EXPLORE: "It's a date!"
By Jeff Pitts
A few date-night ideas and options for any couple pining to invest an evening into one another.
Clean jazz at....
NOCE
1326 Walnut St., Des Moines
www.nocedsm.com
Des Moines’ only club 100-percent dedicated to jazz, NOCE features local, regional and national musicians, and the upscale bar offers plush seating for 100.
Hit me with your best shot, fire awaaaay...
AJ’S ON EAST COURT
419 E. Court Ave., Des Moines
www.ajsbar.com
Singing karaoke is good for the soul, so grab the mic and rise to shine. You got this. Be your inner rockstar. Own it. Concert Karaoke every night 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. at AJ’s.
Romance like a romantic novel...
ROSEMAN BRIDGE IN WINTERSET
2451 Elder Berry Ave., Winterset
www.madisoncounty.com/portfolio/roseman-covered-bridge-1883
Beware! The Roseman Bridge is said to be... different. Reports of high-pitched, strange noises have made it famous. Local legend has it that the ghost of a young man who was hanged from there in 1892 remains to haunt it. But the bridges of Madison County are also famous for inspiring one of the best-selling romance novellas of our time, “The Bridges of Madison County,” by Robert James Waller.
Outdoor patio and free puppy cones...
SNOOKIES MALT SHOP
1810 Beaver Ave., Des Moines
www.snookiesmaltshop.food73.com
Banana-split lovers love Beaverdale’s beloved throwback-style neighborhood ice cream shop. Snookies serves ice cream, malts, shakes, strawberry shortcake, peanut parfaits, brownie treats, turtle sundaes and other summer wonders.
Sip, shop and sift through four floors of...
WEST END ARCHITECTURAL SALVAGE
22 S.W. Ninth St., Des Moines
www.westendsalvage.com
Four floors full of one-of-a-kind treasures, antiques, stained glass, barnwood, custom furniture and other unique items saved from old homes, schools and turn-of-the-century churches. Grab a coffee from the in-house shop and get amped for 50,000 square feet of caffeinated shopping.
Watching the world go by at...
300 CRAFT & ROOFTOP
300 W. Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway, Des Moines
https://300-craft-rooftop.business.site/
Bigger isn’t always better, but when it comes to bar rooftops, being big definitely doesn’t hurt. Summer nights are sublime when spent sipping something tasty and watching over downtown from the oversized third-floor patio at 300 Craft & Rooftop.
A “humble little menu...”
APOSTO
644 18th St., Des Moines
www.apostodm.com
“Aposto is the notion that everything is in the right place. A bountiful harvest, the perfect seasoning, a beautifully aged bottle from the cellar or a magnificent sunset. It’s the moment you summon friends to the supper table and share stories while relishing your favorite dishes. Our humble little menu here (at Aposto) is a reflection of some of our favorite foods discovered on our journeys. Eat well and travel often, Friends!” Sounds fun. Offering modern classical cuisine inside an 1880 Victorian mansion, Aposto is a one-of-a-kind destination. The menu changes on a monthly basis.
A few date-night ideas and options for any couple pining to invest an evening into one another.
Clean jazz at....
NOCE
1326 Walnut St., Des Moines
www.nocedsm.com
Des Moines’ only club 100-percent dedicated to jazz, NOCE features local, regional and national musicians, and the upscale bar offers plush seating for 100.
Hit me with your best shot, fire awaaaay...
AJ’S ON EAST COURT
419 E. Court Ave., Des Moines
www.ajsbar.com
Singing karaoke is good for the soul, so grab the mic and rise to shine. You got this. Be your inner rockstar. Own it. Concert Karaoke every night 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. at AJ’s.
Romance like a romantic novel...
ROSEMAN BRIDGE IN WINTERSET
2451 Elder Berry Ave., Winterset
www.madisoncounty.com/portfolio/roseman-covered-bridge-1883
Beware! The Roseman Bridge is said to be... different. Reports of high-pitched, strange noises have made it famous. Local legend has it that the ghost of a young man who was hanged from there in 1892 remains to haunt it. But the bridges of Madison County are also famous for inspiring one of the best-selling romance novellas of our time, “The Bridges of Madison County,” by Robert James Waller.
Outdoor patio and free puppy cones...
SNOOKIES MALT SHOP
1810 Beaver Ave., Des Moines
www.snookiesmaltshop.food73.com
Banana-split lovers love Beaverdale’s beloved throwback-style neighborhood ice cream shop. Snookies serves ice cream, malts, shakes, strawberry shortcake, peanut parfaits, brownie treats, turtle sundaes and other summer wonders.
Sip, shop and sift through four floors of...
WEST END ARCHITECTURAL SALVAGE
22 S.W. Ninth St., Des Moines
www.westendsalvage.com
Four floors full of one-of-a-kind treasures, antiques, stained glass, barnwood, custom furniture and other unique items saved from old homes, schools and turn-of-the-century churches. Grab a coffee from the in-house shop and get amped for 50,000 square feet of caffeinated shopping.
Watching the world go by at...
300 CRAFT & ROOFTOP
300 W. Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway, Des Moines
https://300-craft-rooftop.business.site/
Bigger isn’t always better, but when it comes to bar rooftops, being big definitely doesn’t hurt. Summer nights are sublime when spent sipping something tasty and watching over downtown from the oversized third-floor patio at 300 Craft & Rooftop.
A “humble little menu...”
APOSTO
644 18th St., Des Moines
www.apostodm.com
“Aposto is the notion that everything is in the right place. A bountiful harvest, the perfect seasoning, a beautifully aged bottle from the cellar or a magnificent sunset. It’s the moment you summon friends to the supper table and share stories while relishing your favorite dishes. Our humble little menu here (at Aposto) is a reflection of some of our favorite foods discovered on our journeys. Eat well and travel often, Friends!” Sounds fun. Offering modern classical cuisine inside an 1880 Victorian mansion, Aposto is a one-of-a-kind destination. The menu changes on a monthly basis.
West End Architectural Salvage, 22 S.W. Ninth St., Des Moines. Photo by Jeff Pitts.
Roseman Bridge, Winterset, Iowa. Photo credit: Iowa Tourism Office.
NOCE is central Iowa’s only club 100% dedicated to jazz. Photo by Jeff Pitts.
