Bike trails, food scene entice in Des Moines
Des Moines is on the move with exciting bike trails and a rising food and cocktail scene
I didn’t exactly go to Des Moines, Iowa, expecting cornfields, but I didn’t want to miss them, either. One night in the capital city this summer, I drove 30 minutes northeast of the capital city and joined a weekly bike ride in the rural town of Maxwell. Our small group pedaled along quiet farm roads, past corn and soybean fields and over idyllic rolling hills, just as I had pictured. A small plane buzzed overhead, playfully looping and rolling, and I slowed to see grazing cows and a small cemetery. We finished our ride as the fiery sun set. Only then was I ready for the big city. Des Moines, or DSM to locals, is a laid-back, easily navigable city with an impressive network of bike trails, one of the most beautiful and interesting capitol buildings I’ve toured and an emerging food and cocktail scene. Locals I met were kind and welcoming, probably more informed about presidential candidates than many of my Washington, D.C., neighbors, and proud to host the country’s first caucuses during election season. Next year, the city will unveil the largest skate park in the country (with an 80-foot-long, totally skatable
“WOW” sculpture) and host its first Ironman competition. It also plans to create a whitewater destination on the river with a surfing simulator for extreme paddlers.
Des Moines is on the move. Go now, while it still enjoys the charms and convenience of a small town. Go before winter hits. Go while there’s still corn.
Go
Local faves
The colder the winter in a city, the more joyful the summer marketgoers. I haven’t substantiated this claim, but in Des Moines, folks are downright gleeful about the Downtown Farmers Market, which attracts 25,000 to 40,000 people each weekend through October with 300 vendors, live music, street performers and a bike valet. The Saturday market — criticized by some for selling too much nonlocal produce and Wisconsin cheeses — still sells plenty of Iowa sweet corn, local jam and hot sauce. But the scene itself is the biggest draw. Go for people-watching, and eat your way through the market (pupusas, juices) or hit a nearby brunch spot.
Guidebook musts
Driving into town with the majestic five-domed Iowa State Capitol on the horizon, I thought I was approaching a kingdom. On a tour, I learned that the ornate building was completed in 1886, constructed over 15 years by day laborers. It originally housed all three branches of government and was built without electricity — which was thought to be a fad. The gold leaf on the dome, the guide told us, is as thin as ash. The highlight was a marblewalled, five-level law library with white wrought iron railings, spiral staircases and a spectacular view of downtown. It houses more than 100,000 books, including titles on the state’s railroad, prairie plants and baseball. When the secretary of state is in town, he invites visitors into his office to see his model car collection and the Iowa constitution.
“You might hear people say, ‘Des Moines punches above its weight,’ ” a local told me. “The Des Moines Art Center is a big example of how.” The permanent collection includes modern and contemporary masterpieces by Francis Bacon, Alberto Giacometti, Henri Matisse, Georgia O’keeffe, Mark Rothko and Andy Warhol and the “New Shelton Wet/dry Triple Decker” from Jeff Koons’s hermetically sealed vacuum series. Stop at the restaurant, Tangerine, and the museum’s fantastic four-acre sculpture garden park downtown. Museum and park admission are free.
Eat
Local faves
The avocado toast craze has hit Des Moines, and judging from the orders at St. Kilda, locals are all in. The small, two-year-old cafe offers breakfast, lunch, coffee and cocktails with full table service. It looks a little Brooklyn, with its industrial vibe, and tastes a little Aussie, with fresh, colorful and creatively blended ingredients. The avo toast rocks charred corn and tomato salsa, the salmon and eggs come with roasted zucchini, and the stone fruit and fresh burrata salad is as good as summer gets. Top it off with a blueberry coconut smoothie or take it up a notch with a raspberry mimosa.
Located in the former Des Moines Register building and designed to look like your great aunt’s house (gold velvet curtains, brass clock collection), Hello, Marjorie is the city’s go-to cocktail bar. Liquor is stored in mirrored cabinets, and the 10-item cocktail menu includes the Editor’s Note, a riff on an OldFashioned, and the Dinner Party, a tequila drink with mascarpone cream cheese. For other themed watering holes, try El Bait Shop, with hundreds of craft beers on tap; Iowa Tap Room, which specializes in Iowa beers; and High Life Lounge, a doppelganger of your ‘60s rec room, where patrons inexplicably enjoy Spam and egg sandwiches with Miller High Life and Schlitz.
Guidebook musts
“Locals’ palates are getting more adventurous,” said Joe Tripp, a four-time James Beard Award nominee who is co-owner and chef at Harbinger. The popular Ingersoll neighborhood dinner and brunch spot is the antimeat-and-potatoes restaurant, focusing on Southeast Asian flavors and vegetable-based small plates such as steamed buns (also available with pork or chicken), locally grown shiitake mushroom tempura, buckwheat, kale and popped groats tarts and Hakurei turnips with local chevre. Nearby: Cheese Bar, dive bar Greenwood Lounge and Eatery A, the city’s best happy hour if you dig pizza and wine.
If you love greasy spoon diners and politics, Waveland Cafe will make your ticker tick just a little faster. A childlike painting on the front window reads, “Eggsellent as Always,” and the diner next to me attacked an omelet that draped over the sides of his plate. Owner David Stone pointed out signatures on the wall from Ron Paul, Joe Biden and John Edwards.
Stay
Local fave
Going first class was never so affordable. Des Lux Hotel, a downtown boutique property in a century-old building a block from the sculpture park, is a local favorite because of the martinis and a guest favorite because, well, who doesn’t like a little class? Along with a grand piano and a wall of mismatched mirrors, the common area features a gorgeous lounge with blue velvet bar chairs and a repurposed stained glass communal table. In the lobby bathrooms, you’ll find gold swan faucet handles and gold peacock wallpaper. Amenities include a sauna, steam room and hot tub, a 3,000-squarefoot gym and 51 uniquely decorated rooms. Complementary made-toorder breakfast and a free airport/east Village shuttle are also available. All this, starting at $189. Guests often dine nearby at some of the city’s most upscale restaurants, including 801 Chophouse, one of Iowa’s top steak houses, and Proof, considered the foodiest restaurant in town.
Guidebook must
Revel Hotel opened this summer in Urbandale, about 15 minutes west of downtown and within walking distance of the 500-acre Living History Farms, an interactive outdoor museum focusing on Midwestern rural life experiences. The 112-room hotel, part of Hilton’s Tapestry Collection, plays up the farm theme with tasteful modern farm murals, large black-andwhite cowboy photos and lobby pillows with pig and horse faces. Revel’s restaurant has a pool table and a full bar with local beers on tap. Its gym should satisfy iron-pumpers, rowers and yogis alike. Rooms start at $174. Next door is its sister property, Hotel Renovo, a little family- and budgetfriendlier at $112, with a pool, weekly live music and a small lobby bar.
Explore
Local fave
Bike, run, walk or skip across the High Trestle Trail Bridge, about 30 minutes north of downtown. At 13 stories above the Des Moines River, the half-mile, award-winning bridge is one of the tallest trail bridges in the world. But the main attraction is the display of 41 artistic steel frames rising over the path, lit a brilliant blue starting at sunset. The 25-mile trail runs through five towns; rent bikes at Pingora Outdoors, 50 feet off the trail in Ankeny, or Trailside Rentals in Madrid (pronounced Madrid), a block from the trail and a few miles from the bridge. Also in Madrid, hit the Filling Station for shakes and malts and Flat Tire Lounge in a Quonset hut for beer; Firetrucker Brewery is a cyclistfriendly spot in Ankeny. Iowa’s bike trail system is robust, and social cycling is legendary here, thanks in part to RAGBRAI, the week-long summer ride across the state. Join the masses on a smaller scale, pedaling 8 miles south of Des Moines on the Great Western Trail to Cumming Tap for Taco Tuesday.
Guidebook must
In East Village, east of the Des Moines River, you’ll still find some of the old characters, like an 86-year-old plumbing supply shop, but you’ll also discover independent retailers that channel more of the other East Village: Raygun, Fontenelle, Domestica (jewelry, totes, tees), Eden (bath and home boutique with insanely soft animals from London’s Jellycat), Marv’s Music (vinyl), the Permanent Collection Letterpress + Design Studio (classy cards), Honey Dot Baby Shop (posh toddler threads) and Kitchen Collage (that sorbet-colored Smeg water kettle you’ve been eyeing). Also check out Gong Fu Tea, Zombie Burger + Drink Lab (locals recommend the Walking Ched burger with deep fried macaroni), Black Sheep (underground satanic tequila bar) and Alba, which has a long, winding concrete bar, open kitchen and veggie gnocchi to write home about.