There were two places in Des Moines that I hadn't been before Jethro's BBQ and The High Life Lounge. So since there would be two chances to get something to eat while I was there I thought to hit them both.
Saturday when we got there - Sue Hicks was going to the conference as well so she got to encounter my two excursions as well.
We got to Jethro's about 7:30 pm and was greeted at the door by a couple friendly greeters. It wasn't as busy as I anticipated it to be for a Friday night. I had read a review online that the wait could be up to 45 minutes; but no wait this Friday. Got a table right away and a sweet tea. Nothing like a sweet tea; any sweet tea drinkers out there? Don't you just love it when you ask "do you have any sweet tea" and the waitperson responds with "we have sugar". HAHA - It is not SWEET TEA!
Anyways I had called earlier and had asked for the manager, identifying myself as a new food blogger, so they knew I was coming. Not that I am any Zagat or Urbanspoon reviewer; but they never really know who is coming I suppose; and the famous ones probably keep their identities a secret. But again as I am a newbie i don't quite know the rulebook yet. So when I asked a gentleman (looked like a manager) his name and he said Marshall I think that he went back to Wes (the manager I spoke with earlier) and told them I was here cause out comes the other manager, Wes. We were made.
Introductions made and got some wings coming and Wes was standing there in his Jethro's sweatshirt. I remarked that I liked his sweatshirt and he asked me if I would like one - of course I said sure I would love to have one. I am thinking this is great he is going to give this guy a free sweatshirt; he comes out with some brisket and wanted to know what color I wanted. I picked pink for the sweatshirt. That is the color of good smoke ring right?
The wings were smoked first and then fried. I did try doing this feat at Thanksgiving but it is a lot of work so I only got them smoked and baked. The wings were a bit bigger than the normal wing. Not as big as the ones in Columbus, but bigger than most. Make sure you ask for the Blue Cheese Wing Sauce. It may have just been blue cheese with some wing sauce thrown in but it was really good.OK - meal came I ordered the ribs and sausage with corn and waffle fries. The sausage was a bit dry but throw some sauce on it it and is good sausage. A myriad of secret ingredients made this sausage a step above the others. When you cook a sausage in a 750 pound smoker it is hard to keep it moist.
THE RIBS THOUGH were spectacular. A very moist meat (maybe they stole the moisture from the sausage - that is how moist they were) that came away from the bone with the slightest tug. Not fall off the bone but the next best to it. Fall off the bone ribs are hard to eat cause it is hard to keep them in front of your mouth as they fall off the bone (get it). These were cooked to where they would stay on the bone until you wanted them to come off. BTW I brought half of them home and they were just as great the day after. I just wished I would have gotten an extra rack to bring home. They had a few sauces on the table that you normally don't see in the midwest; Alabama White (a mayonnaise base), Hot (of course), Carolina (vinegar base), and a Georgia (mustard base); they were all good but the Jethro Sauce (obviously a house sauce) was untouchable.
The corn had a smokey taste to it and Wes shared that they smoke the corn to cook it. O my was it good. I don't get creamed corn at home cause my wife don't like it so it is even more of a special treat to get it but when it tastes this good it is even more of a treat and makes me remember it even more. And the waffle fries were hot and stayed hot through the whole meal. Didn't quite understand that, as normally the fries have to be eaten first so they are not cold at the end of the meal. I brought some fries home first and they reheated well (fries normally don't).
Sue ordered brisket and the smoke ring on the brisket was 3/8 inch deep. Very tasty meat and again with great moisture content and very tender. I brought a pound home with me for a friend and they vacuum packed it for me. She also got the slaw and it was a hot (temperature) and sweet and sour like sauerkraut.
Something that we noticed about the service here at Jethro's is that no matter what they were there to serve and accommodate us. Whatever we asked it was "no problem" or "yes" or "certainly". And as Sue and I were remarking on just that as we were getting ready to go I said to the waitress "can I take this bottle of bbq sauce with me and she said sure. What a great place and I will be back. I didn't take the sauce just wanted to see how far the accommodation went. I don't normally check out my tab real well but I did see the bottom line. And the next morning I am thinking to myself: "Self - that ticket was a bit more than it should have been". So I pulled it out of my pocket and realized I paid for the sweatshirt that I thought I got free for being a famous food blogger. Next time I will check out my tab a bit better.
That is ok Wes - I love the sweatshirt and I really did need one anyway. See you soon!
High Life Lounge coming tomorrow - not quite the same story.
Thanks for reading - Please come back.
Chow and Chow Down
Blessings to Ya'll
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Kevin
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