What do you just across the river? (live in, restaurant)

[MR.JEFFY]

So you're saying there's no shop or restaurant to check out, maybe something thats been around for a couple decades?

[DMRyan]

Nope, nothing here.

I think the problem falls with your questioning, which appears condescending. I really don't know what you're asking about. Most people are savvy enough to be able to look up big name attractions, things to do, etc. Iowa has 3 million people and your asking about a good restaurant. Of course we have good restaurants and things to do here.

Do you have a particular city or region you're interested in visiting that we could help narrow down some information?

[dmguy30]

www.downtowndesmoines.com
www.seedesmoines.com
www.jordancreek.com
www.traveliowa.com

The list of things to do is endless...restaurants, bars, shopping, professional sports, college sports, Broadway musicals, music, and on and on.

If you've only been to those three places in Iowa, you're really missing out on a lot in Iowa. You'll find the Eastern and Central regions of Iowa to be totally different than Western Iowa (which is more like Nebraska).

[SortaMobile]

Go get a Maid-Rite, preferably at locally-owned, non-mall location (or visit the Canteen in the alley, downtown Ottumwa)

801 Steak house, DM

Get some chocolate at Chocolaterie Stam on Ingersoll in DM

lots of foodie type places in DM, see W.E. Moranville's blog at desmoinesregister.com
DesMoinesRegister.com | Des Moines PluckPersona | The Des Moines Register

get some Sterzing's potato chips (or save the gas and order on line, sterzingchips.com)

go drive the Loess Hills if you haven't already. Go to the right coast and drive the River Road all the way from NE cnr of IA all the way to Keokuk. Spend extra time in Dubuque.

throw shoes at TV anytime channel 8 in DM runs another hyped up self congratulatory promo. (We get it, you're #1, now get over it. Is ch 7 in Omaha (co-owned with ch 8) jacked up with this same BS?

[thatguy1]

Originally Posted by SortaMobile

Is ch 7 in Omaha (co-owned with ch 8) jacked up with this same BS?

Yes, ALL of our local news channels are annoying

They actually issued a winter weather advisory last week 48 hrs before any snowfall was supposed to take place. Not even a trace of snow. It was kinda funny to watch them in panic mode, though.

Now, had it actually snowed, they would be running the same self-congratulatory programs stating they broke the weather first and held your hand throughout the Armageddon experience.

Should we get into their dumba$s tongue-in-cheek humor which they blatantly fake laugh about followed by the always expected awkward pauses and sideswipes to other anchors? Yeah, I complain about these a-holes daily. HAHA

[SortaMobile]

Oh, I forgot to mention that while at the 801 steak house, Jeffy should check out the swanky bathrooms. Classy floor length urinals, filled with ice.

And to the hyped up faked up TV news: They wonder why viewers are tuning out.

[mofford]

Of course if you do the bicycle thing, we have over 300 miles of bike trails in the greater Des Moines area to enjoy. I heard that Omaha has about 80 miles of trail, and one shade tree for each mile.

Might be wrong about the trees, but should mention something about our local TV. We now have the highly advanced RTN network from Little Rock on 5.2, to meet all of our Quincy, Kojak, and Wagon Train needs for now and into the future. Top that !!

And our former governor Tom Vilsack is gonna be the new secratary of agriculture. Omaha, just hop in the back seat and enjoy the ride. And If the new president that we launched last January does not work out, and we can't afford to drive cars anymore, then you can bring your bicycles to Iowa and ride on all our good trails.

When the Cornhuskers get done playing their gig in Jacksonville on Jan 1st, they should come down to Tampa and play the Hawkeyes after they finish up with South Carolina.

[thatguy1]

Originally Posted by mofford

Of course if you do the bicycle thing, we have over 300 miles of bike trails in the greater Des Moines area to enjoy. I heard that Omaha has about 80 miles of trail, and one shade tree for each mile.

Might be wrong about the trees, but should mention something about our local TV. We now have the highly advanced RTN network from Little Rock on 5.2, to meet all of our Quincy, Kojak, and Wagon Train needs for now and into the future. Top that !!

And our former governor Tom Vilsack is gonna be the new secratary of agriculture. Omaha, just hop in the back seat and enjoy the ride. And If the new president that we launched last January does not work out, and we can't afford to drive cars anymore, then you can bring your bicycles to Iowa and ride on all our good trails.

When the Cornhuskers get done playing their gig in Jacksonville on Jan 1st, they should come down to Tampa and play the Hawkeyes after they finish up with South Carolina.

Lol, i know you aren't going there with the Hawkeyes as your crutch!

You need to lay off the Wikipedia, also! Lol, yeah I searched it.

[iowegian]

Originally Posted by SortaMobile

Go get a Maid-Rite, preferably at locally-owned, non-mall location (or visit the Canteen in the alley, downtown Ottumwa)

Get some chocolate at Chocolaterie Stam on Ingersoll in DM

I second these. I miss Maid-Rite (ours closed...twice) and I wish I lived closer to Stam, their chocolate is wonderful.

Over in my neck of the woods (Iowa City area), the favorite local restaurants are Hamburg Inn No. 2, a diner famous for its delicious breakfast and political appearances by most major Democratic candidates for President, and Pagliai's Pizza, which also has a location in Grinnell. Panchero's is the local Mexican favorite, although I don't think it's as good as it's hyped up to be.

Things to do around here: we have concerts almost nightly, I'd say we have more concerts in IC than anywhere else in Iowa. We used to have a nice art museum with a Jackson Pollock painting, but it flooded and hasn't reopened yet. There's the Amana Colonies 20 minutes away which has Oktoberfest and lots of little German shops. Kalona is 20 minutes south and is known for its Amish community. There are few places in Cedar Rapids, like the Czech Village and Usher's Ferry that are interesting. I've heard that the Figge Museum over in Davenport and the Des Moines Art Center are nice. The Iowa State Fair is THE state fair to go to...I could go on.

Now I'd like to know what there is to do in Nebraska. I can't think of much off the top of my head.

[stuckduck]

Hi all,

I read this with interest as I just moved to Iowa about six months ago from Oregon. It's funny as many folks (including many of the Iowans I've met) have the attitude that Iowa is boring. I'm managing to have fun though and I haven't even begun to explore lol! We've gone to see the bison at Jester park and the Iowa symphony perform Bugs on Broadway. We've tried some restaurants, haven't found a favorite yet but are enjoying the process of finding one :-)

Honestly after twenty two years in Oregon I'm enjoying the winter sunshine here in Iowa.

StuckDuck