Exploring Ingersoll Ave

Headed towards downtown to check out some places on Ingersoll Ave. 

 We stopped into this tiny bar called “Cocktail Lounge” on Ingersoll Ave in Des Moines.  It had interesting unkept 50’s/60’s decor but overall it sucked.  The 7 people in there all knew each other and they made it known that we didn’t belong in their bar.  We were the youngest, everyone else was in their 40’s or older.  The 1 bartender was polite as he served us, when he wasn’t away from the counter playing pool.  After enjoying the awkwardness of being constantly stared at, we left after each slamming our single beers less than 10 minutes after we entered.  Do you have to be in a special club to drink here?  Do we need “Members Only” jackets?  Was this a secret hideout of the local cannibalism society?  Was this in fact a gay bar?  There were no women but the men looked like they have probably been in prison lately.  Perhaps we’ll never know.  Leave a comment if you know anything about this place or if you’ve been there.

3 (out of 3) thumbs down in our book.

 Shuey jumps up and down after seeing a Big Tomato Pizza Co. nearby.

 He made us try it, and I’m glad.  I would have avoided the place because of the weird name, but this pizza was great.  I can’t explain why it was better, but it really was.  The neon light in the window says “Lousy Service.”  We went in another bar next door and got some beers and a booth to go with the pizza.  I don’t remember the name but the bar next to Big Tomato was fairly nice and had a unique atmosphere.  We started to feel comfortable again.

“We have so many chairs that our chairs have their own chairs to sit on.  We have chairs up the ying-yang in here.”

We couldn’t go here because they had a black shirt policy.  We forgot ours at home.

I don’t have any pictures of it, but we did go to Star Bar for the first time.  Although crowded, it was really nice.  The fenced in patio was great on this warm spring night.