dsm Dish - February 14, 2025

Seven brunch spots to add to your list

By Lily Allen-Duenas

“How 'bout brunch?” Are there three sweeter words in the English language? We seriously doubt it.

Here in Des Moines, we have a handful of brunch spots that are so popular they hardly need mentioning: The Breakfast Club, Drake Diner, Early Bird, HomeGrown and, of course, the Waveland Cafe (home of Breakfast “Momoa Style,” named for its most famous patron).

But there are other hidden gems that we heartily recommend. Here are seven excellent options to add to your list:

Americana
It’s hard to believe this spot opened across from the Pappajohn Sculpture Park in 2011; it feels like it’s been there forever. For $27, you can take unlimited trips to the brunch buffet, and for just $15 more, you can enjoy bottomless mimosas, screwdrivers or bloody marys. The lavish spread features cinnamon rolls, hickory-smoked bacon, fruit, salad, a grilled cheese station and various “bars” for a mac-and-cheese, mashed potatoes and breakfast tacos. To their credit, they also clearly mark which options are free of gluten or dairy.

Cafe Con Leche
If you haven’t heard of this place at the corner of Euclid and Hubbell, well, the regulars would prefer to keep it that way. And, frankly, we can’t blame them. The Latino-owned coffee shop makes everything from scratch with love. Their breakfast burritos, chilaquiles, tortas and open-faced molletes will make you swoon. On the sweet side, they offer crepes and pancakes drizzled with dulce de leche.

Guesthouse Tavern + Oyster
With its tagline “Northwoods inspired, Midwestern hospitality,” this place in West Des Moines offers rustic ambiance (with a canoe mounted on the wall) and a “blunch” menu smothered in goodness. You can dig into shrimp and grits, lobster rolls, tater tot poutine, shrimp po’ boys, and oysters for days. Sally's Cheese-Curd-Stuffed Potato Cakes come highly recommended, but if you’re really hungry, you can’t go wrong with the classic Northwoods Lumberjack special: two eggs, breakfast potatoes, two pancakes, toast and your choice of bacon, smoked sausage links or a maple sausage patty.

Panka
Ever wonder what brunch looks like south of the border? At Panka, you can take a whole culinary tour: Salvadoran pupusas, Venezuelan arepas and Colombian empanadas. And if you haven’t tried Panka’s classic Peruvian nachos, called “salchipapas,” you should correct that, inmediatamente. Oh — and don’t skip dessert. Nuegados, a traditional dessert of fried yuca dumplings with honey, is something you’ll dream about later.

Railroad Bill’s Dining Car
Feast on a platter of hash browns and then shop for antiques all under one roof? Well, sure. Why not? At this place, you can order cheap eats right at the counter, including breakfast nacho slingers (served over home fries instead of chips) and mini deep-fried pancakes worthy of the state fair. Bonus: They also have a separate vegan menu.

Secret Admirer
On summer Saturdays, this adorable indoor-outdoor bar south of the Court Avenue farmers market opens at 10 a.m. to serve goodies from local partners, like breakfast tacos from Clyde’s Fine Diner and cold brew lattes from Northern Vessel. The housemade drinks include creative concoctions like a cold brew martini and the Squeeze Box, made with vodka, apricots, blackberry vanilla shrub, with lemon and fizzy Topo Chico. The menus and drinks change, but the deliciousness doesn’t. So exactly when will they open for the season? They’ll spill that secret on Instagram.

Truman’s
This East Village pizza place probably isn’t on your brunch radar, but it should be. Like Fong’s Pizza, it stretches the boundaries of what a pizza can be. Say hello to Biscuits & Gravy Pizza, Eggs Benedict Pizza and even a “Hangover Pizza,” with a beer-cheese queso topped with chorizo, three cheeses and poached eggs. You’ll be feeling better in no time. They also serve straight-up biscuits and gravy (without the pizza crust), omelets and — get this — French toast doughnut holes.

Quick Bites

Flora, at the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden, will start serving Sunday brunch on March 2. Service lasts from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. so brunchers can head into the jungle afterward for the weekly Botanical Blues concerts through the end of March. Plus, chef Suman Hoque is offering a three-course, farm-to-table dinner on March 13, with Grand View Beef from Clarion and wines from the Abu Nawas Beverage Co. based in Elkader.

Guesthouse Tavern + Oyster is celebrating its first anniversary over the first weekend in March. Festivities include a raffle for a rugged ATV and a six-course Sunday dinner event prepared by chef-owner Derek Eidson.

DMACC’s Iowa Culinary Institute has reopened The Bistro for the spring semester. The student-run cafe serves lunch 11:15 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.

Masao, a new restaurant that serves sushi and modern French cuisine, will open in May in the former Miyabi 9, according to Axios. (It’s the latest blip on our Restaurant Radar.)

St. Kilda Cafe in Clive has a new menu that includes Cubanos, teriyaki salmon bowls and pistachio lattes.

Wini Moranville reviewed Vita, the public restaurant inside the Wesley on Grand retirement community that serves three-course meals for $20. As she put it, “When the bill arrived, I couldn’t help but feel like I was getting away with something.”

Events

Saturday: Head to Ritual Cafe from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for vegan and vegetarian tamales from Reyes Tamales.

Feb. 20: Chef George’s Steakhouse Supper Club, a themed dinner at Django’s Reinhardt Room, includes four courses of Midwest steakhouse staples with optional wine pairings and a cocktail.

Feb. 27: A Roaring '20s Wine Flight, presented by Winefest and the West Des Moines Historical Society, showcases a mix of 2020 wine vintages and 1920s-inspired bites prepared by chef Jacob Schroeder at the historic Jordan House in West Des Moines

Feb. 28: Carve & Sear: A Rollins Lodge Feast offers a delicious opportunity to learn how to prepare prime cuts of meats, guided by chef Jake Miller of the Artisanal Food Co.

March 5: The West Des Moines Chamber of Commerce hosts the Wild Wild West Des Moines Annual Dinner at the Val Air Ballroom.

March 7: The Wine, Food & Beer Showcase offers samples from more than 30 area restaurants, caterers, wineries, breweries and distilleries at the downtown Marriott. Proceeds support the Des Moines Metro Opera.

March 20: Savor Moxie, the monthly dinner event at Moxie Kitchen + Events, takes place on the third Thursday of every month. The March menu isn’t posted yet, but the “Ides of March” theme suggests some sort of delicious treachery.

Cookbook review: 'Cooking in Real Life,' by Lidey Heuck

By Haley Scarpino

Editor's note: It's Haley's birthday!

I first discovered Lidey Heuck on Ina Garten's television show “Barefoot Contessa” back in 2014. Heuck worked as Ina Garten's assistant from 2013 until 2020, before she worked at Erin French's acclaimed Maine restaurant, The Lost Kitchen, and the hit TV show with the same name. Heuck lives in New York’s Hudson Valley. She writes recipes for her website, Lidey Likes, and the New York Times and last year published a cookbook called “Cooking in Real Life."

I adore the book and find myself picking it up for recipes and for inspiration from the gorgeous photos of food and the Hudson Valley. The recipes are low-effort, high-reward, designed for practical everyday cooking. They’re inventive but not overly complicated, and they use familiar ingredients in fresh ways. Heuck also makes things easier and more efficient by pointing out various tips and tricks, such as ingredient swaps, make-ahead hacks and ideas for using leftovers.

Some of my favorite recipes are the Kale Salad with Gouda, Honeycrisp and Walnut (page 50), Shortcut Chicken Schnitzel (page 108) and the Banana Cake with Dark Chocolate Frosting and Sea Salt (p. 192).

However, my one true love from this book are the Dirty Blondies with Chocolate, Hazelnut and Coffee (page 199). The blondies were the first recipe I made from the book and, oh my goodness, did I pick a goodie! I don't believe I've ever eaten a baked good as quickly. They are unapologetically chocolatey, nutty and salty. As with any blondies, the trick is to underbake them just slightly. Overbaked blondies can dry out and lose that soft fudgy texture, so pull them out of the oven a little early. I've made them quite a few times now and can tell you: They’re bake-sale simple but five-star delicious.

Trust me and buy this cookbook just for the blondie recipe. If you want to buy it locally, you can pick up a copy at Kitchen Collage in the East Village.

My dream Valentine's Day menu from “Cooking in Real Life”
Gin Martini with Rosemary & Grapefruit (page 38)
Little Gem Salad with Avocado Goddess Dressing and Pickled Red Onions (page 65)
Champagne Chicken (page 88)
Warm Herbed Farro (page 154)
Dirty Blondies with Chocolate, Hazelnut and Coffee (page 199)