Favorite Strip Joints

Strip Mall - "A long, usually one-story building or group of buildings housing several adjacent retail stores or service establishments." - Merriam-Webster

In a recent episode of Samantha Brown's Places to Love, Samantha said, "Whenever I travel in the United States, I always seek out and want to eat at a strip mall restaurant.  I love them. Even though the strip mall themselves, the appearance of, leave a lot to be desired, the restaurants that are usually in them are exceptional. They are unique. They are family-owned, and they make the best home cooking."

I questioned that idea at first, but then I quickly realized that Samatha is right. Some of our favorite places to eat are in strip malls. I just hadn't thought of it that way. 

Both the Wisco Grub and Pub and Louie's Wine Dive are located next to a grocery store.

 Tasty Tacos and Flame the Taqueria are both next to a chiropractic office.

The La Mie Bakery is next to a tattoo parlor. 

ShortE's BBQ is next to a martial arts school, and Monterrey Mexican Restaurant also near one. 

The Waterfront Seafood Market is next to a beauty supply store. On the other side is the Ohana Steakhouse.

Daphne remined me that Tsing Tsao West, Palmer's and Hurts Donut Co. are also in strip malls. 

These businesses take a lot pride in the food they serve. I overheard an owner at Wisco proudly tell a new customer, "We put a lot of love into our food."  

The service can also be more personal. When Tally's was open (sandwiched between a Beaverdale music store and a yoga studio), a year-and-a-half-old Charlotte got really fussy, and a waitress went out to her car to get a few of her son's toys for Char to play with. That's not going to happen at an Applebee's.

Daphne and I hope to do some traveling in 2022. I'll still research the "Best Of" lists for the cities we visit, but I'll be checking out their strip malls, too. 

Testing the Finals

Cityview is central Iowa' independent newsmagazine. Cityview holds a food contest to see who serves the ultimate version of a popular food item each fall. As you can see from the August cover, 2021 was the year for the chicken wing contest. 

The contest started with 64 entries, winnowed that number to 32, and then moved to the "Final 8." (If you're curious, Sakari Sushi Lounge won.) 

I think this question should be, "Where are Des Moines' Ultimate Wings?"

I like this list of eight businesses because it feels like they are solid endorsements from people who know what they are talking about. People take pride in their favorite spots for food, and most won't make these remommendations lightly. I've been using this list to help Daphne and me find some new places to test out. We haven't been disappointed with any of their wings.

Wednesdays are Wisco days for us because Char has confirmation from 6 -7:30 pm. Wisco Grub & Pub is only three minutes from our church, so we can drop off Char (who had dinner earlier) and have a leisurely dinner of wings, ruben rolls, and Wheel of Fortune. We go with their in-house made medium sauce.

I typically only take Charlotte to Gameday so she can play in the arcade, but we stopped by on Saturday for a late lunch. That's buffalo sauce on the left and Asian sauce on the right. 

ShortE's BBQ is a fun Saturday spot, too. These wings have Texas sauce and honey buffalo sauce. Our go-to side is the bacon jalapeño wontons. 

Jethro's BBQ wings aren't in the final eight this year, but they smoke their wings before they fry them, and they are always impressive. The sweet sauce of the month on the left wasn't doing much for me, but it turned out to be a great compliment to the hot Sriracha dry rub on the right.

Side bar: Taco Bell sold Crispy Chicken Wings for one week, and I actually put that in my Google calendar so I wouldn't forget. I wasn't disappointed with these wings because I didn't expect them to be good. They were okay, but they're never going to be in anyone's Final 8.

Cactus Bob's BBQ Corral is less than two miles from our house, so their wings are next on our list to try. But part of me (and I don't mean my waist) thinks I should maybe stop ordering wings for awhile. 

My dad's depression forced him into repeptitions where he'd only want to eat the same meal over and over again. I sometimes worry about falling into similar ruts, but I think I'm okay.

Char has book club for an hour tonight at the library, and when Daphne asked if I wanted to change our plans and go to Catctus Bob's instead of Flame, I said, "Are you kidding? I'm not missing dinner at Flame." I order something different everytime we're there. It's all good.

Random Pictures with Comments*

 Char made Earl a "hat" which he wore until it was time for his nap.

Which often means quiet time curled up with Ellie.

On a cold and windy Saturday, we warmed up with lunch at Mcgee's Irish Pub & Eatery in Ankeny. Daphne and I split the Traditional Fish & Chips and a Yorkshire Scotch Egg Nest.

On cold and sunny Sunday, I ordered a Roasted Pork sandwich with a side of Poutine at BeerStyles. 

Last Saturday we suprised Char by taking her to Tsing Tsao West in Urbandale. It looked different inside, but to Char's relief, their Egg Drop Soup recipe hasn't changed.

On Saturday night I suprised Char again by picking Batman: Mask of the Phantasm for our family movie. We've been watching a lot of Scooby Doo on Boomerang, and I hoped an antimated mystery that was a little more "grown-up" would go over with her. It did. Char gave this a big thumbs-up. 

    

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm had a limited theatrical release in 1993. The film didn't do well at the box office despite the positive, critical reviews. If Flix Brewhouse re-opens, I'd love to see this movie play there.

I know that his isn't much of a blog post, so why did I even write it? 

"Just Becasue." 

* Might as well be the name of this blog.

Birria Tacos? Yes, Please!

I don't know. Am I early, on time, or late to the birria taco party? I suppose that doesn't matter. I'm just happy I made it at all.

Charlotte went to her aunt's house to play Minecraft and eat dinner yesterday. That gave Daphnne and I a shot at a quick dinner date. We tried Flame the Taqueria: "A small taqueria that focuses on tacos and Mexican Street eats. Quaint dining room and carry out."

Flame the Taqueria recently opened in the spot where Brickhouse Cafe used to be in Johnston. 

We started off with some guacamole, chips, and salsa. The fresh guacamole was a sign of things to come.

Daphne ordered the El Pastor tacos, and I chose the Birria tacos. I hadn't heard of birria tacos, but the menu had me at "aus jus."

My birria tacos, aus jus, and green salsa are in the foreground. The tacos were meaty, gooey with cheese, and I loved dipping them into the aus jus - delicious and comforting. I heard our waitress use the term "Mexican French Dip" while she was talking to other customers, and I think that's a perfect fit. On our short drive home, I said, "Mexican food is the best. Man, I feel so good!" Daphne simply nodded in agreement.

 

Daph already knows that she is going to order the Mango Shrimp tacos next time, but I won't even have to look at the menu.