dsm Dish - March 28, 2025

Centro chef tees up a Masters-worthy feast

By Hailey Evans

Every year during the first full week in April, the Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia hosts one of the four major men’s golf tournaments of the year, the by-invite-only Masters Tournament. Even more exclusive is the Champions Dinner, a ceremonial meal to kick off the week. The defending champion curates his own personalized menu to be prepared by professional chefs, and only fellow champions — “Green Jackets” — are invited to dine.

“A lot of chefs like to play the game of ‘What’s your death row meal?’” said Michael Kolodzej, the executive chef at Centro. “This is like a less morbid version of that.”

A self-proclaimed golf nerd, Kolodzej got the idea to host his very own Champions Dinner at Centro on April 9. Requirements to make the guest list are much more relaxed, of course, but the chef’s expertly crafted menu and personalized touches feel just as distinguished. He designed each course to highlight dishes that hold special meaning for him in both his personal life and his culinary career. “I would be proud to serve these dishes to anyone, including the best golfers in the world.”

The first course is a Little Gem salad with a “magic bacon vinaigrette.” That is actually what they called it at the Publican in Chicago, where Kolodzej worked for several years. “The recipe is in the Publican cookbook and you can find it anywhere, but it’s a super delicious dressing. It's completely emulsified even though it’s like 50% bacon fat,” he said. “I love it. It’s a really nice way to start a meal.”

Courses two, three and five come from his time at another Chicago establishment called Nico Osteria. The award-winning Italian seafood restaurant closed in 2023 after a decade of service, and former staff members have scattered some of the most popular items across their own menus years later.

“The one thing we had on that menu for the longest time, that we were not allowed to change no matter the season, was the Brussels sprouts,” Kolodzej said. It involved painstakingly peeling each individual leaf off the veggie and deep-frying them into chips, then layering them over ciabatta with creamy stracciatella cheese and honey. “We used to sell an obscene amount of those daily. If I hated my prep cooks here, I’d put it on the Centro menu full time, it’s that good. But it’s too time-consuming for us to do that, so I’m excited to share it just for the night.”

His fourth course is sentimental for another reason. It’s from the place he had his first date with his fiancee. The Parson’s Chicken & Fish two blocks from his old apartment in Chicago is famous for two things: fried chicken and a Negroni slushy. “It was my favorite day-off spot,” he said. “We would go there and hang out on the patio all afternoon and just pound Negroni slushies and eat a bucket of fried chicken.” (His fiancee is from Iowa and went to law school at Drake, so technically we have Parson’s to thank for Kolodzej’s move to Des Moines in 2021.)

This will be Centro’s first themed dinner in the newly remodeled South Union Bread Cafe dining room, which doubles as Centro’s private event space. Check Centro’s Tock page to reserve a spot and see the full menu.

Quick Bites

Creme is partnering with several local businesses and the local artist Siricasso to host an Earth Day event on April 20. The bakery off Ingersoll Avenue will close off a portion of 28th Street for the outdoor party, and serve up a few exclusive Earth-themed snacks and desserts. Siricasso painted the mural above in Highland Park. (Photo: Brittany Brooke Crow)

Wini Moranville named a few of her favorite restaurant event spaces in her recent Substack. Her picks include Django’s Reinhardt Room, the Iowa Taproom’s Joliet Room, and the Party Room at Louie’s Wine Dive.

As the weather warms up, consider scheduling your group Happy Hour at one of these patios.

If you’re looking for an interesting snack, associate editor Hailey Evans recommends the Pad Thai flavored popcorn at Hotori, the new boutique on Walnut Street.

In ice cream news: Black Cat Ice Cream plans to open its Valley Junction location any day now. And the team from The Creamery in Polk City have posted a sign in the window at 424 E. Locust St. in the East Village: "Coming March 2025."

The fifth Japanese spinoff of the Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival is set for early April in Kofu. It piggybacks on the city’s annual Shingenko Festival, the world’s biggest gathering of samurai. All those warriors and an estimated 50,000 others can visit 30-some booths to sample everything from pork yakisoba to pulled-pork sandwiches from Troy’s American BBQ, a restaurant run by Kalona native Troy Miller.

Events

Saturday: Iowa Food Co-op hosts an open house 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at its headquarters at 4944 Franklin Ave. It’s an online farmers market that operates year-round to sell products that are grown or made in Iowa.

April 4: Court Avenue Brewing is hosting an Italian Beer Dinner complete with a multicourse menu and Italian beer and cocktail pairings.

April 6: The Iowa Restaurant Association hosts a celebration of Iowa chefs with a gourmet seven-course dinner paired with fine wines.

April 9: A five-course dinner with wine pairings led by chef Katie Van Dyke will take place at her alma mater, DMACC’s Iowa Culinary Institute.

April 9: Cicchetti Night, a small-plates party hosted by the Italian-American Cultural Center of Iowa, is set for Noah’s Italian Ristorante.

April 10: Urban Dreams and Winefest present a fundraising dinner paired with Chris Christensen’s Bodkin Wines, a Black-owned company with Iowa roots.

April 11: A Surf & Turf Dinner at the Rollins Mansion offers four courses of delicacies from the Artisanal Food Co., paired with wine, in the historic home’s ballroom.

April 18: “La Cocina” (“The Kitchen”), a 2024 comedy-drama that unfolds in the high-pressure kitchen of a touristy restaurant in New York’s Times Square, screens for one night only at the Varsity.

A sneak peek at the new Fong's location

By Jason Swanson

Full disclosure: I’ve eaten my share, and maybe some of yours, of Fong’s pizza in my day. Grabbing a slice or two while working downtown was a staple of my diet for many years. The location on Fourth Street has always been within a block or two of my office, so there was a bit of sadness when they announced their pending move across the river to the old Peace Tree Brewing building at 317 E. Court Ave.

The new space definitely lacks the funk of the old one, which was located in the site of what was believed to be Des Moines’s first Chinese restaurant, King Ying Low. But the new spot’s spacious and open floor plan has tons of natural light, thanks to its walls of large windows.

It is also not without history, featuring photos and other pieces from the original location, and an impressive dragon that flies above the dining room, mounted along the wall above the booths. Its lineage traces back to a long-gone downtown staple, Spaghetti Works on Court Avenue. It’s as if the dragon has been waiting patiently to be reborn and claim a place of honor in its new home.

As for the food, all the Fong’s favorites are here, including their famous crab rangoon pizza, which our photographer Duane Tinkey sampled and declared, “It tastes like Fong's!” (No one claims he is a food critic but he does know pizza.) They have also expanded and revised their menu to include more appetizer offerings, reimaged salads and the addition of an extensive list of mocktails to go with the standard Tiki drinks they have always featured.

There are also new pizzas, including the Moo Shu Pork and the Polynesian Sunrise, my new personal favorite. I know, I know — some people can’t get past pineapple on pizza, but the combination of Canadian bacon, bacon, Peppadew peppers and hot honey hits all the right notes, pineapple be damned!

The usual cast of Fong's employees has made the trip across the river as they gear up for the April 1 opening. Their energy and enthusiasm for the new space was palpable. The bartender loves the extra room behind the bar, even if he still isn’t quite sure where everything is just yet, and there were several comments on how much more room there was to maneuver in both the front and back of the house.

In conclusion, an old friend got a face-lift and it suits them. And as far as the new location being slightly farther from the office, the consensus was that walking a few extra blocks to get a slice might be good for me.

Read more about the move in the Business Record.