Restaurants in West Des Moines

Throughout the year, shipments of live crawfish arrive at Fat Tuesday's doorstep. Newspapers spread across tables, customers pull up their sleeves, and baskets of boiled crawfish and corn arrive from the kitchen before the crack of snapping shells resounds through the restaurant.

In between their regular crawfish boils, the kitchen crew members whip up what they refer to as a "small but mighty" daily menu of Cajun specialties. Cooks layer poboys with fried alligator, oysters, and catfish, and pots of seafood gumbo and crawfish étouffée simmer on stovetops. Plates pair with Cajun craft beers beneath glimmering purple, yellow, and green streamers throughout the New Orleans–themed dining room. Testing their patrons’ stomach capacities, the chefs challenge them to the occasional poboy-eating contest. The contestants must polish off a 2-foot-long poboy within 40 minutes while simultaneously whistling the sous chef's favorite blues song.

Even with Chicago's skyline some 300 miles away up I-80, the taste of Felix and Oscar’s deep-dish pizzas seem to bring it into focus. Its chefs pile up to 15 toppings on their authentic Windy City–style pies, layering Hormel bacon, pepperoni, and Graziano’s italian sausage beside less traditional add-ons, such as sauerkraut or shrimp. They ladle housemade meat sauce atop regular or gluten-free pasta and supplement their comestibles with imported beers and California wines. For diners on the go, Felix and Oscar’s allows customers to place their orders ahead of time to reduce the time they have to wait in the seating area. The pie-smiths also keep galas well fed with their in-house party rooms or offsite catering.

Inspired by trips to the state's northwestern lakes, Okoboji Grill conjures the wayfaring spirit of summer vacation with hearty American comfort food. Chefs marinate chicken strips in beer before hand-breading them in a secret blend of spices, crown crispy onion strings with Iowa-raised pork chops, and stack thin-sliced meats into towering club sandwiches and edible replicas of the Chrysler Building. Okoboji Grill also culls recipes from international cuisines, adding an American take to greek gyros, housemade tzatziki sauce, and italian bruschetta and pastas.

Behind Whatta' Dish's handsome, unpainted wood exterior lies a treasure trove of similarly unadorned pottery that awaits the caress of a paintbrush. Ensconced in warm light and bright, multihued walls, guests embellish a wide array of bisque pieces, such as ornaments, pet dishes, and plates. As the last coat begins to dry, Whatta' Dish's staff whisks finished pieces away, glazing and firing them to give each item a protective gloss that makes it safe for use with food and trips through the dishwasher. Guests are free to tote along their own snacks and beverages of choice.

Hailed in Metromix as the top-ranked Italian restaurant in Des Moines, Sam And Gabe's Italian Bistro earns its crown of laurels with a menu that features Northern Italian pastas, house-made Italian-American entrees, and a robust selection of wines. Servers ferry entrees of veal piccata and fresh gulf shrimp to tables as diners toss back bottles of imported beer or virgin olive oil. Spaghetti strands slither into the shapes of quarter notes as live musicians pepper the air with the sounds of modern jazz and baroque opera Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights.

Bennigan’s evokes a spirit of Irish hospitality with Celtic-inflected fare and generous portions, evidenced in their half-pound burgers and overflowing pints. The eatery’s focuses on hearty meat dishes such as the pot roast doused in red-ale gravy, the new york strip steak, and baby-back ribs. Half-pound single-patty burgers, such as the Guinness-glazed bacon burger, kneel before The Big Irish, a two-patty tower interspersed with three bun slices. Alternatively, groups can share plates of snacks such as bacon-cheeseburger chips—kettle chips topped in ground beef, bacon bits, and cheese—as they cheer for their favorite team or shout the species of their favorite mascot during televised games.