Back to the Biz
The legendary Waldorf Astoria hotel reopens this week after a makeover that expanded from 3 to 8 years while costs rose to $6 billion, counting the $1.95 billion that Chinese insurance tycoon Wu Xiaohui paid Hilton for the property 11 years ago. In the meanwhile, Wu went to prison, and the Chinese government took over the hotel and all its ballooning costs. At various points, the formerly 1,400-room hotel was the New York home of Frank Sinatra, Gen. Douglas MacArthur and the Duke of Windsor after he abdicated his throne to marry American socialite Wallis Simpson. F. Scott Fitzgerald and Dorothy Parker wrote fondly about it. Now it has 375 hotel rooms and 372 condominiums. A basic king deluxe hotel room starts at $1,500/night. Only about a tenth of its condo units have sold as New York City’s high end housing market has crashed after years of rising taxes and crime problems. Hotel owners are reportedly OK with the costs and losses as their intention is to use the hotel to lure future builders away from Mandarin Oriental, Four Seasons, Peninsula and Ritz Carlton to the Waldorf brand.
The legendarily successful Chick-fil-A is about to open its first downtown venue in Des Moines — in the Local Bites food court of the Greater Des Moines Partnership Building at 700 Locust. That means that the anchors of a place called "Local Bites" will be the world's biggest ethnic restaurant chain (Panda Express) and the nation's most successful chain (in per store earnings). A couple decades ago, it looked like downtown might never see a chain restaurant and the western suburbs might never see anything but big chains. Now all the metro is a melting pot of the two.
Full Court Press is Des Moines' magnificent designer of restaurants that transport customers to another time or place: Hessen Haus, Royal Mile, Mullets, Fong's Pizza and Tiki Bar, High Life Lounge, etc. They will launch their latest joint Thursday. The Empire intends to recreate a short-lived place of the same name from 1905.
Deals today
The "Seven Styles of Cheese" is the subject of tonight’s cheese school at Cheese Shop (833 42nd St., Des Moines). Seven styles of cheese? They are Fresh, Bloomy, Washed, Semi-soft, Firm, Hard and Blue. Each will be paired with “an accoutrement.” $70 per person, includes all that plus four glasses of booze.
• Bubba (200 10th St., Des Moines) has a Monday night sirloin dinner special for $20.
• Kelly's Little Nipper (1701 E. Grand Ave., , Des Moines) offers a "Monday grind" special grinder and fries basket for $9.50.
• Monday brings prime rib specials to both Chicago Speakeasy (1520 Euclid Ave., Des Moines) and Christopher's (2816 Beaver Ave., Des Moines).
• Eastside Eddie's (3517 E. 26th St., Des Moines) has a Monday special cheeseburger with fries, tots or salad and a drink for $10.
• Trostel's Greeenbriar (Merle Hay Road, Johnston) has a Monday burger with a side and beer deal for $14. Their chef's special through Wednesday is a 20-ounce ribeye with pepper sauce and asparagus, $50.
• Beaver Tap (4050 Urbandale Ave., Des Moines) has $8 omelets and $10 hot beef sandwiches or Mexican bowls on Mondays.
• Johnny's Italian Steakhouses have a chicken de Burgo special on Mondays before 4 p.m., $14 including beverage.
• Smoking Goat Pub (3015 Merle Hay Road, Des Moines) hosts Shelby Smokehouse Soul Food on Mondays, 5-9 p.m.
• Haiku (1350 31st St., Des Moines) offers free egg drop soup and crab Rangoon with lunch entrees today.
• G Mig's (126 Fifth St., Valley Junction) has $11 smashburgers today with a side.
• The Station on Ingersoll (3124 Ingersoll Ave., Des Moines) has a Monday special Graziano grinder with a side for $12.
• The Continental (407 E. Fifth St., Des Moines) offers a Monday special double smashburger and shoestring fries, $12.
• Bad Dog Burgers include three 1/3-pound patties, six pieces of bacon, choice of cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickle and onion for $10.95 on Mondays at Kathy’s East 14th Street Tavern (3418 E. 14th St., Des Moines).
• Jethro's have a Monday chicken tenders and fries special $9.95.
• Angry Goldfish (2301 S.W. Ninth St., Des Moines) has specials on chicken Parmesan and lasagna today, $15 with garlic bread and salad.
• Eastside Eddie’s (3517 E. 26th St., Des Moines) Monday special is a burger with domestic beer, soft drink or well drink for $10. Those are good, generously sized burgers, too.
• Centro (1003 Locust St., Des Moines) offers half-price pizza and Peronis on Monday.
• Hy-Vee Market Grilles are offering a Monday special meat loaf dinner with green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy for $8.
• Who's on First (810 E. First St., Ankeny) has steak night on Monday, and it's an 8-ounce filet with salad, mashed potatoes and beans for $22.95
• Pelican Post (265 50th St., West Des Moines) has a special today on hot beef sandwiches, $10.95 until 4 p.m.
• Tito’s Lounge (3916 Urbandale Drive, Urbandale) offers all-you-can-eat wings Mondays.
• Johnny's Hall of Fame (302 Court Ave., Des Moines) has $12 burger baskets on Mondays and Fridays.
• Urban Cellars (640 S. 50th St., West Des Moines) offers $60 wine dinners for two on Mondays including two entrees with soup or salad, a dessert and a bottle on wine.
• Club 2000 (422 Indianola Road) has a burger basket with fries deal Mondays for $9.
• Red Lobster's Monday special is lobster and shrimp scampi with a side for $20.
• Paula's (524 Elm St., Valley Junction) has a Monday special homemade tuna, chicken or egg salad sandwiches on croissants for $12.50.
• Destination Grille (2491 E. First St., Grimes) has a Monday steak night special, sirloins and truffle fries for $18.
• Chuck's (3610 Sixth Ave., Des Moines) offers $14 calzone specials with up to three ingredients on Mondays.
• Price Chopper delis offer two-piece, bone-in fried chicken dinners, with two sides and a roll, for $6 on Mondays.
• Fareways have specials through Saturday on 5-ounce pork ribeyes $1.25 each, St. Louis ribs at $2.99/pound, and avocados at 88 cents.
— Jim Duncan, jd91446@aol.com | 
