short time to check out the area

We will be bringing our daughter to Des Moines this month for her orientation at Drake. We%26#39;re coming a day early so we can see a bit of the area.

I think I would like to see where conveniences are near the university........like grocery stores, cleaners etc.

I%26#39;d also like to know how the East Village is. I read that it is up and coming........and that it has cute restaurants and shops.

Any particular restaurant that would appeal to our parent child triad?

Thanks, Debbie

short time to check out the area

The East Village is nice and ';up and coming'; is a good description. It%26#39;s small, with only a couple of blocks of shops, but it%26#39;s a nice alternative to the malls and chains. There is a similar area in West Des Moines (one of Des Moines%26#39; larger suburbs) that is a little more established called Valley Junction that may also be worth checking out.

There are some good restaurants to try that are either in or near the East Village. One good one that is on the higher end (by Iowa standards) is Lucca. For wood fired pizzas, there%26#39;s Centro (downtown, but not in the east Village). Between Drake and downtown s a good cafe in the Gateway Market that serves sandwiches, noodle bowls, salads, etc. with an international flair.

Near Drake there is an area along Ingersoll Ave. that has a Dahl%26#39;s grocery store and some interesting local restaurants. I haven%26#39;t been to any recently so I can%26#39;t recommend any in particular, but your daughter may be interested in checking those out since they%26#39;re fairly close to campus.

Enjoy your trip! I hope that you and your daughter enjoy Des Moines!

short time to check out the area

If you like BBQ try out Jethros. It%26#39;s brand new on Forest and 31st. Very casual and very good food.

www.jethrosdesmoines.com

Hi,

I%26#39;d say definitely check out Gateway Market and Cafe for casual but good food. Another tasty spot is the Flying Mango, a Caribbean bbq restaurant, although neither of these places is in the Drake neighborhood. They both offer very good casual fare.

http://www.gatewaymarket.com/cafe.cfm

www.flyingmango.com/restaurant-menu.html

Near school you%26#39;ll find the Mars Cafe which is a sort of hip coffee and sandwich shop. Our Drake student likes it and we head in for a coffee break once in a while when we%26#39;re visiting.

There%26#39;s a neighborhood farmers market on Wednesday afternoons through September so if you%26#39;re there then you could check it out for some good eats.

http://www.fccdm.org/farmer.htm

If you%26#39;re there on Saturday morning check out the downtown farmer%26#39;s market, a real event.

I shouldn%26#39;t admit this but when we were ther for orientation we skipped out of breakfast and headed down to the farmers market. Some example I set, huh?

http://www.fccdm.org/farmer.htm

If you%26#39;re at the downtown farmers market you could wander over into the East Village. There are some very nice restaurants in the area but for cheap %26amp; casual our student likes Noodle Zoo. Sometimes a group of them take the bus downtown and have lunch or snacks here.

There%26#39;s also a cafe on the 2nd or 3rd floor of the Historical Society Museum building with outdoor rooftop seating. With nice weather it%26#39;s a treat and offers a nice view of the surrounding area and Capitol bldg.

http://www.barattas.com/museum.html

Here%26#39;s the East Village website:

eastvillagedesmoines.com/Attractions/tabid/5…

Have fun! Des Moines has plenty to offer.

to clarify, the neighborhood farmers market is right by Drake on 25th %26amp; University.

Mars Cafe is just east of school on University. You%26#39;ll also find chains and Walgreens etc in the area. But please take her to one of the places I or others have mentioned! Goodness knows she%26#39;ll be eating cheap pizza and subs soon enough. :)

PS Our student loved the rooftop cafe for an afternoon break. The museum there is nice, too. Not too big but interesting. Nice caucus exhibit.

Thank you all for your ideaas. I am getting the feeling that there is a lot more to Des Moines than first realized.

We will be staying at Hotel Ft Des Moines downtown. We%26#39;ll only be there 1 night and then we stay on campus 1 night. I was thinking we would check out Gateway Market and East Village on this trip. I%26#39;m sure we will have loads of opportunities in the coming years to get to know the area.

I think we might also try out Jethro%26#39;s. My DH likes barbecue and I%26#39;m thinking it might be a place he would be happy with.

XenaUsa, Do you remember how long you stayed when your student moved in to the dorm first year? From what I can tell, there are actvities for the kids from the time they get there. I%26#39;m not sure how long I should plan on staying. I think I am trying to postpone the inevidable.

Hi,

If your husband likes BBQ, do check out Flying Mango. It%26#39;s very good.

As I recall we left her the same day we moved her in. We got her settled, did the Target/Radio Shack trip for computer cables etc and things like Easy Mac and peanut butter, things to fill the mini-fridge, etc. Took her out for a meal and then beat it. Cried all the way home. But it%26#39;s been great. Really.

Xena,

You left the day you moved her in?? Oh dear!! I am SO not ready for this!

Thanks for re-directing me to Flying Mango. It has come up several times on this board, so I know it is a popular spot.

You left the same day, really??

I was thinking at least a couple of days!

Oh, I can%26#39;t stand it!

Hi Debbie,

Ok, I checked with my husband who reminded me that we drove out the day before, stayed in a hotel in West Des Moines, and moved her in the next morning.

As I recall, at breakfast you would have thought we were all enjoying a last meal before a trip to the gallows. Then, yes, harsh as it sounds, we left her there that day and went home. It was difficult and I%26#39;m not kidding when I say I cried all the way home, but she was fine and we knew she would be, really. My heart goes out to you. :)

There is a Holiday Inn Express very near Drake but they fill up quickly so if you want to stay there you might call today and reserve. Each time we%26#39;ve been there we stayed in West Des Moines. Just a short trip back to school and we had pleasant accommodations at the Fairfield Inn, but there are several hotels out there near the Jordon Creek Mall. More interesting accommodations are probably found downtown but we went for the best deal we could get at a place we felt comfortable with. We once stayed at the Quality Inn on Merle Hay and it was NOT pleasant. Moldy, crumbling shower tiles made me shudder.

Good luck, I hope she enjoys Drake!

Xena,

Thank you for the reassurance. I just don%26#39;t want to let go, but I know that%26#39;s my job right now. I think it will be hard on her too.....for about a

nano second!

We stayed at the Holiday Inn by campus when we went for a follow up visit in February. I think I might try to get it again because of its location. It was fine staying there...nothing fancy, but adequate. I%26#39;m so glad you told me about the yucky hotel. I think we will avoid it, based on your experience. We did stay in West Des Moine near Jordan Creek the first time we visited. It is a lovely area.

I hope she loves Drake too. I don%26#39;t see how see could do otherwiase!

Thanks for everyone%26#39;s responses! It seems like Des Moines is a city that has many treasures and on each of our trips, I know we will be exloring more of them!

Debbie

I used the private message function to send you a note, was afraid i was getting too off topic with the drake talk.