Be sure to read this great article from Cityview's Food Dude on 'Hot Dogs and Nostalgia.' It's a nice piece of hot dog history and some info on the new gourmet hot dog place, 'Hot Shots.'

We love good artisanal bread - in fact, if Grant stops in at Gateway Market and doesn't come home with a loaf of that twisty sesame seed bread, he's in big trouble. Check out this article from the Des Moines Register and you'll find out some excellent places to get your fix.

If you're looking for a tasty sandwich, this post from Slaking Fool on the Manhattan Deli should point you in the right direction. Serious food porn photos will get your stomach growling, too.

Looks like another restaurant featuring burgers has opened in Ames. We really like Oddfellows on the north side of Ames, but will for sure have to check out Wiseguys Burgers in Campustown. Here's a 'First Look' from Metromix Des Moines.

And finally, we should definitely have a cocktail to celebrate the start of summer this weekend. So how about the caipirinha? I had my first caipirinha at Cafe Beaudelaire in Ames and had to buy a bottle of cachaca on the way home! The Daily Meal brings us 'Learn How to Make Summer's Ultimate Cocktail, the Caipirinha.' Enjoy!

Thank a vet this weekend!

Have you had a chance to stop in at Hotshots, the new "craft hotdoggery?" Check out this article from the Des Moines Register for more info on the latest in gourmet hot dogs.

Eat Play Love Des Moines stopped in recently at the Home Plate Diner on the east side. Looks like it scores a home run for breakfast and comfort food (but that ad on the radio during the Cubs game could use some work). Read their review here.

We've been wanting to check out the newest central Iowa brewery, 515 Brewing Company - good thing Slaking Fool is on the job and reporting his tasting notes on their brews. Nice review of what to expect.

I should have gotten this posted last Friday, before Mother's Day, but I think it's a great tribute by George Formaro to his mother any time you read it. Enjoy "Just Like Mom Used to Make" from The F Files.

You've still got a few days left to celebrate American Craft Beer Week (May 13 - 19) - which you can read about here - so be sure to get out and enjoy a hand crafted beer from one of the many fantastic craft breweries in Iowa!

Enjoy the weekend!

Jesse's Embers is one of our favorite places to dine, so it was nice to see this great write-up from Road Tips. Seems like he had a great meal and great service, just like we always do.

Cityview's Food Dude wrote this touching piece on the reopening of La Rosa. Sounds like a place we need to hit up and soon.

Another of our favorite places, Smokey D's, got an excellent review from the Des Moines Register's Datebook Diner. Seriously, their ribs are worthy of all of the praise. I think I just made lunch plans.

If you're looking for a short road trip with a big breaded tenderloin as the prize, Des Loines has got the place for you. He was recently at Flatheads in St. Anthony, not far from Marshalltown, and reviewed their awesome looking tenderloin.

And finally, if you're still looking for that perfect Mother's Day gift, Drinking in America's Boozy Mother's Day for Dummies should be right up your alley. Great boozy gifts and a special drink - she'll love it.

Have a fabulous weekend.

We chose to celebrate at Cazador Mexican Restaurant in Ames.

 Cazador's reopened in February at 3605 Lincoln Way in Ames after being closed for 8 months. They did some major renovations and turned it into a clean, bright spot for some good authentic Mexican food.

There is also another Cazador location in Ankeny, both owned by the same family.

The menu features all of your Mexican favorites - tacos, burritos, enchiladas, fajitas, several seafood selections, lots of great appetizers and a few desserts, including homemade flan. Margaritas were only $2 on Cinco de Mayo, so we enjoyed a couple with some chips and slightly spicy salsa.

I hadn't had fajitas for quite a while, so I ordered the chicken and steak combo. So delicious! They come, of course, on a sizzling cast iron dish, and were muy caliente! I loved that the hot pan created little bits of crunchy goodness on the veggies and meat. Served with rice, excellent refried beans, sour cream and guacamole, this was a huge meal. I had enough left over for lunch the next day. Totally awesome.

Here's a close-up of the steaming chicken and steak fajitas.

Grant went with the fish tacos. Crispy, fried fish was topped with a slaw and tasty sauce. The three big tacos come with rice and those yummy refried beans - another generous portion of great food.

Service was quick and efficient - we had barely sat down when we had our margaritas in front of us. Being Cinco de Mayo, it was busy in the restaurant, but we only waited about 10 minutes for our meals. Several waiters ensured our meal was satisfactory and brought us another margarita, of course!

If you're looking for a good place for Mexican in Ames, don't hesitate to stop in at Cazador Mexican Restaurant on Lincoln Way in west Ames. Great food, great service, we'll be back.

Cazador Mexican Restaurant

3605 Lincoln Way
Ames, IA 50014

515.296.1110

Hours

Monday - Thursday  11am - 2pm, 4:30pm - 10pm
Friday  11am - 2pm, 4:30pm - 11pm
Saturday - Sunday  11am - 10pm

We haven't been to Noah's Ark in ages, and who knows why. So I was glad to see this review from Slaking Fool to remind me of all of the awesome food we're missing. Everything looked so tasty!

What do you think - is it true that French women don't get fat? Well, you can find out at' Fit, Fast, and French,' a cooking class by Wini Moranville on May 18 from 10am - 1pm at Baru 66. The class costs $75 per person and includes lunch, with wine. More information here.

I loved this in-depth look at pizza in Des Moines that was featured in Relish. So much history and so many styles of pizza - one of my favorite foods - I'm making my 'must visit' list for pizza pies now.

Eat Play Love Des Moines recently visited another great Italian restaurant in Des Moines, Tumea & Sons. Check out the review here, with some nice photos of the food they enjoyed.

Because I'm refusing to stall the beginning of spring weather (grrr...), I went looking for some refreshing spring cocktails and came across this post from Drinking in America - On the Menu: Grapefruit Cocktails. I love grapefruit so I am committed to trying every one of these drinks. Bring it on, spring!

Don't forget! The Des Moines Farmer's Market opens on Saturday! Enjoy your weekend.

On our way home from a recent road trip to Wisconsin, we made it a point to find this spot on the Iowa map....

We were, of course, looking for The Irish Shanti, in Gunder, Iowa. The owner of the restaurant was on the same "Talk of Iowa" program that we did on Iowa Public Radio back in June, talking about their famous Gunderburgers. We knew it was a perfect stop for Iowa Foodies on the road.

Although famous for their 1 pound Gunderburgers, The Irish Shanti menu features a variety of great food. They have the usual wings, onion rings and cheese curds on the appetizer menu, plus a relish tray - an assortment of veggies, ham salad, cheese and crackers - such an old school touch that you just don't see much anymore. Love it.

Their sandwich menu includes Reubens, grilled pork loin, chicken, and more - with a unique Irish Philly Steak, which is a Philly cheese steak sandwich with no bun, served over a bed of golden brown hash browns.

There are also salads, homemade soups, and a wide selection of dinner entrees like steak and shrimp, Iowa chops and fish. They feature nightly specials on Tuesday, Thursday (Home Fried Chicken - yum) and Friday nights. Homemade dessert is also available.

But we were there for the Gunderburgers! And a Guiness, of course.

All Gunderburgers are one pound of fresh ground beef served on a homemade bun with a side of pickles. Owner Kevin Walsh said they get the fresh beef ground for them at a grocery in Elgin, IA. You have several Gunderburgers to choose from - Plain, Cheese, Mushroom-Swiss, Vegetable, Bacon-Cheese, Jalapeno-Swiss, and Loaded. We went with the Bacon-Cheese Gunderburger with a side of mayo and some fries. Cooked to perfection and topped with 2 big pieces of bacon, it was juicy and very tasty. We split the Gunderburger and it was still plenty to eat!  

Our friends had the Loaded Gunderburger - it came piled with cheese, bacon, grilled mushrooms and onions, plus lettuce and tomato on the side. What a beauty.

We visited The Irish Shanti on Monday for lunch and for a wide spot in the road, it was really busy! I would recommend calling for reservations if you plan to visit on a weekend.

Here's owner Kevin Walsh visiting with Grant. He took Grant back in the kitchen and we talked about the joys and pains of owning a restaurant. He's a great guy and we were glad to catch him and have a chance to meet up.

The Irish Shanti also has a wonderful bar area - a nice wood bar and plenty of seating up at the bar, too. They can serve up a Guiness or an Irish whiskey, wine or a cocktail.

So if you find yourself in tiny Gunder, Iowa, you really need to stop in at The Irish Shanti. Some of the best burgers we've had and fun, friendly people make this place a destination if you are in the area. We'll be back.

The Irish Shanti

17455 Gunder Rd.
Gunder, IA  52141

563.864.9289

Hours:

Kitchen hours change seasonally, check their Facebook page for current hours

Menus and more information at www.thegunderburger.com

Always appreciate Cityview's Food Dude's insight, and this post is no exception. Read his take on restaurant owners taking on more than one place, and a great review on the newly reopened Gino's.

Speaking of patio sitting, Tally's has a great rooftop space and according to this review from Eat Play Love Des Moines, excellent margarita specials on Saturdays. Sounds like the food is awesome, too!

We don't get down to the south side of Des Moines much, but after reading this review of Baratta's, that has to change. Check out this Dinner and Cocktails post from the Des Moines Register.

With patio weather comes entertaining on the patio, right? (Our first burger bash is Sunday!) Good thing Slaking Fool has an excellent recipe for Spicy Chili Cheese Slow-Cooker Dip! Bring on the corn chips.

I'm not much of a shot drinker, mostly because I want a bigger drink than that!, but some of those shots have some pretty interesting names, don't they? Drinking in America gives us a tutorial on Drinks With Dirty Names.

Enjoy your weekend on the patio.

Metromix Des Moines checked out the All-Star Brunch Buffet at Jimmy's on 8th recently. Sounds like great classic breakfast food with a twist.

I'm seriously a burger fanatic and really enjoyed this post from The F Files. It's a great look back at burgers and why we love them.

Slaking Fool was also enjoying breakfast recently, only he was at Centro tasting their biscuits and gravy. Seems like he was quite impressed.

I know there are some serious 'The Other Place' fans all across Iowa, but it's mostly for their pizza. Des Loines stopped in at the Clear Lake location to try their breaded tenderloin. Read all about it here.

And in the 'what will they think of next' category, the winner this week is clearly Heineken's new 'Ignite.' Drinking in America gives us the scoop on LEDs to 'light up' your beer. Crazy.

Buy someone a beverage this weekend!

I got this recipe from a guy that I worked with at the Iron Horse Supper Club in Sheldon, Iowa - Gene Coon. He was retired Navy and had operated a successful catering operation for many years. He also made salad dressing, which was sold in the grocery stores in northwest Iowa. One was called L'trio French, and there was almost always a jar in the refrigerator at home when I was a kid.

Working with Gene when I was a young chef was quite a treat. He was in his 60's and I was 19. I learned lots of "stuff" from him, as he had years of experience. I may have picked up a few of Gene's habits, some good, some not so good. Knowing him and learning from him has enriched my career.

The restaurant was new and we made all of the salad dressings from scratch. He told me this dressing was similar to the L'trio French- but we couldn't use that recipe because he had sold the dressing recipe and the trademark to "Cookies" BBQ company in Wall Lake. To the best of my knowledge, they have never produced the dressing. He did tell me the difference between this recipe and the one he sold. I will carry that secret to my grave- cooks code.

Anyway, when I became the owner of "R" Place Restaurant in Bloomfield, Iowa, in 1987, we began to make our own salad dressings and this one became quite popular with the staff and clientele.

It is still good, I made some the other day. You do have to have a mixer and beat the daylights out of it so it emulsifies correctly. It is nice and tangy, and just a little sweet; I like it simply drizzled over a plate of sliced hard boiled eggs, Amy likes it drizzled over cottage cheese.  My old friend, Pat Niichel, used to love it with his french fries.

So, enough history - let's make some dressing.

French Dressing

1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup chili sauce (bottled)
3/4 cup onion (diced very fine)
2 cups good salad oil

Make sure the onions are finely diced.

Measure all ingredients, except the oil, into a stand mixer bowl.

Mix together until well dissolved.

Add oil (slowly) in a small stream with the mixer running on high. 

Mix until completely emulsified and thick.

Makes about 4 cups.

Enjoy with your favorite salad ingredients.

Let us know if you try this recipe!

Enjoyed this article in the Business Record about Iowa craft beer. With so many breweries opening up in the state, this article gives some interesting insight on it's popularity.

Have you been reading the Eat Play Love Des Moines! blog? It's chock full of info on Des Moines and this post on the Machine Shed restaurant was great. I try to read them regularly and you should, too!

We've never had the pizza at Django, but after seeing this post from Slaking Fool, I think we need to order one! Both of the pies he tried looked amazing.

Well, if spring ever decides to show up and actually stay around here, we'll all be ready to eat some lighter foods, right? This Cashew Chicken Mango Salad from Iowa Girl Eats looks like just the thing. Yum.

And finally, here's a little Friday Funny to give you a giggle. For some reason, this cartoon just totally cracked me up!

Have a great weekend. Go Cubs!