dsm Dish - May 30, 2025

At the Rook Room, connection is the name of the game

By Kylie Petty

It’s game on for the Rook Room Game Lounge & Cafe. After six years as a roving pop-up, the business now has a permanent home at 300 S.W. Fifth St., in the space formerly occupied by St. Kilda. The grand opening is set for 7 a.m. Saturday.

Owners Annelise Tarnowski and Tony Tandeski love planning events and bringing people together, so they set out to fill a gap in the local social scene. It’s “super accessible to all types of people,” Tarnowski said. “We’re hoping that it’s a place where all community members can come and meet more people and make Des Moines a more connected place.”

When you step inside, you can take your pick of more than 700 games and puzzles, including some that will be created with local artists and designers. Each game is sorted into categories — by complexity, by number of players and so forth — and labeled accordingly. If you’d like a recommendation, just ask the staff: They know their stuff and are happy to help.

Each table has a little sign you can use to signal whether or not you’re open to socializing or playing with other guests. The space is designed to accommodate groups, dates and even solo players who just want to get out of the house. As Tarnowski put it, “the whole thing is an introvert’s paradise.”

And the games are just part of it. “The food, the drink, the people, the games all around the table come together to make the experience,” Tandeski said.

There’s a full kitchen, bar and cafe space that offers classics with a touch of the owners’ flair. The menu elevates nostalgic snacks from their childhood, with specialty cocktails and coffee drinks thrown in for good measure.

If you’re hungry, try the spicy chicken sandwiches, pineapple skewers spiced with dukkah, or a savory mushroom trio. One dish combines pineapple and barbecued kielbasa chunks, a nod to Tandeski’s favorite fruit and Tarnowski’s love of hot dogs.

The specialty cocktails are twists on classics, like the gin and tonic made with Revelton mulberry gin or the whiskey sour with pineapple juice. The energy drink sodas can be spiked or booze-free, and the house mocha is topped with purple sprinkles, the Rook Room’s signature color.

“I feel so loved by both the kitchen and the front-of-house staff and what they’ve created,” Tandeski said. “It’s all just magic to see it come together.”

After this Saturday, the Rook Room will be open 8 a.m.-10 p.m. Thursday through Monday, except when it stays open till midnight on Friday and Saturday. There will be a fee to play during peak hours, after 4 p.m. Thursday through Sunday, and annual memberships offer various perks.

Quick Bites

Dark Side of the Spoon, a local hospitality group, plans to open a new restaurant and bar in Valley Junction. Restaurant developer Tom Baldwin says he's excited to bring something that will add to the district's vibrant culture. The building at 122 Fifth St., which most recently housed the Longest Yard, was deemed beyond repair and was razed in 2024. In its place will be a two-story building with a restaurant-bar on both floors. Read more from the Business Record.

Choose Iowa will host its inaugural statewide Choose Iowa Farm Store Crawl June 21-22. During the event, Iowans and others can visit farms around the state to experience the state’s agricultural heritage, connect with local farmers and enjoy locally produced food, drinks and other products. You can find participating farms for tours and tastings with this handy map.

Exile Brewing recently won a gold medal at the World Beer Cup. Its G.G. Exile's brew won in the Munich-style dunkel (dark) beer category, in a field of 8,375 entries from 1,761 breweries across 49 countries. G.G. has racked up more than five national awards, including silver at the same competition last year.

Masao, the new Japanese-French fusion restaurant taking over the former spot of Miyabi 9 in the East Village, is set to open Tuesday under the direction of Nick Hanke. Hanke’s family operates Waterfront Seafood in West Des Moines and Ankeny, and he learned sushi-making techniques from Mike Miyabi, the longtime owner of Miyabi 9.

Middlebrook Farm is partnering with The Good Butcher and Capital Call Vintners for “Steak School,” a series of master classes designed to enhance participants' skills and knowledge of all things steak. On the agenda: tips for dry aging, perfecting a reverse sear and tasting Wagyu.

Events

Thursday: Winefest’s Prima Dinners will take place in three local homes, plus Harbinger and Willow on Grand.

June 6-8: The Greek Food Fair returns to St. George Greek Orthodox Church with a feast of Greek and Serbian specialties. (Try the baklava with ice cream.)

June 7: The Iowa Craft Brew Festival features the finest ales, lagers and other sudsy concoctions from dozens of Iowa brewers at Water Works Park.

June 11: The Duffers, Diners & Drives Golf Classic, hosted by the Iowa Restaurant Association, offers food and drinks throughout the tournament at Toad Valley Golf Course in Pleasant Hill.

June 13: Sips in the City, Winefest’s signature celebration, uncorks some fun on Friday the 13th with cocktails, a meal, live music and dancing in the Ruan Center lobby, with dazzling views of the downtown lights.

June 13: The Farm & Food Celebration in Grinnell features local food and farm tours, hosted by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach and the Iowa Farm to School and Early Care Coalition, in partnership with the Iowa Food System Coalition.

June 14: The Free Range Music & BBQ Festival at Jasper Winery features rootsy Americana music and a feast provided by Cornbred Barbecue, Farm Boys BBQ, Smokey D's BBQ and Whatcha Smokin?

June 14: Cajun Fest brings the flavors of the bayou to Iowa, with live music, crawfish and bacon-wrapped gators at The Hall in West Des Moines.

June 21: Tequila in the Gardens offers tequila pairings with a five-course al fresco dinner at the 100-year-old Rollins Mansion.

Build your own banh mi board

By Mary Jane Miller

You probably already know that the sandwich was named after England’s fourth Earl of Sandwich, John Montagu (1718-1792), who liked to eat finger-foods during long games of cribbage or cards. (He would have enjoyed the new Rook Room, noted above.)

But here’s a lesser-known lesson from sandwich history: The banh mi originated in Southeast Asia during the French occupation in the mid-19th century. Its name comes from the Vietnamese words for “bread” or “baked good” (bánh) and “wheat” (mì) because it’s built on a French baguette with a swipe of very French pȃté. The remaining fillings vary but usually feature Vietnamese flavors to create a tasty cross-cultural mashup. As Calvin Trillin once wrote in The New Yorker, "The banh mi sandwich is really the only good argument for colonialism."

I like to set up a DIY banh mi board for parties. It’s simple: Just place a basket of baguette slices on a large tray or cutting board. Add a crock of chicken liver pate. I make my own with a recipe from Jacques Pepin, but you can find it at Gateway Market or The Cheese Shop of Des Moines. Add a jar of quick pickles from the recipe below, plus any combination of sliced ham, cold shredded smoked pork or roast chicken. I like to toss the shredded chicken with a little Vietnamese vinaigrette. Add a bouquet of cilantro and a dish of sliced hot chiles and let your guests build their own open-faced masterpieces.

Quick pickled carrots and daikon
Pack 2 cups of shredded or julienned carrots and daikon (or another radish of your choice) into a jar. Bring a cup of water, a cup of white vinegar, a quarter cup of sugar and a teaspoon of salt to a boil and pour over the shredded vegetables. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours. These keep well for a couple of weeks.

Vietnamese vinaigrette
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 serrano chile, seeded and chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoons olive oil

Whisk together and drizzle over about 3 cups of cooked, shredded chicken.

For an even easier party trick, you can pick up banh mi at several local Southeast Asian restaurants and then slice them into smaller servings. I’m partial to Pho 515 inside the C Fresh Market, but you can find other good options at Gateway Market, Paris Banh Mi, Pho 888 or Vietnam Cafe inside Merle Hay Mall.

If you already miss Cinco de Mayo, or you missed it altogether, don’t worry: It’s never too late to have a good time. The Cheese Bar is celebrating “Cinco de Juno” with a visit from Anna McDermott, an “agave spirits expert” and local rep with Republic National Distributing Co. She’ll share tasting tips about tequila and mezcal while the Cheese Shop team serves dinner and cocktails. Call ahead to reserve your spot (515-277-7828) or just plan your own monthly fun for the rest of the year: Cinco de Julio, Cinco de Agosto, Cinco de Septiembre ...