(Note: this is predominantly a re-post of what I slapped up in 2010) ...
Welcome to Iowa, WORLD headquarters for pressdog.com. While you're here to view the wonderment at the Iowa Speedway on June 24 and 25, allow me suggest some fine dining, entertainment and motel options.
First of all, let's give Newton its due. It's not just a gas station and corn silo, after all. They got some schwerve over there, including Mad House Brewery, which makes some PHEN-ominal beer. So check out the Newton attractions HERE.
I always recommend Court Avenue district smack in the center of downtown Des Moines. View it HERE. It's the oldest part of Des Moines and has undergone redevelopment into the hipster entertainment area with bars, restaurants, live music, etc.
One of my personal favorites in the Court Avenue area are the German-themed Hessen Haus (built in a converted railroad warehouse right next to an active railroad track). Discount Jagger shots every time a train goes by! I keep wanting to take my second-generation German father here, but I'm afraid he'll lose his mind, get hammered and start talking about the Kaiser or something. The Hessen Haus is next door to the Science Center of Iowa, fabulous for the kiddies. It includes an IMAX theater.
Also, Court Avenue Brewery for fresh beer and pretty tasty food. El Bait Shop has a zillion micro brews on tap, including all (or at least most) the Rogue beers. They also have killer nachos. A super inside source tells me Danica's Handler, the famous Haley Rifle, is a BIG fan of El Bait Shop. El Bait Shop is pretty much my fav bar in the area, so you should consider it.
Right next door to El Bait Shop (they are actually literally attached and owned by the same people) is the High Life Lounge, which is an Ultra Lounged out 1970s throwback that only serves beer that was around in the 70s, including Miller High Life, of course. Hamburgers, cheeseburgers, stuff that comes in those little, red plastic molded baskets.
Just south of Court Avenue is Principal Park, home of the Iowa Cubs Triple A baseball team. If the Cubbies are in town for that weekend, you can catch a game for cheap. Go HERE for info. You can usually just walk up and buy good seats. Tickets are just $8 for general admission and $11 for a reserved seats. Save a $1 per if you buy in advance. Check the seating situation HERE. The Iowa Cubs are the pinnacle of family-friendly in Des Moines.
Also in the area (although not technically in the Court Avenue district) is the Raccoon River Brewery. Mmmmm. Fresh Beer. Court Avenue Brewery and Raccoon River Brewery see a lot of the pdog, as you can imagine.
Also good in the downtown area (and within about 50 feet of each other) are Fongs Pizza Chinese Italian Lounge, Java Joes coffeehouse if you want to get WIRED and, of course, the Royal Mile, a British-themed pub where Shane Rogers, International Superstar, and I had a lovely dinner in 2009. There should be some kind of plaque up that says "The International Superstar Ate Here."
A bit east of Court Avenue is another gentrified area of downtown called East Village. It's more upscalified with many "bistro"-esques options. Check the many options here.
Also on the "east side" is The Latin King, a pretty famous, family-owned landmarky kind of Italian restaurant at 2200 Hubble Ave. in Des Moines. Bonus if you go to the Latin King, you'll be near Anderson Erickson Dairy and will see the HUGE mother cow and calf statue. Be sure to get your photo taken with them.
Head just a bit to the west from Court Avenue and hit Ingersoll Avenue, one of my favorite streets in Des Moines. From Martin Luther King Blvd. west you'll see a ton of restaurants and shops. Star Bar is one where the hipsters gather. Wellman's Pub is a landmark. Also Ingersoll Wine Merchants, one the official suppliers of pressdog® beers of the race, is on this road.
If you're looking for the more suburban mall-esque stuff, roll to West Glenn and the Jordan Creek Mall. Take I-80 or I-235 east into the metro, then hit I-35 south. Exit at George Mills Civic Parkway, head west. Welcome to my hood. Big Super Target kicks things off. Target anchors the West Glen Town Center, there's bars and even the Funny Bone Comedy Club. View all the Town Center offerings HERE.
Keep going west on Mills Civic Parkway and you'll run the gauntlet of traditional suburban stuff -- many and sundry chain restaurants, Wal-mart, Starbucks, Kohl's, etc. Mills Civic Parkway takes you to the Jordan Creek Mall, the metro's big dog of malls. Lots of great restaurants around there -- Bravo (upscale Italian), PF Chang, Cheesecake Factory, On the Border (Mexican), Flemings (home of the $30 steak). View all the offerings here.
There are many fine steak places throughout Des Moines, but if you want IOWA food, the ethnic food of Iowa, "brown food" as I call it (because it is all brown), massive pork chops, steak, etc. etc., what my sister calls "sod food," eaten among the natives, the Iowa Machine Shed can fix you up. It's in Urbandale (next to a Sleep Inn), one of the contiguous suburbs. Buckle up for pork chops so huge they bring them to your table in a skid loader. Seriously massive food.
Newton itself has a ton of restaurants, etc. Many many fast food options close to the interstate. Here's a listing.
Finally, if you want the high-dollar, steak and chops that will make you pee yourself, money-is-no-concern experience (I'm looking at you, Roger Penske), then 801 Grand Steak & Chop House is the place. This is the scene of the highest restaurant bill I have ever personally paid, $150 for my wife and I on our 20th anniversary.
And no post on what to do in Des Moines would be complete with out an extended shout out Knoxville Raceway, just about 40 minutes south of Iowa Speedway. Unfortunately Knoxville runs on Saturday night, the same time as the IndyCar race this year.
If you have never seen winged sprint cars on dirt at Knoxville (or a similar track), you have to go. Here's some color on the track atmosphere. Here's dirt track driver Erin Crocker describing the mayhem. Check for info and tickets here.
Kid-friendly entertainments also include the Blank Park Zoo (the patron's last name was "Blank." Seriously.) Info here. Also, Adventureland, a very well done amusement park in Altoona. Info here. You can also flash back to see how Iowa rolled 100 years or more ago at Living History Farms, which features a 1950s farm and a 19th Century Iowa town. It's a festival of hands-on activities for all ages.
As for places to stay, a couple suggestions. Newton itself is adding motel rooms at a pretty good clip (from what I can observe), so give it a try. Probably sold out this close to the race, but you never know. Then search for hotels in Grinnell. That's EAST of the track on I-80, and probably closer than Des Moines motels. Grinnell is home of Grinnell College, the most expensive college in all of Iowa. Kind of trendy little town. Check out its schwerve here. Also, Pella, Iowa, is south of the track and about the same distance (time-wise) from Newton as Des Moines. It's home of Central College. Another option is the aforementioned Knoxville. 30 min. due south of Iowa Speedway. There are a few motels there, including a big Super 8, in the lobby of which I once interviewed Erin Crocker. Should be a plaque there too.
Motels in the Des Moines metro: Search in the eastern suburbs of Pleasant Hill and Altoona. Both are just about 20(ish) minutes from the track. Altoona is home of Prairie Meadows, a big casino. For reasonably cheap hotels in Des Moines, I always recommend the Merle Hay Road area. Partial listing here.
Merle Hay Road comes right off I-80 (which goes right by Iowa Speedway) and leads to Merle Hay Mall. Many many restaurants along this road as well. There are also a ton of motels out by the airport on Fluer Drive, which is probably 40-ish minutes from the track. There's also Ankeny, a town north of the metro blob, but probably about the same distance, time wise, from the track as most of Des Moines. Ankeny to Newton is an easy, all-Interstate drive as well.
Iowa Speedway tickets are HERE. So that should get you started. See ya at the track.
'Dog, I'm in the middle of lunch and you're making me even hungrier with all the food and beer mentions! Whenever I have the funds and the time, I'll be sure to make the trek to one of the IndyCar Series' best ovals. It looks like a fun time!
Posted by: H.B. Donnelly | June 16, 2011 at 12:35 PM
Oh, snap! I'm staying like 2 miles from The Machine Shed! Warm up the griddle!
On a related note, could you let your peeps at Iowa Speedway know that I'll be arriving Saturday afternoon and that they should have an extra crate worth of porkchops on the grill by 1:00 or so? I'm planning on buying a gunny sack full of 'chops and throwing them around to anybody who'll give me the time of day, Mardi Gras beads-style. Well, that'll be after I take down about 15 of them my own self. You said stuff last year about how Iowa's porkchops were good and all, but you undersold it by roughly 5000%. Shame on you for that. Had I known, I'd have been sure to arrive an extra hour early to work through an extra pig's worth.
One piece of advice, for anybody traveling on a budget: there are still plenty of hotel rooms available around and about town, and you can even score one on Priceline for less than $50, if you're willing to stay as "far away" (i.e. like, 5 extra minutes drive) as Urbandale or the West 'Burbs.
Posted by: The Speedgeek | June 16, 2011 at 12:49 PM
Geek, you picked a great place to stay if you like pork chops. The Machine Shed pork chops are, seriously, about four inches thick. Even I, 5th-generation Iowan, say "SHIT, that's HUGE" when I see them. I hate to brag on the pig, but the Iowa Pork Producers get FULLY DEPLOYED at the race. But that I mean a big-ass grill with about 30 pork chops on it at once.
Posted by: pressdog | June 16, 2011 at 01:09 PM
It's good that something like this coincides with something like Des Moines art festivals. You can never have enough art in your travels.
Posted by: Change Rules F1 | June 17, 2011 at 02:39 AM
Great recommendations Dog!
I wish we were coming down again this year, but the change in date conflicted with family vay-cay in Colorado.
One more recommendation on Iowa soul food. Treat yourself to a Maid Rite sandwich. http://www.maid-rite.com/
They even have a stand at the track!
Posted by: Tom G. | June 17, 2011 at 08:24 AM