801 Chophouse has been on my Des Moines to-do list for quite some time. I didn't expect to be able to get in before the caucuses given the wall of reporters and politicians lined up for a table. But even a following weekend proved to be challenging. The wait, however, was worthwhile. The food and service were both excellence.
I will say that they don't make this place easy to find. I saw no outdoor signs and very few even inside the building.
This photo of my brussel sprouts is the only one that came out. They were slightly crisped but bathed in butter---very rich.
My steak was excellent. My server strongly recommended medium over medium rare, so I went with his suggestion. The outside had just the right amount of char. The interior was warm, juicy, tender. The steak flavor came through like a bell.
Our Texas Instruments colleague Cathy Wicks was gracious enough to host several of us at Ecco tonight. This is one of those restaurants that has been on my list for a long time. Even though it is within easy walking distance of Georgia Tech, I hadn't made it there until tonight. The menu is a combination of Italian, Spanish, and French that make use of some local Georgia ingredients. The combination of those three countries is sometimes a little forced, although the georgia ingredients (fruit, cheese) were all great and perfectly appropriate. We started out with a meat and cheese board. This actually reverses the French tradition, where cheese usually follows the main course. Everything was excellent. The Georgia cheese was a big hit, as was the French cow/goat cheese. I thought the sauscisson was very subtle and very good. The waitress said that the roast pork pasta was their signature dish, so I had to try it. It had traditional broad pasta (fresh, of course) ...
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