Things to do in Des Moines when you are Dead: Autumn 2012 edition

While busy writing my election 2012 posts, I didn't have time for some of the other usual stuff I post about.

Which means I should mention my trip to Fong's Pizza.

Fong's is downtown across from the indie-rock venue and a coffee shop, and it feels authentic college-town.  It's a small place but it is good food, and unique- a Chinese food take on Pizza.

So that means Thai Chicken Pizza (which was awesome), Mongolian Beef Pizza, Crab Rangoon Egg Rolls, and Kung Pow Chicken Pizza.

Undoubtedly, this restaurant deserves a mention for its uniqueness, great food, and good service (there's no host, so the whole seating thing is kind of a clusterf--k but the server was more than awesome once we were seated.

Of course, I am posting this because they serve their signature drinks in awesome Tiki cups.




Des Moines had a watermain break which has temporarily put Fong's out of commission, but check out their website here.

Other recent experiences have not been as good.

A long-time local restaurant that had closed down has been replaced by an enterprising entrepreneur who has started a microbrew restaurant.

The food was good and the bartender was great, but this local establishment is a quick answer to the person who says "If I ever win the lotto, I am going to start my own bar and restaurant" (It's harder than it looks).

Just having a good concept and good theme does not a successful restaurant make.  You need attentive staff, a menu that has more than 4 things (not an exaggeration.  There are some pretty basic things every restaurant should be able to pull off like a club sandwich), and if you have a sports theme, then you need to pay attention that your tv sets get switched after a game ends.  Still, they are at the beginning of their journey, if they can make some changes they may survive (if they don't, I thik even having the perfect niche for the area may not be enough).

Less can be said for the Hawaiian themed restaurant that opened.  It was the worst dining experience I have had in recent memory, pretty much on all accounts.  I even had low expectations, but those weren't even met.

It's a shame as they did capture one thing correct with their menu.

Hawaiians love Spam.

Raised on Radio #20 : Van Halen

Van Halen's 1984 was a huge hit in my youth.

I still have mixed feelings about it, largely based on it being so overplayed. I can't deny I thought "Jump" was a cool song as a ten-year old.

Also as a high schooler in a small town where the group of punks, goths, skaters, and metalheads was so small that they were just one group, I did end up going back and found appreciation for the early work.

Interestingly, 1984 chartwise isn't their highest rankingl record. It only went to #2 (their next four albums all went #1) as there was no way to dislodge Thriller in those days. Still, with 10 million+ sales, it's truly a landmark cultural moment.

Regardless of what you think of Van Hagar, I suspect things all probably worked out for the best for them. The band was a true pop music force until the whole Gary Cherone change in 1998 (although VH3 did manage a #4 placing and "Without You" was a moderate hit). I suspect if DLR hadn't embarked on a solo career, Van Halen could have followed Roth's trajectory- on top of everything and then slowly fading away (1991's A Little Ain't Enough- peaking at #18- was his last real relevant album).

Then again, who knows? This year's Roth reunion album A Different Kind of Truth got 4 stars from Allmusic and generally positive reviews all the way around. Undoubtedly, the egos wouldn't have made it, but maybe the band could have had the same staying power.

In any case, the singles from 1984 are all pretty much standards. However, my favorite is the one that is probably the one that gtes played the least nowadays.

"I'll Wait" was the second single and the second most successful ("Jump" #1, "Wait" and "Panama" #13, and fourth single "Hot for Teacher" at #56)

This was one of my faves back then, so here it is now.