dsmWeekly - April 3, 2024

Creamed couscous with spinach, roasted broccolini, lemon drops and frico chips. (Photo: Lynn Pritchard)

FOOD & DINING

Table 128 pops up at 503 Cocktail Lab + Tasting Room

By Hailey Allen

You don’t have to be a mathematician to work this one out: one Table 128 plus one 503 Cocktail Lab + Tasting Room equals two exceptional nights of dining.

The metro’s hunger for Table 128’s official reopening at 220 S.W. Ninth St. will be briefly satiated with a special two-night pop-up event this Thursday and Friday, hosted at 503 Cocktail Lab in the East Village.

Lynn Pritchard, the owner and lead chef of both dining establishments, said he’s eager to showcase what the team has been working so hard on over the past several months.

While nostalgia for the old Table 128 clearly accelerated ticket sales for Friday night — fans snapped them up in 90 minutes — Pritchard said the team is “embracing the newness” of the reopening. “We’ve sort of built the brand around frenetic change,” he said. “There are original Table 128 items I could never take off the menu, but with this we wanted to offer some new items.”

Guests at the pop-up will be able to taste four courses, including a baked kale horiatiki (a Greek salad), roasted broccolini with creamed couscous, and for the adventurous, a braised short rib with coconut and white chocolate puree. A selection of desserts and craft cocktails will be available as well. Table 128 chef de cuisine Jacob Demars, who led the impressive but short-lived Barbarian Restaurant, spent two and a half months working on menu prep.

“We are beyond humbled to be so warmly welcomed back, and we want our diners to feel that gratitude in this experience. We’re so excited to share it,” Pritchard said.

Even though Friday night is full, a few precious spots remain for Thursday. Reserve your spot before they’re all filled up.

Flames shoot from Pete Wentz's bass at Fall Out Boy's recent tour stop in Albany. (Photo: Elliot Ingham)

BEST BET

Sugar, we're goin' down!

It’s not a phase, Mom — and Fall Out Boy returns to Des Moines to prove it. The pop-punk band behind 2000s hits like “Dance, Dance,” “Thnks Fr the Mmrs” and “Sugar, We’re Goin Down” takes the stage at 6:30 tonight at Wells Fargo Arena.

The four-hour show has earned positive reviews from its earlier tour stops, with concertgoers highlighting the over-the-top pyrotechnics and eccentric props. The setlist is a trip down memory lane from the band’s nearly 20-year discography, as well as covers of other popular punk songs from the era.

They’ll be joined by up-and-coming artist CARR, as well as Hot Mulligan and Jimmy Eat World, the band that brought us “The Middle.”

So if you’re ready to dust off those studded belts, you’re in luck: tickets are still available. Rock on!

The Week Ahead

Chanticleer (7:30 p.m. Friday): The award-winning “orchestra of voices” sings classical, jazz, gospel, pop and plenty more at Stephens Auditorium in Ames.

“Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” (7:30 pm. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday): “You’ve Got a Friend,” “One Fine Day” and “Natural Woman” — hear all these hits and more in the Des Moines Playhouse show about the prolific singer-songwriter that opens this weekend and runs through April 21.

Wild Lights Festival at Blank Park Zoo (7:30-10 p.m. Friday through Sunday): Spot nearly 50 handcrafted Asian lanterns as they light up spring evenings at the zoo. The exhibition opens this weekend and continues Wednesdays through Sundays through May 27.

John Mellencamp (8 p.m. Friday): More than 40 years after recording his first big hits, including “Hurts So Good” and “Jack and Diane,” the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer’s current tour visits the Des Moines Civic Center to showcase his latest album, “Orpheus Descending.”

"The Move" artist showcase (5-9 p.m. Saturday): Enjoy food and drinks while you peruse art from more than 50 creatives at this event, sponsored by the B. Well Foundation.

James Patterson (7 p.m. Wednesday, April 10): The bestselling author headlines the Des Moines Public Library’s annual AViD series with a visit to the Scottish Rite Consistory, where he’ll discuss one of his latest books, “The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians.”

COMMUNITY
Legacy: The news of Teree Caldwell-Johnson’s death on Sunday has prompted many heartfelt tributes from those who knew her well, as well as many others whose lives she touched indirectly. Her decades of public service included work on the Des Moines School Board and as CEO of Oakridge Neighborhood, where evidence of her compassion and community-building skills are everywhere. dsm was proud to chronicle part of that legacy in a story about Oakridge in 2019.

ARTS & CULTURE
Film fiesta: The annual Des Moines Latino Film Festival is gearing up for another week of Latin film, art and food April 16-19 at the Fleur Cinema and Cafe. Starting daily at 4:30 p.m., check out free screenings of one or two recent films from Latin producers, directors and students. Some films will be shown in English, others in Spanish with English subtitles, and titles range from shorts to feature-length documentaries, comedies and horror flicks. Register for tickets by individual days on the Latino Center of Iowa’s website.

From left, "Thumb Wars" creators Nick Strickland, Marnie Strate, Michael LaDell Harris, Maggie Tatone, and Kim and Dan Haymes saw their movie on the big screen at historic cinema in Lisbon, Portugal. (Photo: Nick Strickland)

ARTS & CULTURE

'Thumbs up' for Des Moines filmmakers in Portugal

By Michael Morain

Sometimes life is as strange as a Mad Lib.

True story: A group of creative friends from Des Moines just returned from a film festival in Lisbon, Portugal. They walked the red carpet and celebrated their wacky new movie about thumb wars.

The seven-minute comedy was part of the annual 48 Hour Film Project, in which teams around the world have just two days to conceive, write, shoot and edit a short original movie. “Thumb Wars” emerged from a crowded field of Des Moines entries to compete in this year’s international festival in Lisbon, where it won an audience choice award and a nomination for best graphics, out of more than 130 entries from around the world.

“Taking something as silly as ‘Thumb Wars’ to an event like that was really something,” said Marnie Strate, one of the film’s actors.

She stars as “Plain” Jane Vanson, a professional thumb wrestler whose father always dreamed of going pro but never got the chance. (Hmmm ... or did he?) In true mockumentary style, “Thumb Wars” follows mild-mannered Jane through a thumb-war tournament in which she competes against various WWE-style rivals, including tiny Thumbelina, the Green Thumb, the menacing Thumbertaker and a lunch lady whose mighty thumb bulked up from 37 years of scooping mashed potatoes.

The film was directed by Strate’s husband, Nick Strickland, and features a handful of local actors. They shot most of their scenes upstairs at the Temple for Performing Arts.

Des Moines first hosted the 48 Hour Film Project in 2005, when a local entry, a Ken Burns-style spoof called “Mimes of the Prairie,” went on to win the worldwide competition right off the bat.

The local competition has grown over the years, boosted by longtime producer Sam Pace-Tuomi and a handful of teams that return year after year and encourage others to join. As the prices of cameras (and drones) have dropped over the years, so have the barriers for participation.

“It’s a safe place to fail, so the best thing is seeing teams improve,” Pace-Tuomi said. “Some teams may not finish their first year, but they usually come back with a vengeance.”

Fifty-three teams entered last year’s local contest, which included a special division for short horror films. (This year’s horror winner was produced by John Hansen, who also went to Lisbon; he helped produce “Mimes of the Prairie,” too.) Pace-Tuomi is hoping for 60 local teams this year, which will mark the 20th contest in Des Moines, minus one or two during the pandemic.

Registration opens May 20 for the filmmaking frenzy July 26-28, followed by screenings at the Fleur Cinema and Cafe.