Des Moines Supper Club http://dsmsupperclub.posterous.com Good Friends Good Food Good Times posterous.com Thu, 18 Nov 2010 11:30:06 -0800 Gino's North - Dave's Review http://dsmsupperclub.posterous.com/ginos-north-daves-review http://dsmsupperclub.posterous.com/ginos-north-daves-review
Lots to like about this place.  Food wise the portions are sizable and they really take care of you that way.  The appetizers in particular were rather large, but if you don't order them you'll still walk away full.  My steak was ok (nothing special) but otherwise everything else tasted pretty good.  Service in both the bar and restaurant was excellent - friendly and prompt but not overbearing.  Our waitress did a good job of giving just the right amount of time between the appetizers, salads, etc.  Prices were reasonable for what you get, certainly a better value than Red China Bistro.
 
They clearly haven't had a remodel in several years, which gave a very dated look that actually wins them some serious points in my book.  Lots of brown, an electric fireplace in the bar, that type of thing.  I thought about offering to donate some tropical pictures but the truth is there was already a lot of class in the decor.  The menu mentioned actually mentioned "no cigars or pipes" - which suggested that it hadn't been updated in quite a while. 
 
Location is fairly central, so for the most part it would be a reasonable drive regardless of where you are at in Des Moines.  That said, it loses points in that regard because there's not much else in the area to justify the trip or go somewhere nearby after dinner.  That, along with the inexplicable lack of draft beer in the bar were the only two black marks on my ballot.  Overall the positives outweigh the negatives, and I would happily return again in the future.
 
It would be easier to give a numerical rating if we had a number of others to compare it to.  For now I am giving it a 6.8 out of 10, but may revise that when we have more locations to evaluate against.
 

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Thu, 18 Nov 2010 09:28:00 -0800 Gino's North is like sitting around the table at grandma's - Steve's review http://dsmsupperclub.posterous.com/ginos-north-is-like-sitting-around-the-table http://dsmsupperclub.posterous.com/ginos-north-is-like-sitting-around-the-table

Two of our supper club members decided to take the group to Gino's North on 2nd Ave last night.  According to the menu's the place has been locally owned for about 80 years.  The interior showed that.  The bar area is quaint and dimly lit with a "fireplace" that didn't seem to put off much heat.  We had a few drinks in the bar area first.  We were greeted quickly for drinks and provided with small glasses of pretzels to munch on.  We were asked to close our tabs in the bar area before heading in for dinner.  We were placed at a large round table that worked well for our group of 8.  It allowed all of us to talk and communicate with each other.  Our waitress was nice and prompt, as the night went on she kind of reminded me of my grandma, which I took as a good thing.  We started with some more drinks and appetizers, the mound of onion rings was overwhelming and the cheese sticks were tasty.  My wife ordered a chicken parmigiana dish and I had the ravioli with meat sauce.  We received large salads first along with bread.  It was a lot of food to eat even before our main entree's were delivered.  The meat sauce on my meal was good but a little sweet for my tastes.  My other complaint would be that the ravioli were meat filled.  I feel that true ravioli are always cheese filled.  That is more of a personal preference than an issue.  The food was good overall and I would return without question.  

As a heads up for anyone who wants to try Gino's North or their other location, Gino's West, you can get a discount coupon at http://www.restaurant.com/.  Our coupon was $100 off a $200 bill.  

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Wed, 17 Nov 2010 08:18:00 -0800 November Supper Club location - Gino's North http://dsmsupperclub.posterous.com/november-supper-club-location-ginos-north http://dsmsupperclub.posterous.com/november-supper-club-location-ginos-north We will be hitting up this Italian restaurant in the next few days and then letting everyone know our thoughts.

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/897102/CameronaSteve_01.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4wzwx4QwP7HP Steven Camerona stevencamerona Steven Camerona