Hey all!
I'm gonna be making a work trip to the DCI Crime Lab in Ankeny (by DMACC) around the last week of August and was wondering if there are any must see/do/eat things in the area. I'm bringing my wife and we should have the better part of Monday to goof around. On that note, I'll be driving a state vehicle and can't drink alcohol at all and drive it, but we love breweries and the like. Are there reasonable taxis or services like Uber in the area?

Things we're interested in:
Breweries
Museums (automotive/aviation/railroad/military/general history,etc)
Unique/fun/outstanding restaurants
Laidback fun activities, sightseeing, etc.

And if you happen to know of anything cool between there and Michigan, I'm all ears!

The Rock Island Arsenal museum is pretty cool, might want to call ahead as I think they scaled back their hours in the last year.

M1 Garand SN#2 and tons of other guns on display. Google image search it to get an idea, it's free too. There's also an outdoor armor display

Firetrucker Brewery in Ankeny is pretty good - located in the old fire station right on the main bike trail.  There are several good breweries in Des Moines, Excile, Peace Tree, etc.
There is a military museum open to the public located on Camp. Dodge which is close by in Johnston.
Most people like Smokey D's for barbeque right off the interstate if your not looking for anything fancy.

the Iowa gold Star Museum is at Camp Dodge in Johnston ( 10 min drive from Ankeny). Its not the biggest place but while your on the base you can also look touch feel climb around on some Tanks and Artillery that is out side next to Museum.
It free to Visit. here is the website https://www.goldstarmuseum.iowa.gov/

You can't walk a block downtown without hitting a brewery. The Iowa Taproom is a local bar/restaurant that boasts 200+ beers on tap. Can be kinda tricky finding one in stock...it's a hit or miss game. 

Des Moines has the Holy Trinity of fast food. Tacos? Grab some Tasty Tacos. Burgers? Go to B-Bops. Chinese? Eat at Tsing Tsao. All of these places are revered and award winning. Oh and they're also delicious and cheap. 

Downtown has a large sculpture garden that is a popular hangout for families and younger kids. Lots of places like that. 

Oh and you said the end of August...what dates? You'd be missing out if you didn't experience the Iowa State Fair. 

Looks like I'll be a out a week too late for the fair, but I'm ALWAYS down for tacos and burgers!!

B-Bops is mediocre fast food and NOT an attraction IMO.

Plenty of better places to hit while you're in Iowa.

Try out the Old Market Spaghetti Works or Zombie Burger for some good food.
We try to visit one or the other when we make it to "the big city"  

That's three hours away. Cool museum, been countless times.  Not worth a three hour drive.

The burgers are good, the french fries are awful.

East Village has completely reinvented itself.  Really all of downtown.  Jordan Creek area in WDM also has some good options.  Louie's Wine Dive at 42nd and University.

I assumed he was coming in on 80

I grew up an hour from there and only went a couple times, its not a destination but its a cool thing to see once.

Dad worked on the Island and I did a summer there.  Been all over the place.

This person has bad taste and should feel bad. 

Firetrucker Brewery and Smokey D's. My two favorite places.   

We went to Mullet's near downtown just off the river. I really enjoyed my burger and fries. Be prepared to have a bit of a wait though. It's very popular.

http://mulletsdm.com/

Something kinda cool that isn't common is the Skywalk that connects all the downtown buildings. It's fun to roam around and see the different views.

Iowa Cubs at Principal Park seems neat. Haven't gone to a game yet, but the ballpark looks nice.

There's a Duluth brick and mortar store next to a Sportsmans Warehouse in Ankeny. We like going there just to look around. Fuzzy's Tacos is in the same corner.

This is why nobody likes you Sam.

If you say "fast food" or "quick food" for burgers it would be Hardies, B-bops or Culvers......

What else would you suggest?... maybe I am missing out on something.

What Sam is saying is that if you are visiting Iowa, why the fuck would B-Bops be an attraction or place to visit?

It is mediocre fast food, it's local to us, but it is mediocre fast food. There might be some fascination with it that Iowan's have because it's local, but as someone not from Iowa, it's just another fast food joint. It'll make a turd.

I think what Sam was suggesting, is if you actually want to check out food, burgers in particular, we have much better offerings. Zombie Burger comes to mind.

You can kill some time in Altoona.
Within a mile radius you can find Bass Pro, Adventureland waterpark (if open then), and Prairie Meadows Casino/horse track.
Top it off with great barbecue at Jethros or a steak at the Big Steer.

Agreed. The OP is going to leave here thinking we have crap taste in places to eat.

Please, choose something better that isn't fast food and takes marginally more time.

Rather than a greasy burger with crappy fries that can be had at Hardee's have something good like a tenderloin at Nick's on Army Post, a french dip at Francie's on Fleur, asian whatever at Cool Basil on University, a gyro at Chicago Dog on 9th, a Reuben at Court Avenue Brewing Co. on Court, a taco at Tasty Tacos on 14th, a bowl of gumbo at Buzzard Billy's on 3rd, a burrito at El Rey Burritos on Grand. . .  That is just the central to south part of the city, but you get the idea.

I chose one decent thing off of the menu at each place OP.  Don't feel the need to choose that particular item. Each of those places offer a wide variety of equally good table fare.

When I hit the road to places where ex-locals now live I normally take along Anderson Erickson milk/cottage cheese and Graziano's sausage and fixed olives as a "greetings from Iowa" gesture. Those seem to be pretty specific to Iowa, an in the case of sausage/olives, Des Moines.

When an English friend of mine passed through once upon a time, one of the unique things she enjoyed was our Capitol building.

I am not knocking the responses to this thread, but us locals should really compile a thread of places to eat and things to see. Whenever this question comes up I always feel the answers we give our visitors are somewhat incomplete.

Fire it up! I'm still listening!

Unfortunately, I kind of live under a rock and don't get out much.  Most of the above eateries are about a half hour south of Ankeny, although there are a few that are downtown DSM to just south of it. There are a couple of Ankenyites on here that can hopefully give you a list closer to where you will be.

Smokey D's and Jethro's are good BBQ places, but in DSM/Altoona. Iowa Beef on Euclid is on the north side of DSM with easy Ankeny access.  Most of my travels to Ankeny area anymore are to play cards with my in-laws, pick up sporting goods from Mill's Fleet Farm or Sportsman's Warehouse, or to fish up by Saylorville/Big Creek.

Disregard my earlier comment to Sammy.  We've know each other for a long time and I was just joking with him.  

All joking aside, the fast food here is no different than anywhere else.  Avoiding it will not be a missed opportunity for you.  You might check the interwebs here:

Ankeny eateries for some good food suggestions for Ankeny.  Others have listed locations for Des Moines.

As yammer mentioned, our state capital is pretty cool and worth a visit.  Just west from the capital is our Iowa State Historical Building, also worth a visit.  

Hope your visit is enjoyable.

Way to stick to your guns, SA

I have to admit, as a non-DM'er, a list of neat stuff/good eats in the area would be nice. We seem to end up there every few months and end up at the same places we like (Jethro's, El Bait Shop, etc.)

Wasn't the Historical Building remodeled a few years ago? If so, has anyone been there since?

When I traveled through Norway back in the mid 90s I remember a local there joking that people go all over the world to see the sights but rarely thoroughly explore what is in their own backyard. I have noticed this advice to ring true many times.

I haven't been to the Art Center since the 90s, but I remember thoroughly enjoying it. It is on Grand Ave. in DSM, OP, if someone here can verify it is still worth a visit.


I asked the wife, and here are her contributions:
Salisbury House - I think admission is free for veterans. I had a friend go through it about a month ago and he said it was truly amazing. This one is on my list to revisit now that I am an adult.
Papajohns Sculpture Park - Downtown DSM
Botanical Gardens - Downtown DSM
Iowa Cubs Schedule can be found here - Downtown DSM



Here is a website that contains a comprehensive list of things going on in the area. You just supply dates: catchdesmoines.com
If you see anything on there that looks interesting just post up and hopefully someone can verify its interestingness.