Get your Greek on at the Olympic Flame Restaurant in the East Village, Des Moines, Iowa

The Olympic Flame restaurant on the north side of the East Village offers both Greek and American dishes. It was one of the first new restaurants to stake a claim along Grand Avenue way back in 1988 and is now part of a series of quality restaurants and businesses that are expanding along Grand Avenue as the East Village continues to grow.

Lunch selections at Olympic Flame are straightforward and reasonably priced. You can order either Greek-style cuisine or typical American-style food such as hamburgers. The prices offered for the menu items make it clear that the Olympic Flame is working to offer reasonably priced meals. I don’t get the impression that it wants to go head to head with Zombie Burger with its higher prices and fancy theme or the sushi bar next door. At the same time, it is fun to try some ethnic-style food without breaking the bank. I have not tried the dinner menu but from the listing I suspect that the dishes are substantially more complex. The prices listed in the menu are still very reasonable.

I tried both the Greek salad ($3.65 and $6.55) and the gyro ($5.55). The gyro was fairly typical without any unique qualities or unusual sauce. At these price points you are getting a standard city deli-style gyro along the same lines as what Mr. Filet offers on the other side of the river.

Olympic Flame Greek Salad

The salad that I tried was also an equally competent but standard Greek salad. Like the gyro, there wasn’t anything about it that made it especially unique. The salad lacked the super-large slices of feta cheese and giant olives that some Greek restaurants add.

For dessert, I tried the Baklava. It seemed to be a bit hard to cut. It was too large to pop the whole thing into my mouth, and the sticky baklava sugar sauce kept me from picking it up with my fingers. But once I chopped it into smaller pieces it was very tasty.

Note that the restaurant does not have an airlock to keep cold air from blowing in during he winter.

Olympic Flame

Hours
Lunch Monday 10:30-2:30,
Lunch and Dinner Tuesday-Saturday, 10:30am-9:00pm

514 E. Grand Ave.
Des Moines, Iowa 50309
515-243-4361

Luna Bistro+Catering – East Village Des Moines

Luna Bistro+Catering is a new bistro-style restaurant on the north edge of the East Village. What is a bistro? One common definition is that it is “a small restaurant serving moderately priced simple meals in a modest setting.” I believe that definition captures Luna perfectly. The place is so new that it took some research to find it. I knew that there was a new place somewhere in the East Village; I just could not remember where it was or what it was called. So, I turned to twitter and asked. @dirtfarmerlarry (Larry Cleverley of Cleverly Farms) was kind enough to suggest Luna as the place that I was probably trying to remember. It was.

Location. When we pulled up to the front of the building I had to say to myself “You got to be kidding!” The front of the Northland Dairy Building is something only a mother could love. Still, upon closer inspection it has a certain loose “hipster/hippy” look. If you really want to see a picture of the outside of the place, click here. Luna is located in the old Northland Dairy Building just east of Alba on Des Moines. It is obvious that over the years the building has gone through several campaigns in which it has been altered to meet a variety of needs.

Menu. The menu is divided into Small Plates, Salads, Sandwiches, Entrees, Soup and Desserts. The Small Plates provide an opportunity to try several dishes in the tapas style. We started with the Chicken and Mozzarella Ravioli, with tomato confit and olive oil. The ravioli was obviously handmade. The pasta was a bit juicier and lighter than some of the more chewy (but good chewy) versions we have found at the old-line traditional Italian restaurants in Des Moines. I really liked it. The chicken appeared to have been grilled and was still moist. The combination of mozzarella and chicken went well with the ravioli.

Next we split a salad which was easy since we went with the House Salad which comes with two large and crunchy romaine hearts. They are finished with scrumptious cherry tomatoes, white cheddar cheese, peppered bacon, red onions and Dijon vinaigrette. I’ve had some similar romaine heart salads around town and they had nothing on this preparation. It was very good.

We skipped the sandwiches on this trip and went with the Pork Cheek Tacos. The menu states that they are “Korean style” with braised pork cheeks and spicy cucumber relish. I assume that the spicy cucumber relish and braised pork cheeks make up the “Korean” part of this dish. But the whole assemblage was very tasty, wrapped in a soft and doughy tortilla. The pork cheek meat had that special element that makes me thankful that I’m a carnivore.

For the finish, we opted for a couple of desserts (why not, we only live once), a Tiramisu Crepe and a Vanilla Panna Cotta. Wow. They were both stunning. I saw the chef flipping the crepe, so I know that it did not come from a freezer. The filling was light without being overly sweet or cloying. The Panna Cotta was lighter than some we have had and leaned more toward “refreshing” than heavy and creamy. That might be a result of the blue agave nectar drizzled on top. The result is what I might call simply divine. After having had great desserts at Baru 66, Gusto Pizza and now Luna I have to say that the cabal of the refrigerated dessert delivery trucks may have been broken in Des Moines.

Service. Service is similar to the two Lucca locations, Gateway Market and Noodle Zoo. You head up to the counter, place your order, pick up a number and wait for the staff to bring each course to your table. Tables are cleared by the staff.

The interior works quite well. The new flooring ties in well with the multi-colored brick walls. The matching chairs and tables are actually better than you usually find in small restaurants. The artwork goes well with the overall appearance of the place.

Other Observations. Before I close, I wanted to venture some additional thoughts on a topic upon which I am uniquely unqualified to offer any opinion. It is just an observation, but if I was a chef who wanted to open my own restaurant I would head over to Luna and duplicate everything that Kris Van Tuyl has done. Allow me to explain. First, the location is perfect for a startup restaurant. Though it is not in the high rent “downtown” section of the East Village, it is close enough to be a part of some of the hottest retail turf in the City. Second, though the outside looks butt-ugly, the inside makes the best of the old brick and beams construction. The floor is new, which avoids one problem found in some older buildings, namely floors so uneven that the tables and chairs won’t stop tipping. The minimalist art on the walls went well with the “restoration hardware” look of the place. Despite the dive bar exterior, some real money was spent on the interior and I personally think that the dollars were spread perfectly. Next, the staff setup looks like it works. Two in the back and two up front, one working the register and one bussing. It does not get much simpler than that (unless you go totally simple like Tamales Industry with one in the front and one in the back). Luna is about as perfect and simple a setup as a chef-owned place could dream up. The challenge will be to keep from trying to do too much too quickly. Right now, I’d say that this is a very low-key but classy, interesting and satisfying place to have a meal.

Open for lunch: 11:00 – 3:00 M-F
11:00 – 2:00 Sat.
621 Des Moines Street
Des Moines, IA 50309
515.288.9849

Bagni di Lucca

Bagni di Lucca Pizza

I’ve probably eaten at Bagni di Lucca about a half-dozen times and I’ve never been disappointed. This is an offshoot of Lucca just down the street in the East Village. Lucca is one of my favorite restaurants and definitely the best in the East Village in my opinion. That reminds me that I need to write a review. But back to Bagni di Lucca and its wonderful pizzas. The pizzas are worth the visit. First, these are not deep dish tomato pizzas. Nor are they exactly like Centro’s New York Style pizzas. The crusts are perfectly baked and the toppings are fantastic. All sorts of cheeses and meat or vegetarian choices can be added. The size of the pizza is enough for two but if you really want to chow down on some great food get one for yourself. As for the setting and decor, Bagni di Lucca has a fairly simple and straightforward stainless steel and glass feel to the place, perhaps due to the industrial-style glass wall that fronts East 5th Street. The front door probably violates every fire code ever invented (read the sign to figure it out) and there is no air lock, so I wonder what it is like now that the temperature has dropped to zero. The rest of the place carries out the clean industrial feel. I get just a slight sensation that I am eating in a modern kitchen run by somebody with OCD — everything is in its place and it is very clean and orderly. Maybe that is what makes the pizzas so perfect. I highly recommend Bagni di Lucca. Get there quickly.

Bagni di Lucca

Address: 407 E. 5th St.
Des Moines, IA 50309
515-243-0044