USA TODAY names its 2024 Restaurants of the Year: 6 Des Moines restaurants we wish made the list

Susan Stapleton, Des Moines Register
·5 min read

The USA TODAY Restaurants of the Year 2024 list, released today, features 47 restaurants from fine-dining establishments to counter-service seafood shacks.

USA TODAY Network food journalists across the country pooled their expertise and local dining experiences to select the restaurants, which includes the places they know, love and recommend.

In Des Moines, vegetable-forward Harbinger with its Asian cooking techniques from chef and owner Joe Tripp earned a spot on the list, as did The Webster, the restaurant Sam and Riene Gelman own in Iowa City that specializes in elevated cuisine. But there are so many other eateries worth celebrating. Here are six places from the Des Moines metro, in alphabetical order, that we wish had made the Restaurants of the Year list.

Hungry for more? We also came up with five other restaurants in Iowa City that should have been considered.

Alba

Want a dish to satisfy your red meat cravings? This hanger steak at Alba does the trick.
Want a dish to satisfy your red meat cravings? This hanger steak at Alba does the trick.

The original restaurant from chef and 2011 James Beard Foundation Best Chef Midwest semifinalist Jason Simon concentrates on farm-to-table dishes for dinner from its perch in the East Village. The farmhouse burger is one of the best in the city, but try the New York strip stroganoff or one of four steaks, a section of the menu Simon leaned into during the pandemic, for a special night out. The restaurant has one of the few chef's tables in the city. In the warmer months, sit on the small patio that lines Des Moines Street. Happy hour from 4 to 6 p.m. in the bar area brings $6 appetizers and $8 burgers.

Location: 524 E. Sixth St., Des Moines

Contact: 515-244-0261 or albadsm.com

More: A comprehensive guide to finding James Beard Foundation-nominated chefs, restaurants in Iowa

Aposto

Aposto, the Italian fine-dining restaurant in Sherman Hill founded by Tony Lemmo, may be one of the most romantic restaurants in Des Moines. Open for dinner only on Wednesday through Saturday, Aposto sits on a hill inside a Victorian mansion built in the 1880s. From the veranda in the front surrounded by gardens to the rooms converted into tucked away pockets of tables, Aposto defines elegance. The menu frequently changes, but do look for Lemmo’s handmade cavatelli topped with marinara and house Calabrian sausage, as well as Lou Ann’s Italian wedding cake, an ode to Lemmo’s mother.

Location: 644 18th St., Des Moines

Contact: 515-244-1353 orapostodm.com

Clyde’s Fine Diner

The CFD burger at Clyde's Fine Diner has two patties with American cheese, onions, pickles and burger sauce.
The CFD burger at Clyde's Fine Diner has two patties with American cheese, onions, pickles and burger sauce.

Here the diner grows up with reimagined classics. Chris Hoffmann, a James Beard Foundation semifinalist for Best Chef Midwest in 2024, named Clyde's for his grandfather, who taught him to cook. He moved to Des Moines after working in kitchens such as Vistro in Chicago. In Des Moines, Hoffmann takes his fine-dining pedigree and applies it to comfort foods, such as a tuna melt that uses Gruyere and Chicago-style giardiniera, or the Hot Bird, two pieces of Bell & Evans fried chicken slathered in a Sichuan hot sauce. The burger, griddled on a flattop, may be one of the best in the city, while the Caesar sprouts combines fried Brussels sprouts with Caesar dressing. The aesthetic combines midcentury modern with a simplicity of a diner, so grab a stool at the semicircle bar or snag a table near the floor-to-ceiling windows. The patio in the summer provides a compelling retreat.

Location: 111 E. Grand Ave., Suite 111, Des Moines

Contact: 515-243-3686 or clydesfinediner.com

Lucky Lotus

Lucky Lotus from Souriyno Chen and Kevin Chen keeps the family's dining legacy alive on Ingersoll Avenue. Their parents, Seng and Dala Chen, immigrated from Vietnam and ran the now-closed Café Fuzion for 15 years on the eastside. Lucky Lotus, a cleverly decorated space with vibrant paper umbrellas hanging from the ceiling, specializes in Southeast Asian dishes, such as the bing bing wraps enveloped in a scallion flatbread with five-spice beef or lemongrass chicken or tofu, or the after school fried rice dotted with Chinese sausage. Last year, the restaurant revealed a new brightly colored patio space.

Location: 2721 Ingersoll Ave., Des Moines

Contact: 515-262-8488 or luckylotusdsm.com

Mi Patria Ecuadorian

Cesar Miranda opened the only Ecuadorian restaurant in the metro in 2011 to showcase the diversity of food his native country serves. The West Des Moines restaurant sits in an unassuming strip mall, hiding the hearty fare inside. Start with the empanadas, stuffed with chicken, beef or cheese. Or share the churrasco, a grilled skirt steak topped with a fried egg. The llapingachos are mashed potato patties filled with cheese and topped with a peanut sauce. Try arroz con pollo, a fried rice dish with pulled chicken, peas and carrots snuggled next to fried plantains. The simple sides — fried plantains, black beans and rice — come with many of the entrees. Another option, the Mi Patria for Two, features slow-roasted pulled pork, steak, chicken, potato patties, corn, two types of beans and a fried egg, as well as rice and plantains. The simple dining room with mustard yellow walls features all tables and chairs for a casual approach to lunch or dinner.

Location: 1410 22nd St., West Des Moines

Contact: 515-222-2755 or mipatriadsm.com

Oak Park

Slow-roasted carrots wrapped in puff pastry with mushrooms, shaved carrots, and goat cheese make up the carrot Wellington at Oak Park.
Slow-roasted carrots wrapped in puff pastry with mushrooms, shaved carrots, and goat cheese make up the carrot Wellington at Oak Park.

This newcomer on Ingersoll Avenue opened too late to be considered for the USA TODAY list, but in the future will make a compelling argument to be on it. Oak Park features new American cuisine from executive chef Ian Robertson, spanning gnocchi with truffle cream or bourbon candied bacon to bacon-glazed pork chop, a carrot Wellington, or pan-roasted duck breast. Steaks are aged in house. For dessert, try the $4 lemon tart or chocolate pecan bar or share the $100 banana split from Jess Robertson. The restaurant, built from scratch at 39th Street and Ingersoll Avenue, was designed to resemble a Frank Lloyd Wright home with a flat roof, long banks of windows, a transom in the bar area, built-in booths and acorn light fixtures. The restaurant also offers a chef's table overlooking the kitchen (and looking out on a mural) with its own special menu.

Location: 3901 Ingersoll Ave., Des Moines

Contact: 515-620-2185 or oakparkdsm.com

Susan Stapleton is the entertainment editor and dining reporter at The Des Moines Register. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, or drop her a line at sstapleton@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: USA TODAY Restaurants of the Year: 6 Des Moines spots we wish made it