Woebegone Wednesday
"The new quinoa." Sorghum is in the spotlight for the first time in at least a century. The world's fifth most popular grain has its American farmers looking desperately for market diversification. China has been buying most of the U.S. crop for making baijiu, a popular colorless booze that is stronger than vodka, and to feed pigs. With trade to China in doubt, farmers are pushing sorghum as "the new quinoa." Five percent of the American crop was used as food for humans last year; the rest went to livestock and ethanol. That was up from 2% a year earlier. Kansas sorghum producers told Wall Street Journal that they need a new name, the "ghum" suffix doesn't sound good. If rape can be vindicated as canola, why not sorghum?
Old Threshers' Reunion (OTR) in Mount Pleasant celebrates its 75th anniversary this Labor Day weekend. I first learned how sorghum farming was revolutionized by steam engines there. No event in Iowa, even the state fair, restores memories of farming in Iowa with such reverence for the old machines that changed our ancestors' lives, and ours. Plus, the best food concessions at OTR are still run by churches and the Boy Scouts.
Deals today
• Kwik Stars' Wednesday special of eight pieces of fried chicken for $10 has been made a daily deal through the first week of June. They also have several other deals on both tenders and bone-in chicken, like two pieces for $3. Their fried chicken is ridiculously good convenience store fare, and they are promoting it for a month with super deals.
• Wednesdays bring steak night to Club 2000 (422 Indianola Road, Des Moines). Steaks are cooked to order with salad, potato and bread, $14.99.
• Angry Goldfish (2301 S.W. Ninth St., Des Moines) offers hot beef sandwiches with mashed potatoes and gravy for $11.50 on Wednesday.
• Curbin' Cuisine (1325 S.W. Oralabor Road, Ankeny) offers traditional gyros for $7 Wednesdays.
• Wine bottles are half price on Wednesdays at Trostel's Greenbriar (5910 Merle Hay Road, Johnston).
• Barntown's (9500 S.E. University Ave., West Des Moines) Wednesday specials are a pound of chicken tenders with fries and two sauces for $11.99, plus $13 core pitchers of beer.
• Wednesday is Biryani Festival at Chowrastha (5910 Ashworth Road, West Des Moines). Buy two and a third is free.
• Village Inns offer free pie with entrees on Wednesdays.
• Kids eat free with every paying adult on Wednesdays at Chuck’s (3610 Sixth Ave., Des Moines).
• It's lasagna day at Maxie's Supper Club (1311 Grand Ave., West Des Moines), breaded pork tenderloin day at Eastside Eddie's (3517 E. 26th St., Des Moines), and barbecue ribs evening at G Migg's (128 Fifth St., Valley Junction).
• Panka Peruvian (2708 Ingersoll Ave., Des Moines) has live jazz Wednesday.
• Bordanaro's (6108 S.W. Ninth St., Des Moines) has a Wednesday-Thursday only special on carryout pizza. They start at $6.50 for a 10-inch cheese pie. Each ingredient added is an extra charge, but this pretty much adds up to half-price pies.
• Gilroy's (1238 Eighth St., West Des Moines) has fried chicken specials tonight.
• On Wednesdays you can get any burger, wrap or sandwich with fries for $9.99 at Tito's Lounge (3916 N.W. Urbandale Drive, Urbandale).
• Randy Burk plays Stuffed Olive at 6 p.m. tonight. Brother Trucker is at Maggie’s Rumble Room at 7 p.m. Andy Classen/Jack Curtis Duo is at Louie’s Wine Dive at the same time.
• Jethro's all have $9.99 breaded pork tenderloin sandwiches, including side of choice, on Wednesdays.
• Price Choppers have sales on strawberries at $2/pound, frozen tilapia fillets at $4.49/pound and frozen egg noodles at $2.49/pound, through Monday.
• Fresh Thyme (2900 University Ave., West Des Moines) begins a week-long sale on lobster tails at $4.99/pound, raspberry oranges and gold nugget mandarins at $2.99/3-pound bag, and salmon fillets at $9.99/pound, through Tuesday.
— Jim Duncan, jd91446@aol.com | 
