Iowa Files: From Rarebit Burgers to Carrot Juice: Lessons Learned Working in Iconic Des Moines Restaurants

Wini Moranville reviewed restaurants for the Des Moines Register for 15 years. She writes about the highs and lows of the job in her new book, Love Is My Favorite Flavor: A Midwestern Dining Critic Tells All. Yet many years before she became the “Datebook Diner,” she worked in a number of iconic (and long-gone) Des Moines restaurants—from the straitlaced Baker’s Cafeteria to the hippie-run Soup Kitchen, from the beloved Younkers restaurants (the Meadowlark Room, Tea Room, and Parkade Pantry), to an erstwhile Country Kitchen. For this appearance, Wini will discuss the chapters of her book that cover her time spent in these restaurants, and tell of how each later helped her approach her work as a food critic with a mix of high standards and genuine compassion. A Q & A session will follow.

This joint library-Historical Society event is free and open to the public thanks to the support of West Des Moines Historical Society Members, EMC Insurance Foundation, the West Des Moines Library Friends Foundation and the Iowa Arts Council. 

All Iowa Files programs will be live streamed on the West Des Moines Historical Society’s Facebook Page and all videos will be closed captioned. They will also be uploaded to their YouTube channel after the event takes place.