This week in Des Moines: Restaurant Week is on, and La Mie's Art Center café
dsm Restaurant Week runs through Aug 16 with prix-fixe deals at nearly 30 spots, La Mie has turned the Des Moines Art Center café into a real dining destination, and whitewater is coming to the river downtown.
The big one this week is Restaurant Week, and it's already running, so don't wait for the weekend. Beyond that, a museum café you can now plan a whole meal around, and a look at the whitewater park slowly taking shape on the river downtown.
dsm Restaurant Week is on now, through Aug 16
dsm Restaurant Week runs August 7–16, ten days of exclusive prix-fixe menus at lunch and dinner from nearly 30 of the metro's best restaurants. It's the easiest excuse all year to finally try the place you've been meaning to, usually at a better price than a normal night out. The full list of restaurants, menus, and pricing is at dsm magazine.
Not sure where to point it? Start with our guide to the best restaurants in Des Moines and pick a splurge you'd never usually book.
A museum lunch worth the trip: La Mie at the Art Center
If you still think of the Des Moines Art Center café as an afterthought, it's time for a re-visit. It reopened as the Art Center Café presented by La Mie, and it's now a genuine, full-service reason to go, La Mie's pastries and patisserie alongside plated dishes, sandwiches, pastas, and salads, plus espresso, wine, and beer. Pair it with a walk through the (free) galleries and you've got a great low-key afternoon.
It's open Tuesday through Sunday (closed Mondays), no reservations, at the Art Center on Grand Avenue. We Are Iowa has the backstory on the partnership.
On the way: whitewater on the river
Filed under "not yet, but soon": ICON Water Trails just wrapped in-river construction at Principal Point downtown, near Scott Avenue, installing the wave feature that will make surfing, rafting, and whitewater kayaking possible on the Des Moines River, something central Iowa has never had. Crews still have to test and tune it, and it isn't slated to open to the public until spring 2027, but it's a genuinely exciting one to watch. Radio Iowa has the update.
And a little reading
In the mood for a slice instead? The pizza rabbit hole is deep here, our best pizza in Des Moines guide runs from Fong's crab rangoon pie to Detroit squares in Beaverdale.
That's the short version. Every week we round up where to eat, drink, and go out in Des Moines and send it in one email. Get it here, no noise.
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