David Baruthio, a 2011 James Beard Best Chef: Midwest nominee, is responsible for the best French restaurant in Des Moines, Baru 66, but his newest venture, located practically next door, is far more casual. Instead of foie gras and degustation menus, Saison focuses on pub fare, with a menu of sliders including pulled pork, toasted cheese, and tenderloin schnitzel, a variation of Iowa’s coveted breaded pork tenderloin. Heartier fare includes a farmhouse skillet with fried eggs and steak or lamb ragout over orecchiette pasta.

Cheese, cheese, and more cheese make up the menu at this offshoot of the city’s famous Cheese Shop, known for serving 100-plus artisan and farmhouse cheeses. At the Cheese Bar, fondue made with Gruyere 1655, Reading raclette, and Emmental; raclette poured over confit potatoes; and an array of grilled cheeses warm the belly. Adventurous eaters should head to the “Smörg” section of the menu for truly memorable open-faced Scandinavian sandwiches with corned beef and Hook’s blue paradise cheese, or order the “soon to be world famous” cast-iron mac and cheese. Diners eat at communal dining tables where they can get to know their neighbors.

The James Beard Foundation smiled down on Joe Tripp twice with Best Chef: Midwest nominations for his work at Alba in the East Village. Tripp travels to Southeastern Asia yearly for a training in the cooking techniques that inspire his vegetable-focused Harbinger in the Ingersoll neighborhood. Tripp takes a “create-your-own tasting menu” approach to the restaurant, using ingredients from Iowa to prepare small dishes meant to share. This is the third restaurant from owner Jason Simon, himself a JBF nominee.

Orchestrate Hospitality brought Des Moines the wildly popular Zombie Burger along with Italian fare at Centro, French at Django, and Mexican at Malo. And last year, the restaurant group opened Bubba with a menu of Southern comfort foods and a wall of whiskeys, all wrapped in a bow tie of a restaurant. Kentucky hot browns, chicken-fried steak, a pimento mac and cheese, and Dr Pepper-braised short ribs all bring a taste of Dixie to downtown Des Moines.

The former home of the Des Moines Register and Tribune was converted into condominiums in 2017 with retail operations on the bottom level. With these came the cocktail lounge that downtown Des Moines sorely needed. Hello, Marjorie brings a retro touch to the decor and the cocktails. Customers can sip on the Editor’s Note with bourbon, apricot liqueur, and apple bitters in a space decked out with a late-1950s Wurlitzer spinet piano and watched over by namesake Marjorie Anderson’s portrait.

The gold and black goldfinch is the state bird of Iowa, and in Des Moines, it now has its own restaurant. Goldfinch’s calling card is a menu filled with local products from gems such as La Mie Bakery, La Quercia, Milton Creamery, Niman Ranch, Picket Fence Ice Creamery, Rinehart’s Family Farm, Story City Locker, Sunstead Farms, and Wilson’s Orchard. Come here to taste “contemporary Midwest cuisine” right in the heart of the Des Moines Farmers Market, which takes over Court Avenue every Saturday from May through late October.  

The sixth floor of the new AC Hotel by Marriott sports one of the buzziest new bars in Des Moines. One patio of the East Village bar features views of the state capitol to the west, while the other overlooks Principal Park, home of the Triple A Iowa Cubs. The East Village bar is nothing like a hotel bar except in its decor, which includes velvet couches and chairs, wood-paneled walls, and a marble bar. Light snacks such as avocado fries, smoked trout toast, and a goat cheese terrine with crostini pair well with cocktails including the Sherman Hill with Iowa’s own Templeton Rye whiskey, bitters, aronia berry, simple syrup, and orange and lemon juice.

Iowans take their beer seriously, and now, one of the best breweries in the state has opened a taproom in the East Village. Like many brewers in Iowa, brewmaster Joe Kesteloot got his start as a homebrewer before creating the sophisticated beers at Peace Tree. The 25 taps inside the renovated Quonset hut include Blonde Fatale, Red Rambler, and No Coast IPA year-round. Drinkers here can also try some seasonal and small-batch beers not found anywhere else.