Last Thursday, we had to make the two-hour drive over to Iowa City for a doctor’s appointment. While driving a total of four hours just to see a doctor isn’t exactly our definition of a “fun day,” there was one good thing that came out of the trip…

We paid a visit to one of Iowa’s greatest burger joints, Short’s Burger & Shine.

In 1920, H.D. Short opened a shoe shining business in Iowa City. Today, from that same building comes some of the best burgers and fries we have ever tasted. Their beef comes from a local farmer, their fries are hand-cut daily, and all 10 of their draft beers come from Iowa breweries. Basically, if you want to experience a taste of Iowa, get to Short’s Burger & Shine! They also have chicken sandwiches and black bean burgers, but we have never tried those. We love us some beef.

Don’t let the empty seats trick you into thinking no one goes to Short’s! We ate at 3:30 in the afternoon, so it wasn’t busy at all. Around dinner time, this place is hopping.

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Zombie Burger + Drink Lab is a new restaurant in the East Village of Downtown Des Moines that has had lots of buzz lately. We headed down there on Friday night with some friends to give it a try.

The entire concept and decor was really cool. Who doesn’t love all things zombie related?!

Upon arrival, there was some confusion on what exactly we were supposed to do. There was no hostess to greet us, so we were just wandering around like lost puppies. Eventually we figured out that one side of the restaurant is the “express side” where you go through a line, place your order, wait for your number to be called, and then go up and get your food yourself. The other side is a traditional restaurant, where a server actually comes to your table.

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Last Thursday was Dave’s birthday, so he got to pick whatever he wanted for dinner. We both had a long day so we didn’t feel like making anything at all. But we also knew that we didn’t want to go out to eat anywhere. We just wanted to eat a good meal at home that we didn’t have to make. The obvious choice for Dave was Red Rossa!

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Last month we celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary by going out for breakfast at Gateway Market with our kids. We had a great time but still wanted to go out, just the two of us. This weekend we finally got a chance to get out without the kids and we celebrated our 7 year and 1 month anniversary.

We decided to head to Dos Rios in Downtown Des Moines for lunch. We had heard many great things about Dos Rios but had never made it down there to eat. We’ve definitely been missing out! Dos Rios cooks Mexican food just like we want it to taste. They use fresh ingredients that we often use when we make Mexican food at home…they just do it a whole lot better than we do!

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We love to cook…obviously. But we also really love those days when we decide on a whim to go out to eat. It’s like a little party, and we enjoy every minute of it! From not having to plan a meal, to extra time spent with the kids, to the clean kitchen when we come home. It’s just such a treat! We do have three kids who can be a little loco sometimes so it’s best for us to keep it pretty quick, but we’re not talking McDonald’s here. You can still sit down and enjoy your meal. We find ourselves going back time after time to a few places that are run by some great local folks. We live in West Des Moines, so we thought we’d share a few of our favorites from the area. All of these are great when you want to indulge a little but also still want to be able to button your pants. All three places use great fresh ingredients, so you don’t have to go home and curl up in the fetal position.

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With three kids under the age of five, it’s a safe bet to say that “we don’t get out much.” But when we do get the rare oppurtunity to have a kid-free night, we usually end up at our favorite resturant in the world: The Cafe in Ames, Iowa.

We were skeptical of The Cafe at first. The name suggested it might be a greasy-spoon type of joint. And after all, it was located in Ames, Iowa, home of the Iowa State Cyclones. As Iowa Hawkeye fans, it was difficult for us to think that anything in Ames could be good. (On a side note, Dave now works in Ames…so it’s slowly winning us over.)

Our friend, Josh, convinced us that we would love it, so we made our first trip a couple years ago. It was love at first bite. We each got the Cafe Burger, made with locally raised wood-grilled beef and it was one of the best burgers we had ever had. The crazy part was that it didn’t cost any more than a salt loaded frozen patty from Applebee’s!

The food at The Cafe is locally grown or raised. The wait staff is curteous and well educated about the menu. The chefs are creative and use old world methods in their dishes. The menu changes seasonally and is always well balanced. The prices are amazing for the quality of food you are getting. The desserts are decadent and made in house. The atmosphere is warm and inviting. We could go on and on and on, but it all boils down to this: If you live around or are visiting Central Iowa, GET TO THE CAFE!!!

Last night, we dropped the kids off at Grandma and Grandpa’s and headed up to The Cafe with some good friends. As always, we were not disappointed!

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