefest had something for everyone at every possible price point. You could have joined the crowds on Friday evening for not much more than the cost of a single bottle of good wine and you could have drunk as much as the lines allowed.
For not quite double the price of the Friday event you could have joined the smaller crowd on Saturday, with no real lines to speak of, about a dozen food stations and enough wine (mostly in the $12-$25 price points) to satisfy the budding oenophile. This event was called the Grand Tasting and was the final event. It cost $65 in advance and billed itself as featuring “wines from around the world along with gourmet foods.” I will agree that there were wines from around the world but I would not describe the food as “gourmet.” It was good food, no doubt, but I would not say it was gourmet.
If you felt like a VIP (I didn’t), you could have paid $20 more and hobnobbed with the other people who saw themselves as VIPs. They got to do this behind the security of a wall. I did not feel compelled to join the other VIPs, so I can’t tell you if they got better wine or food, but they must have. I saw that the Governor spent quite a while outside the confines of the VIP room, so maybe he wasn’t feeling all VIP-ish either. If you were feeling really rich and wanted to “see how millionaires dine” (that is what the promotional literature said — I kid you not) the Prima Dinners sold out at $250 per person. Since they sold out I can’t say that its a bad deal. There must be some very expensive wine added to the menu to justify that price.
Entertainment was also provided, though the Nollen Plaza stage is set so far back from the rest of the venue that it was kind of ridiculous looking. Poor Fred Gazzo and The Metropolitans seemed stranded down there.
Here are some photos:
Stone Cliff Cabernet Sauvignon - This is a really nice blend of Sonoma and Iowa grapes but it is really hard to find. It has less oak and more fruit than most cabs. None of the unpleasant (to me) foxy musk that some Iowa wines have.
Maytage Cheese introduced its cheese popcorn.
The Kerrygold Dubliner "Irish Stout" crumbly cheese was a big hit.
Spurgeon Vinyards had some Honey Mead. Surprisingly tasty. You can see Fred Gazzo way back there.
My favorite was Hollen's signature Cabernet Sauvignon - I'm told that Wine & Spirits Gallery on Hickman and a WDM Hy-Vee has it.
Opolo had a large selection. The Mountain Zinfandel is very nice.
Gong Fu Tea is one of those nifty places that offers a unique shopping experience if you happen to be a fan of tea. I’m not a huge fan of traditional tea, but even my jaded attitude about tea (weak, less than satisfying, weak, and less than satisfying, to list four of my objections) can see that this emporium must stir the passions of those who care about tea, such as everyone else in my family and any body who is still reading this article. Now, add some milk like the Brits do, or some espresso, and we are getting around to something that I can deal with. Anyway, the crowds that can be found at Gong Fu certainly throng the counter every time I’m brought there to wait out yet another tea purchase. For those who don’t know, this store keeps its tea in these cute stainless steel urns lining an entire wall. Obviously, the way that they store the tea is about 75% show given that they put them so high that the staff has to climb a ladder anytime somebody requests some “top shelf” tea. They could pile them on a table where they would be easy to reach, but that would spoil the process that is involved in getting your tea. In fact, the next time I go I might order some top shelf tea just to see the process. And process is what I am led to believe that tea is really all about. After all, entire cultures (in fact, nearly the entire rest of the world outside the Americas and sub-Saharan Africa) are so smitten with tea that they have developed drinking tea into a high art with incomprehensibly complicated social conventions. If you are one of those tea lovers, the rest of my family heartily recommends a visit to Gong Fu Tea. But be prepared to enjoy the process. Don’t rush it.
Another service offered by Gong Fu Tea is that they sell just about every tea-making and tea-storing contrivance that you can imagine. If you know somebody who likes tea then this is the place to go to get him or her that special gadget, cup, or pot. Finally, they will brew you some tea right there. And, if you order an iced tea, then here is something you need to appreciate. The iced tea is first brewed as you might brew any other tea. Only then is it chilled down by adding the ice. Some other establishments brew tea ahead of time and store the tea in a refrigerator to chill; not Gong Fu Tea.
The High Wall of Tea
414 East Sixth Street
Des Moines, Iowa
515-288-3388
The Boiler Room is one in a category of restaurants which I don’t get around to reviewing very often: Officially Great Places. My pedigree as a “restaurant critic” is humble and you won’t find me revising Michelin ratings anytime soon. That’s not to say I don’t go to the Boiler Room often or find its fare daunting; quite the contrary. My opinion, shared by many, is that the Boiler Room is a regional gem, making food the scope and quality of which is normally found in cities much grander than Omaha.
I also feel that once I start departing my comfortable dive bars and diners I begin to tread on the toes of critics of Much Greater Significance than myself. So to back me up I’ve acquired the help of that other titan of regional cuisine: fellow conspirator and blogmate Distilled Iowan, with whom I have shared this article.
The experience of the Boiler Room rewards the adventurous (and carnivorous) diner. Typical dishes include bone marrow, boar’s head, ox tongue, swordfish, and charcuterie. It is all served with an almost religious devotion to the consumption of meat.
The Boiler Room takes very seriously its duty to provide expertly prepared meat to local carnivores. The food does not hide behind veggies and meat, and you will not find a wide selection of vegetables.
The Boiler Room brazenly flaunts its devotion to the eating of all sorts of animals. Instead of garnishing swordfish filet with green beans (which the Boiler Room did the last time I ordered swordfish) it lays the swordfish on a bed of baby octopi. I’d never eaten baby octopi, and they were tender and delicious.
The meals we have had at the Boiler Room, meat and otherwise, have always been excellent, front to back. The mixed drinks are up there with the Side Door in creativity and excellence. The wine pairings are brilliant and reliable (and the wine is affordable and excellent). The dessert, while not their strong suit, is always wonderful and worth saving room for. The coffee and espresso puts most coffee shops to shame.
If you love local cuisine, wine, and especially meat cooked with gourmet flair, then the Boiler Room is your temple.
I originally wrote this article back in 2011 and I received some very accurate and fair criticism for having not grasped all of the concepts involved in the use of transglutaminase a/k/a “meatglue” by restaurants. So, after revising the article to try to correct those problems I still did not believe that I had done the topic justice, so I took the article down for about one year. Because of a renewed interest in transglutaminase, I thought that I ought to try to rework the article to be as fair and accurate as possible. Again, I want to thank David Arnold from French Culinary Institute blog that was the source of my original musings . See the comment chain below. I’ve now read the GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) filings by Ajinomoto available on the USDA‘s website. Although they omit any specific reference to the parts per million level of enzyme in a given amount of product, other than to state that there are a certain number of “units,” I have learned that enzymes are measured by activity or effectiveness and not so much by quantity. Hence the use of the undefined term “unit” in their filings and on their website. Because the company does not define what a unit is, I imagine that bloggers will be going down this path for years to come until Ajinomoto clarifies in writing somewhere how it defines a unit and, perhaps more importantly, points out that this enzyme is safe to eat.
Ajinomoto should clarify in writing somewhere how it defines a unit and, perhaps more importantly, points out that this enzyme is safe to eat.
The USDA states that food processors selling meat treated with meat glue must not use more than 65 parts per million (65 ppm) of meat glue to the total weight of the treated product. What about restaurants? They are not bound by those rules. Do they use more than 65 parts per million of meat glue or transglutaminase in their products?
As I mentioned before, the restaurant industry is not subject to USDA regulations governing Transglutaminase or meat glue if the product is sold as a meal and not as a meat product for cooking by a consumer. However, the USDA only allows Transglutaminase to be used as a binder at levels of up to 65 ppm in beef. Here is one place where that limitation is set out in the regulation:
(d) Fabricated steak. Fabricated beef steaks, veal steaks, beef and veal steaks, or veal and beef steaks, and similar products, such as those labeled Beef Steak, Chopped, Shaped, Frozen, Minute Steak, Formed, Wafer Sliced, Frozen, Veal Steaks, Beef Added, Chopped/Molded/Cubed/Frozen, Hydrolyzed Plant Protein, and Flavoring shall be prepared by comminuting and forming the product from fresh and/or frozen meat, with or without added fat, of the species indicated on the label. Such products shall not contain more than 30 percent fat and shall not contain added water or extenders. Transglutaminase enzyme at levels of up to 65 ppm may be used as a binder. Beef cheek meat (trimmed beef cheeks) may be used in the preparation of fabricated beef steaks only in accordance with the conditions prescribed in paragraph (a) of this section.
Another stated assumption that I made in an earlier version of this article was that the meat glue products are 100% product and that they are not full of other substances, such as binders or preservatives. If so, then more powder would need to be applied to meet the requirement. It turns out that they are diluted with other ingredients, namely Maltodextrin and Casein, which substantially reduces the amount of meat glue in the final product. According to Dave Arnold of the French Culinary Institute in a comment to this article: “Ajinomoto is well aware of the approval limits for their enzyme. Their usage guidelines for Activa RM are .75-1.0% (for most applications), which is well within 65 ppm limits for pure enzyme.”
As noted above, the actual effective level of the enzyme is measured by the manufacturer on a per-bag basis – 65 units per gram for one formulation as an example – so that if a restaurant follows the directions it should end up using no more transglutaminase than is recommended. In fact, if a chef uses too much transglutaminase, then the product is actually less effective and it falls apart.
The recent spike in concern over meatglue and frankenmeat may stem in part from two separate developments to hit the news. First, there is the pink slime issue. I assume, but do not know, that transglutaminase is used as a binder to put the “slime” back together so that it approximates a regular meat product. But the issue is not about the use of transglutaminase to bind the meat but the source of the meat. Some consumers have a well-founded belief that hamburger is made of “beef” and that “beef” is something different than what is typically used to make hot dogs and sausage. It does not good for Governors like Terry Branstad to wolf down pink slime meat at public relations events because it is not the fact that all sorts of meat products go into the mix but the fact that it has been legally marketed as regular hamburger that is the problem. It really comes down to a matter of properly labeling the product. if people want sausage then they will buy it knowing full well (or not caring) that it contains cartelage, sinus tissue, mouth parts, and all other scrapings and cuttings.
The second thing to pop up in the news is the very intersting development of meat protein in a test tube. I have my own doubts that meat will be made this way on an industrial scale, but one can never second-guess technology and economics, so lets assume it is possible. If test-tube meat is indeed produced on an industrial scale, then new issues arise as to what sort of labeling will need to be used. Will the product be secretly added to our sacred hamburgers? Or will it have to be labeled and sold as something entirely different. After all, there is no reason that the meat even has to be from a specific species of animal. It might be possible, through recombinent DNA science to mix and match the best of several animals to make a final product. It will be neither fish nor fowl, and pose problems for Catholics on Friday.
As it stands now, meat glue is, thankfully, only being used to glue real pieces of honest-to-God meat from real animals. As I’ve tried to make clear, any product sold in store shelves has to be labeled as containing transglutaminase. Not so with restaurant dishes. Here is where things can get a bit murky. It is one thing for a culinary chef to make a special product using science. It is another for a restaurant to glue smaller, cheaper cuts together and sell them as a more expensive cut of beef. That is one area of concern that I think consumers may have. One chef is trying to make a reputation as a great chef and the other is just trying to make a buck. The latter is what I think that we need to carefully watch as this and related issues come to the market.
At this time I consider this posting to be just a statement of opinion, subject to comment and criticism. I do not have any ax to grind but I am interested in making sure that consumers have access to accurate information. If I am wrong about anything in this blog I will, after investigation, post the correction. If I disagree, I will note why I disagree.
Basil Prosperi’s Lucca Restaurant is one of my favorite lunchtime destinations, whether I am hosting a meeting over lunch or eating out with a friend or my wife. Despite its consistently high ratings, it usually has some room. Some days there is a piano player as well. If he is really playing loudly, and if you want to have a conversation, you may want to move a few tables down from the front. The decor is rehab-modern, with exposed and distressed brick and modern furnishings. Artwork is spare. Service is quick. After entering you wait your turn, order your meal, get your drink and grab your seat. This is similar to the commonly owned Bagni di Lucca which is just a few blocks away. The clientele is mixed, with both business types and causal diners, though the prices or selections seem to keep out the “red hat” crowd.
In a lot of ways, I think that Lucca is partly responsible for making the East Village the success that it is today. Sticks brought established credentials with its art and furniture, Noodle Zoo brought large and continuous crowds for its excellent lunches, and Lucca set the bar for high-end lunches and dinners. Together, they and many other innovative stores like Projects, Raygun, Aimee made the East Village a great place to shop and even live, and not just another collection of antique stores and used clothes shops.
The menu is not extensive and is fairly different each time I visit. During the most recent visit my wife had a carrot ginger soup with a Greek salad on the side. I had a vegetable brie sandwich with a Caesar salad. The brie was just a tad overpowering, with that musty aroma that brie can have. The Caesar salad was authentically prepared and very good. There was more than enough food. Quality is uniformly superb, especially if owner and chef Steve Logsdon is presiding over the kitchen — and preside he does. It is clear who is in charge when he is there, though I’ve not seen him around during the last few visits.
The point of this review is not to go over the dinner menu, but one of the absolute top meals I’ve ever had the pleasure of eating was enjoyed here at Lucca. I honestly thought that I had died and gone to heaven. If I recall correctly, it was some sort of cream-sauce ravioli. The pasta and sauces are outstanding and expertly prepared and presented.
When visiting the Baby Boomers Cafe in the East Village in Des Moines, I tried an “Obama Cookie.” I decided that this cookie merited its own blog entry. So, what is an “Obama Cookie?” It is a cookie that is made in the cake dough tradition. Don’t read too much into that description. It is not literally a cake dough cookie, I’m just trying to sort out the different kinds of dough. This cookie seems to have Shortening, white sugar, and lots of flour. In my opinion, the international standard for chocolate chip cookies is the original toll house recipe. (shortening, white sugar and more flour than a Toll-house style with lots of butter and brown sugar and not enough flour) but I’m not going to complain since that must be how Obama likes his cookies since he endorsed the cookie and politicians never tell lies. What do I think about the Obama cookie? Well, it looks good, though a discerning eye might notice that it is of the cake dough variety and thus it has more loft than real substance. Once you bite into the cookie you will indeed find that it is a bit disappointing if you are a Toll House Cookie aficionado like I am. Of course, people will buy an Obama cookie just because of the name.
As you can tell, I like my cookies. In fact, I think that cookies are the perfect food. I could eat nothing but cookies for the rest of my life were it not for the simple fact that this life of mine would be cut even shorter than it probably will be already by eating as many cookies as I do. A day without a cookie is just a below average day. A day with really good chocolate chip cookies is a great day. Anyway, Baby Boomer Obama cookies would not be at the very top of my list, but I would not turn them down.
Ever wonder how some restaurants (especially the chain and fast-food variety) manage to have some meat products that just don’t look quite right? Either the shape is too perfect, or the meat fibers go in all different directions? Well, it turns out that there is this substance known as “meat glue” which is used to glue various bits of meat together so when pressed together they resemble an actual cut of meat. The first time I heard this was in a video from Australia in which the producers of the news segment show exactly how it is done. The result is some very nice looking Filet Mignon — or is it?
It turns out that the FDA has approved the use of meat glue – transglutaminase – in the U.S. The meat that you buy in the grocery store is supposed to be labeled as “formed” or “reformed” meat if meat glue has been used to put it together. However, there is no such FDA requirement that meat that you order in a restaurant be labeled as such. I am particularly suspicious of a lot of sushi as many sushi dishes sport fish or shellfish meats that are just too perfect looking. Of course, I am just suspicious of sushi regardless. If I had been born in 100,000 B.C. I would have been the guy to invent fire. Speaking of seafood, how many scallops have you ordered that appear to be impossibly big? It is a fairly common occurrence lately. I remember a long time ago when most scallops were much smaller. (A former deep sea fisherman out of Tampa once told me that those little scallops were actually punched right out of manta ray fins, especially if they misspell the name. But that is another story.) Some internet sites suggest that scallops may be glued together as well. That might explain the giant sizes.
After doing a bit of research, I found that meat glue is something commonly used in a restaurants. The food industry views meat glue as a great product and some of the best restaurants use meat glue to make new creations. In fact, there is an entire cuisine developing around the use of meat glue to make entirely new products — familiar dishes made out of unfamiliar meats, or unfamiliar dishes made out of familiar meats. I bet a lot of chefs watched in wide-eyed wonder the first time they saw meat glue used to glue meat together. Although meat glue is commonly used in the fast-food industry to put together things like chicken nuggets, high-end restaurants have taken the lead from British Chef Heston Blumenthal in developing the new “Culinary Alchemy” or “molecular gastronomy” movement which uses meat glue in many of the recipes. One of Blumenthal’s disciples, Wilie Dufresne, is featured in the video I’ve linked below.
So, what is meat glue? That is a question that is a bit harder to parse out. The internet has so much material on meat glue that finding a site to actually explain how it is manufactured is fairly difficult. What I can tell you is that it is a coagulation enzyme that is extracted from a bacterial broth made of the bacteria Streptoverticillium Mobaraense. See this USDA filing.
So, is this something to worry about? I think that there is clearly a labeling issue here for consumers. On the other hand, we eat sausage and other combined meat products all the time. Blood has commonly been used to bind some meat products together. What we didn’t know was that it was this enzyme that did the binding. But in the one video I watched, the demonstrator and reporter were wearing face masks and rubber gloves due to the potential side effects of breathing meat glue powder. Was it for show or is there a real threat? I don’t know. I can’t quite make out the label instructions on the pictures of meat glue containers that are on the internet. I do know that I quit using blood and bone products in my garden after finding that there is a direct correlation between using those products and getting brain wasting diseases. As I noted above, the FDA has approved meat glue at certain percentages – 65 parts per million. I do not know if chefs know how little 65 parts per million of anything is, but it is not much at all.
Does it taste bad? Apparently not. Even the critics admit that they can’t tell the difference between steak made with steak parts using meat glue and regular steak. Also, if you read a label on a package of, say, Little Debbie snack cakes, do you have any idea what half those ingredients are? What about your General Mills breakfast cereal or almost all of the other products you buy in a grocery store? (hate to break it to you but meat glue is in a lot of prepared foods, including yogurt and bread) Is it just the thought that the enzyme is derived from blood or bacteria that makes it repulsive to think about? A vegetarian would laugh. They think every meat product is repulsive and I have to admit that if you really think about it they might be right. Try doing your own slaughtering and butchering if you have any doubts. But I like meat and I just don’t think about the animal that I’m eating. I bet that once you get over the shock of discovering that the sushi you eat is really glued together from heavens knows what you will go right back to shoveling it down your gullet.
There are alternatives, of course; you can buy locally produced foods, not buy meat in restaurants, or become a vegetarian. As for me, I’m sure I will keep eating meat glued meat. [update: I might not after doing a bit more research. Stay tuned). I will just be inspecting the fibers to see if they do in different directions next time.
If you want more information here are some sources:
For the reasons discussed in the preamble, FSIS amends 9 CFR
Chapter III as follows:
PART 317–LABELING, MARKING DEVICES, AND CONTAINERS
1. The authority citation for part 317 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 21 U.S.C. 601-695; 7 CFR 2.18, 2.53.
2. Section 317.8 is amended by adding a new paragraph (b)(39) to
read as follows:
Sec. 317.8 False or misleading labeling or practices generally;
specific prohibitions and requirements for labels and containers.
* * * * *
(b) * * *
(39) When transglutaminase enzyme is used to bind pieces of meat to
form a cut of meat, or to reform a piece of meat from a multiple cuts,
there shall appear on the label, as part of the product name, a
statement that indicates that the product has been “formed” or
“reformed,” in addition to other preparation steps, e.g., “Formed
Beef Tenderloin” or “Reformed and Shaped Beef Tenderloin.”
* * * * *
PART 319–DEFINITIONS AND STANDARDS OF IDENTITY OR COMPOSITION
3. The authority citation for part 319 continues to read as
follows:
4. Section 319.15 is amended by revising paragraph (d) to read as
follows:
Sec. 319.15 Miscellaneous beef products.
* * * * *
(d) Fabricated steak. Fabricated beef steaks, veal steaks, beef and
veal steaks, or veal and beef steaks, and similar products, such as
those labeled “Beef Steak, Chopped, Shaped, Frozen,” “Minute Steak,
Formed, Wafer Sliced, Frozen,” “Veal Steaks, Beef Added, Chopped–
Molded–Cubed–Frozen, Hydrolyzed Plant Protein, and Flavoring” shall
be prepared by comminuting and forming the product from fresh and/or
frozen meat, with or without added fat, of the species indicated on the
label. Such products shall not contain more than 30 percent fat and
shall not contain added water or extenders. Transglutaminase enzyme at
levels of up to 65 ppm may be used as a binder. Beef cheek meat
(trimmed beef cheeks) may be used in the preparation of fabricated beef
steaks only in accordance with the conditions prescribed in paragraph
(a) of this section.
* * * * *
5. Section 319.81 is amended by adding the following new sentence
after the phrase “shall not exceed 70 percent of the fresh beef
weight”:
“Transglutaminase enzyme at levels of up to 65 ppm may be used as
a binder in such product.”
We are having a blast trying to get to all of the “old line” Italian restaurants in Des Moines. We have feasted on great meals at Tursi’s Latin King, Barratas on South Union, Chuck’s on 6th Avenue, Mama Lacona’s (now) in Grimes, and Tumea & Sons on Southeast 1st Street. Still on my list to visit are Noah’s and Ginos. Once I visit them and write up the last review, I’ll want to go back and start all over again! But, to be honest, I can’t wait to hit some of my favorite chef-owned and operated restaurants, such as Lucca, Centro, Django, and Cafe di Scala. If I was made of nothing but money, I would eat at one of those places every day.
Oh, if you think I forgot to list any of the “old line” Italian destinations in the Des Moines area, let me know. For some places, it is too late. I wish I could go back in time and visit Babe’s when it was in its prime, or Guidos. While I am too young to have any fond memories of Babes, I do remember the excellent level of service that Guido could command from his wait staff — something that was unparalleled here in Des Moines until only recently.
I look forward to any comments or criticisms you throw my way regarding my trek through Des Moines’ Italian culinary countryside.
The Gateway Market and the Market Cafe have brought choice food ingredients and prepared food to Des Moines in an amazing package. Just about anything that a cook would want is available here. While the local grocery store might have a dozen different types of olive oil, Gateway Market offers an uncountable number of different oils. South Union Bakery has moved its production to the Market, so there is always the freshest selection of bread available. There is also a full cheese supply, meat, an olive bar, pastries, many imported and specialty beers, and a very sophisticated wine selection that includes less expensive bottles not found in many of the other wine stores. The wine department area is handled by certified sommelier Abbe Hendricks. The Market Cafe was a favorite location for media types covering the last Presidential election and I suspect that they will be back again. One reason for its popularity is the outstanding lunch menu and fast service. Rather than try to itemize the thousands of different products, here is a photo essay:
