Delicious initial experience with Tacos Tarasco at the Des Moines Farmers Market. Excellent…read morecustomer service and superb street tacos to begin my DSMFM visit. I appreciated the staff's kindness as they walked through their Farmer's Market breakfast options. I selected a chorizo taco with cilantro and onions and their hot sauce, which was excellent! They have Coca-Cola products and water for beverages. I'll make them a regular stop on the DSMFM tour!

I think I must have ordered the wrong thing from Tacos Tarasco because out of all the taco trucks I…read morehave visited, Tacos Tarasco had the most extensive menu (with a special menu for breakfast) but their carne taco was only okay to me. Their pastor taco also had the fattiest meat compared to the other taco trucks. Their salsa also did not impress me. They serve tostadas, tortas, tacos, burritos, sandwiches, and omelets. The service here was very good. There was a family ahead of me with multiple orders but the man running the food truck was nice enough to advise me that my food would take approximately five minutes. Even though there was a wait, I thought five minutes was still fast! The truck even listed their business times which I thought was very professional of them since this was missing in other taco trucks I've visited. I hope to come back here again to try something different on their menu and hopefully be impressed.

Continuing in my quest to find the best taco truck in Des Moines, we drove to Tacos Jerez to see…read morewhat type of food they had here. They have burritos and tortas and tacos. To keep things simple, I tried their carne tacos. The meat was tender and it was seasoned very well. The tacos came with onions and cilantro (at my request). They gave us prepackaged salsa, except it only tasted okay. Overall very good tacos and prices were reasonable (for the tacos). Service was friendly and quick.

Holy crepes! This…read moreplace is amazing! From savory crepes such as a "pad thai" crepe to sweet crepes like the banana nutella crepe. I decided to try one of their sweet crepes, "Apple Cobbler" crepe. Man it was amazing, it had yummy oat crumble, pumpkin whipped cream, and salted caramel on top of a crepe wrapped around yummy cooked apple slices. It was so tasty! I can't wait to try this place again to try so I can try one of their savory crepes.

Hate to leave a bad review, because the people are nice, but the food is mediocre at best. Mine was…read morecold when I got it. The taco meat had odd spices and didn't taste like other taco seasoning. Pretty good portion size, but also pricey. These food trucks need to find a way to lower their windows and divert the exhaust from the vehicle.

A camper looking food truck was this stop…read more The look of this food truck from the outside is a little off-putting. It's bright yellow with food items painted on the out side. You can see the grill and The menu is posted outside the window. Very basic taco, nacho and rice items. I decided on the walking taco. You get meat (slightly greasy and chips and then let them know what toppings you want from the posted menu. The pricing is normal for this type of food but unfortunately nothing that amazed me or got me super excited.

Probably the biggest farmers market I've been to! There are food options for everyone, and the best…read morecoffee ever (ugh I can't remember which stand) This was a very impressive farmers market that we were lucky to be in town for!

Probably the largest farmer market in the USA! This was a really fun experience to walk through all…read moreof the stalls, zigzaging from one spot to the next. From vendors, to information booths, to lots of food...it was all really awesome to see. If you're in town and especially because of a race, check this market out!

2026 Edition! The weather truly pulled through this year! I also tried lots of new items. Here's…read moresome of what I got at the Iowa state fair: * All-American scrambled egg roll [NEW] * Ultimate bacon-brisket Mac & cheese donut [NEW] * Ultimate minneapple pie [NEW] * Chopped Italian ham hoagie * Garlic dill cheese curds [NEW] Not pictured: bucket of cookies :) My favorite new food item was definitely the bacon brisket mac and cheese donut!

First time at the Iowa State Fair! As a typical Minnesota State Fair goer, I was trying to keep my…read moreexpectations low. Overall, I had a great day and a ton of fun!! Definitely bring a reusable water and a handheld fan. It's hot. I loved that there were so many places to refill our water bottles. We got there via the free parking ramp in Des Moines on Center and 7th then took the $3 round trip DART bus which worked like a charm. Super easy to navigate. We were dropped off at Gate 10 then worked counterclockwise around the fair. The only thing I wasn't prepared for was how many golf carts/cars would be on the roads at the fair. I kept feeling like I was going to get hit. My favorite food by far was the hot beef sundae ($10) from Cattleman's Beef Quarters. Can't go wrong with hot beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, and cheese. We got a delicious donut ($5) outside the swine barn then saw the biggest pig I've ever seen in my life -- 1,296 lbs! We saw a sheep sheering contest in the sheep barn, then wandered around the fair up to the agriculture building for a (FREE) hard boiled egg on a stick and the butter cow. We cooled off in the Culture Center and saw the amazing photography and fine art submissions. They have nice bathrooms in that building. Then we got the deep fried pb&j ($10 each, grape was better than strawberry) which were another favorite of the day. One of my other food highlights were the cheese curds from Brad and Harry's ($8). Same vibe as the mouth trap cheese curds in MN. Delicious and a fair food staple. Some foods that did not wow me: The corn brats ($8) which are like corn dogs but with brats instead of hotdogs. My hopes for these were too high. They were fine. Nothing beats a pronto pup. The Minneapple Pie ($14). Everyone in Iowa was raving about it. It was fine, not worth the money in my opinion. Barksdale's cup of cookies ($5). Not good. Would not get again.

Six-Star Food Truck Stop After a Windy and Dusty Bike Ride…read more We had Karam's Grill from their catering truck at Cellar Winery during a blues event on May 24, and it was absolutely fantastic. Kim and I shared the Chicken Shawarma Plate, and it was some of the best food truck food we have ever had. Everything tasted fresh, the flavors were excellent, and the chicken was incredibly tender. We had ridden about 20 miles in the wind, including a couple miles of gravel, to get there on bicycles, so between the cold beer and this plate of deliciousness, it felt pretty heavenly. The venue was a perfect spot for the truck, and the guy running it was funny, friendly, and courteous. That always makes the experience even better. Fresh ingredients, great flavor, tender meat, and friendly service. I cannot wait to try Karam's Grill again. 10/10. Yelp only lets me give 5 stars, but this felt like a 6-star visit.

Absolutely one of the best food trucks in Des Moines! The food is fresh, the seasoning divine, and…read morethe customer service rocks! Price is right and worth it.

The 80/35 Festival is a pretty fun music event in Des Moines. It usually lasts about 2 days, with…read moreseveral stages of artists to check out. The only negatives of the festival are that it's usually the first week of July, which means that it's both HOT and also that sometimes it falls on /around July 4th, which I would avoid if I was the planner of this festival. When we have been, we saw some pretty big names like Wilco, Weezer, Jenny Lewis, and Run the Jewels (before RTJ were gigantically popular). Other artists who've played 80/35 over the years are The Shins, MGMT, The Decemberists, Phoebe Bridgers, and Kesha, to give you an idea. So you can definitely depend on there being at least one or two acts at 80/35 that you will be interested in (or maybe you'll find a new favorite). If you're a fan of bigger acts as well as local or smaller artists to check out, 80/35 might be a good fit for you. Just bring lots of water to hydrate and stay cool!

Another 5 star year at the 8035 Music Festival! Beautiful…read moreweather, beautiful location in down town DSM! This year there were 4 FREE stages open to anyone! And the the mainstage's sound was the loudest and proudest I have ever seen! I really dug seeing Car Seat Headrest, Courtney Barnett, and I even dug Kesha - her show ruled! All the stuff I saw on the free stages were really great this year too! This was also the first year I spent a lot of time in the KIDS Zone and it was really fun with jumping blow ups, water guns, hoola hoops, and face painting! So many cool art sculptures, and music to be had! Always the best weekend in DSM of the year!

Oktoberfest is a great weekend in Des Moines, I recommend everyone should go have some fun and…read morepreferably dress up for it! Dressing for the occasion really makes it more fun. For a festival that is mostly about drinking the crowd is always nice and not too rowdy. Many men and women are happy to teach you to polka or even grab a stranger to share a boot of bier with. They always have great entertainment with live polka bands and several very entertaining contests for those in proper attire, such as the bier maiden competition. The limited food for venders outside Hessen Haus is always good, and the pastries from strudl Haus are always amazing. There are two things I think they need to improve on at this event. The first being they don't have many or even any sour biers most years. The second being they need more food vendors and variety. There is more to German food than just pretzels and brats. If they improved on these two items hands down this would be a five star review.

Love Des Moines Oktoberfest!! It's only 2 days long but I don't think I can handle much more. My…read morefavorite event is the tapping of he Golden Keg -- it's worth taking off work for!! Obviously the beer is the highlight of this event and there is plenty. Polka all day and night -- if you haven't tried to dance Polka it's easy! Just try!! Lots of friendly dancers will help you learn if you just step out and start trying. The rest of Oktoberfest is a blur -- but if I remembered it all it wouldn't be worth attending. Friendly people, great bier - eins, zwei, drei, gsuffa!!!