dsmWeekly: August 25, 2020

The hamburger at Tangerine at the Art Center brings an artful stack of beef, pepper-bacon, slow-roasted tomatoes, garlic-herb and cheddar cheeses, and fried leeks.

GET YOUR RESTAURANT WEEK FIX

Don't miss out! dsm Restaurant Week wraps up this Sunday, Aug. 30, so now is the time to try a few of the approximately 50 local restaurants participating in the annual event. Different from past years, Restaurant Week 2020 is giving eateries more flexibility due to COVID-19, as they can create both dine-in and carryout menus. Dine-in dinner menus range from $30 to $35 per person, while carryout is $30. Lunches, both dine-in and carryout, are $15 per person.

For the list of this year’s participating restaurants, please visit the Restaurant Week website: dsmrestaurantweek.com. Be sure to try something you haven't before!

TJ Welton meets a young customer at his healthy food business, the Goodie Bowl. Photo: The Goodie Bowl.

AT THE TABLE WITH THE GOODIE BOWL

Writer: Karla Walsh

At the Table is a recurring feature in dsmWeekly, in which we introduce you to a local food company owned by a person of color. Catch up on the previous editions: Street Eats DSM, G.G.’s Chicken & Waffles, Palm’s Caribbean Cuisine, Artis T’s Catering, Your Mom’s Bakery, Jazz It Up, Chellie’s Sugar Shack Bakery, Bess Kitchen, Curly Girl Cakes and Cookies and Kiana’s Cookie Creations.

As a part-time lawyer, house-flipper and dad with a nursing degree, it’s not like TJ Welton needed another job. But after studying plant-based eating, Welton realized there would be a market for the Goodie Bowl in Des Moines. “About five years ago, I started watching documentaries and reading books on plant-based eating and how good it is for longevity,” Welton says, which prompted him to switch to a vegan diet.

“Looking at our society, the No. 1 factor for nearly every chronic disease—like heart disease, cancer and diabetes—is what we put into our mouths every day," he says. "Being healthy allows you to live a fuller and happier life. The person that’s unhealthy has one goal: to get healthy. The person that’s already healthy can have a thousand goals.”

So in November 2019, Welton opened the Goodie Bowl tucked inside Rooted Beauty and Wellness (300 E. Grand Ave., Suite 160) as a fully vegan, plant-based cafe offering cold-pressed juices made with organic fruits and vegetables with no added sugars, additives or preservatives. At the launch, Welton was also making vegan food such as Buddha bowls in-house (hence the "Goodie Bowl” name) but decided to outsource that to the Grateful Chef to allow for better work-life balance.

“I wanted to give people more options besides burgers," Welton says. "Giving up meat is hard, but once your taste buds change, you don’t really want to go back."

The cold-pressed immunity juice with orange, pineapple, carrot, lemon, ginger and turmeric is the top-seller—especially during the pandemic. When you score any of the juices you can feel good about the fact that all food scraps from the juices are donated to the Iowa Farm Sanctuary to feed animals.

Order the Goodie Bowl online (they deliver on Wednesdays), take a peek at their rainbow-hued menu items on Instagram at @thegoodiebowl, or visit the shop Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Des Moines author Kali White VanBaale's first two novels revolved around everyday Midwestern life. Her new novel, "The Monsters We Make," is her first entry into the mystery and crime genre. Photo: Kali White VanBaale.

NEW NOVEL LOOSELY BASED ON LOCAL MYSTERIES

Acclaimed Des Moines author Kali White VanBaale's new book, "The Monsters We Make," puts a spin on stories familiar to Des Moines. Based in the 1980s, the novel extracts from the real-life disappearances of Des Moines Register paperboys during the same period. White VanBaale wanted to intertwine facts from the real cases, so she spent the first several months of her writing process—which began more than four years ago—researching and understanding these longtime Des Moines mysteries.

The resulting story follows three characters shortly after the disappearances of two paperboys in nearby Iowa towns. The first is a 12-year-old paperboy hiding a terrible secret. The second is a teenager who sees the making of an award-winning story and a ticket out of her small town in Iowa. The third is a police officer who, in the process of investigating the cases, is forced to come to terms with his own demons.

"The Monsters We Make" was published a few weeks ago, after the effects of COVID-19 pushed the release date back a few months, and the derecho left White VanBaale without power and internet for a few days. Still, the feedback so far has been positive. She says she hopes readers extract some important themes from the book and leave with a lesson on criminal motives.

"I wanted to think a little more deeply about Midwestern mindsets about child abuse and how we regard perpetrators," White VanBaale says. "We sort of demonize them, when they could be a neighbor or someone at work. They're people, too, with their own backgrounds."

Hardcover, electronic and audio versions of the book are available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Target and more.

Andrew Hoyt, a Grimes native, is passionate about Des Moines. So much so, he created "Good Morning Des Moines" to pay homage to some of his favorite parts of the city. Photo: Andrew Hoyt

LOCAL MUSICIAN CREATES 'ANTHEM FOR DES MOINES'

A few months ago, local musician Andrew Hoyt was doing dishes in his downtown Des Moines apartment when he put together a catchy melody and hook—something he'd been working on for about six months. He quickly grabbed his phone to record the breakthrough, which became the song "Good Morning Des Moines."

The lyrics touch on fun parts of Greater Des Moines, with an uplifting melody. Hoyt sings about local landmarks and events, including the Iowa Capitol, the Downtown Des Moines Farmers' Market, and Blank Park Zoo. Local artist Jenna Brownlee created the cover art.

"I wanted to write an anthem for Des Moines that people could relate to," Hoyt says. "I hope this song makes [listeners] smile and feel even more pride for living in this awesome city."

Hoyt, who grew up in Grimes, has performed in more than 1,000 shows all across the country. But he created the song to pay homage to Des Moines, the city that gave him an opportunity to create music for a living. "I've met countless amazing people from Des Moines through my music adventures," Hoyt says. "I hope this song somewhat returns the favor."

You can find "Good Morning Des Moines" on Spotify or YouTube.

The 2020 Cloris Awards, which honor the work of Greater Des Moines' theater companies, will be held virtually this year. Photo: Cloris Awards.

VIRTUAL SHOW TO HONOR LOCAL THEATERS

Even though most local theater companies are quiet these days, the sixth annual Cloris Awards ceremony will take place online at 7 p.m. this Sunday, Aug. 30.

The virtual ceremony, hosted by local entertainer Madison Ray, will honor the creative work of a dozen theater companies during the 2019-2020 theater season, including Des Moines Community Playhouse, Iowa Stage Theatre, Pyramid Theatre and Tallgrass Theatre, among others.

Most years, the individual award winners are chosen by a panel of volunteer judges. But this year, the companies have chosen to forgo the traditional awards—for acting, directing and so forth—and instead honor one another with do-it-yourself awards of their choosing. The companies that staged shows before the pandemic suggested this alternative format as a way to recognize and support the companies that were unable to stage any productions during the past season.

The Cloris Leachman Excellence in Theatre Arts Awards were created to celebrate outstanding contributions—both onstage and behind the scenes—to locally produced theater in Greater Des Moines. Affectionately known as “the Clorises,” the awards are named for the Oscar-winning Des Moines native Cloris Leachman.

The event will be streamed live on YouTube and the Cloris Awards’ Facebook page.

The galanthus nivalis, also known as Magnet, will be one of the bulbs and perennials on sale at the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden's fall sale. Photo: Kelly Norris.

BOTANICAL GARDEN TO HOLD ANNUAL PLANT SALE

The Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden is launching an online bulb and perennial sale this Thursday, Aug. 27. When it goes live, the web page will feature a curated collection of more than 100 varieties of bulbs and perennials, many of which are grown at the Botanical Garden.

A drive-through pickup of purchases will take place during two different periods: Sept. 11-12 for perennials and Oct. 9-10 for bulbs. You can find a preview of the plants available here.

“The Botanical Garden is dedicated to helping home gardeners find inspiration for their landscapes and have access to great plants, and fall is a pivotal time for planting bulbs and perennials,” Kelly Norris, director of horticulture and education, said in a release. “We’re excited to offer the must-have spring bulbs our horticulturists wouldn’t garden without, along with the resilient perennials that punctuate our outdoor gardens, to the community.”