Last weekend we made a trip to Des Moines to check out a couple of places we had been hearing about for awhile. Up first was a stop at the Mars Cafe in the Drake University neighborhood.
I have frequently seen Mars Cafe mentioned in various Des Moines publications and Twitter posts by Central Iowans I follow, and it seemed like a happening place. We popped in for a few afternoon hours and enjoyed a late lunch with caffeinated beverages of our choices (Amy: Diet Coke; Me: coffee) followed by recreational activities of our choices (Amy: reading a novel; Me: surfing the Internet). The sandwiches were great, and the cafe had a nice modern atmosphere. They also host various interesting events, such as the upcoming Pour-Over Poster Show featuring coffee-themed artwork accompanied by free beer from my favorite Ames-based brewpub, Olde Main. Perhaps we'll have to make a return visit!
After wrapping up at the cafe, we then passed a little time at Barnes & Noble before moving on to The Keg Stand, a bar in West Des Moines that we had heard about from promotions on local sports radio station KXNO as a host for Iowa State University game-watch events. Saturday night's main event was Iowa State's border-war showdown with the Missouri Tigers in men's basketball, and after a should-have-won-but-didn't game on the road at Oklahoma State earlier in the week, we were hoping that this game would be Iowa State's chance to erase bad memories of a couple of close road-losses this season with an away game win over a ranked team. And what better way to celebrate such a significant win than with a large group of fellow Cyclone fans in a bar?
We should have known it was not going to be a good night when we arrived and saw a large section of the bar roped off as reserved space for someone's 40th birthday party, and the congratulatory signs hanging on the wall were done up in Iowa Hawkeye black and gold. As it turned out, the Cyclones kept the game close for about the first ten minutes, until Missouri started playing more like a 14th ranked team at home and Iowa State started playing more like this year's Iowa team (ZING!). As the game went on it only got worse and ended up as a 33 point loss.
At least we were in a location well suited for sorrow-drowning. Even the bar stools are made out of beer kegs!
Despite the disappointing loss to end the night, it was still an enjoyable day exploring some new locations in the capital city just south of Ames. The Iowa State men have what are probably the easiest games of their remaining schedule this week, with Texas Tech in Ames tomorrow night, followed by a visit from Oklahoma on Saturday. Hopefully the team can bounce back and rebuild some confidence. We'll be there cheering them on!
No comments:
Post a Comment