dsm Dish - March 7, 2025

Wake up to these sleeper hits on local menus

By Karla Walsh

At our favorite restaurants, most of us have mainstays. I, for one, can’t visit Wasabi without ordering the Brussels sprouts appetizer for the table. Restaurants tout their signature dishes, too, like Cheese Bar’s “World-Famous Mac,” Lua’s Smush Burger and Table 128’s irresistible chocolate chip cookies with sea salt.

Whenever I chat with restaurant owners and chefs, they appreciate fans’ loyalty to the bestsellers. But often, what really gets them talking are the “sleeper hits,” the overlooked menu items they wish we would order.

So for you, dear reader — and frankly, for me, too — I’ve rounded up a few menu suggestions from the folks who know them best.

Hansen’s Manhattan Deli
Most-ordered item: The Little Italy
Sleeper hit: The Dave
Sure, the piled-high Little Italy is a fan favorite, with good reason: It’s a hoagie stuffed with pastrami, hard salami, provolone, Swiss, onions, mild fried peppers, brown mustard, mayo and dressing. But the under-the-radar alternative named after the deli’s original owner, Dave Bassman, is such a cult classic that regulars kept ordering it even when it slipped off the menu for 18 years. After Carey and Corey Hansen bought the place from the Hagars, in 2020, they asked them who this Dave was because customers kept asking for the simple steamed sandwich with sliced-in-house pastrami, Swiss, pickles and mustard on an onion bun. Now it’s back on the menu under the “warm originals” section. “The history makes this so special, as does the nostalgic feeling people get when they order it,” Carey Hansen said. “It’s so simple, yet so good.”

5 Borough Bagels

Most-ordered item: Bacon, Egg and Cheese bagel sandwich
Sleeper hit: Astoria bagel sandwich
The classic “BEC” is one of the most popular orders, right up there with a simple bagel with cream cheese. But if you ask Sarah Chem, the business’s creative director and co-owner, with her husband, Toney Chem, your next trip should include a taste of Astoria. This sandwich is “inspired by Greek flavors and our time in Queens,” she said. “It’s built on an everything bagel with cucumber dill cream cheese, turkey, spinach, tomato and feta. It’s fresh, savory and perfectly balanced.”

Pyra Pizzeria

Most-ordered item: Margherita pizza
Sleeper hit: The Molly sandwich
When Steve Taylor opened the pizza place in Norwalk, he was eager to introduce the neighborhood to Neapolitan-style pizza. Since Day One, there have been two such pies on the menu, the Margherita and the Marinara, and the former, topped with fresh mozzarella and basil, is the No. 1 seller. “The other pizzas are Americanized versions of the original, including the pepperoni, which is our No. 2,” Taylor said. He rounds out the menu with appetizers, salads, lasagna, keto bowls (essentially crust-free pizzas) and some serious sandwiches. “Our Molly sandwich, with bacon, pepperoni, roasted red peppers and mozzarella, has never really caught on,” Taylor said. “But of the few who’ve have tried it, almost everyone comes back for more. It has a loyal following, albeit a small one.”

Clyde’s Fine Diner

Most-ordered item: Burger and fries
Sleeper hit: Boquerones
“The burger and fries keep the lights on around here,” chef-owner Chris Hoffmann said. And rightfully so: The double smash patty with American cheese, onions and pickles is a masterpiece of editing and execution, and the fries are pillowy on the inside, wrapped up in a golden, crispy, salty coat. (Mmmwah! Chef’s kiss.) “Our appetizers and entrées change frequently with the seasons and with our own whims,” Hoffmann said. He still recommends the burger, but he said you should start with a round of boquerones, which is essentially tinned fish on toast. The word is Spanish, but at Clyde’s, it nods to the chef’s Danish heritage with slices of dense dark rye bread topped with homemade tomato sauce, La Quercia bacon, piparra peppers, marinated Spanish white anchovies, micro mustard greens, a sprinkle of salt and a drizzle of smoked olive oil. If you’re used to sub-par brown anchovies on pizza, Hoffmann swears this dish will change the way you think about them.

Tastemaker

“I’m so sorry that I heard about this damn thing: Thin Mint Frosty. It’s literally like pureed Thin Mints over ice cream, with even a little crunch. And now you all know about it, too, so I’ll meet you at the gym after they go away.”

— A Facebook post from Jennifer Mitchell Miller, director of integrated marketing for Grinnell Mutual and former food writer for the Des Moines Register. Wendy’s teamed up with the Girl Scouts to release the new Frosty, in chocolate or vanilla, on Feb. 21.

Quick Bites

Juniper & Olive Co. in Jewell was named Iowa’s “Most Charming Small-Town Restaurant” in Iowa by the Food Network, according to the Ames Tribune.

A tea mixology class is set for 1-2:30 p.m. this Sunday at the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden. Mary and Ryan Lewellin of Red Dragon Herbs & Teas will teach participants how to make their own herbal loose-leaf blends. Ages 12 and up; registration is required.

Wallace Centers of Iowa welcomes new chef and director of food programs Gabriel Kerr. He will make his WCI debut with a three-course menu as part of the Wallace House Preview Dinner March 12. Kerr has previously worked at Table 128 and 503 Cocktail Lab + Tasting Room.

Ritual Cafe is throwing a 20-year anniversary fiesta on March 20. The cafe will have homemade tamales by Reyes Tamales from 12 to 3 p.m. and drink specials to celebrate.

Mulberry Street Tavern has your Mother’s Day brunch plans covered. Reserve a table for their special menu or surprise your mom with brunch in bed with their “take and bake” option. If you’re slick, you could even convince her you did the cooking yourself.

Events

6-9 tonight: The Wine, Food and Beer Showcase offers samples from nearly 50 area restaurants, caterers, wineries, breweries and distilleries at the downtown Marriott. Tickets are still available, and proceeds benefit the Des Moines Metro Opera.

March 28: A Southern-style Seafood Boil will wash up on the Rollins Mansion terrace, complete with shrimp, andouille sausage, crawfish and even corn on the cob, plus music from the Other Brothers.

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

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 26: Winefest’s Vino in the Village takes over the East Village for an afternoon of samples, scavenger-hunt style. Pick up a glass and a map at check-in and stroll through participating stores to taste wines from around the world.

A pinch of powder, a punch of wine

By John Busbee

Wine powder? It sounds like something that Bacchus and Tinkerbell would concoct.

This tasty seasoning, however, is the brainchild of Steve Vasquez. He’s developed a number of popular spice mixes and rubs for cooking and grilling over the years working in Hy-Vee’s corporate kitchens, and he’s enthusiastic about this new product, which he developed independently.

During a nine-month assignment to manage the meat market at the Hy-Vee in Winterset, he met “the Kevins” at the Covered Bridge Winery — farmer Kevin Boyle and winemaker Kevin Fifo. With their help, Vasquez discovered the winery discarded its pomace, the pulpy mix of grape skins and stems that remain after the pressing. He realized he could use those leftovers, like hog farmers who follow the old adage to “use everything but the squeal.”

Vasquez learned that pomace is a rich source of fiber, antioxidants, polyphenols and other nutrients. Through a bit of trial and error, he figured out how to enhance its subtle flavors with seasoning blends and develop new products, like wine powder.

He has developed two varieties of wine powder — smoked and non-smoked — that can add a dash of flavor to meats, vegetables, pastas and breads. He’s also developed a pair of rubs, “Smoked Wine-O” and “Winetender’s Choice,” that can enhance “virtually anything going on the grill or into a smoker,” according to the label. The red wine pomace adds “a hint of fruitiness and feel of an old wine cellar.”

So far, the products are available only at the Covered Bridges Winery, but they seem to be catching on. On a recent episode of “The Kitchen Insider” on KFMG radio, co-host Jim Duncan said, “The aroma is magnificent.”

The commissioning of the new U.S.S. Iowa is set for April 5 in Groton, Connecticut, and as you might expect, it’s shaping up to be a celebration of all things Iowa. The two days leading up to the ceremony include a crew’s reception, with barbecue from “Big” Moe Cason, a Navy veteran from Des Moines, and a rally featuring good eats from Willie Ray’s Q Shack in Cedar Rapids. On the big day, guests will feast on all sorts of specialties from the Iowa State Fair. Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival founder Brooks Reynolds sent us a list of the contributors: JR’s Southpork Ranch, Campbell’s Corn Dogs, Iowa Pork Producers, Cattleman’s Beef Quarters, Barksdale Cookies and Applishus. Anchors aweigh! And bon appetit!