{WIAW #40} Des Moines, Iowa Foodie Fun

Hello Friends!

Welp I’m blogging live from the Nebraska University that I love and hate.  Usually at this time I am heading to my extra Chemistry recitation class (read: I go to an extra one because I don’t get what the frick we are learning so it requires not one, but two recitations per week for me).

I decided to stay at the food court today to blog my WIAW foods (click here to see what my WIAW is all about) because let’s face it….blogging is WAAYYY more fun than going to the same class over again only to be told you still don’t get it.

This weekend Dave (the BF) and I visited Des Moines, Iowa partly to run a 5K (which I did but forgot my shoes and stuff) but mostly to hang out with some cool party people.

(P.S. This post will be a little different than my normal WIAWs since I won’t be going through one day but a couple of days of eats, but it’s all good right??)

Saturday Dave and I headed out to the great state of Iowa.

No, it’s not all cornfields, but this is what you see when entering from Nebraska 😉

We had planned on meeting his cousin Jeff and his wife Elizabeth for the World Food Festival.

Let me tell you, it was chilly out but with all the people it actually felt warmer.  Plus all of the steam coming out of the booths warmed me up a bit.

The smell of the food being cooked as you walked around was intoxicating.  And drool-inducing.

You could get samples for a dollar and then actual items for a few bucks.

We tried a couple of things, but my favorite was probably the Iowa cupcake.  It was a corn cupcake with honey frosting and bacon on top.  Oh my yum!

The Iowa Cupcake

Okay I didn’t get this myself, but had a bite…Dave and Jeff split the quarter pound brat.  It was deliciously flavorful and enormous.

After that Dave and I headed to our hotel where Dave is a platinum member.  Turns out there are benefits to traveling for work all the stinkin time.

He got a little bag filled with snacks and was super pumped to eat the snack pack with the fake cheese and weird dipping sticks.  I just laughed and started my homework.  Apparently I still had to turn stuff in even when on vacation…no fair. 😉

After watching half of the Nebraska game and seeing that we were winning by a mile, we both fell asleep.  I mean we were out for at least a whole quarter.

Then it was time to get ready to meet my friend Calee, a fellow blogger who I briefly met at Blend, but have since become internet buddies with, and her boyfriend Mark. 

We were meeting them for Fong’s Pizza, which is Chinese pizza (who knew?) and we were told ahead of time that the wait would actually be about an hour or so, therefore I was already prepared to wait and drink at a nearby bar before getting pizza.  This usually isn’t the best idea for me, but it seemed to work this time.

Calee and I split a crab rangoon pizza that was gluten free (poor Calee is gluten intollerant) and the boys got some kind of super spicy pizza.  The wontons on top are actually not gluten free but are so yummy that Calee ordered them on the side so I could try them.  And she did too actually.  Because sometimes food is so good you just ignore your food allergies. 😉

I was so happy we all got along the first night because of course Calee and I are planning on hanging out again soon..and it just helps when the boys get along too.  Our boyfriends are actually both nerdy engineers (term of endearment by the way) who are super smart and goofy.

I think I am talking in this picture

After our run on Sunday we had some hotel breakfast and then watched Harry Potter in the hotel.  Yep, we seriously sat and watched Harry Potter (Dave may have fallen asleep too) in the hotel room while we waited for lunch time to roll around.

For lunch we went to the much talked about Zombie Burger.

It’s basically a greasy burger place with all kinds of crazy burgers and pretty sweet decor.

I got the “Undead Elvis” without the mayo and cheese, so basically it had a burger patty, fried egg (that got all over my hands!), peanut butter (oh my yum), bacon, and fried bananas.  I ate about half and it was pretty satisfying and savory.

I also made sure to get a fresh salad to go along with all the grease and let me tell you, this was probably the best house salad I’ve ever had.  Very fresh, lots of veggies, and a tasty vinaigrette on the side

Dave got a crazy big burger with fried macaroni for the buns (I know right) and ate most of it.  Apparently most people eat this thing with a fork and knife..but not Mr. Dave!

Poor Calee did not have a great experience there..and I really didn’t hear about it until afterwards.  They aren’t very accommodating to gluten allergies and one of the waitresses was pretty rude to her about it.  Kudos to her for not letting it bring down the mood of lunch!

Jeff and Elizabeth joined us as well since they are fans of the burger joint.  They split a burger that has grilled cheese for the buns.  Seriously, crazy burgers.

I definitely needed to get out and have a little fun this weekend so I am very thankful that I had the opportunity to get away for awhile with Dave, but really I felt like eating only veggies for the rest of the day after all the grease we ate.

It’s about time to head out to the Chemistry lab!  Happy Wednesday everyone! 🙂
*~Amanda aka Semi-Health Nut~*

What’s the craziest burger you’ve ever eaten?

Have you ever had Chinese pizza?

Linking up to Jenn at Peas and Crayons: