Local, It's Everywhere

The Horn Player and I took a little road trip to the Mid-West recently. It was a hasty car trip of just a few days. We left near the end of the week and returned the following Monday. Whew! His children live in Iowa. The Poet lives in Des Moines and The Piano Player in Iowa City. It was wonderful to see both of them, but definitely not enough time to do everything we wanted to do. The Des Moines portion began on the night of our arrival with fabulous pizza at Fong's Pizza, an eclectic, quirky little place with dy-no-mite food. The Poet and her Other Half met us at our hotel after we had freshened up and gotten a second wind. Next we were on the street hoofing it to Fong's. It's a pizza restaurant with Asian decor that translates into the food they serve. How cool is that? We ordered two pie's, a Crab Rangoon (yes, Crab Rangoon) and a (my choice) Mediterranean. Both interesting and so delicious. The Crab Rangoon Pizza has even been featured on Food Network and justifiably so...excellent pie. The Mediterranean was studded with lots of veggies and little nuggets of Feta to make it special. BUT the sauce served alongside, I could have turned up and drank. Cusabi (Cucumber Wasabi) is a new fav of mine. Delish!

The next day we did a lot of walking and driving around, ending at the Des Moines Art Center. What a good idea. Definitely worth our time, in fact we could have stayed longer. 

Art on the lawn of the Des Moines Art Center ~ Loved this

That evening we landed at the bar of one of the very best sushi restaurants I've ever been to. We sat there watching the chef/owner of the place wield his knife and show his proficiency at the art of sushi. Check out Miyabi 9 if you ever have the opportunity. I had to sneak a few pics while we were there. Chopsticks, the story of Sushi, the chef at work and The Horn Player enjoying his plate of scrumptiousness.

The next morning we hit the streets for the Des Moines Farmers Market. Spanning 2 blocks across and 5 blocks long; we tried to get over the entire thing, but I'm fairly certain we did not. Truly, an awesome collection of everything from fresh veggies, neatly stacked on tables in the booths of purveyors, to prepared food to enjoy while walking along listening to a tune being played and sung by a local band. 

It was obvious the 'Buy Local' theme is emphasized and practiced by the whole of that city. My sentiments exactly. The Horn Player and I loved being there in the bustling crowds, getting a taste of the locale first hand. And, of course, I can never pass up certain food booths that really call to me while passing. These called the loudest...  

I haven't opened this just yet, but I did sample it at the Victoria's Table booth. Yum...

Another Yum...I can't wait to pop this open and serve it to some Saturday morning brunch guests. They're gonna love it.

Love mustard! And this one didn't disappoint. It reminds me of our Creole mustard. In fact, it's almost as good. ;-)

Okay, this I can never pass up. 

I think I've bought honey at every street vendor The Horn Player and I have come across on our getaway vacations no matter where we go. This jar from these fine folks is very nice, indeed. I opened it right away and the appeal of this honey is in its floral essence. I can almost get a whiff of a flower covered field where bees are spending their work day. I love to get a spoon and dip it into the jar, let the excess slide off and lick the spoon clean. But I really love it best over fresh yogurt cheese. 

Our trip to the Heartland was quick, but memorable by all means. When we go back we'll hopefully have a chance to go to a few places we could not get to due to our time constraints. It's great to see how others define, 'Buy Local'. I wholeheartedly agree; that's exactly what I do here in our beautiful Louisiana.