Soy Amazing

A story of American ingenuity starring Ben Franklin, Henry Ford, Rod Blogojevich and a cast of thousands

As we munched on edamames at the Iowa Restaurant Association’s annual convention, a farmer asked me if I knew what we were eating. I explained that they were simply immature soy beans.

“You’re kidding me? I’ve been growing these for fifty years and I never knew I could eat them,” he laughed.

Mysterious soybeans are America’s number two export behind corn. Each year Iowa ranks first or second in soybean production. Yet a majority of Iowans can’t even recognize them in a bean field. At a time when this country consumes more, and produces relatively less, than ever before, soybeans should be a source of great pride and a symbol of American ingenuity. Yet they linger in the shadows of sexier things, like corn and meat.

Soybeans are contradictions in a pod. They are both old and new, dating back 5000 years in China but best known today as a brand new, genetically modified, miracle seed. Though they are inedible raw, they convert into the most economical source of protein in the world - over sixty percent oil and protein - there‘s nothing else like that on earth. Soybeans replenish the soil with their nitrogen and they saved the Midwest from becoming a Dust Bowl dessert. Yet they are the scourge of environmentalists and so-called natural food lovers. Europeans call genetically modified beans (ninety five percent of Iowa’s crop) “Frankenfood,” and forbid their importation.

Iowa farmers think that’s pretty peculiar. Humans have been tinkering with all seeds for centuries. That’s how we got apples that we can eat instead of the bitter tasting ones that were only good for pressing into hard cider through the middle of the 19th century. Same thing with most fruits.

“If you can crossbreed a bean that repels insects, why wouldn’t you want to? Would you rather plant beans for insects to eat? Would you rather kill the insects with pesticides?,” asked the same old farmer who tasted his first edamames this year.

These are exciting times for soybeans. The newest generation departs from the historical evolution of bean science. Food science in general, and Johnston-based Pioneer Hy-Bred in particular, have been previously more interested in engineering seeds to increase yields - to grow more beans. That changed the last decade in a rush to invent a bean that produced healthier oils for humans to eat. We now have soybean oil that can fry potatoes at temperatures above 400 degrees F without burning, and without trans fats. This has opened up exciting new culinary applications for the amazing soybean.

The story of soybeans is the story of American ingenuity, triumph and diversity. After Columbus’ first voyage to the New World, thousands of bean types crossed oceans in all directions for five hundred years.

“Settlers brought their own bean stocks with them to America. Nearly every town and holler had a bean with a different name and characteristics from those in the next town or holler,” explains bean farmer and Berea College Professor Bill Best.

Ben Franklin imported some of the first soybeans to America, as fertilizer. Americans didn’t grow them as food until the 1920’s but during the following four decades they conquered both their genus and world agriculture. The soybean now accounts for about ninety five percent of all beans grown in America yet it triumphed inconspicuously. Consider Iowa, often America’s leading soybean producer. It identifies itself as “The Corn State” and as the leading hog and egg state too. Yet all those industries are completely beholden to soybeans. They fertilize corn, save the soil it grows in, and they provided the inexpensive feed that allowed meat, poultry and eggs to become affordable foods for the first time in history.

How Soy Triumphed

The Chinese have been using soybeans in crop rotation for five millennia. Native Americans knew to grow beans with corn because they enriched the latter. Yet it took Dust Bowl soil erosion and a 1936 act of Congress to convince Midwestern farmers to plant soybeans in order to regenerate soil with their nitrogen-fixing abilities. Henry Ford invested millions in soybean research. By 1935 every Ford car was made with soy products. Mr. Ford wore suits made out of Azlon, a soy fiber textile that inspired nylon’s invention. He served all-soy meals after his scientists developed the first commercial soy milk, ice cream and non-dairy whipped topping.

During World War II soybeans were grown as a protein substitute for meats and dairy products. After Iowa farmers started planting them as food, they discovered the beans produced twice as much protein per acre than any other major vegetable or grain, five to ten times more than land set aside for grazing dairy animals, and up to 15 times more than land used in meat production. Scientists discovered that soybeans could be compressed for their oils and that their by-product could be transformed into soy meal, mainly for livestock feed.
Soybeans plowed inexorably through Iowa after World War II, when it was learned that they are provide a complete protein, meaning they contain significant amounts of all the essential amino acids that the human body can not synthesize by itself. Kennedy era trade negotiations secured tariff-free access for US soybeans in Europe. For the next decade America exported over 90 % of the world's soybeans and Iowa produced more than any other state. In recent decades, the rest of the world joined this green gold rush, sometimes generating controversy. Brazil is now the world’s leading soybean exporter to the chagrin of environmentalists who see Brazilian soy fields, dubbed Soyzonia, as a threat to Amazon rain forests and the pampas.

Still U.S. growers are projected to harvest a near-record 3.3 billion bushels this year. Iowa’s soy crop is up 300,000 acres from last year while Iowa corn plantings are down 200,000 acres. That might be more of a trend than an aberration.

Soft Science & Soy Science

Science has driven soy’s growth since Henry Ford’s day but lately it’s been soft science, as in nutrition. After nutritional experts determined that cholesterol was a health villain, alternatives to animal fats became popular, including hydrogenated (injected with hydrogen to create stability at high temperatures) soy-based margarines, oils and vegetable shortenings. In the early 1990’s, the Food & Drug Administration officially approved soy as a cholesterol-lowering food. That triggered tremendous growth for soy foods. From 1992 to 2003, annual sales grew from $300 million to $3.9 billion as consumers turned to margarines, tofu, soy milk, soy ice cream, tempeh, soy sauce, soy lecithin, yuba, natto, beans sprouts, Chinese fermented black beans (actually soy beans) and TVP (textured vegetable protein) products like meatless burgers, sausages and poultry.

Soy’s amazing growth slowed in the last decade. First nutritional scientists discovered that its prescription for avoiding cholesterol wasn’t helping people reduce their risk for heart diseases. They blamed trans fats, which were prevalent in hydrogenated oils. The nation’s potato fryers converted to trans fat free oils. Then Rod Blagojevich got involved. The infamous governor of Illinois ordered state prison inmates on new diets of mostly TVP products made by Blogojevich contributor ADM. Lawsuits followed alleging toxic effects from the diets. Soy foods came under scrutiny.

A decade of studies produced inconclusive findings regarding soy’s effects on health. Multiple suggested soy diets might help prevent prostate cancer and others that soy diets can speed brain recovery after injury. Epidemiological studies suggested that fermented tempeh intake improves memory function but that unfermented tofu intake might retard it in the elderly. Soybean industry scientists disputed that with their own studies claiiming no advantages for fermented soy products over unfermented ones. Some studies suggest that heavy soy diets could adversely increase chances of recurring breast cancer in post menopausal women and others suggested that large amounts of soy might prevent breast cancer in the first place.

Today the nutritional world and the soybean industry agree that a new generation of soybeans which produce less linolenic acid, more oleic acid, and fewer saturated fats is better for everyone. “Low - lin” beans were introduced in 2005 and improved ever since under names like Nutrium, Asoyia, Vistive and Plenish. They allow high temperature stability without trans fats, so their oils can be used in high heat frying. They’re also more versatile in industrial applications. Farmers can fetch a premium price for them.

Soy Food Art

Raw soybeans, including popular edamames, are toxic to humans, hogs and chickens. So soybeans have always been dependent upon scientists beginning with the first cooks. Thousands of years before Louis Pasteur “discovered” fermentation, Chinese food scientists began making soy sauce by mixing soybeans and grain with cultures and/or yeast.

America’s first fermented soybean beer was probably produced by Court Avenue Brewing Company in Des Moines.

“We think we were first. The New York Times thought we were too, and no one has told us we weren’t,” explained owner Scot Carlson who added that his beer drew customers from Asia, including brew masters.

“We just didn’t sell enough to keep making it regularly. We’re too small,” he said.

Purdue University and Pony Express Brewery of Missouri were also once involved with making soy beers but their main market was Japan. Then all major Japanese brewers entered the soy game in 2004. Now soy beers, which are not taxed like other beers, are the rage in Japan.

Miyabi 9 serves soybean’s gourmet foods. Yuba is the skin that is skimmed off the top of simmering soy milk. Some versions cost $50 a mouthful in Los Angeles. Miyabi owner Mike Yamamoto makes his into dumplings stuffed with seasoned sticky rice. For vegans, these are the textural equivalence of bluefin tuna belly. Miyabi also serves natto, a legendarily weird and stinky food that some scientists think explains why Japanese women are less likely to have breast cancer and why all Japanese tend to have fewer blood clots. Yamamoto says a new invention, “dry natto” powder, has made it possible to ferment these soybeans into tendril like slime without its infamous smell. Miyabi also serves the most flavorful miso in town, a soybean paste soup famous for umami, the fifth, savory flavor.

Several top western style chefs have been expanding their soybean repertoires. Anthony Johnson of Mojo’s on 86th makes a stunning risotto with edamames, fresh coconut and freshly rendered coconut milk. He serves that with tamarind-glazed, pork chops marinated in miso sake. Andrew Meek at Sbrocco marinates pork belly in soy and serves it sushi style on top of a paste of edamames. Ephraim Malag of Tournament Club of Iowa serves edamame-mango relish with Kalua pig. Cyd Koehn of Hy Vee Conference Center smokes pork butts and serves those with broccoli slaw mixed with roasted soy nuts, cilantro, Craisins and Granny Smith apples dressed in a vinaigrette made with Shinsu miso, ginger puree, yuzu and citrus. Blue Mountain Culinary Emporium in Orange City makes jerk pork that is marinated in miso.

No one has worked more diligently at soy inventions than George Formaro (Centro, Django and Gateway Market Café). He tried hundreds of translated Japanese miso recipes before settling on those in his ramen dishes. Then he invented five vegan versions of popular Iowa sandwiches, including vegan banh mi. Those famous Vietnamese sandwiches are made with very un-vegan things such as roast pork, headcheese, mayonnaise and fish sauce.

“The mayo was the hardest part. I finally found that substituting twice the amount of eggs with tofu was the secret. With the fish sauce I tried lots of things. One recipe used a small amount of seaweed, brown bean sauce, mushroom, soy and fermented soybean curd. Add some liquid amino acids, some chopped garlic, sambal, and a splash of vinegar and the flavor starts to come together,” explains Formaro, sounding more like a mad scientist than a chef.

That’s what soy has been doing to people for 5000 years.

Holiday Wine Advice

I asked three wine experts, who do not also sell wine, what wines they like for the holidays. Here's their answers:

From "Wine Wars" author and Stir (food and wine consulting company) President Joyce Locke:

“Tis the season to try new wines and let go of favorites is my wine manta for the holidays. We have many meals--fancy, homey, and cuisine specific that may include serious to not-so-serious wine drinkers. With such a wide range of wine opportunity, it's a great time to discover new wines. I don't have go-to-favorites.

“My strategy is to visit my trusted wine merchant with menus in hand. We discuss the menus, wine demographics of the guests (adventurous, traditional, new wine drinkers...) For some menus I want wines from the same country as the cuisine, for special menus I don't mind stretching the wine budget, and some menus will be great with a good $10 table wine.”

From Che George Formaro (South Union, Centro, Django and Gateway Market Café):

“Small Gully Mr. Black's Concoction GSM $22.99, Luca Pinot Noir $32.99, Clos Otto Boxhead Cabernet Sauvignon $12.99, Willow Crest Pinot Gris $11.99

From restaurateur chef Linda Benignant (Chuck’s), who also hosts the largest free turkey dinner in Iowa - Park District Thanksgiving dinner.

“Anything Brut with bubbles.”

Old Skills & Sneak Previews

Cochon 555

Last month, Cochon555 brought its Midwest Regional championship to Des Moines for the second straight year. This Taste Network national tour puts our city in the select company of serious culinary destinations - New York, Napa, San Francisco, Boston, Atlanta, Portland, Seattle, Stillwater and Washington D.C. Cochon is an elite event hosted by several of America‘s most famous hotels and resorts. Chefs come from the country’s best restaurants (Boulud and Blue Hill in New York, The French Laundry in Napa). Time magazine and the New York Times cover the tour. In prestige, it’s the culinary equivalence of hosting an NCAA men’s basketball tournament. It might not return to Des Moines though. Ticket sales slipped and the event hasn’t interested any civic or state group that promotes this city’s image.

Five chefs competed by utilizing five heritage hogs, snout to tail. Guest-voters sampled pork while being treated to excellent wines from five boutique vineyards. Mike LaValle (Embassy Club) said that Chase Family Cellars’ Zinfandels were the best he’s ever seen in Iowa. This year’s competition included local chefs George Formaro and Hal Jasa, defending champion Matt Steigerwald from Mount Vernon, and two chefs from Kansas City - Cody Hogan and Howard Hanna.

Formaro and Jasa debuted some new applications for future restaurants. Using a Farmers Cross/Berkshire hog, Formaro premiered an all Mexican menu he’ll selling at the Downtown Farmer’s Market, and hopefully in a new East Village café soon.

His pozole was the best I ever tasted.

He fried carnitas in duck fat and coated Milanese style cutlets in pumpkin seeds. His huevos motuleños were a poached, Yucatan variation on bacon and eggs. His chiccarones were tender enough to pass for shoulder meat.

Jasa, who’s also hoping to open an East Village café this summer, presented ten dishes made from a Duroc. A deeply flavored consommé with pork cheeks and goat cheese tortellini stood out.

So did a fried ear salad of watercress with quail egg, and his corned tongue with pickled ramps. Jasa fried his rillletes, served his trotters with blinis, and presented a liver/heart pâté with a pistachio puree.

He served belly with poached grapes, cassoulet with orange gremolata, and sausage with parsnip puree and a pâté of roasted dates.

Recreating personal pan-served pasta from Lidia’s, Hogan kept things simpler with his Berkshire hog.

Ravioli were stuffed with braised whole hog and served with roast pork and headcheese. His ravioli were the most popular single item of the night with the public.

At Hanna’s River Club, members pay dues to support things that Cochon advocates - preserving heritage breeds, and utilizing whole hogs. Like Steigerwald, Hanna brought a staff familiar with butchering, brining, rendering, smoking and pickling. Using an endangered Glouscestershire Old Spots hog, they executed five familiar dishes exquisitely: headcheese; trotter garlic soup with fresh nettles pesto; a Cuban sandwich made with sous vide of shoulder, ham and organ pâté; pork & beans made with legs, heirloom beans, sausage and “KC salt” (crushed cracklings).

Hanna said he harvested the main ingredient for his stunning blood pudding “by squeezing every vein and artery.” It also included chocolate, hazelnuts, cinnamon and shortbread.

Steigerwald, whose Lincoln Café purchases whole hogs exclusively, won the competition again with a Red Wattle hog a breed that would become infamous three weeks later when it was again the pig of a winning Cochon chef, in Portland, Oregon. That so incensed another Oregon chef that he attacked both a winery representative and Cochon organizer Brady Lowe, sending the latter to the hospital with a broken leg and concussion.

His menu began with pork belly spring rolls with kimchii and an avocado/yuzu puree. It progressed to a “wattle head slick” with boiled peanuts and greens. He served a white sausage that included innards with fennel kraut. His hickory smoked shoulder was served on corn masa with turtle beans and pickled chilies. His ciccioli (compressed, dried fat) was treated to pickled ramps. He also served charcuterie that included ham and capicola. I have been dreaming of them ever since.

Iowa Beef: Rekindling an Epic Romance

There’s no denying the power of beef. The word itself is a synonym for substance. Politicians don’t ask, “Where’s the bran?” During the second half of the 19th century, beef became an international obsession and a status food which transformed the American range into the world’s largest feed lot. Between the Civil War and 1880, Midwest cattle populations increased 30 times. Because Iowa’s fertile soil grew the most grain, the state’s beef became the gold standard of the new food economy, when food drove all economies.

For a century, the status of Iowa Beef extended to New York City steak houses and beyond. In 1959, current Des Moines restaurateur Harry Bookey, then 11, told Russian Premiere Nikita Khrushchev that the USSR might have a edge in satellite technology but that our beef was superior. Khrushchev, a staunch Russian chauvinist, conceded the point.

When Khrushchev visited here, “Iowa Beef” represented the culmination of one of the great romances in the histories of both agriculture and human migration. Once Europeans got word about the fertility of Iowa’s black soil, immigrants flocked across oceans, mountains and hostile prairies to realize the American dream of owning land from which they could make a good life. By the end of the 19th century, those immigrants made Iowa a rich state built on fields of grain and pastures of plenty. The wealth of that romance was self contained. Fields produced corn in such abundance that farmers fed it to cattle who had grazed their youth away in clover. Those corn finished cattle moved short distances to packers and lockers. Iowa Beef was birth-to-burger Iowan and famous for its superior marbling.

Brisket at The Q in West Des Moines

Big changes came by the 1980’s, after it became more economical to ship grain out west, where land was cheaper, and finish cattle there instead of on Iowa farmland that could be plowed over and planted with corn and beans. By the end of the 20th century, most industrial batches of hamburger came from multiple plants, multiple states and even multiple continents.

Statistics tell the story. In 1970, 70 % of Iowa farmers raised cattle. Today less than a third do. Iowa led the nation in beef production between World War II and the 1980’s, peaking in 1969 at 7 million head of cattle. This year our inventory is around 3.8 million, up 40 % from ten years ago but now less than 4 % of nation’s herd. Despite that big increase in the last decade, our feedlot population is now at a post World War II low - 1.8 million. That suggests Iowa has a cow brain drain, its bright young calves are leaving the state. The further the center of the beef universe got from Iowa, the more its luster dulled. American beef consumption dropped by a quarter in the last decade as cholesterol paranoia and burger borne pathogens, from industrial plants out west, scared consumers.

A number of signs suggest that Iowa beef is making a comeback: It’s now the era of the locovore as fresh and local foods are trendy in culinary, political and medical circles. Both the federal government and Illinois have begun funding significant incentives to encourage more local production of foods. Stories are rife about reopening Iowa Best Beef, the non kosher arm of Agriprocessors of Postville, as well as the farmer-owned Iowa Quality Beef company of Tama.

Carpaccio at Fleming's in West Des Moines

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey keeps a close watch on beef trends.

“Nationally the beef herd is as low as it has been in the last 3 decades,” he said, adding that Iowa cattlemen have been working on a South Dakota model of owning cattle from birth to marketing though Iowans have yet to put together a viable business plan. Northey thinks that ethanol could figure prominently in increasing Iowa’s feeder herd.

“We are seeing more cattle feeding in Iowa again, in part because Iowa has an abundance of distillers grain due to ethanol production in the state. This makes wonderful cattle feed and makes the cost of feeding very competitive with feeding costs for cattle in other parts of the country. It is reasonable to expect that if more production would come back to the state that we may see more meat processing again in the state,” he said.

Atlantic’s Alan Zellmer is taking advantage of such distillers grain to raise Iowa cattle of such quality that they are again attracting overseas attention. Early this decade he started raising wagyu, a Japanese breed that is legendary for its marbling and its healthy profile of good cholesterols.

"When we started this project eight years ago, all the beef was raised for the Japanese market. Now it's almost entirely local, domestic," he said, adding that, in late September the market for high end steaks started coming back from a year long slump. Steakhouses had been hit harder than any other segment of the restaurant business after the stock market crash last October.

Pete Woltz of Timber Ridge in Osceola also finishes beef that nutritionists love. He buys Iowa calves and puts them in his Clark County pastures, supplementing their grass diets with a flax seed, vitamin E and glutens.

“Our cattle are given no antibiotics, no growth hormones, and no feed additives. We began this project about 2 years ago. During that time Iowa State University testing has shown our beef to contain nearly five times the amount of ALA omega 3's as corn fed cattle, 25% more unsaturated fats,” said Woltz, who directly markets in Iowa.

In Central Iowa, suburban sprawl challenges the locovore and the cattleman. LaVonne Griffieon’s family have been raising Limousin cattle in Ankeny since the 1960‘s. They began marketing their beef directly this year by opening The Farm Shed, a store on their property. Griffieon says it’s a matter of survival for a way of life.

Short ribs at Alba in Des Moines

“Thirty years ago this farm was 3 miles north of Ankeny. Now its surrounded on three sides by subdivisions. Ankeny has annexed 7000 acres of prime farmland in the last six years,” she cautioned.

Francis Thicke, who is running against Northey in next year‘s election, says a pork company has created a model that could work for Iowa cattlemen.

“What may be possible is for Iowa beef producers to create new markets – independent of the consolidated meatpacking industry – for high-quality Iowa beef that commands a premium price. A model for that is Niman Ranch Pork, through which Iowa pork fills a national demand for premium pork products. One possibility for a premium market that could be developed by Iowa beef producers is grass-fed beef,” he said.
Limousin also figure in a trend that resembles that model and that could restore prestige to Iowa cattle farming.

Red veal is red hot, supported by the growing demand for healthier and humanely raised meats. The Strauss Free Raised Veal company has been growing a humanely raised line by integrating farmers committed to their model, much like Niman Ranch has done with pork. Strauss farmers raise Limousin calves, the preferred breed for top of the line veal, with mother cows out doors on natural diets. Most industrial veal is raised in confinement, on formula diets that restrict their intake of iron - to turn their meat white. Red veal now commands prices that make it a delicious option to shipping calves out west for finishing. Strauss Veal’s president explained why.

Red veal chop at Sbrocco in Des Moines

“ As America’s proverbial bread-basket, Iowa producers have unlimited opportunities to increase the value of their livestock by responding to the demand for traceability, all natural, locally produced and locally fed, grass finished and more. Non-traditional markets are posing huge opportunities,” said Randy Strauss.

A number of the state’s finest chefs believe in the magic of Iowa Beef. Rube’s Steakhouse made a national name serving beef they raised themselves in Montour, Iowa. They also have supplied other steakhouses, such as Jesse’s Embers. Caffrey’s Steakhouse also uses an all Iowa line. Andrew Meek at Sbrocco features beef from Kristine and Ryan Jepsen’s Grass Run Farm in Dorchester, a certified organic pasture raised and grass finished farm. Matt Steigerwald of Lincoln Café exclusively uses Iowa beef: wagyu from Majinola Meats; and grass fed from the Jepsen’s farms. George Formaro has used Vande Rose Farms’ all Hereford beef from Oskaloosa plus the Iowa Best line at Centro, Django and Gateway Market Cafes. Court Avenue Brewing Company and BOS use Vande Rose‘s beef too. Dean Richardson of Phat Chef’s likes beef raised and finished on Calhoun County family farms where he grew up. Troy Trostel at Greenbriar is currently using Majinola’s wagyu as he waits for his long time Iowa beef suppliers, Iowa Best Beef, to reopen.

One new development has long term potential. Tenderizing technologies can now soften tough cuts without marinating. That’s why you see many new steaks - Denver, Cordelico, Cabrosa - at the supermarket. Many of those cuts (flap meat, ball tip, etc.) used to become burger. That’s suggests a message Iowa Beef could market - Why go out (of state) for burger when you can come home to steak?

Best & Worst of the Decade in Des Moines

When the last decade began, few people argued with a New York food critic’s assessment that “a gourmet trip across Iowa is non-stop.” At decade’s end, more semifinalists for the James Beard Award as Midwest’s Best Chef came from Des Moines than all but one other city (Minneapolis). In between, our food world turned upside down. Fishing moved indoors, hog farming returned outdoors. Cows were allowed to eat grass again and humans began to drink it. Iowa’s emerging wine industry survived the Chinese lady beetle while genetically modified seeds overcame the scorn of Europe to dominate Iowa agriculture. Best of all, an artisan food movement made Iowa products like La Quercia, Niman Pork, Eden Farms, Templeton Rye, Majinola, Sutliff, Cedar Ridge, Vande Rose and Northern Prairie into renowned brands of quality.

Earlier this month, the National Restaurant Association rated “locally grown entrees” as the number one food trend of 2009, followed by “locally sourced meat & seafood,” and “sustainability.” Cityview and its sister Relish rated those three things as Des Moines’ top food trends seven years ago. Foodwise, this city spent the 00’s way ahead of the national curve. That took individual vision and entrepreneurial fortitude, the best of which follows:

As bread rises from yeast, Des Moines’ culinary revival began in two bakeries. George Formaro reconstructed a Sicilian brick oven bakery on the southside while Joe and Steve Logsdon built a state of art French bakery on the east side. Together these “Catalysts of the Decade” spawned South Union Bakery Café, Centro, Django, Gateway Market Cafe, Basil Prosperi, Lucca and La Mie.

Renaissances can’t live by bread alone. Formaro and the Logsdons’ genii were sustained by entrepreneurs whose visions covered a broader aesthetic. Minimalist architect Kirk Blunck preserved the historic integrity of East Village. His designs for Basil Prosperi and Lucca made those cafés into anchors of that neighborhood revival. Pam & Harry Bookey defied the city-endorsed forces of rubble lust to save the Temple of the Performing Arts while creating Centro with Formaro. The Bookeys would later give Court Avenue its defining restaurant - Dos Rios. Blunck and the Bookeys were the “Visionaries of the Decade.”

Centro was “Restaurant of the Decade” for reviving the concept that downtown could again be the heart of Central Iowa, with coal oven pizza, chic trappings and a dedication to fresh & local foods.

Formaro was the “Chef of the Decade” for being the face and soul of South Union Bakery and Deli, Centro, Django, Gateway Market Cafe and so much more.

All those visions might not have found financing were it not for a gang of friends collectively known as Full Court Press (FCP), the “Pioneer of the Decade.” When venture capital for local restaurants was directed toward “proven” franchise operations, FCP gave The 50309 a distinctive culinary personality. With sweat equity, they created Royal Mile, Hessen Haus, High Life Lounge, El Bait Shop, Fong's Pizza and Sbrocco while disproving the bankers’ myth that only cookie cutter operations were worth risk. FCP likely enabled other neighborhood developments like those that brought Café di Scala and Gateway Market to Sherman Hill), or those of our “Entrepreneur of Decade,” the Manuel Mora family, who parlayed a small tienda and café into La Tapatia supermarket and its adjoining strip mall.

The “Story of the Decade” was the curious magnetism that attracted so many owner-chefs to Des Moines from the American South and even further away. Doug Smith (Cosi Cucina), Jeremy Morrow (Bistro 43, Star Bar, Azalea, etc.), Gary Hines (Bistro 43, Bistro Montage), Andrew Meek (Sage, Sbrocco), Don Hensley (Danielle) and Rob Beasley (Varsity) all came from Dixie and raised the bar for fine dining here. Ephraim Malag (Oak Room), Miyabi Yamamoto (Miyabi 9), Liam Anivat (Cool Basil, etc.), Mao Heineman (King & I), Jesus Ojeda (El Chisme), Rosa Martinez (La Rosa) and Mark Lijadu (Jasmine Bowl) came further to upgrade our ethnic cuisine.

That story beats out the uglier stories that garnered more headlines while vainly denying the reality that America's dependence on artificially cheap food comes with immigration problems: the terrible Swift raids in Marshalltown that displaced mothers from nursing babes among other scandals; the fiasco that was Rubashkin's in Postville.

The “Worst Idea” of the decade sprung from the Des Moines Public School System, which centralized its cafeterias, at huge expense, and expanded bussing to include the food our kids ate. That converted school lunches from homemade to reheated, while driving students off campus to fast food outlets.