Category Archives: Des Moines News

UnWINEd with Winefest’s “Sips in the City”

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Winefest is in full swing in Des Moines! There has been a weeks worth of events and it all culminates this weekend. One of my favorite, and most affordable, events during Winefest is “Sips in the City” (presented by Jethro’s BBQ), which will be held tonight, Friday, June 8, from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. at Nollen Plaza and Capital Square. It’s the perfect way to wind down the week with a little (or a lot) of wine and a few hors d’oeuvres from local restaurants such as: Americana, Baratta’s, Chocolaterie Stam, South Union Bread Cafe and more.

I had the opportunity of chatting with Nikki Syverson, Winefest’s Event Director, and Kelly Sparks of Socialize Events, who is also helping with the planning and execution of Winefest, and here’s what they had to say about “Sips in the City.”

Q: Why is “Sips in the City” the perfect event to start the weekend?
A: It’s a fun, low pressure way to experience wine and kick off your weekend. If you’re interested in learning more about wine – and what wine you like – Sips is a great way to taste hundreds of good value wines and talk with distributors and vintners.

Q: Why is “Sips in the City”/Winefest a great event for Des Moines?
A: This is the tenth year for Winefest. Besides supporting the wine and culinary industry, Winefest has raised approximately $350,000 for local charities and cultural organizations. It’s even attracted top names in the culinary world and created another great experience for members of our community.

Q: What are the highlights of “Sips in the City”?
A:The wine! The food! What’s not to highlight? Be sure to hit the Jethro’s and Dahl’s Grocery booths for some great food and explore all of the wines. If you want an extra special experience, check out the Willis VIP lounge with high end wines and even better food!

Q: Is the event held both outside and inside?
A:Booths will be set-up both inside at Capital Square and outside at Nollen Plaza. In the case of bad weather, all booths will be inside Capital Square.

Q: How many different wines and foods will be available for tasting at “Sips in the City”?
A: There are hundreds of wines from all over the globe and a great variety of food selections.

Q: Can you talk a bit about Jethros BBQ pit? (Sounds awesome!)
A: As the sponsor of Sips & the City, Jethro’s is pulling out all the stops to make sure attendees have some great food to go with the wonderful wines available.

Tickets to the event and VIP upgrades are available at the door or online at winefestdesmoines.com. Tickets are $40 in advance or $50 at the door with the option of upgrading to the Willis VIP Lounge for $25.

Lost Egypt’s Last Weekend in Des Moines

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Lost Egypt: Ancient Secrets, Modern Science, a limited engagement exhibit open at the Science Center of Iowa, is wrapping up this weekend on Sunday, April 29.

Lost Egypt gives visitors the chance to transport themselves back in time to Egypt and enables them to discover the mysteries, cultures, ancient civilization and science behind Lost Egypt. The exhibit showcases authentic artifacts, real mummies and hands-on activities, which keeps both adults and children entertained.

A few weeks ago, my fiancé, his parents and I visited Lost Egypt and we really enjoyed interacting with the exhibit while learning about the ancient culture along the way. Of course, I was excited to see “Annie” (pictured above) the real mummy on display. It gave me goose bumps when I walked into the dimly lit room where her sarcophagus and body are on display – but it provided a real life example of the culture and history behind the mummification process. Based on experience, I’d recommend you get out the Science Center to experience the exhibit before it closes on Sunday!

A few tips if you’re going to visit:

  • Make sure you interact with the exhibit. Get your picture taken while riding the camel. Put together ancient pottery. View the videos and read along as you experience the exhibit.
  • Give yourself a good 60-90 minutes to take full advantage of what the exhibit has to offer.
  • Take advantage of the extended hours. The Science Center will have extended hours until 7:00 p.m. on April 27 and 28 to give visitors additional time to visit the exhibit.
  • Try out the “Artifact Spotlight Tours,” which offer visitors an in-depth look into the Lost Egypt exhibit led by a member of the SCI Programs Team. Tours are offered daily at 2:00 p.m. and at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. on Saturdays.

Tickets to Lost Egypt are $16 for adults, $13 for children ages 2-12 and $14 for seniors. Only a few days are left to see the exhibit so make sure you get out to see Lost Egypt this weekend – or it will be too late!

Local + Music = Locusic

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Think Pandora, but for local music, and you have Locusic. Locusic is an Ankeny-based local music streaming service focused on local bands and musicians and plans to officially launch this weekend in Des Moines.

“I wanted to do something to help the local music scene and also local businesses,” said Jake Kerber, founder of Locusic. “I’ve seen great local bands and heard people talk about how great they are, but then they just can’t get any traction. Their music’s better than what’s on the radio, but what can you do? Ultimately I came up with a system where the two groups can help each other.”

When a listener opens Locusic they are prompted to select a genre. Based on the genre and the listener’s location, Locusic will select and stream music from local musicians based within 50 miles of the listener’s location.

“I hope Locusic can increase the general public’s awareness of the high quality and vast quantity of music being produced by artists in our area, ” said Kerber. “When someone’s looking at a list of local shows, they’ll have heard of the bands via Locusic and be able to make a more informed decision of which bands to go see – and ultimately go see more local shows.”

Attend the Locusic Launch Party: Locusic will officially launch their service this weekend in Central Iowa. On Saturday, October 22 at 7:00 p.m., Locusic will host a launch party at the Bombay Bicycle Club in Clive, with musical performances by Obsidian’s Dream, The River Monks, Angle, Faded Pearl and Only. The party is free to attend, the local musicians are sure to entertain, and it’s a great way to support Des Moines and the local music scene.

Interactive drinking and dining in Des Moines

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One of the first things you’re greeted with as you sit down to eat at Centro restaurant in downtown Des Moines is the beverage menu. I can’t tell you the amount of time I’ve spent at Centro, and other restaurants for that matter, staring at the wine list asking myself, “Will this one be too sweet? Do I want to spend that much? I wonder if I should try this new wine?”

This past weekend I dined at Centro and I was pleasantly surprised to find the answers to many of my wine-related questions in the form of a sleek and sophisticated interactive wine list. An iPad was sitting at our table when we arrived. At first I had no idea what was going on. I even said to my boyfriend, “Oh, I think someone forgot their iPad,”…and then I realized no one had forgotten anything – it was an interactive wine list!

The iPad wine list, or as our waiter referred to it, the “digital sommelier,” enables customers to browse for wines by price, type, region and varietal. It took a few minutes to get used to searching but the more we played around with the interactive list, the more we learned about Centro’s wine offerings. I am somewhat of a wine novice, so it was a great way for me to learn more about the wine selection without feeling intimidated.

After doing a little research, I quickly learned Centro isn’t the only restaurant in town that is using a digital approach to enhance the beverage selection process for its customers. Other interactive drinking and dining experiences around Des Moines include:

  • El Bait Shop – Beer Genius, a machine that helps you select the “perfect” beer for your tastes based on what the bar offers. The machine gives information about the brewing technique, flavor, ingredients, and more, on each beer.
  • Royal Mile / Red Monk – Scotch Genius, a machine similar to the Beer Genius that helps you select a Scotch based on a series of preference-based questions.
  • Americana – Bar Genius, an interactive tablet that helps diners decide which beers, wines and cocktails pair well with the meal they’ve selected at the restaurant.
  • Django – Digital Sommelier or interactive wine list. (Similar to Centro’s with a more French, homey feel.)

For a little more information about the idea behind these digital selection machines, click here to check out a demonstrative video put together by Americana on their Bar Genius.

Zombie Burger + Drink Lab attacks East Village with killer flavor combinations

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Looking for a killer place to dine in Des Moines? Zombie Burger + Drink Lab is opening today – Tuesday, August 30 – at 300 E. Grand Avenue in the East Village. The highly anticipated grand opening is sure to bring in crowds of locals who are dying to get their hands on zombie-inspired burgers topped with homemade sauces, handmade appetizers, spiked shakes and even a few vegetarian options.

Chef George Formaro, who’s behind Zombie Burger + Drink Lab, as well as many other successful restaurants in Des Moines (Centro, Django, Gateway Market and South Union Bakery), decided to take two of his interests – burgers and horror films – and create something which would allow him to have a little more fun with his food.

“We have serious restaurants,” said Formaro. “It’s time to be playful.”

The new restaurant will offer up two types of service to deathly hungry customers: quick service, for quick meals on the go, and full-service, where customers can sit down and relax while enjoying the spooky experience of Zombie Burger + Drink Lab.

Forget the fancy, plump burgers as you enter Zombie Burger, because that’s not what you’re going to find. Zombie Burger will serve up nearly 20 different kinds of “bashed” burgers with a crispy, caramelized exterior. Formaro’s secret bend of beef and the love he’s put into the burger bun recipe will make for an insanely good combination.

“I’ve worked on this new bun recipe for years and I’m in love with it,” explains Formaro. “It’s a soft, pillowy nod to the burgers of my childhood and I haven’t been this excited about something since the coal oven at Centro.”

If you like a late-night bite, don’t worry – Zombie Burger understands that most zombies are late night eaters and their hours extend into the night: 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 a.m. Sundays through Thursdays and 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

Will you survive Zombie Burger? There’s only one way to find out…

Dam to Dam takes Des Moines: Race #2

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It was nearly 85 degrees, we started 20 minutes late and I was surrounded by thousands of other nervous runners, but running the Dam to Dam 5K was an experience that I’ll never forget. Dam to Dam is the largest 20 kilometer race in the nation and the largest 5 kilometer race in Iowa, and it was held this past Saturday, June 4 in Des Moines.

With nearly 12,000 runners, 10,000 spectators, 260 portable toilets, 6,000 gallons of water, 1,000 gallons of beer, 10 bands, and 140 school buses, Dam to Dam is a race that represents the solid running community in Des Moines and in Iowa.

As one of the 5K runners I ran in the streets of downtown Des Moines, through the East Village, by the Botanical Center, alongside the river and back towards Nolan Plaza. The race route was a Des Moines-lovers dream, and the community I became a part of by running Dam to Dam was an experience in itself.

Sometimes it’s not about winning or losing, it’s about finishing something that you’ve set out to do. And with Dam to Dam, it was exactly that for me. Dam to Dam helped me inch closer toward my 2011 New Year’s goal of running five 5K’s in 2011, as it was the second local race that I have run. After 3.1 miles in the 80-some degree weather, I was happy to cross the finish line as a participant in this classic Des Moines race.

What goals have you set out to accomplish this year?

(A special thanks to Danny Rothschild for supplying the photos in this post.)

Two Des Moines sandwiches battle to become ESPN’s “Greatest Sports Sandwich in America”

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Two Des Moines sandwiches – Jethro’s BBQ’s “The Adam Emmenecker Challenge” and Manhattan Deli’s “Zach Johnson – No. 3 Hoagie” – have been nominated to compete as the “Greatest Sports Sandwich in America” via ESPN’s Fanwich contest. Both colossal sandwiches are a part of ESPN’s nationwide Facebook contest, whose mission is to find the best sports-inspired sandwich named after an American sports legend.

The sandwiches are the creations of two local eateries, Jethro’s BBQ and the Manhattan Deli, and both are unique in their ingredients and in their sports inspirations.

1) “The Adam Emmenecker Challenge” includes five pounds of sandwich and fries, which consists of: a huge pork tenderloin, Angus steak burger, slabs of Texas brisket, applewood bacon, fried cheese, buffalo chicken tenders, melted cheddar cheese, white cheddar sauce and a spicy pickle. (Not even Adam Richman of “Man v. Food” could take down the sandwich in the allotted 15 minutes.)

The sandwich is named after Adam Emmenecker, a Drake University basketball legend from 2004 – 2008 who was named the Larry Bird MVC Player of the Year and MVP of the 2008 MVC Tournament.

2) The “Zach Johnson – No. 3 Hoagie” is a fresh deli hoagie sandwich packed with ham, hard salami, pepperoni, provolone, hot pepper cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, mayo and oil dressing.

The legend behind the sandwich - Zach Johnson, a former Drake University golfer who became the 2007 Masters Golf Tournament winner. (He beat out Tiger Woods to win his green jacket.)

Currently, “The Adam Emmenecker Challenge” has 1892 votes and is ranked number one and the “Zach Johnson – No. 3 Hoagie” has 814 votes and is ranked number three.

Whether you’re a golf fan or a basketball fan (or just a fan of Des Moines like me!), vote for these two sandwiches to show your support of the delectable, local fare in Des Moines! Cast your vote before June 6 by visiting the ESPN Fanwich page.

Dwollapalooza held thanks to Zaarly connections

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Two great things about Des Moines, the startup community and the local music scene, collided last night at Dwolla headquarters thanks to Tikly, Dwolla, Zaarly and Jason Walsmith of The Nadas.

A listing was put up on Zaarly, a website that helps you buy and sell things from the people around you, by Jason Walsmith of The Nadas offering live entertainment. Dwolla, a Des Moines-based startup company, decided to jump at the chance of a personal concert with Jason Walsmith. After a blog post by Dwolla, a few pushes on Twitter and Facebook, and only a few hours,  Dwollapalooza was born. Dwollapalooza was held yesterday from 5:00 – 6:00 p.m. at Dwolla’s office in downtown Des Moines.

“I think Zaarly offers a very interesting way to make connections between artists and people who love music,” said Emma Peterson, communications director at Authentic Records. ”What I’m excited about is the ability to add a gig at a non-traditional show time. Or, let’s say you want to have a party on Friday and would love to have some talent present. Zaarly some live music, you never know who may have a few hours free and would be happy to play your living room. The potential for Zaarly and the music scene blows my mind.”

At Dwollapalooza Walsmith performed for an audience of 20 + people for around 45 minutes. The concert was soo personal that Walsmith interacted with the crowd, took song requests and even joked that it was his first time playing in the Midland Building, his first time playing surrounded by Dwolla’s idea-filled white boards and one of the most intimate performances that he’s ever given.

“I thought Zaarly sounded cool, and seemed like another way to connect with fans in a surprising and barrier-breaking way,” said Walsmith. ”My favorite part about Dwollapalooza was the spontaneity of the whole thing. With a few key strokes we booked a gig and created a buzz that rippled through our social media circle of friends and beyond exponentially.”

With the power of social media, the talent of a great local musician, the willingness of Dwolla to provide the show and the concept of Zaarly, Dwollapalooza was a success.

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Vote for Des Moines Social Club’s $50K idea via Pepsi Refresh

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Des Moines Social Club (DMSC), a non-profit organization that “uses arts as a catalyst to create unprecedented community engagement,” has been selected as a part of the Pepsi Refresh Project.

The Pepsi Refresh Project’s goal is to award $20 million in grants to support local businesses, non-profit organizations and even individuals who have ideas that are creating a positive impact on the world. These organizations submit their community-changing ideas, and Pepsi chooses a select few that are voted upon. The projects with the most votes at the end of the voting period wins. Each month, up to $1.125 million in grants can be awarded, and the Des Moines Social Club is in the running to receive $50,000 of the grant money.

What would the $50,000 grant support?
The $50,000 would support the organization’s weekly programming (which fosters the art, culture and theater scenes in Des Moines) and the necessary funding to create a permanent residence for the Club.

How does the Des Moines Social Club win the $50,000?
By getting a large number of votes during the month of May. Here’s how to vote:

  1. Log on to the Pepsi Refresh website.
  2. Create an account (they’ll ask for your name, e-mail, and birth date) or login using your Facebook account.
  3. Vote! During the month of May you can vote once per day for the DMSC.
  4. Bonus points: Vote and share your experience on your social media networks – Facebook, Twitter, ect.!

It’s that simple!

So, why should I vote for the Des Moines Social Club?
“We do a lot,” said Jessica Miller Director of Marketing for the Des Moines Social Club. “Where else can you watch a play, drink a beer, buy local art, compete in trivia, perform, play ping pong, see a live talk show, take a class, laugh at improv, hear a concert, and network — all under one roof? We are not a real club. Everyone is welcome. We definitely filled a void in the community. We gave people a space and it organically became a success.”

A vote for the Des Moines Social Club is a vote for Des Moines. To Miller, it’s a no-brainer why someone should vote.

“Number one, it’s easy. Number two, none of your pocket is required and number three, every vote matters.”

Have you voted to refresh Des Moines yet?

Des Moines couple adopts from Nigeria, support needed from the local community

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Jonny and Kayla Craig met in high school, in a theatre arts class to be exact, and they’ve been high school sweethearts ever since. They are strong believers in their Christian faith, they live in Beaverdale, and they drink a lot of coffee. Jonny and Kayla might seem like your average young professional couple in Des Moines but if you take a deeper look, you’ll quickly notice that they are a little different from most.

Jonny and Kayla knew they were called to do something, so they followed their calling. A little over a year ago Jonny and Kayla made the decision to expand their family.

“Everywhere I looked someone was blogging or tweeting about the orphan crisis,” said Kayla Craig. “I knew that the orphan crisis was something that was weighing on my heart. It was actually kind of crazy because one night Jonny told me that he’d watched a video in school about political unrest and genocide in developing countries, which made him think about all of the children in those countries. We looked at each other and we knew that God was calling us to adopt.”

Kayla and Jonny had done all of their homework about the adoption process. They’d read countless blogs, websites and searched online, but they were still a little lost in the process. After running into Eric Idehen, who founded Cornerstone of Hope Orphanage in 2006, their path became clearer. With Eric’s help, the couple began the adoption process. They completed all of the necessary paperwork and they were eventually matched with their 8-month-old son, Joseph.

Joseph was born in Benin City, which is located in southern Nigeria, Africa. Nigeria is a little more than twice the size of California and there are many children there who are in need of the basic necessities of life. In February, the Craig’s traveled to Nigeria and they were able to meet their son Joseph for the first time. They were able to feed him, change his diaper, and love him as any parents would, but leaving him behind was especially hard for the couple to do.

“The hardest part of the process was having to leave him,” said Kayla Craig. “It’s just heartbreaking leaving your son. It’s also hard knowing that you don’t have a lot of control. It’s been a good life lesson. Even if you think you have things planned out, life never works out that way.”

As you can imagine, the adoption process has been filled with a lot of paperwork, has taken nearly a year, and has become quite an expensive endeavor. When all is said and done, the Craig’s will have spent between $23,000 and $25,000 to adopt Joseph.

“Part of this process has been us learning to lay down our pride and asking others to come along side us,” said Craig. “We’ve paid the large majority of the costs already by working second jobs and saving everything, but we still need a little extra help.”

The Craig’s, along with the help of a few others, have put together an event, “Networking for a Cause: An Evening for Joseph,” to raise the last few funds needed to bring their son Joseph home to Des Moines. The event will take place on Thursday, April 14 from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. at Badowers on Ingersoll Avenue. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door.

But keep in mind, this isn’t your typical networking event. Of course there will be drinks, entertainment, hors d’oeuvres and great people to mingle with, but this event is driven by a cause and directly supports Kayla, Jonny and Joseph in their journey of starting their new family in Des Moines. If you cannot attend the event but you’d still like to donate, you may do so by visiting Kayla and Jonny’s website.

“We were looking to give something to the community and to also raise a few funds to go towards Joseph’s fees,” said Craig. “We are hoping to have professionals come out to support the event. We have some really cool things planned, the silent auction items are great and we’ll even have some chair massages and music. It’s been really great to see people in the community, people that we don’t even know, coming together to be generous without an agenda.”