Got my insides out, and it feels all right.

I just got back from seeing Anni Rossi and Kaisercartel at the Vaudeville Mews! I was really excited that two of my favorite acts from 80/35's past were going to be playing together. Anni Rossi was great of course and the audience really liked her. She actually remember me from 80/35 which was cool.

It was a lot of fun to see Kaisercartel again. The duo formed of Courtney Kaiser and Benjamin Cartel are best described as emo's with sunny dispositions. Their album march forth is one of my favorites. They have an indy/folk pop sound that is just makes you feel kind of good when you listen to it. Two of their songs - Inside Out and Favorite Song - are going to be on the new HBO show Bored To Death.

As well as the old favorites, they also played some songs from their new album Rock Island which will be out in October. It's available for pre-order on their website www.kaisercartel.com where you can also check out lots of band info.

Get Your Foodie On

It's the beginning of the second annual Des Moines Restaurant Week! It runs from August 21st to August 30th and is a good way to check out some of DSM's posh restaurants. For $25 you can either split a lunch with a friend or treat yourself to a three course dinner. You can check out a list of participating restaurants and get other info at DSM Magazine. To kick things off I made a list of some of my favorite eateries.

1. Simo's Cafistro in Valley Junction

Simo's serves wonderful Cajun food. The menu includes appetizers such as escargot w/crawfish and scallops served over mashed potatoes and main courses such as black beans and rice, etouffee, swordfish, and stuffed porkchop. My personal favorite is the sashimi tuna which is a common nightly special. There is live music on the weekends for you to enjoy with your sangaria.

2. Miyabi 9 in East Village

Miyabi 9 has the best sushi ever! My favorites are the Captain Crunch and the Miami Heat rolls. I also enjoy the sashimi plate and maki icecream. It has a bigger kitchen that dinning area so I recommend getting there a bit early to make sure to get a seat right away so that you don't have to wait.

3. La Mie on 42nd Street

Whether you just want to grab a pastry on your way to work or enjoy a meal, Le Mie always makes you feel a little bit special. Some of my favorite things at this French bakery are the chocolate pitachio rolls, carmel pecan rolls, and avocado tarrine.

4. Teacups and Tiaras in Valley Junction

This girly tearoom is a great place to visit when you're in the mood for a light lunch. Take your mom here when she visits...she'll love it. The Mediterranean quiche and almond soup are my favs and the owner is a delight.

5. Mezzodi's on Fleur Drive

Located near the Fleur Cinemas this is a great place to go if your in the mood for dinner and a movie. The homemade pasta dishes are fabulous. My picks are the pear and toasted walnut salad and the chicken piccata. The service here is also wonderful.

6. The Gateway Market on MLK

I love the soups and lobster roll sandwich. It's also one of my favorite brunch places. Hands down the best eggs benedict in Des Moines.

7. El Patio on 37th

This slightly hidden gem is my favorite Mexican restaurant. The high quality ingredients make this stand above chains such as Chi Chi's. I enjoy the chicken enchiladas, tacos, and chimichanga and the fried icecream is a perfect way to end any meal.

A Rockin' July 4th at 80/35

I had a great Independence Day at the second annual 80/35 Music Festival! (The only bad news I have to report is that is seems that there is an epidemic of males that are dressing like the Jonas Brothers. Guys, the skinny jeans and poofy hair doesn't even look that good on them. Stop...Please!) The weather was overcast all day but with no rain so it keep things cool...which was great because I spent the whole day.

The Des Moines Social Club made a nice pit stop between shows. They had local musicians playing in their Sideshow Lounge and cupcake shots in the main room. It was a great place to find a spot to sit to rest your feet or eat your spam sushi (the food vendors were excellent). It also had bathrooms with flushing toilets and sinks for washing up:)


The music of course was awesome! I started out the day with folk-rockish Anni Rossi. The only instrument that she use other than her voice was the viola. The highlight was her hauntingly beautiful cover of the Ace Of Base song "Living in Danger." I won't have realized it was of cover of the 90's song if she hadn't told us. I also enjoyed "Machine" and "Wheelpusher."

We listen to a little bit of Baby Teeth who were okay before we moved onto local band Beati Paoli who were quite enjoyable. I'm not quite sure how to describe their music but it had elements of punk, rock, and new wave. I have a feeling that we'll be seeing a lot of them. I already plan on stopping by next time they play show.

Beati Paoli was followed by Miss Derringer which ended up being my favorite act of the day. I guess you would call them punk/country. They had honky-tonk lyrics with a vintage rock sound and reminded me a lot of Blondie. They were a lot of fun to watch and the lead singer Liz McGrath was very nice and autographed my CD for me. It looked like they had a really good time at 80/35 as well. I keep seeing them walking around the festival eating food, drinking beer, and listening to the other bands.



Miss Derringer is currently touring with Girl In A Coma who playing shortly after them. They had a really great punk rock girl band sound to them which reminded me of the Breeders and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. They're signed with Joan Jett's label Blackheart Records which totally suits them.

Later we listen to local darlings Cleo's Apartment (who remind me a lot of British band Morcheeba), Margot and the Nuclear So & Sos, and Maximilian Eubank before joining the large crowd of Envy Corp fans. The local band has toured with the Killers and had one of their songs featured in the movie "Run Fat Boy Run." They hit a little bit of red tape with their first full album but they have a new one coming out under their own record label, Tempo Club. I usually describe them as a less depressed Radiohead. They had a huge audience and said that they hoped to play the main stage next year. I ended up twisting my ankle while watching them so I can now claim that I was injured at a rock concert:) You can read an article about the band here.

The night ended with a fireworks show to celebrate the holiday. I had a lot of fun can't wait 'till next year's fest. You can get some more info at the offical website www.80-35.com

Vacation Pictures of Omaha Part Deux

While in Omaha I also visited the Old Market. It's kind of like an expanded version of Des Moines East Village. I really enjoyed the Soul Desires Bookstore, the french bakery, and the art gallery that featured Eva Aeppli's scultures (made from sewed silk and then bronzed). It was a lovely place to spend the whole day.

Happy Birthday!

Yes, I am another year older as of last Wednesday.  My sister made me the pillow pictured to the left.  It's pretty cute and matches my couch too!  The button in the middle of it has a chandelier on it.  I also got a really nice neckless from my parents.

I got some freebees for my birthday as well.  If you sign up for the STAR 102.5's e-mail newsletter, you get a free lunch at Splash and a box of chocolates from Chocolate Storybook.  And if you get Sephora's Beauty Insider e-mails, you get a free lip gloss trio.

Vacation Pictures of Omaha

For this year's vacation I went to Omaha, NE.  Above is the pedestrian bridge that connects Iowa to Nebraska.  I didn't actually walk it myself (heights!) but I had fun talking lot of pictures of it.

This is the sign outside of Joe Tess Place a.k.a home of the best fish sandwich EVER! My dad use to take me here all the time when I was little and for sentimental reasons it was probably the part of my trip I was most looking forward to. Joe Tess Place was also on an episode of Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives on the Food Network. Below are the before and after pictures (see it's a sandwich because there is a slice of bread at the bottom).













Omaha was pretty packed because of the college games (silly jocks) but we still made it to the zoo. We just made sure to go between games since the zoo is right next to the stadium. Omaha has one of the best zoos. I ended up taking a lot of "wild life" photos.

Foodies and Greeks

Saturday, I was such a foodie!  The Top Chef Tour Bus was in town at the Downtown Farmers Market.  This year Richard (season 4) and Jamie (season 5) came to Des Moines.  They autographed my cookbook right next to Dale and CJ's signatures (which I got last year).  Richard made ribs and Jamie made strawberry gazpacho.  In between shows, they had a Top Chef spin-the-wheel game you could play and if you got your answer right you won a prize.  I got a Top Chef slinky, key chain, fake tattoo, and mints.

The Farmer's Market was enjoyable as always.  I got a new book called Simply in Season by Mary Beth Lind and Cathleen Hockman- West that I recommend to anyone that likes to frequent the farmer's markets.  It tells you what is in season and provides seasonal recipes.  Joining Buy Fresh, Buy Local is also a good way to keep up to date on what's in season and local product news.  Here's their link http://www.drake.edu/news/dbletter/buyfreshbuylocal/

Later I checked out the 2009 Greek Food Fair.  This annual event is a great way to try different Greek dishes such as souvlakia (shish kabob), spanakopita, keftedes, orzo, and baklava.  The baklava sells out fast so make sure you get their early if you're a fan of the pastry.  If you missed the Greek Food Fair but I've now made you hungry, check out Mythos Grill at 7450 Bridgewood Blvd in West Des Moines across from Costco near the Jordan Creek Mall. 

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