Weekend in Des Moines

Spent a relaxing weekend in the fine city of Des Moines, sampling some great restaurants and lounges with friends. First of all I have to comment on the new MLK Parkway. Finally you can get to the south side of Des Moines without following a confusing maze of twists, turns and stop signs! The MLK is a brand new, wide and smooth thoroughfare taking you from I-235 on the north side straight south to near the Des Moines airport. You can really see some cool new sites along the way. I was surprised at all the freshly painted bridges and extra work that seems to have been put into this project. This will go along wonderfully with the revitalization of the downtown river district. I could really sense a pulse to the downtown area. It is quite a nightlife scene there. Many, many neat restaurants and clubs for every taste and mood. Speaking of 'taste' there was a busy 'taste festival' being held Saturday night downtown. Lots of families there. As the night went on, the crowd seemed to get younger, lots of 20-somethings and 30-somethings. We started out eating at a restaurant called Judge Roy Beans. They serve mostly pasta dishes. I highly recommend their menu. Reasonably priced with a homey atmosphere. From there we ventured to the High Life Lounge. What a trip back in time that was! I was totally impressed with the decor in this lounge. It is 70's all the way: wallpaper, light fixtures, stools, carpet, everything. And the beers they serve: Ham's, Old Style, Old Milwaukee, the kind of beer my dad would have drank in 1978. They played great music in there. Lots of 70's and 80's, very little contemporary music, which suited me just fine. The bar is situated in a very old area of downtown Des Moines that is being renovated. They are turning old warehouses into loft condos. We ended the night at a couple of other hotspots that I cannot name...a martini bar among them. Don't worry, I drank responsibly...but I think I ate too much!