Django - Des Moines

So Vickie and I visited Django in Des Moines. I had eaten there once by accident. The band I was traveling with stayed at the hotel in which Django is located - The Hotel Ft. Des Moines. I remember calling her then and telling her about how great the food was - I had the burger. I couldn't wait to take her there myself.

The atmosphere is come as you are but nice. White tile and wood paneling. White shirts and black neckties. Their motto is "All French- No Attitude." It fits.

We rolled in about 6:00pm on a Saturday night. The place was packed, which was a surprise because it's in a downtown area that seemed totally dead. Tumbleweeds dead. We were told that the only available seats were at the bar, which was fine because we usually eat at the bar anyway. Why? Because the service is usually better at the bar. Your server can disappear to god-knows-where to smoke, call his/her boyfriend/girlfriend, or go next door for a drink (I've seen it happen). The bartender can't really take off. Plus, bartenders are usually good talkers. Anyway, the bar was very comfortable. This is key. Most bars have some type of railing on the edge that makes it difficult to comfortably eat. Not so at Django. It's a flattop. Plus, they have nice cushy padded seats with backs. Awesome.

The service here was excellent. The bartender was very social and you can tell he really likes the food. He gave plenty of helpful hints about the menu. He reminded me of me, when I used to tend bar. I used to talk customers into letting me order dinner for them. I always had happy customers.

They gave us warm bread to start. It was rolled into little claw-shaped buds -a little salty. Delicious. Then, we started with the duck frites. Yes, french fries actually are French. They call them frites and they know what they're doing. These particular frites were cooked in duck fat. Jesus, they were good. Especially when you dip them in the bacon aioli, harrisa mayonnaise, or thai ketchup. I liked the Thai ketchup more than I thought I would, and not much needs to be said for the bacon aioli.

For entrees, Vickie had the Cassoulet and I had the chops. The cassoulet was duck leg confit, served in a white bean, sausage and bacon stew. The whole thing was covered in bread crumbs and baked. It was fantastic. I like duck more each time I have it.

I had the chops for dinner. They were exquisite. They came with two sauces - a dijon and a demi-glaze. Each was really good, but together they were great. The chops were a perfect medium and I suspect they'd been brined. The chops were accompanied by a cheesy potato casserole - crusty on the top and cheesy goodness underneath. The green beans were fine.

The weakest point of the meal was dessert. We took the lemon mascarpone cheesecake to go. It was a little too subtle - didn't really taste like much. The crust was weak. It was inoffensive, but that's all.

Overall, the meal was a real winner. A great meal in one of my favorite towns. Give it a try - you'll thank me later.