In Search of Iowa Mexican

Oh Ponak's how I miss thee.  Your beautiful red salsa, your wonderfully creamy queso, and your oh so potent margaritas.  I doubt there is a substitute for Ponak's Mexican Kitchen, in Des Moines, or anywhere else, but I now have my first culinary mission here.

My family have been going to Ponak's for over 20 years.  My parents have been going at least once a week for over 10 years.  My parents may not be the most culinarily educated people in the world, but they have always taught me to eat and drink what is good, and Ponak's is that at it's bare minimum, I have never been there and thought it less that good.  When my Aunt and Uncle come to visit from California it is there one request while they are in Kansas City.  My wife and I always take our friends there because no one ever complains about the food, the drinks, or the price.

Ponak's begins, at least for me and mine, with the margaritas.  Most places I have been in my life the margaritas are sour mix with a little tequila mixed in, not at Ponak's.  There the margaritas are on tap, made with Jose Cuervo (I know not the best tequila, but not rot gut either...at least not in this country) by hand every day and believe it or not you can actually taste the tequila, these are real margarita's folks and if you're not prepared they will fuck you up.

Once you sit down you are greeted by house made chips and salsa.  I've worked in the restaurant business for a long time and I have lied to many people about what is made in house and what isn't, but this shit is for real.  How do I know?  I've had chips there that were fresh out of the fryer and every time I go the salsa is a bit different and anyone who makes fresh food around the house knows that every tomato and every pepper are different and you will never get the same flavour in any two salsas.

By the time my family orders dinner we are at least two margaritas and two baskets of chips in and as my best friend John likes to say "I don't remember how the food at Ponak's tastes."  Well I have actually forgone the margaritas before and I can tell you that the food is pretty damn good.  Is it authentic?  I doubt it, but it is always delicious.  From simply Mexican pleasures like tacos and enchiladas, to things that very few Mexican spots do well like chile rellenos and tamales.

So my first foray into the world of Mexican food here in Des Moines was not chosen of my own volition.  The restaurant was chosen by my Aunt-in-Law and I mean her no disrespect by what follows here.

El Patio is not a place I would choose on my own.  Located right off of Ingersol in an old house you could miss it if you weren't looking for it.  We went for a birthday party for my 17 year old cousin in law, so drinking wasn't my first thought, but my wife insisted and I gave in.  A pitcher of margaritas game forth with.  Actually it was a carafe of sweet and sour, I'm sure there was some tequila in it, but that was not my biggest concern.  As the carafe was placed in front of me, after two margaritas were poured out of it, I noticed that half of the top of the carafe was completely chipped away.  Perhaps this is of little concern to many, but to me it is a big sign of how things are done in an establishment.  When I come across a chipped plate, or glass, or pitcher, or mug, or anything, weather in my home or in a restaurant, I throw it away, before more glass, or ceramic, or anything can become lodged in my or someone else's esophagus, or throught, or stomach, or lower intestine.

But as usual I digress.  As we waited for the rest of our group I started into the chips and salsa, ok let me rephrase, store bought chips and a can of tomato puree that had been opened and dumped into a plastic bowl.  I looked over the menu and had a deep seated desire to order the chile rellenos just to see how they compared, but I chose the chimichanga.  Personally I'm not really sure what a chimichanga is, but I know that I have no preconceived notion of how it should taste and therefore I could give El Patio the opportunity to make it's own name.

We finally ordered, and we waited, and waited, and...see at Ponak's 15 minutes is a long time to wait for food.  Most of it just needs to be heated up, put under the salamander to melt the cheese, rolled inside a tortilla, sided with pico de gallo, whatever.  Forty five minutes later my chimichanga arrived, along with everyone else's food.  I took a bite, then covered it in salsa...err tomato puree, another bite, salted the shit out of it, another bite, requested some hot sauce, doused the shit out of it, and finally it had some flavour.  I was starving by this point and ate it.  It wasn't bad, but it sure wasn't good.  It tasted like frozen food, that hadn't been seasoned, which is probably exactly what it was.

To make a long story short (too late!)  My quest has begun, I must find palatable Mexican food, and more importantly potent margaritas in Des Moines.  If I don't where will I take my parents to eat when they come to town?

The Server

So How's Iowa?

You don't know how many times I've heard this question since I arrived here two weeks ago.  The only answer I have is "Iowa is."  Even I don't really know what that means, but maybe putting it in words can help me understand it.

I know very little about Iowa.  I grew up less than two hours away and yet I had never done anything but drive through the state until three years ago, when I began visiting my future in-laws and other family members.  I moved here to spend time with my wife's family, to help take care of people, to go to family member's sporting events, to take part in birthday parties, and to help make holidays taste delicious.

None of these things, so far, have told me how Iowa is.  In fact I know no more about Iowa now than i did two weeks ago.  I know how my In-laws are, I know more about my family, I have a job, and a pretty decent job at that, but I have barely figured out anything about Iowa.  I know a pretty decent brewpub (if I talked about it, that would be shameless self-promotion as it is also the place I work), I know of a pretty cool cigar shop, not as good as Fidel's in Kansas City, but still pretty good.  I know of a market that rivals McGonigle's in Kansas City, the meat counter isn't as good, but they seem to know what they are doing and they have a bakery on site and a great little restaurant where they cook and use all the great stuff they sell there.

Basically Iowa isn't Missouri, Des Moines isn't Kansas City, and it's gonna take some time for me to get used to both of them.  I miss my home, I miss my family, I miss my friends.  I miss shit being where it's supposed to be, I miss familiarity, I miss my home.  Iowa is and that is all I have to say about that.

The Server

Procrastination

It has always been a part of my being.  Since childhood I have always been want to leave for tomorrow any task that should have been done today.  I was always the child who read his book and wrote his book report within a week, often with my mother taking my dictation in order to get it completed on time, more often to get it completed days late.  In college I was "The King of the All-Nighter", unable, or unwilling to study ahead.  As I put off the last of the packing that is required of me before my wife returns to Kansas City for the last time I find myself thinking of the things that I will miss about the town of my birth, and what I will replace them with in my new home of Des Moines.

The first pang came as I began the packing, even the thought of packing.  Moving has never been something I enjoyed, but has always been something I did a lot, at least in my adult life.  The first thing that I knew I would miss is this home that my wife and I have made together.  The first place I have lived in for two full years in my adult life, the first home my wife and I shared together.  It has only been two years, but there are a lot of shared memories here, which are hard to put into boxes.

Second are my family, both born and found, that I will leave here in Kansas City, all of which I hope will stay connected, either through this blog or through my addiction known as FaceBook or even the random visits that I will make to Kansas City or even better unexpected visits to Des Moines (see I told you there would be more run-on sentences).  I have many great friends here in Kansas City and I will miss them all in their own way.  I may not see my family as much as I like, but it seems that for the most part they all know when I need to see them and make it happen.

Mostly I think about food and drink, this is not a moving issue, but just how my mind works.  There are so many places in Kansas City that I will miss, so many great spots that I just don't know how I will replace in my new home.  I'm sure there are places that I will miss that I haven't even thought about yet, and some that I swear now that I will miss and I won't think about again, but having spent 23 year living in Kansas City there are a lot of memories associated with a lot of these places that are going to be hard to let go of.

I suppose there will be more talk later of the specific places that I will miss, but for now these words have been carthotic enough to give me the strength to finish the packing that I must do.  To all of the people, places and things that I will miss about Kansas City, thank you for being you, thank you for being a part of my life, I hope you are all still here when I return.

The Server

Prologue

I have lived 23 of my 34 years in the town of my birth, pausing briefly, ok, not so briefly, to live in the armpit of America while attending collge, well not attending, but enrolled in college (you can look forward to more of these run-on sentences in the future).  In less than a week I will leave Kansas City to join my wife in living in the place of her birth, Des Moines, Iowa.  Less than 200 miles, but I have a feeling it is a world away.  I embrace this journey knowing that it is the right decision, but not knowing what the future holds.

I know very little about Des Moines.  I have been with the love of my life for almost 3 1/2 years and yet have spent probably less then a month in the city and state of her birth.  All the things that I have taken for granted in Kansas City, will no longer be where they should be.  No reasuring memories of my youth, no snippits of time spent with my family.  Everything new, different...strange.

I relish these new things, but approach them with trepidation.  I don't know where I want to work, nor where I want to spend my time afterwards.  All I really know is that I will be with my wife and my dogs and my cat and that is all that I really need.

Why am I doing this?  What will keep me posting things here instead of just thinking about what I could do?  My hope is that this blog, these words, pictures and thoughts will aid me in my transition, perhaps even give me somewhere to find the direction I need in my profesional life to match what I have finally found in my personal one.

What can you, humble reader, expect to find here?  My hope is a server's view on all that Des Moines has to offer, the things I miss from my hometown, perhaps even an insight into what drives me to persue a career in the service industry with my education in the engineering field.

I hope that what appears is enjoyable to you, if not I appologize, I'm really not doing it for you, but for me, and my family, which is all I have that is worth doing anything for.  Thank you for your time and your interest.

The Server