Heeeeeeere's Johnny's!

6075 Mills Civic Parkway, West Des Moines, IA 50266

Mrs. Red: "Pocket Redheads here for another exciting adventure of good eats and great company. Sorry for the delay in getting this blog out. Truthfully, we haven't visited any review worthy places recently."

Mr. Red: "What about Ohanas? We were there a few nights ago."

Mrs. Red: "I'm not sure the world is ready for the hilarity of our adventures at Ohanas just yet. But soon!"

                                         Mr. Red: "How about when we hit 500 views? Last I checked we're at just under 300. Could make a big thing of it - I'm thinking...VIDEO!" 

Mrs. Red: "Yeah, we'll talk about that again when we get a little closer to our goal. I have, however, been craving some juicy, yummy, tender - "

Mr. Red: "Not to mention rare..."

Mrs. Red: "-wonderful, bloody...wait. What?"

Mr. Red: "Oh nothing!"

Mrs. Red: "Steak! So, when I get the steak craving, Mr. Red and I typically agree on Johnny's Italian Steakhouse. What I love about this restaurant is how private it is, and how intimate it makes your dinner date feel. It has the laid back feeling of casual dining with superb decor that shoots you right back into the Rat Pack era of the 60s by featuring music and photos of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Joey Bishop, Peter Lawford, and Norman Fell."

Mr. Red: "I really like this place, because when I'm playing dinner music at a wedding reception this is exactly the kind of music to set the mood for a gathering. It's nice, relaxed, romantic, it's just - a warm feeling. The music isn't overwhelming or too loud but it's just enough for background noise where if you're quiet you'll hear it. Perfect."

Mrs. Red and her SHRIMP ON A STICK!

Mrs. Red: "I went on a google hunt to try and find some background on this place - maybe see if the owners had any kind of history with this famed generation of musical genius, but I was very disappointed to come up empty handed. That doesn't stop us from LOVING the food, though."

What We Ordered:

Mrs. Red: Filet mignon with grilled shrimp skewer, side of deburgo sauce, and steamed broccoli

Mr. Red: Pasta minelli with shrimp

NOM!

    

Our Take:

                                  Mr. Red: "Like always, it was very nommy. Normally I get the crispy dill tilapia which is also very tasty, but I admit it's not for everybody. This time, I was feeling bold. I was feeling...dangerous. So I got a little ducky *DARKWING DUCK!*, and decided to eat noodles with garlic sauce and shrimp."

Mrs. Red: "What's so adventurous about a classic Italian meal, at a restaurant featuring Italian inspired cuisine?"

                        Mr. Red: "Don't ask questions. I know that this meal was very tasty, it wasn't very memorable. It didn't have the greatness that sticks with you. My best description would be that it was...garlicy. The shrimp was well cooked and not overdone. Noodles were perfect, not too mushy and not too firm. The sauce was saucey - you get the idea. When a place does everything right, it's hard to find something to talk about."

Mrs. Red: "I hear you there. I fell in love with steak deburgo here at Johnny's. Deburgo is really just a fancy garlic and herb cream sauce featuring spices like: basil, oregano, and parsley. There are variations out there but I find this sauce really gives the steak a nice punch of flavor which when you're eating a very lean piece of steak like filet mignon that hasn't been cooked wrapped in fatty bacon - it's almost a necessity. Typically they serve steak deburgo with top sirloin but if there's one thing I can't stand it's steak fat, so I tend to splurge for the good stuff. But! I don't have to miss out in the end, I just order the sauce I want on the side. The filet usually comes dressed with a wonderful smokey demi-glaze featuring a robust red wine as the base. I highly suggest giving it a try at least once. Definitely worth it."

Our Waiter/Waitress:

                Mr. Red: "This guy was quick, up until the end, which was also about the time the rest of the restaurant started filing up with guests so I can't entirely blame our long wait for our check on him."

 Mrs. Red: "During the meal though he was a frequent visitor - patient too - while Mr. Red and I argued about whether or not we wanted wine and dessert. I have no complaints about the service we received and I never do. Even when this place is busy their staff is helpful, knowledgeable, and customer service oriented. They make you feel at home. Two thumbs up!"

Mr. Red: "I'm not surprised by this though, since this restaurant is on the bottom floor of a hotel."

Observations:

Mrs. Red: "If you haven't been to Johnny's in the last month or so, I strongly suggest going! The inside is totally different now after they did some very smart remodeling.When you get into the back, the booths are all together right in the middle of the room with high walls around you for privacy."

Mr. Red: "They really lightened the place up. Before, you felt like you were walking into a cave. There was barely enough light to see the floor, let alone the person sitting across from you.  Now there's a nice warm glow from a series of new chandeliers they've installed."

Mrs. Red: "I absolutely have to comment about how nice they keep their dining room. There are usually staff members running around everywhere during the busy hours, but I have yet to come in and not find all the tables bussed, clean, and prepped for customers. I can always count on Johnny's to be welcoming."

Overall: 

                                                           Mr Red: "Good like always. Food was well made, atmosphere was comfortable, steaks rare - but that's how my wife likes it."

Mrs. Red: "Johnny's come with my stamp of approval and I highly suggest this place for a nice quiet sit down romantic meal with your significant other. Other than being a little on the pricey side, they offer a wonderful selection of food and drinks including a wonderful wine selection. I hope you all get a chance to visit it at least once."

Review:

On a scale of 1-10

Food: 8

Service: 9

Cleanliness: 9

Atmosphere: 9

Until next time! Happy Eating!

- Pocket Red Heads

Do I have something stuck in my teeth?

Latin Little Italy

A taste of Italy in Iowa

Mrs. Red: "Greetings fellow hungry-kins! Pocket Red Heads returns with another culinary delight to share with you, our avid readers. Not too long ago, I put the word out that we were on the hunt for the hidden and exotic restaurants within our conglomerate of little cities that make up the Greater Des Moines Area, and we were not disappointed with the results. With list in hand, we have been scheming our plans to visit and today we bring you the first what will be many adventures. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you: Tursi's Latin King."

Mr. Red: "When Mrs. Red first said, "The Latin Kings" I thought to myself - 'I don't want Mexican food.' Oddly enough, this restaurant does in fact serve Italian food. I'm not sure where they got Italian out of Latin, though."

Mrs. Red: "You do realize that the Latin language originated in the country of Italy, right?"

Mr. Red: "No it didn't! It came from the country of Latin!"

Mrs. Red: "Where they service Mexican food, apparently."

Mr. Red: "Yeah!"

Mrs. Red: "While Mr. Red searches for 'Latin' on a world map, I'll give you a little history about this place because when we decided to give it a try I knew next to nothing about it. I feel that if I impart this acquired knowledge on you, it may prepare you for what you will be experiencing when you go. As the advertisements suggest, Tursi's Latin King opened originally in 1947 as simply, 'The Latin King.' It's name was changed when the current owners, Bob and Amy Tursi, purchased the restaurant in 1983. Their parents and the original owners were all from the village of Terravecchia, Italy which is where the core foundation of this restaurant's cuisine hails from."

Mr. Red: "Were you near there when you visited Italy?"

Mrs. Red: "Unfortunately, no. When I was in Italy with my family, we visited the resort village of Lignano Sabbiadoro. I'm sure you're familiar with the general shape of Italy being a boot. Terravecchia is located way out on the 'arch' while Lignano would be at the back of the 'knee' in terms of geographical location. However, while I was there I had the opportunity to try some real authentic Italian food which unfortunately ruined any restaurants for me here in Iowa that claimed to serve Italian. My standards going in were very high."

What We Ordered:

Mrs. Red: Chicken Spiedini

Mr. Red: Pasta Trio

Our Take:

Mr. Red: "The name of my meal is a little deceptive. It wasn't just three kinds of pasta: Lasagna, Ravioli, and Fettuccine. It also came with a good sized meatball and a link of Italian sausage."

Mr. Red: "I'll go ahead and start with the Italian sausage link. I wasn't all that impressed with it. I thought it was a little on the bland side. Now, it wasn't bad, but due to my acid reflux the pain of eating it all wasn't going to be worth the reward of its tastiness. The meatball however can be summed up in a single word: delicious! I will definitely admit that it was slightly over seasoned and you wind up tasting more of the herbs that went into it than the meat, but overall it was really tasty."

Mrs. Red: "Better than anything I've ever made. I tried to snag a taste of everything Mr. Red ordered so I could give my own opinion, but we went to war and fork battled, and unfortunately to the victor went the spoils."

Mr. Red: "Now I am a HUGE fettuccine alfredo fan. Anytime we go to any other Italian restaurant I always end up getting chicken alfredo and it's usually pretty good. Here I didn't order it with the chicken or anything, it just came as a little side in my meal. I took one bite of it and was instantly transported to the Iowa State Fair."

Mrs. Red: "Wait...what?"

                             Mr. Red: "Yeah, it was just that one bite was just so...overwhelmingly...full of the taste of...butter. All I could think of was the butter cow. Gag. I like butter just as much as the next person but it was like biting into a stick of butter. This, by far, was the most disappointing part of my entire meal."

Mrs. Red: "Bummer, and that was the entire reason you ordered that meal. But it wasn't a total loss!"

Mr. Red: "Onto another surprise. I will fully admit I have never really liked lasagna. However, my meal came with it so I of course gave it a try. It was delicious! I actually really liked the meat sauce because it's more sauce than it is full of meat. It really seemed to bring the flavors all together. The greatest part of my meal, and any meal we've ever blogged about to date, would have to be the ravioli. The pasta used in this was baked and it came out almost like a breading. I think I liked this so much, because it really reminded me of one of my favorite things to eat: pot stickers. Except opposed to the bread being soft and soggy it was crunchy and scrum-diddily-umptious."

Mrs. Red: "It was also filled with sausage and not cheese which was refreshing. In my mind, the ratio of meat to pasta was perfect, and a favorite of mine as well. I highly suggest giving their ravioli a shot if you give this place a try."

Mrs. Red: "Enter, Chicken Spiedini. No idea what that is? Me neither. I really had a hard time figuring out what I wanted when we opened up the menus and began to peruse. Couple that with the fact that I spent most of our downtime staring at the MASSIVE WINE MENU this place has that when it came time to order I had no idea what I wanted. So, I asked for a suggestion and this is what I got. This is what they are calling the house special and I can definitely see why. Basically, these were pieces of chicken breast that were marinated, breaded, and broiled to lovely perfection on skewers. Now it came two different ways: Alfredo or Amogio (which was basically some garlic and Italian seasonings with some good old olive oil.) As you can see from the picture above, I got a little of both."

Mr. Red: "The chicken was really moist. Personally, I preferred the alfredo side despite how disappointed I was with the alfredo that I ordered."

Mrs. Red: "I guess I must like buttery alfredo because I thought it was fantastic. I think it's probably one of the best I've ever had. The two sauces mixed together were great, which is what happened by the time I made it through all the wonderful pieces of chicken and into the pasta itself. I must say, the fettuccine noodles were smaller than I'm used to, and by smaller I mean thinner. I actually preferred it over the wide flat noodles you typically see for this kind of pasta. This has easily become my favorite meal at an Italian restaurant, period."

Mr. Red: "Although we didn't get a picture of it, we also splurged and ordered dessert. Mmmmmm."

Mrs. Red: "What he means to say is that we ordered Canoles."

Mr. Red: "Hands down the BEST Canole I've ever had."

Mrs. Red: "There were so many flavor aspects in these that Mr. Red and I were sitting down and trying to figure out all the amazing things they packed into what they called their 'house filling. Holy cow. Mmmmm doesn't even cover how amazing these things were. They say you can judge how great a restaurant is by their canoles which is why we ordered them despite the fact that they aren't a favorite of either of ours. Well, we're believers now."

Waiter/Waitress:

          Mr. Red: "A+...+++...plus. We were seated within seconds of walking into the door and our waitress visited us within a minute or two. We would have had our drinks right then and there, but SOMEBODY had to take forever staring at the wine menu."

Mrs. Red: "If only I weren't so cheap. I have a very sweet spot for Italian wine. I digress. Our waitress was good enough that I am going to call her by name: Shelly. Phenomenal. She was everything we needed as new visitors to the Latin King, and she knew the menu items well enough that she could offer suggestions based on our likes and dislikes -"

                                                             Mr. Red: "-and prove I was right about all the ingredients in the Canoles. It's ok though honey, someone had to be less right."

Mrs. Red: "Very funny. If you ever go into this place and get Shelly, you won't be disappointed. She was on top of her game when it came to our drinks and offering up suggestions for our dining experience. 5 stars, 10 out of 10, blue ribbon! I can't stress enough how wonderful our service was.

Observations:

                               Mr. Red: "Semi-good. I only have one complaint and that was that the floor needed to be vacuumed. Other than that everything was clean, even my wife."

Mrs. Red: "You are always complaining about carpets! If only you cared enough to keep ours at home cleaner. I really liked the decor and shape of the room we were seated in. It had multiple levels which made everything feel very open. This is definitely a great date night spot with its oil lamp on the table and dim lighting for a more intimate setting - so heads up guys!"

Mr. Red: "Despite being a bit on the pricey side, I absolutely agree this is a good place for a date."

Overall:

Mrs. Red: "Great success! Thank you, Bobert for suggesting it! I think you will really like this place if you enjoy Italian food. We sure did. I don't think you'll be disappointed in the least. It scored very high for us on all accounts. We. Will. Be. Back."

Mr. Red: "Fo shizzle!"

Review:

On a scale of 1-10

Food: 8

Service: 10
Cleanliness: 7
Atmosphere: 9

Until next time! Happy Eating!

-Pocket Red Heads

Thai Thai again

1254 East 14th Street, Des Moines, IA 50316

Mrs. Red: "First Greek, now Thai! To be honest before Mr. Red and I had visited Thai Flavors neither one of us had ever tried this genre of food before. I'm not sure where the stigma came from but I had always attributed Thai foods to being incredibly spicy."

                                                                     Mr. Red: "And spicy food - I can't handle. It would kill me. Thanks to that medical condition known as Acid Reflux."

Mrs. Red: "But after some strong suggestions from our friends, Tony and Sarah, we gave this place a try. After starting this tasty blog adventure, we added it to our 'must return,' list and brought our friends with us to share in the experience.

Mr. Red: "Cause the first time was fantastic: the service was fast, the food was great." 

Mrs. Red: "Naturally, we were expecting the same this time around. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case."

What We Ordered:

Mrs. Red: Cashew Chicken
                                       



                                                         

Mr. Red: Pad Thai*

Sarah: Panang Curry**

Tony: Tom Kha Kai*










Our Take:

                                                   Mr Red: "The food was good. I got spice level 1 out of 6 which is indicated above by that little star by the title of our meals, in case you were wondering. And finally, I wasn't the one that had the least amount of spice there. Mrs. Red out-wussed me."

Mrs. Red: "Very funny. At least I won't be spitting acid later like something out of the Alien movies."

Mr. Red: "They don't spit acid! They bleed acid! "

Mrs. Red: "Not the facehuggers. Maybe you should refresh yourself on your Aliens lore while I give this food some mad wonderful reviews! Everything that was brought out to our table looked as delicious as it tasted. Unfortunately, Tony had most of his soup eaten before I was able to take a nice picture of it, which by the way didn't even begin to share how unique the Tom Kha Kai really was. It was delivered to the table with the base full of fire and the broth bubbling to perfection. Not to mention it was full of vegetables."

Mr. Red: "It also had a lot of mushrooms in it which eliminated Mrs. Red's ability to taste it. It was actually quite good. It was extremely coconutty - probably because the broth was made with coconut milk. That was the primary thing you could taste, but all the other flavors did bleed together very well. I liked it, it wasn't my dish so I'm not going to review it much more than that, but given that Tony finished it all and almost licked it clean should be review enough.

Mrs. Red: "I didn't try Sarah's curry given the two star rating she ordered it at, but I did try it when we were there previously. According to her, this is one of Thai Flavors most popular dishes and she had to fight Tony off for the leftovers. I think that the next time we go out for Thai that I'll give that dish a shot - no stars please."

Mr. Red: "Unfortunately two stars is a bit much for even me..."

Mrs. Red: "You sweat when I pepper things too much. That should give you an idea how Thai Flavors spice ratings really rank. If even you could handle the 1 star, maybe I'll have to give it a try next time."

Mr. Red: "Hey now. 1 star did have me sweating just as bad, but it did add quite a bit more flavor that I don't think I would have gotten at 0 stars. Which leads me into my meal: Pad Thai. The presentation was wonderful. I really enjoyed the carrot flower in the middle. I found that to be very appealing and just invites you to dig in. The flavor was good and I loved the peanut sprinkle they give you for the top, and our waitress even brought us more than I think anyone would ever really use. Portion was well sized and if you leave there hungry it's your own fault." 

Mrs. Red: "What I really love about this place is how clean the food is. When I say clean, I mean its trimmed and simple. The chicken in my Cashew Chicken was all white meat and didn't have a sliver of fat anywhere on it which I was grateful for. The vegetables were all freshly and ornately cut and what I really loved is that they were cooked but still really crispy. Normally my dish came with hot peppers which I had omitted, but it still had beautiful green, red, and yellow peppers nice and thinly sliced. I also enjoyed was that the food wasn't greasy in the least. The little bit of sauce in my meal went great over the steamed rice that came with and even left me wanting more. The overall flavors were mellow and the toasted cashews only married everything together in my mind. Superb!"

Our Waiter/Waitress:

Mrs. Red: "This is where things started to crash and burn..."

Mr. Red: "That's the understatement of the year. Our waitress didn't really speak English. I'm not trying to bash people that aren't from America but she's in a public service job and could barely understand us and we could barely understand her. I would say that's a huge hindrance for her to be able to perform her job. First, the three people that ordered soda - two regulars and one diet. We all got diet. WTF."

Mrs. Red: "You would complain about that. A little less sugary pop in your daily diet wouldn't kill you, you big baby."

Mr. Red: "I'm just pointing out a shortcoming in our service. Isn't that what this section is about? The next thing that really got to me was the fact that we came in and sat down right around 6:30PM. The waitress stopped by around 6:40PM and asked us if we were ready to order. We still hadn't even put in our drink orders. Tony asked her to come back in about ten minutes as we were still waiting for our fourth member, Sarah, to arrive. Sarah showed up around 6:50PM, but we didn't even see our waitress in the same room with us again until around 7:20PM and that was after we had called out to someone who was working behind the register."

Mrs. Red: "There was a rather large party of people in the next room and given the number of staff members in this small restaurant it was very obvious they were feeling the pressure. Given how impeccable and prompt the service was the last time the four of us came to Thai Flavors, I really think this was a fluke night for them. I'm not sure how busy they normally are on Sunday nights, but when we came walking in people were waiting for take out and nearly all of the tables were currently serving customers. That should be a testament to how delicious their food is - everyone wants it!"

Mr. Red: "Alright, I'll give you that. The first time we were there they were great on the service. This time though, they were absolutely horrible. So, using those numbers, 50/50 chance that you're going to get good service. If you can't tell, I cannot stand poor service at restaurants. It is inexcusable. The people that were staffing the place should always have enough people to withstand their customers or they are going to lose them. But, I will say this: once we got our orders in we got our food quick. It was 17 minutes and everyone had food on the table and ready to eat."

Mrs. Red: "And eat we did!"

Observations:

Mrs. Red: "The one word I have for this place: crowded. I realize they are trying to pack as many people in as possible but unfortunately it made me feel just that way - packed in. I don't just mean that the tables are close together, but the tables themselves are very small - at least in relation to how many plates they give you. I wasn't terribly bothered by it so I don't mean to say that as a deterrent from giving this place a try but if you are claustrophobic - order take out."

Mr. Red: "I for one, actually appreciated the fact that they had people here. Considering our last review was at a place that was deserted, this place actually made you feel like you were part of the world. You walked in and you saw: people. People enjoying their food, people laughing and having a good time. Except for those around us still waiting for service. We weren't the only ones."

Mrs. Red: "They did score high points in what I would consider the most important area when visiting a restaurant: cleanliness. That place was spotless, even despite how busy they were. It didn't stop them from clearing dishes away and wiping tables down. It's nice to see a restaurant that doesn't skimp on keeping things clean."

Mr. Red: "I definitely agree. For what they lacked in service they made up for in all the other aspects that I like in a restaurant. Like Mrs. Red said, it was clean! It was organized and the people doing their jobs did seem to know what they were doing. I think that due to the sudden rush, the person who normally cleans the tables was bumped up to a server. She was really good at keeping our drinks full but that was is and I hate to keep going back to it but its my biggest complaint about this place."

Overall: 

Mrs. Red: "If I could score on food alone, 10 out of 10 - no lie. However, since I have to take into account the entire dining experience I'm thinking more along the lines of a 7. I really hope that the lack of attentive service is not something we will run into when we come again."

                                                  Mr. Red: "Ditto on all accounts - 10 out of 10 on the food, but I'm going to have to drop it down to a 5 on account of the service."

Review:

On a scale of 1-10

Food: 10

Service: 2

Cleanliness: 10

Atmosphere: 6.5

Until next time! Happy Eating!

- Pocket Red Heads

Que Saraj, Saraj!

Welcome to another whirlwind dining adventure!

1300 50th Street  West Des Moines, IA 50266

Mrs. Red: "As you very well might have guessed from the title of today's blog, Mr. Red and I found our way out to the good ol' west side for some cultured cuisine. It was fun going back to our old neighborhood. I just wish we had discovered this gem of a food joint before we relocated to Urbandale."

Mr. Red: "It brought back some good memories, for me at least."

Mrs. Red: "Oh really? Like what?"

Mr. Red: "Some good old fashioned drinking in the bar next door."

Mrs. Red: "Somehow, I'm not surprised. As I was saying, I didn't actually get introduced to Saraj until a gal I used to work with stopped there on her lunch and brought it back to the office. She was nice enough to share with me, and I was hooked..."

                                              Mr. Red: "Technically our friend Skyllar had been trying to introduce it to us for awhile. Unfortunately, we were a little too busy to listen to his well given advice."

What We Ordered:

Mr. and Mrs. Red: Greek Gyros

                                                                                    Mr. Red: NOM NOM NOM!

Our Take:

Mr. Red: "The meat was perfectly seasoned and the pita was slightly toasted, still foldable - had a little bit of a crisp not quite a crunch. Everything was fresh: the lettuce, tomatoes, onions, cucumber sauce - "

Mrs. Red: "- tzatziki sauce."

                                                                                  Mr. Red: "I thought it was made of cucumbers? Where are you getting zucchini?"

Mrs. Red: "Not zucchini - tzatziki! When I first had a gyro I wasn't sure what it was either, but to quote wikipedia: 'Tzatziki is made of strained yoghurt (usually from sheep or goat milk) mixed with cucumbers, garlic, salt, usually olive oil, pepper, sometimes lemon juice, and dill or mint or parsley.' Fantastic!"

                                   Mr. Red: "I was, however, slightly disappointed that the meat was beef and not lamb. I do really enjoy lamb, but I gotta say that even with beef this was a really delicious gyro."

Mrs. Red: "Good enough that we both ordered it. Now, Saraj is known for their Bosnian dishes as well which we didn't fail to notice despite both settling on the greek renditions of their menu. They featured authentic dishes like Bosnian Pitas, Moussaka, and Cevapi."

                                         Mr. Red: "I couldn't pronounce a single one of those things but they did look pretty tasty. Something about the pita looked really delicious."

Our Waiter/Waitress:

Mrs. Red: "We've never had bad service at Saraj, and tonight was no exception. They don't have a host or hostess but given how small the inside of this little place is it's hard to miss when someone comes walking in. We seated ourselves and received a visit from our waiter in a matter of minutes. One thing I didn't notice before - probably because we have mostly visited in the winter time - is that Saraj has an outdoor patio too."

                                  Mr. Red: "I was really surprised at how quick we received service and our food, until I looked around and saw that there was only one other couple in the dining room. Which just proves that this is one of West Des Moines' best kept secrets."

Mrs. Red: "We weren't ignored and we didn't feel stalked either. Some of the other restaurants we've been to that were slow for business, our waiter didn't hover."

                                                                        Mr. Red: "I agree. He was quick, knowledgeable, and polite. I didn't even notice when he got me a refill."

Mrs. Red: "NINJA WAITER!"

Mr. Red: "..."

Observations:

Mrs. Red: "Other than the fact the place was totally empty, the restaurant was very clean and tidy."

                                                       Mr. Red: "I really liked the decor. It had a really rustic meets modern feel to it. The marble tables were beautiful and well thought out."

Mrs. Red: "The music was in Bosnian - I think. I don't speak the language so I couldn't confirm that. While I wasn't too thrilled about it at first, I found it really set the atmosphere and truthfully I couldn't imagine visiting Saraj and not having it in the background ambience. Something about hearing 'Call Me Maybe' while enjoying some authentic international food would have lessened the experience."

                                                   Mr. Red: "Please do NOT bring up that song. We've had a pleasant evening and I would rather not ruin it with 'stalker pop' music."

Overall: 

Mrs. Red: "Saraj was wonderful! Two great big thumbs up from this satisfied customer! I hope the fact that their service was so scarce on a Friday night was a fluke and that they're here to stay because I'll be back again and again!"

                                               Mr. Red: "I also give it two thumbs up. Solid 9 out of 10 stars. Taste was great, food was great, cleanliness was great, service was great. I highly recommend we get the secret out and pack this joint!"

Review:

On a scale of 1-10

Food: 9.5

Service: 10

Cleanliness: 10

Atmosphere: 7

Until next time! Happy Eating!

-Pocket Red Heads

At the Hop - The IHOP!

Howdy folks!

We have a love hate relationship with IHOP. 

6301 Douglas Avenue  Urbandale, IA 50322

                                                                         Mr. Red: "For me, I grew up eating IHOP. It was something I went to with my grandpa most weeks before scouts." 

Mrs. Red: "Naturally, as we have moved into the house where I was raised we began to explore the local restaurants in hopes of finding something exciting. What I love about this area of Urbandale is how much it has changed over the last few years. Anyone familiar with the remodeling of Merle Hay Road will understand what I'm talking about, what with the rise of restaurants from Buffalo Wild Wings and Old Chicago to a Chipotle and Burger King. It's almost unrecognizable, and we just love it."

                                                      Mr. Red: "I love how this is supposed to be a review about IHOP and you're talking about all the other food joints in the area..."

Mrs. Red: "I don't bring up IHOP, because it's not been one of my favorite places to eat, given our bad luck with them in the past. What I never understood is why we continued to go back. At one point, Mr. Red and I didn't understand what being awake during the daylight hours was, and often visited the local IHOP during the wee hours of the morning for some sugary late night breakfast. To say they left us wanting more was an understatement. So why try again?"

                                                         Mr. Red:  "Good memories. Well, that's all they were, memories. Things that happened in the past that don't seem to exist anymore."

What We Ordered:

Mrs. Red: Cheesy Western Omelet with side order of hashbrowns

Mr. Red: Ham & Egg Melt

Our Take:

Mrs. Red: "I think the best way I can give an adequate review is by breaking it up item by item. The cheesy western omelet was actually listed on a specialty menu that advertised 7 items each priced at $7. This omelet came with a choice of pancakes or fruit to which I chose the pancakes. We were at the International House of Pancakes after all, so it only seemed right. The omelet was fantastic: light and fluffy with the right ratio of egg to cheese to meat and vegetables. Not only was it delicious, but it came out nice on the place - picture perfect even. The pancakes were also not disappointing. The butter was nice and whipped and the maple syrup came out hot and delicious. However, I absolutely regret my decision to order hashbrowns in addition. Not only did I already have enough food, but they left a lot to be desired. I could have probably brought in a raw potato and grater and made them for myself at the same quality. I'm used to hashbrowns being golden crispy and hot - neither of which was served to me. They looked like they had spent a total of 10 seconds on the griddle before being laid on a separate plate and brought out to me - lukewarm. Definitely not what I had been expecting. Overall on a scale of 1-10, I would give this meal that should have been at least a 7, a 5."

Mr. Red: "I had the Ham and Egg melt with onion rings. I'll start with the rings, they were actually pretty delicious. I was very surprised that IHOP would have good onion rings, but they did. They were sweet, more so than I'm used to but it's IHOP. Next the melt: it was good. Unforutnately the swiss cheese and egg were all that you could taste. I was looking forward to the tangy flavor of the cheddar cheese as well as the ham mixed in, but the egg and swiss were just too overwhelming. Other than that it was pretty tasty. The bread was evenly toasted and served as a good vessel to bring this brinner sandwich home. On my 1-10 scale I would give it a 6."

Our Waiter/Waitress:

Mrs. Red: "This is where Mr. Red and I have struck out in the past when visiting IHOP. On more than one occasion we have had mediocre to poor service where the staff would ignore us for their own conversations about their bed partners rather than giving us the time of day."

                                            Mr. Red: "I agree 100%. The last time alone had me furious when we left, considering we had to sit there being ignored for 30 minutes before the guy came over to ask us if our orders had been taken. And yet he still looked annoyed at us for even being there."

Mrs. Red: "Today though, we were pleasantly surprised. The hostess was prompt in seating us and the waitress was friendly and even took our drink order within just a few minutes of sitting down. She was apt in recognizing when we needed help and offered refills on our drinks without us needing to call her out. All in all, this was much better than any service we've had in the past - thankfully!"

Observations:

                                           Mr. Red: "The place was filthy. While I understand this is family restaurant and they have kids coming in and throwing food around, it just seemed a little over the top. There were stains on the floor that looked fresh, our menus were covered in dried pop and were sticky."

Mrs. Red: "Gross!"

                                                               Mr. Red: "It just really makes me worry about the cleanliness of their kitchen, given the neglect of their dining room. Good thing I'm not a germiphobe"

Mrs. Red: "I also understand the need for fun in the work place. Mr. Red and I are both guilty of joking around with our fellow work colleagues to help break the monotony of the day up. Thankfully though, neither Mr. Red nor myself work in an environment where the customers can watch our every move. Employees were shouting at each other on the line in the kitchen loud enough that we were able to hear their entire conversations. Not that they were throwing around profanity (this time) but it was completely disorganized and unprofessional."

Overall:

                                       Mr. Red: "Overall, this place looks like it might be returning to the way it was, back in my childhood memories. But unfortunately, it still has a ways to go before I  find myself going back to it on a regular basis. As it stands, we might give it another try in a year or two."

Mrs. Red: "Like he said, 'Almost but not quite.'"

Review:

On a scale of 1-10

Food: 5/6

Service: 8

Cleanliness: 2

Atmosphere: 2

Until next time! Happy Eating!

-Pocket Red Heads

Introductions

Greetings fellow bloggers!

Mr. and Mrs. Red here for some formal introductions to our first attempt at a blog about one of the things we love the most: eating out. Naturally, if you've been brought to our little corner of culinary expertise you'll know who we - the Reds - really are, but for those of you who are just as new as we are I'll fill you in. We are the Rathjens, living currently in Urbandale, and here to share our experiences of cuisine from all around Des Moines and its suburbs. The two of us have been back and forth on starting up this blog, considering the frequency of our dining experiences.

So! There you have it. We may not be experienced cooks or culinary experts, but we are absolutely supreme consumers in the world of the dollar, and we're here to share our experiences: the good, the bad, and the delicious.