Out in Des Moines yesterday for a client meeting. Client suggested a quick lunch at nearby Jethro's BBQ, which apparently is a small chain throughout the Des Moines area.

BBQ smelled great but I was in the mood for a BLT, so opted for the Ultimate BLT: Triple decker style on Texas toast with slabs and slabs of bacon, crisp lettuce, juicy tomato and creamy mayonnaise. This was excellent quality thick cut bacon, I was really pleased. For a side had the jalapeno cream corn, it was smoked cream corn with an delicious fresh (not pickled) chopped jalapeno bite, ate every last bit.

Jethro's BBQ, number of locations
https://jethrosdesmoines.com
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SweetWillie,

You must have eaten at the West Des Moines location on 22nd St. All of the Jethro's specialize in BBQ, but all of them (other than the original location) have a second specialty:

Drake (original location)- BBQ
Waukee (technically in West DM)-- BBQ & Cajun
Altoona -- BBQ & Steaks
Ankeny -- BBQ & Seafood
West Des Moines -- BBQ & Bacon
Johnston -- BBQ & Pork chops

Decent to good barbecue, but many better places in Des Moines to get good BBQ.

When I was in Des Moines in August 2015 for the Outstanding in the Field dinner, I had the opportunity to visit the Des Moines farmers market. It is unreal. You could spend hours there. Blocks of goodies - a lot of unique produce, meats, plenty to eat and offering food from Asia, the Middle East, etc. If you find yourself in Des Moines on a Saturday, it would be a shame to miss this market.

Here's a link, and you can find a list of the usual vendors here too: http://www.desmoinesfarmersmarket.com/

A Brief History of the Antojitos Mexicanos DF food truck in Des Moines, Iowa from Summer 2015 to Spring 2017




This is the fist time I spotted the Antojitos Mexicanos truck, it was unmarked with a handwritten menu at the Tianguis Multicultural, a flea market in the parking lot of Southridge Mall. Different Mexican flea markets have popped up over the past few years, and some of the local caterers or home chefs set up stalls that turn into trucks or bigger catering operations or maybe restaurants. I think one of the tortilla venders had been selling handmade tortillas from a mobile home behind Southridge Mall for a year or longer.


The Huarache from my first visit. They were also serving pambazo sandwiches.






The first location I saw the truck was beside a bar on Hubbel Avenue on the East Side named Kathy's Depot. They were here in the Fall of 2016.



Sopes from their time beside Kathy's Depot bar.



This was the second location of the truck, in an emptied out used car lot on SE 14th St. They had their name on some wooden steps for entering and exiting the truck. This was active from Summer 2016 to Fall 2016 before the whole operation disappeared for a few months.




The sopes, with beef and pork topped with cheese from their time beside Calidelfy Autos.





The blank storefront is where Antojitos Mexicanos opened up their sit down resturant around March 2017. This building had previously hosted a Maid Rite, a tenderloin place, and an Abelardos franchise. The first few weeks just had the new Antojitos menu taped in front of the old Abelardos menu board. For some reason there are still generic french restaurant decorations that say things like "Le Cafe" hanging up in the dining area. The physical location had a full mexican ice cream and fruit dessert menu, I think this family also ran a Mexican popsicle or paleteria a few years earlier.



The tacos in a combo with rice and beans, how did they know I liked combo meals with rice and beans? Its like they are reading my mind.



Pork Huarache with double serving of steamy al pastor pork. Gigantic size antojito here.




A few weeks after opening and they have painted a sign on the door. Somewhere on the line they adopted the dancing snack items logo and added the letters "DF" to their name to differentiate themselves from a couple other antojito places.


Antojitos Mexicanos DF
4100 SW 9th St
Des Moines, Iowa
https://www.facebook.com/Antojitos-Mexi ... 601789231/

lovely post^