The wings were crispy and flavorful plenty of meat. My kids…read moreeach got a burger basket and the FF were very tasty. The burgers were cooked well and had good seasoning. Rodney provided quality service. He was personable and engaging. He kept our drinks full a smile on our faces.

After leaving the flea market at the Iowa State fairgrounds my daughter and I ended up at Jack's…read morePlace today for lunch. Jack's opened up on the Southside last November and has been getting some traction for their burgers and tenderloin. The menu is simple enough at just one page... Dimly lit like many neighborhood bar and grills. The decor has a rustic feel. Lots of wood, metal, and "leather." It's seat yourself. Seating is a bar and barstools. There's at least one high top and multiple low top tables and chairs. They have a small parking lot in front of the restaurant right off of SW 9th and there appears to be an adjacent parking lot that can be used too. We were greeted right away when we walked in and the bartender/our server told us to take a seat anywhere we wanted to. Our drink orders were taken a minute or two later. I can't remember if we were given menus or if they were at the table with the condiment caddy and extra napkins. When asked I ordered the tenderloin (just onions and pickles...mustard was at the table) and fries. My daughter wasn't very hungry and she just ordered the pretzel bites. Those two items and two fountain drinks were $29 and change before tip. They accept cash and cards. The bill is presented to you at the table and the payment is picked up from the table as well. There's a small surcharge for using a card to cover the service fees. I was able to steal a couple of pretzel bites from my daughter. Both of us really liked these. The cheese sauce that came with the pretzel bites is a beer sauce, but one that isn't overwhelmingly flavored like beer. It's subtle and VERY good. Served hot and fresh! Same with the tenderloin and fries! Hot and fresh and both, without a doubt, right out of the fryer... The tenderloin is obviously hand cut and breaded. It's a thicker tenderloin...and I like that. I'm not a thin hubcap guy where the bun is almost an afterthought and is basically a waste of real estate on the plate. I want to taste the pork along with the breading and the condiments. This tenderloin checked the boxes for me. I'd order the tenderloin here again in a heartbeat! One memorable thing about this visit was a conversation with a Vietnam era veteran who was sitting at the bar waiting for a to go order. The cook had called out to ask if I wanted mayo on the tenderloin. I'd laughed and asked... "What kind of an animal puts mayo on a tenderloin?" So no. He and I had something in common besides service. The holy trinity...pickles, onion, and mustard only. And I'm just TEASING! You do you! My girlfriend eats mayo on her tenderloins too and we've been together for over a decade. And I rib her every time. It's not my fault some people weren't raised right... Lol I was a Nick's guy. Is this a Nick's replacement? No. BUT it's a great tenderloin and not far off Nick's as far as thickness and tenderness of the pork. I'm still looking. To say our server Raina (I might not have spelled this correctly) was personable and friendly is an understatement... She's one of those national treasures. Someone who can make almost anyone smile and not only do you walk away with a good experience you feel like you have a new friend. If the food had sucked I'd still recommend Jack's on her service alone. Raina shared with us that there is no Jack. That the restaurant's name comes from their signature sauce. Can't use the whole name of one of the sauce's base ingredients... Trademark and all. Lol I wish I could remember the cook's name... She popped out of the kitchen a couple of times and Raina said that she is the one that makes the magic happen. And from the taste of the food she might not have been joking... They offer daily food and drink specials and it looks like items often pop up that aren't regular menu items... So watch their Facebook page too. Once again... A neighborhood bar and grill for the win. Great people and food! Jack's has several TVs available to watch the games on. Raina was wearing a Hawkeyes shirt and there's a Hawkeyes sign behind the bar... Being an Iowa State fan I kind of avoided talking about football. Anyone else notice who the Cy-Hawk trophy went home with yesterday? Go State! https://www.facebook.com/JacksPlacedsm

After a long day of driving, we stopped for the night in Des Moines and decided dinner needed to be…read morea true Iowa experience -- a pork tenderloin sandwich! My wife had never had one, so we chose Smitty's Tenderloin Shop, and this turned out to be much more than just a good meal. Knowing how HUGE Iowa tenderloins can be, we wisely split the King Tenderloin. It arrived exactly as expected -- a massive, thin, crispy, golden-brown tenderloin absolutely dwarfing the bun. More importantly, it tasted fantastic! The pork was tender, the breading crispy, and it delivered exactly what I wanted from a classic Iowa tenderloin. We also tried the fries and handmade onion rings, which were excellent. But what really made our visit memorable were the people. We met sisters Wendy and Mindy, who were absolutely delightful. We spent quite a bit of time talking and laughing with them, and they eventually introduced us to owner Ben Smith. Ben took several minutes to talk with us and shared some of Smitty's history. He started working here around age eight, learned every part of the business and eventually worked alongside his father carrying on the family tradition. You quickly understand why Smitty's has become such an important part of the community. The old-school atmosphere, red stools, checkered floor and decades of newspaper clippings on the walls only add to the experience. Some restaurants serve you dinner. Smitty's made us feel welcome. Fantastic tenderloin, wonderful people and a genuine piece of Des Moines history. If you're visiting Des Moines and want a true Iowa pork tenderloin experience, Smitty's Tenderloin Shop is absolutely worth the stop!

Wow!!! What a perfect stop!! Simple sandwich done…read moreperfectly!! A staff that makes you feel like family the minute you walk in the door! Couldn't have made a better stop on our road trip back home!!

I had to knock on the window after about 18 minutes passed just to get my sandwich. No other…read morecustomers, a solid hour after the lunch rush. Could have made it faster myself next door at the Fareway, and I wouldn't have had to pay for the inconvenience. It is a cold cut sandwich. Other stores in town can reliably make you a hot dinner in that time. Terrible place.

I always get #17. It's delicious…read more I highly recommend this place. I'm hoping they put Jimmy John's out of business

I order delivery from this location to work and have never visited so I can't speak to in-store…read moreexperience. However, always great experiences with delivery orders. Accurate, warm, delivered on time and they always find our storefront which appears to be a trick for the other delivery services in town. Delivery drivers are always friendly and professional to boot. I can't say the same for the corporate app -- when it works it's great but that's only a small percentage of the time. Lots of rewards and freebies come with the app, I would recommend as you can redeem via in person or when you call in an order.

Cubano sandwich and half Mac and cheese. My sandwich was very very disappointing. Good flavor for…read morewhat I could taste but hardly anything besides bread in each and every bite. Mac and cheese was good as normal just a smaller portion than normal too.

Excellent sandwiches…read more I'm so tempted to leave just that two word review, but it's the truth-truth. These guys know what they're doing. Lucky me that I was able to stop by on a Wednesday and try their special sandwich for the day. Ham, pepperoni, salami, two cheeses, fried peppers and more. This sandwich was a masterpiece and the onion bun is a winner! There are so many ways to 'sandwich' at this deli, and I'm very much intrigued by all of the possibilities.

Will be back for sure Best sandwich in a long time…read moreNo skimping on meat At a lot of sandwich places, I tend to order double meat. Just too much bread in proportion to meat at most places. No need to double up here. The Betty's was thick and juicy. Perfect proportion of bread to meat. Was somewhat reminiscent of a Cuban with mustard and pickles. Very light, almost falling apart bagel. Delicious! Best sandwich I have had outside of the actual Manhattan!

Smash & Grab Burger Co. Knoxville…read more Passing through Knoxville and the truck pulls hard into Smash & Grab. Got it to go. We both got the Jesse's Function Burger: two smash patties; only ketchup, mustard, pickle onion, and cheese on a brioche bun. The presentation was fabulous. The patties had crispy lace edges with great beef flavor, fresh red onion and crisp pickles that just takes you to hamburger heaven. Perfect beef to bun ratio. Juicy and full of flavor. The bun was soft and held up well. The flavor is fantastic. Fries. I am not a huge fry person and can take it or leave it. These fries are phenomenal. I love the fries. They are like battered seasoned fries or something, possibly dusted with food crack because I actually ate half an order. Very tasty. The service was excellent. They also have the 3% CC Fee, so it's not just Des Moines area. Paid cash and no CC fee, plus no issues just great customer service and fresh fantastic food. The fries are included and not extra. I came through a couple weeks before and got a couple of the other burgers on the menu, but made some modifications. I wanted to try just a plain burger and it's definitely a solid burger. The smash sauce and other toppings can hide the flavor, so wanted to strip it down. However they have a lot of different options and everything I have had has been fresh and delicious. I have tried the "Get in my Belly, Jack & Jelly" on a Brioche Bun and it was excellent. Definitely will keep returning. #IABestBurger Iowa Beef Council

Nailed it on the smash patty. Very creative burger options. Cream cheese on a Philly burger is a…read morenice touch. There was a special today called The Dutchess: Dutch letter cream cheese, homemade raspberry jam, white cheddar. Very creative and the flavors were incredible. Fries are also perfect. Ambiance is simple. Good job!!! Clean plates!

Multiple visits and we usually enjoy the food. Occasionally they get part of an order wrong and…read moreare terrible to deal with for corrections.

It's a great place for chicken! It's not cheap but really good…read more I wish they put more chili sauce on the Rangoon chicken sandwich

I have heard a lot about Potbelly Subs from friend and family around the community. I finally had…read morethe opportunity to order there on Saturday. The have a nice menu of sandwiches, not too many choices but also not so many that you feel overwhelmed. I ordered online through their app which was quick and painless. It's nice to have the option of delivery too. They charge for it, but that's to be expected from most places nowadays. My sandwich was the Clubby - which is a lot like it sounds, a Club sandwich with turkey, ham, bacon, cheese and a boatload of toppings. I had them put hot peppers on there and it's much like a Chicago-style hot giardinera. VERY good! They have a bunch of chips, sides and even shakes to chose from. Lots of choices. I will say that the prices for the sandwiches is good, but they really get you with the sides and/or some of the extras you put on the sandwich. If it isn't one of the standard toppings it costs extra. Sides are good, but a little pricy. Everything people have told me about Potbelly Sandwich Shop is true - really tasty subs with lots of choices. I highly recommend it.

One of our favorite restaurants for a yummy, quick and warm sun sandwich. My wife and I love this…read moreplace and don't mind braving the campus traffic to eat it.

I'm so glad we stumbled upon Hot Off The Presses while passing through on our way to…read moreMinneapolis--this place is an absolute gem. We were just here a few weeks ago and I am so bummed to see they permanently closed!! We came during lunch and took advantage of their weekday lunch combo (Tues-Fri, 11am-2pm), which includes soup and a half grilled cheese. You can choose from the OG, Kick in the Cheese, or Fancy grilled cheese, plus either tomato basil bisque or the soup of the day. Honestly? A dream setup. I ordered the tomato basil bisque with a half OG grilled cheese, and wow... just wow. The soup was rich, flavorful, and perfectly balanced, and the grilled cheese delivered that classic, beautiful cheese pull moment you hope for (and rarely actually get). The cheese had the perfect amount of sharpness and subtle bitterness, balancing everything out so well without being overwhelming.. I seriously could go for one right now! Every bite was comforting and delicious, and I immediately wished I had ordered a full OG sandwich because it was that good. The combo was mouth‑watering, satisfying, and wildly exceeded expectations for a quick lunch stop.

This is an awesome small sandwich joint! We stopped along the way on a roadtrip. The staff is super…read morefriendly and everything was made to order. The food came out hot and you could tell the ingredients were fresh. This is gourmet sandwiches on a budget! We got there right when they opened and stayed to eat our meal. There were at least 8 people who came in to order while we were there. I can tell it's a lunch favorite. We ordered Grilled Cheese of the Month Quesabirria and it was fantastic I would say it just needed more Consomé. We also ordered their Cuban sandwich and it was really good! This place is a classic hole in the wall but it was very clean!

ordered the dank pinner with garlic and herb bread lettuce onion with jalapeno's very delicious i…read morewill be eating sandwiches from here on out good job chef

Five Hours on the River + Cheba Hut = Damn Near Perfect…read more Went back to Cheba Hut and yep -- still love this place. We came in after about a five-hour float down Beaver Creek, grabbed some drinks, hung out at the bar and demolished an AK-47 French Dip and a Thai Stick. After five hours on the water, it absolutely hit the spot. The bartender was fun, easy to talk to, and added to what we already like about this place -- it just has that laid-back, fun vibe. Good food, good drinks and good conversation. Prices are pretty typical, but if you get there after 8, happy hour kicks in and the bar gets downright cheap. Definitely worth knowing. The AK-47 was hot, cheesy and perfect with the au jus, and the Thai Stick was a great mix of chicken, pineapple, pickles and everything else packed into it. Both sandwiches were loaded and exactly what we needed after being out on the river all day. Cheba Hut has become one of those places we know we can walk into, grab a seat at the bar, relax, eat well and have a good time. Go. We'll be back again and again.