"des moines" news and stories

A weekly look at the draft selections in beer-friendly bars across the country.

Who says Iowa can't be home to a beer haven?

Since 2006, El Bait Shop has housed over 100 draft beers (and plenty more in bottles) smack dab in central Iowa, making this "shop" not only a Des Moines beer mainstay, but a national beer destination as well, finding its way onto best bar lists in publications like DRAFT Magazine and Esquire.

Why does the U.S.'s 112th largest city need 105 draft lines? Well, where better than in middle America to feature American-made beers? That's the goal at El Bait Shop, according to bar manager, Charles Johnson. "We have the largest selection of American craft beer in the world," said Johnson, explaining what makes their draft selection unique.

It's hard to have more than 100 draft lines without delving into the large array of imported beers that a lot of bars lean on. By sticking with mostly American "micro" brewers, El Bait Shop not only supports smaller brewers, but has also found a way to separate their draft selection from the crowd. It also gives the bar the opportunity to show off some local Iowa brewers who's products don't always find their way to the coasts, like Great River and Peace Tree.

Find the giant beer list that gave El Bait Shop their niche after the jump...

After getting stuck under a lawnmower, Des Moines radio personality Van Harden says that he lost his taste for bread completely. Harden said "Doctor's can't explain it," but it could be the case that he experienced a side effect as doctors revived him from anesthesia after his surgery. With no appetite for bread, Harding was essentially living an Atkins-style life, but he did miss the taste pizza even though he didn't actually want to eat the wheat-based crusts.

Necessity is the mother of invention, so Harden came up with a 100% cheese crust pizza, complete with toppings. Think of it as being a stuffed-crust pizza, without the actual crust. Over the weekend, in what appears to be the first release of the product, over 200 were sold at two Des Moines Hy-Vee stores. More store are scheduled to offer the Atkins-friendly, gluten-free pie soon.

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A few weeks ago, I posted about a restaurant in England that had imposed a fine (donating all profits to charity) on people who took too much food at a buffet because the owners were sick about the amount of wasted. Several commenters thought that this was a great idea or knew of shops that did a similar thing in their neighborhoods. Perhaps more buffets will take similar action now that a Des Moines family was kicked out of an all-you-can-eat restaurant for wasting too much food.

The restaurant staff had been observing the family over the course of several visits to the restaurant. A Dragon House employee said "they just take one bite and throw it away. They take four egg rolls and crab rangoon, take one bite of egg roll and throw the whole plate. That is wasting food." The management reported that the family repeatedly took food, threw it out and then took more of the same food.

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