Wellman's West - Juicy Lucy

As you know, I have an unhealthy obsession for The Juicy Lucy (cheese-stuffed burgers native to the Twin Cities area). The Nook in St. Paul does them the best (see my previous posts on them or on Diner's Drive-Inns and Dives: DDD The Nook) but it's expensive to drive 240 miles for a burger so I am on a mission to find one comparable in the Des Moines area. I heard about Wellman's Juicy so I ventured west.

http://wellmanspub.com/

First of all, if you haven't been to Wellman's West, it's a pretty cool place and probably the best patio space that I've been to in DSM. That's tough for me to say since I don't like to travel further west than MLK.

So the burger.... it wasn't great. It was a little too crispy on the outside which is a problem since Juicies should be cooked to medium. The cheese was already gooing out the side so you can tell they didn't seal the burger well. I couldn't tell which cheese they used but it wasn't too bad. It seemed almost Velvetta quality instead of a real cheese. Despite all that, it didn't taste too bad. I would say it isn't a great replacement for a real Juicy but I've had worse. In their defense, I am holding to a very high standard since I am a snob when it comes to these burgers. Anyone heard of another place that serves these that I should check out?

Something Italian - Papa Luigi

One of my favorite spots to eat in the skywalk for lunch is "Something Italian." I usually go for the pizza, although the sandwiches are good (very bready though). My favorite slice is the one shown below, the Papa Luigi, which pretty much has everything on it.

Their slices are large, thin and have great quality ingredients (especially the veggies). I wish I still worked in the skywalk so I could stop there more often If you love Caesar salad, SI has the best! You get a nice deal if you get a slice and a salad.

Check out their menu. They also come to the Saturday Farmer's market with some breakfast pizza selections. What's your favorite thing from SI?

http://www.somethingitaliandsm.com/menu.asp

Yeah, not the best picture but this goes to show you their slices are so big, they don't fit in vertical camera shots.

Hotshots - Craft Hotdoggery

Three years ago, we probably had 0 hot dog eateries, we have 2 now. So I guess hot dogs are a "thing" now. I am OK with that though! I tried Hotshots, which is nestled on the ground floor of the Nationwide building," for the first time. Their menu has a pretty sophisticated combination of toppings with their dogs which impressed me.

http://hotshotdogs.com/images/Hotshots-Menu.pdf

The Steve McQueen - Cilantro FTW!

I went with the Steve McQueen which was an eclectic mix of Cincy chili, sour cream, cheddar cheese, cilantro and rice noodles on a beef dog. It is jam packed with toppings but surprising not all that messy to eat. They did a really good job stuffing their bun with the ingredients in a way where they wouldn't fall all over when take a bite. The sour cream and chili combined to make a really creamy/thick addition to the hot dog. The beef dog snaps when you bite it (as I am told a good hot dog should do) and it tastes great. I would say they are bigger than the Capital Pub dog and better quality. The rice noodles were an awesome addition to add some crunch to a meal that would have been very soft. I am a sucker for cilantro so this was obviously going to be a meal I would like. Overall, this is a very delicious, hardy dog.

I don't normally have an urge to grab a fancy hot dog AND I think this place is only open during lunch hour so I might not make it over there again for a while. Nonetheless, I would definitely order this dog again or check out a couple of their other intriguing combos. Your thoughts on this place? Thoughts on the hot dog movement in Des Moines?

Exile - Chick Bacon Avocado Sandwich

After the Arts Fest (yes I know that was a long time ago), I grabbed lunch with friends at Exile. I don't remember what it was called and it apparently isn't on their online menu but it consisted of Grilled Chicken, Avocado, bacon, on their awesome pretzel bread (with a side of Sweet Potato fries).

http://exilebrewing.com/restaurant/

It tasted as good as it looked

This sandwich was awesome! I've only eaten at Exile 2-3 times and this was by far the best thing I've had. The chicken tasted really good and all the ingredients tasted fresh. The sweet potato fries weren't bad--I am guessing they are deep fried with a coating of brown sugar as they were sweet and very dark.

I really want to like Exile but it always seems like any trip I have there, something doesn't go right. This time, the service was incredibly slow. We did have a large party all with separate checks and she did apologize for the food taking a long time to get there but there were still long periods of time where we didn't see our waitress. Still, the food was good and I will keep coming back to support them. What is your favorite thing at Exile?

Bandit Burrito

Thanks to my Chuck a Puck luck  skill at the DM Bucs game, I won a $10 gift certificate to Bandit Burrito. It is essentially a Pancheros/Qdoba style place. I always wanted to try it and if you give me free money to any place that serves food, I am there.

One disappointment I had was it appears they use the same Mission brand tortillas you can buy at the store. Due to that, and the fact I was shooting for a lighter dinner, I went with a custom made chicken salad.

http://www.banditburrito.com/

Chicken, Cheese, Black Olives, Corn Salsa, Pinto beans on lettuce & Spinach

I do like that it is locally owned and my food did taste good and decently fresh but it really wasn't anything special. If you live near there and really like this type of food, it might be worth trying but I don't live near here and I think Qdoba and Pancheros taste better. It pains me to not support a chain but just didn't seem worth it for me. Anyone else have a better experience?

Buddyz Pizza - McHenry Illinois

When in Chicago (or a 2 hour radius of Chicago), you have to make a stop for Chicago style pizza. A group of us trekked to McHenry, Illinois for just that at Buddyz Pizza.

http://www.buddyzpizza.com/menu.html

After another day of athletic activities and boating, we were famished. Being hungry doesn't always mix well with the long wait times associated with ordering Chicago Style pizzas (45 mins) so we got an order of their onion rings (not pictured) which were awesome. I also had to take the recommendation of their locally brewed root beer which is made with 10% alcohol--holy hell it was good. It tasted exactly like a good root beer and you don't taste a bit of alcohol in it; but it is definitely in there.

There was 8 of us so we ordered 3 different specialty pizzas (only 2 of them pictured before). Chicago Fire, Wrigley Field and the Lake Shore Drive.

Hidden in this root beer is 10% Alcohol - not sold in stores

Chicago Fire- (Buffalo Chicken on Regular Crust)

Wrigley Field - Chicago Style

The Chicago fire is a buffalo chicken pizza. The regular crust was good quality but very crust/dough heavy for me which I didn't think melded well with a slightly bland topping combinations. I didn't think they packed much chicken on the pizza and the buffalo sauce didn't seem too strong. I do hold Buffalo Chicken pizzas at a high standard as I make it all the time, but I probably wouldn't order this again.

The Wrigley Field on the other hand was pretty awesome. Their Chicago style sauce is chunky tomato style as you can see in the picture above. It tasted exactly how it looked, delicious. Their sauce has so much flavor and all the toppings taste pretty quality. My only regret on this visit is not having a bigger appetite to put down more Chicago style pizza--I would go there again today if it weren't 5 hours away.

I love Chicago style pizza and really like Felix and Oscar's in Des Moines. I would still like to check out Lou Malnati's in Chicago, which has been featured on a couple Food Network shows. What's your favorite pizza in your city?

Royal Mile - Guinness Stew Edition

I am way late in posting this but I finally took a friend's recommendation and got the Guinness stew. The Royal Mile is suddenly turning into one of my favorite places to eat. I have so many more things to try there but I finally knocked this one off the list.

http://royalmilebar.com/menu

Guinness Stew

sirloin tips, potatoes, peas, carrots and pearl onion simmered in a broth made with Guinness stout.

So I grew up loving soup. my favorite were Alphabet Soup and Vegetable Beef. This soup is basically a grown up version of Vegetable Beef with some really good meat and throw on some cheese. I also grew up eating chunks of roast beef and not really liking it but the way they do beef, is amazing. The broth isn't runny but it isn't too thick, it's perfect. I would definitely would order this again. This is as Winter comfort food as you get.