20 Oct 2010

Laura's thoughts, hopes, and dreams... about Red China Bistro

  Well, I had been looking forward to trying Red for a few weeks now and was excited to support an Ingersoll business.  So here are some thoughts about the evening...

   - Service was great (attentive without being annoying).
 -  Food was alright.  The restaurant is presented as an upscale bistro, but I felt the food was similar to what I could find at your average Chinese restaurant. The rangoons we had first were nice and crispy, but tasted as thought they were only filled with cream cheese. I had the Asparagus Chicken.  The asparagus and chicken were cooked well, but the sauce had very little flavor.  I did try a friend's sushi that was pretty good and I was intrigued by the French items they had on the menu.  So if I were to return, I would definitely try something different than their Asian dishes (which is a bit strange since it is called a "China bistro").
 - Ambiance was a little labored.  It seemed like someone had put some serious effort into trying to making this place look like an 'upscale bisto'.  Unfortunately the black fringe, dramatic colors, cliche center pieces, Enya-esque music, and rocks in the bathroom sinks just came across as trying too hard.
 - Pricing seemed a bit steep for the quality of food.

  Interesting tibits:
-They serve cucumber in their water.  This got mixed reviews at our table.  I personally liked it.  Makes you wonder what else you could put in your water to add just a tad of flavor.  The possibilities are endless...
- They were actually pretty accepting of our large, not-so-quiet group.  Although every other table quietly enjoyed their meal, no one gave us a look when our table began high fiving CareBear bonding or when a small sword fight broke out with the chopsticks.  We are such a classy group!

20 Oct 2010

Steve - Red China Bistro


Unnamed
We decided to try out the Red China Bistro on Ingersol Ave in Des Moines.  It seems to aim itself at the "new age" crowd that is becoming more associated with a revived Ingersol area.  The restaurant is located in a brand new building across from the original Wellman's Pub.  The interior seems a little much.  The crowd was light on our Wednesday evening visit.  Our waiter was very helpful and drinks were served promptly.  The Red China Bistro does not carry beer on tap but did have a good selection of bottles along with a book full of mixed drinks and cocktails.  When we got to the menu our waiter seemed very knowledgeable and gave suggestions, even checking to see about making something not on the menu for one of our group.  The group tried two orders of crab rangoon and they were liked by most.  Personally I do not care for cream cheese but the outer crust was very good.  For my main course I ordered the Cashew Chicken.  It arrived on a square plate and was piled high, which was too my liking.  Too bad that was the high point for me.  The chicken was well cooked but the dish lacked the flavor I would like or any sort of spice.  Maybe I was expecting something more Thai inspired and this dish was a miss for me.  Overall the experience was decent but not something I would regularly go back to.

20 Oct 2010

October Supper Club location - Red China Bistro

In the next day or so we'll be sending in our reviews from our dinner experience at this new Des Moines restaurant.

Des Moines Supper Club's Posterous

In September of 2010 four couples started the Des Moines Supper Club. Our goal is to try new restaurants around Des Moines each month. This blog is about our findings.