Monthly Archives: July 2010

The Dish on Networking: YPC’s “Media Madness”

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Last Thursday Young Professionals Connection (YPC) hosted yet another great networking opportunity, this time in the form of a Lunch and Learn at the Greater Des Moines Partnership entitled “Media Madness.”

The event featured local media professionals, Todd Razor with the Business Record, Colleen Kelly with STAR 102.5’s Big Ken and Colleen in the Morning, Brianne Sanchez with DMJuice.com and Dave Price with WHOTV Channel 13.

The panelists, who have diverse backgrounds in print, radio, web and TV, shared with the 40 + attendees how they became connected to Des Moines and to the media industry, they gave advice on how to connect with other media professionals in the Des Moines area and shared their perspectives on how the internet and social networking sites have changed they way they do their jobs. It was interesting to me to hear the experiences of the panelists on how technology has and is changing the face of journalism and news programming.

If you missed the event, or you’d like a little refresher, here are a few of my favorite quotes/advice from the panelists:

  • “Ask about the production schedule for their publication. At Juice we plan four weeks in advance.” – Brianne Sanchez
  • “Observe, listen and ask follow up questions.” – Colleen Kelly
  • “I’m not a publicist, I’m a journalist. The bigger part of my job is cutting through all of the noise.” – Todd Razor
  • “Don’t send a press release about a meeting you had last week. There’s no way we are going to use that.” – Dave Price
  • “The more you know about us, the better position you’ll be in.” – Todd Razor
  • In regards to sending press releases: “Don’t put ‘for immediate release’ in subject line.” – Brianne Sanchez
  • “It helps if you can make what you want to promote more appealing to a mass audience. It has to be a win-win for everyone involved. Find the angle and be able to sell it to us.” – Colleen Kelly
  • “Know who your sources are and use them.” – Todd Razor
  • “It’s all about developing a relationship.” – Colleen Kelly
  • “If you can stay persistent, you’ll be much better off.” – Dave Price
  • “I’m a big social networking guy. I use it to build relationships and to get story ideas.” – Todd Razor
  • “Social media is so rewarding because you get that two-way feedback, but it comes with the good and the bad.” – Dave Price
  • “You have to be unique and you have to be willing to take risks. People are going to love you or hate you.” – Colleen Kelly

Also, you can view a few pictures of the panelists and attendees from “Media Madness” on YPC’s website.

Make sure that you check out the next YPC networking event, “YPC Morning Meet-up,” on August 4, to network with young professionals and to learn more about Impromptu Studios, a coworking community in downtown Des Moines!

The Dish on Events: “Salvage Your Creativity”

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Ru1desmoines was created by The Iowa Clinic Women’s Center as away to give back to young professional women in the Des Moines area. They decided to give back to the community by providing free, one-of-a-kind events for young professional women, such as cooking at Flarah’s, creating unique jewelry at Jasper Winery and learning the basics about wine at Sbrocco. Women are allowed to pick one of the three beginning events along with the Premiere Event on September 23 in the East Village, where local vendors, d’oeuvres, and cocktails will be available.

On Wednesday I attended, “Salvage Your Creativity,” at Jasper Winery as a part of the ru1desmoines series of events. The informational night was filled with great women, free t-shirts, Gateway Market grub, a wine tasting and we even got to make our own vintage jewelry with the help of Kelli Worth.

As Kelli explained to me, “I love old jewelry but it’s a pain to wear because it usually hurts.” For the past 4 years Kelli has been making vintage jewelry creations by recycling old broaches, keys, buttons, type writer keys, scrabble pieces, and more, and she offered up her expertise to help us make a few homemade creations of our own (the necklace I made is pictured to the left).

Later on in the night, Jean Groben, one of the owners of Jasper Winery, gave us a quick informational lesson about wine tasting and she shared a few different selections of her wine with us. Myfavorite is Jasper Winery’s All-Night White, a sweet and soft white wine with the flavors of grapes and honeysuckle, while Jean told me, “You know, I can’t say which one is my favorite. It would be like picking which one of your children you like the best!”

Here are a few wine tips from Jean, a local wine connoisseur:

  1. Cut the foil off the top of the bottle – unless the bottle has tabs that you can pull like Jasper Winery’s bottles do.
  2. Take your corkscrew and find the middle of the cork. If you don’t hit the center, you’ll likely end up breaking the cork or struggling to get the bottle opened. When you find the center of the cork, turn the corkscrew until you get to the lip of the bottle, push down and pop! Jean is a pro and made this look easy, but I’m assuming that this may take some practice.
  3. Swirl your wine in the glass – stabilizing your glass on the table while swirling and then lifting the glass in the air after you’ve got a good swirl going helps if you’re a newbie wine-o. Swirling the wine helps it breathe and it releases the aromas of the wine – also called volatizing the esters.
  4. Stick your nose in the glass and take a big whiff to get a good smell of the wine.
  5. Now it’s time to taste. Take a sip!

Thanks to The Iowa Clinic, Jasper Winery and ru1desmoines for creating and supporting this event for local young professional women. I really enjoyed the event and I left Jasper Winery feeling informed and a bit spoiled! How you been to an ru1desmoines event or tried Jasper’s wine? What did you think?

P.S. – Check out what my Dove candy wrapper said that night. What a coincidence!

The Dish on Dining: JavaBGood

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Sometimes you happen upon good things by luck, and that is exactly what happened when I found JavaBGood on Ingersoll Avenue early this spring. In my opinion, JavaBGood is one of the best local places to grab lunch, and with its close proximity to downtown Des Moines (it’s connected to Boesen’s on Ingersoll), it’s a great place to stop in for lunch that won’t leaving you racing back to the office at the very last minutes of your lunch hour.

After chatting with one of the owners of JavaBGood, Bryan Marker, I learned that JavaBGood opened in 2006 and has been a local favorite for families and neighbors in the Ingersoll area, as well as one of the best-kept secrets in Des Moines.

What makes it one of best-kept secrets in Des Moines? Its menu and atmosphere. JavaBGood has a small and simple menu, yet its fresh ingredients and great mix of sandwiches (the Vegetarian Panini is pictured to the right), soups and salads make for a refreshing lunch. The menu items coupled with the hometown feel are what sets it apart from all of the chain restaurants in Des Moines.

Let’s break down one of my favorite lunch combos (pictured below) and you’ll instantly see why the food is soo delicious. I typically choose the “Mix & Match”and go with a ½ portion of the Chicken Salad on a Croissant and pair it with a ½ Grilled Chicken & Strawberry Salad. The Chicken Salad is a creamy chicken salad blended with fresh grapes, mandarin oranges (genius idea) and chopped walnuts on a fresh, buttery croissant. The Grilled Chicken & Strawberry Salad is made with flavorful cubed chicken breast, fresh strawberries, red onions, chopped almonds, all served on mixed greens with a side of sweet vidalia onion vinaigrette. As if those weren’t enough, you also get a few slices of fresh fruit (typically pinapple, cantalope, and an orange slice) along with a few crunchy baked pita chips. Can you image that you get all of this for only $7.77?

Now of course you’re thinking, “I’ve really got to try this place!” Here’s a little more information that you’ll want to know about JavaBGood so you can decide when you’d like to stop in and say “hi” to Bryan, eat a great meal and tell him that Emily sent you!

JavaBGood is open seven days a week: Monday – Friday from 6:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m., Saturday from 7:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. and on Sunday from 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.  Each morning pastries and fresh brewed coffee are served and on the weekends there is a full breakfast ranging from omelets to french toast. Lunch is served daily and bars and bundt cakes are available for dessert. (I recommend the Fudgy Oatmeal Bar or the Captain Crunch scotcharoo-esk bar.)

Address: JavaBGood, 3801 Ingersoll Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50312
Phone: (515) 277-6137

If you take a trip to JavaBGood make sure you let me know what you ate and how your experience was! I’d love to know. Happy eating!

The Dish on Dining Explained

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After studying abroad in Seville, Spain I noticed how import food is in the every day lives of people, especially when it’s directly related to social interaction, friends and family. With this in mind, I’ve decided to create a weekly blog post simply devoted to “The Dish on Dining.”

“The Dish on Dining” will feature favorite local restaurants and give the inside scoop on where to find delicious food around the Des Moines area! I’ll eat my way through Des Moines as I take you with me to experience some of the stories, photos and great eats that I find along the way. I’m taking all the foot work out of finding great places to eat that will tantalize your taste buds, while not killing your pocket book.

Do you have any suggestions on where my next local stop should be? I’d love to hear your ideas. Post them below!

Until then, happy eating!

Jersey Boys: Oh What A Night!

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I gage concerts, movies and shows by the number of times that I look at my phone for the time or to see if anything more interesting is happening in the outside world. As I left ‘Jersey Boys’ at the Civic Center on Tuesday night, it could have been 2:00 a.m. and I would have had no clue. The show was soo good that I didn’t even look at my phone during the entire production. I left the theatre singing the catchy tunes and reciting my favorite one-liners back to my mother.

‘Jersey Boys’ is a documentary-style musical telling the rags to riches tale of The Four Seasons, Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi, one of the best-selling rock ‘n roll musical groups from the 1960’s.

‘Jersey Boys’ showcases the rise of the group, their personal and professional downfalls and of course, their induction into the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. With hits such as, “Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You,” “Earth Angel,” “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Working My Way Back To You,” and “December 1963 (Oh What A Night),” the audience members were constantly moving, clapping and tapping their toes to the phenomenal tunes.

And if the catchy songs and accompanying dance moves weren’t enough, the quick one-liners, sarcastic comments, and strong-willed Jersey characters, easily kept the audiences attention. Just for fun, here’s an example:

Frankie: “That’s why I changed it – Vally, V-A-L-L-Y.”
Mary: “NO! V-A-L-L-I.”
Frankie: “How come?”
Mary: “Because ‘y’ is a bull**** letter. It doesn’t know what it is – is it a vowel, is it a consonant?”
Frankie: “I never thought about it!”
Mary: “Plus, you’re Italian – you’ve gotta end in a vowel. Delgad-o, Castelucci-o, pizz-a, and Vall-i with an I. It says, ‘This is who I am. You don’t like it? Then go f*ck yourself.’”

In my opinion, the personal opinions and side commentary of the group members, which is intertwined with their different perspectives of the story, drives the show and makes it entertaining to watch. I also like that show is set up to showcase the story behind The Four Seasons, while the musical numbers fit into the show where they most make sense.

Did you know that The Four Seasons had 46 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 between 1962 and 1995 and sold over 175 million records before they were 30? With stats like these, how could you not go and see their music showcased in ‘Jersey Boys?’ The show is playing now through Sunday, July 25 at the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines starting at $20 a ticket. I highly recommend this show!