Tag Archives: Noah’s Ark

Top Five Local Des Moines Restaurants

For Top Five Tuesday, I thought I’d bring a little local interest. Wendy and I love a great meal out, and Des Moines offers a host of unique, local options for dining out.

Here are my current Top Five local Des Moines eateries:

  1. Start the day with breakfast at The Waveland. The world continues to suffer from a lack of great greasy spoon breakfasts, and The Waveland has been doing it right in Des Moines for a long, long time.
  2. Noah’s Ark was the place my parents and grandparents loved to go when I was a kid. Not only does that windowless “supper club” ambiance take me back to great childhood memories, but the Italian cuisine has never ceased to satisfy.
  3. Django has become a favorite for Wendy and me. The bar is top notch and the food offers a great twist on some staple American favorites. Best of all, no corking fee for brining your own bottle of wine to the party!
  4. One of the things I love about Tumea and Sons is the neighborhood feel. First, you have to find it, which says something. Then, when I enter the place, I kinda feel like I’ve just crashed a neighborhood party. You can tell from this list that Wendy and I love Italian food, and this place offers some authentic Italian family cooking straight from Des Moines’ south side.
  5. We just ate at Cafe Di Scala for the first time last week, but it’s quickly made it on my top five list after one visit. One of the things I appreciated, as one who has hearing challenges, was the quiet atmosphere. The food, wine, and service were top notch. It’s certainly the most expensive place in my Top Five, but for a special meal out this is a winner.

A Weekend of Celebration

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The past couple of years it seems that celebrations come in bunches. Last summer we celebrated Madison’s graduation from NLSW on the same day that Wendy’s sister Becky got married. This past weekend was another double billing as Wendy and I celebrated my birthday and along with Taylor’s graduation (Summa Cum Laude, no less) from Grandview University.

Work before pleasure. I had a quarterly Board Meeting for work on Friday, so Wendy accompanied me and ran errands in Des Moines while I got through the Board Meeting. We ran a few more errands in the afternoon and did a little shopping in the later afternoon before meeting our friends Joel and Suzy for dinner at Noah’s .

Wendy and I had a room at the Savery which had a quiet little bar in the lobby. Taylor got off work at Mercy Hospital at 9:00 p.m. and joined us for a night cap. The three of us enjoyed conversation over drinks until after the place shut down at midnight. We’re so proud of our girl, and it was nice just to sit and chat for a few hours. Taylor headed home and we headed to our room.

I was hoping to go to the Downtown Farmer’s Market on Saturday, but we were a week early. The Market doesn’t start until May 4. So, we took our time getting going on Saturday morning and headed to the East Village. We’ve been working on a plan for updating Vander Well Manor, so we stopped and worked on some particulars with the folks at Builders Kitchen. We then enjoyed a gorgeous spring morning walking around the East Village. We had our first experience at Zombie Burger (which we loved) and then headed to Hy-Vee Hall to watch Taylor graduate.

Grandpa Dean, Grandma Jeanne, Wendy and I left the ceremony after seeing Taylor get her diploma. We avoided the crowds and stopped at Starbucks for an afternoon pick-me-up before heading over to Eric and Cindy Boeyinks’ for Taylor’s reception. We had a great time chatting with the Boeyink clan and eating some tasty treats. Wendy and I headed home to watch the Cub’s beat Miami and to call it an early night.

Tonight we continue a celebratory weekend on this amazingly, beautiful spring afternoon. We’re headed to Matthew’s for a turkey barbecue along with the VL’s. Wendy made me my favorite peanut butter chocolate chunk cheesecake for my birthday which we’ll enjoy after dinner! 🙂

Wendy’s Birthday Celebration

My wife has great friends. We discussed the fact on Saturday night. Today is her birthday, but we celebrated two nights ago with her friends and their spouses. We gathered at Noah's Ark, arriving early to meet our friend's Chad & Shay for drinks before dinner. The folks at Noah's set us at a large, round table which was just perfect for enjoying conversation as a group. The meal was spectacular and the fellowship was sweet. For almost three hours we all sat, ate, laughed, and caught up on one another's lives.

As Wendy and I drove home we talked about what a blessing it is to have friends who share the journey with you. We arrived home late, feeling full in more ways than one!

Wendys bday dinner @ noahs 121909 LR