One of the best things about living in Des Moines is the variety and quality of restaurant choices in the metro area. No matter what type of food you’re interested in, chances are, you’ll find something just a short drive away. However with all these fine dining choices comes the paralyzing decision making process of deciding where to eat. If you don’t make it out to eat all that often then chances are high that you tend to stick with places you know. Well, Restaurant Week is here to help you branch out.

What it is: This year marks the 4th annual Restaurant Week and goes on August 19th-28th. This time around there are 36 local Des Moines restaurants participating in the event. With that many of the cities top chefs cooking things up you’re bound to find something somewhere that you’ll like. The chefs are creating fixed price menus for this week only. Lunches for two are going to run $25 whereas a three course dinner is going to run $25 per person. Menus for the different restaurants can be found here.

Why you should check it out: With all the fine dining options in Des Moines it can be tough to justify trying out a new restaurant when going out to eat.  But that thought process gives you a blind eye to all the wonderfully talented chefs we have here in Des Moines.  Restaurant Week gives you an opportunity to try out some of these new places while still keeping it budget-friendly. This could be a great way to plan a date night with your significant other with some great food at some great places.

There’s more: Don’t forget if you plan on checking out a few different places, to hold onto your receipts. Diners can enter these receipts in a drawing to win a 3 night stay for two in Sonoma County located in the heart of California wine country. Airfare up to $400 for each person will be covered, as well as tasting passes to local wineries and gift certificate for two Sonoma County restaurants.  This is sponsored by the Greater Des Moines Convention and Visitors Bureau.

So what are you waiting for?  Great food awaits!

This past weekend we had a chance to check out the Iowa State Fair for ourselves and in addition to the AMAZING weather and awesome fried foods there were quite a few fun things that we checked out. We thought we should share our “must-do’s” with you.

ENTERTAINMENT: Don’t miss the Extreme Canines Show. As seen on Oprah and Leno these dogs do some amazing tricks that will entertain all ages. They run shows throughout the day and the best seats are either in the stands or on the hill on the north side of their setup. Parents beware that they have a lot of things for sale for the kids, but the money does go to animal shelters so at least it’s for a good cause.

FOOD: We didn’t try the deep-fried butter but we did get our calorie fix with the deep-fried Snickers and Oreo’s. They were amazing. We also had our share of corn dogs, pork chops and turkey legs!

DRINKS: The Iowa Craft Beer Tent is a great place to stop and sample some local brews. From wheat beers to root beer they have it all. If you are lucky enough to order the beer that empties a keg, they shout your name on a bullhorn for a round of applause and you score a free t-shirt!

ANIMALS: They have a mini bull, a giant bull, a ton of sheep, a HUGE elk, a big fat pig, and many other animals. If you have kids, swing by the petting zoo!

There is so much to do at the Iowa State Fair for all ages, so bring your walking shoes and appetite and get ready to have some fun!

There’s only one place where you can find; a cow,Michael Jackson and Shawn Johnson carved out of  butter. Only one place where you can find over 50 different food items on a stick. Only one place where you can find national musical acts and only one place where you can find a Charmin sponsored bathroom. That place, is the Iowa State Fair, and it’s almost here.

This year’s fair kicks off on August 11th and runs until the 21st.

As always, there’s something new and exciting  added to the state fair and we’ve decided to talk about a few of them.

One  improvement the state fair has made this year is the ability to print off your advance purchase tickets from home. When you buy your tickets from the Iowa State Fair website, you can simply print them off and bring them to the gate. Plus, all advance ticket purchases get you half-off DART’s park and ride system for the fair.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the butter cow. To celebrate this the fair released 100 tribute cows to various organizations in Iowa. The organizations were able to to decorate and paint the cows, which will be on display throughout the fair.

For most visitors, the highlight of the fair is the food! This year is no exception, some of the new additions to the state fair menu include:fried butter on a stick, peanut butter and jelly on a stick and red velvet funnel cake… on a stick. Of course, the state fair staples like cheese curds,turkey legs and cookie cups will still be available.

For the beer enthusiasts out there, the state fair now has an Iowa Craft Beer tent. The tent will feature 16 Iowa breweries with 36 beers on tap, including Iowa made root beer.

If you’re looking to be part of another record (remember the year they did the largest group of people eating corn dogs?) you have another chance. This year, the fair wants to set a record for the most people participating in a “stop,drop and roll” drill. This will be going on on the 21st at 2pm.

Once again, the fair has also provided a great lineup of musical acts, both in the grandstand and on the free stages.

Def Leppard, Train & Maroon 5, Janet Jackson, and Lynard Skynard with the Doobie Brothers are just some of the grandstand acts that still have tickets available.

This year’s free entertainers include; The Nadas, Leslie Hall, Ying Yang Twins, and Brother Trucker, just to name a few.

Of course the fair still has all its usual attractions that we know and love; Varied Industries Building, giant hogs, giant bulls, the giant slide and people watching galore.

So, as you trek out to Pleasant Hill for the fair, make sure you visit your favorites, but also check out some of the new things going on!