During a visit to the Iowa State Fair this past August, I wanted to try what was voted as the People's Choice winner for best new food at the fair, a beef and cheddar jack wrap from the G. Mig's stand located near the Varied Industries Building. (Click here to read about that experience from earlier this year.) In doing some research on G. Mig's, I found out that they had a restaurant in the Valley Junction area in West Des Moines. A couple weeks after going to the state fair, my wife and I were traveling through Des Moines. My wife texted a friend of ours and asked if she would like to meet us for lunch. I suggested going to G. Mig's and our friend texted back, "Oh, yeah! I like that place!" On a cloudy and cool Sunday afternoon, we ended up at G. Mig's 5th Street Pub. (see map)
George Migliero was the longtime chef at the Wakonda Club, an exclusive private golf club on Des Moines' south side. After heading the kitchen there for 17 years, Migliero resigned his position to take over the 5th Street Pub in Valley Junction in 2012. He renamed it G. Mig's 5th Street Pub and completely changed the menu into more upscale pub fare. His food quickly gained the attention of a number of patrons and critics, alike. In 2014, Migliero was named the Iowa Restaurateur of the Year. Two years later, Migliero decided to put a stand out at the Iowa State Fair. Each year since, G. Mig's was a finalist for "best new food" at the fair before winning earlier this year. And just last year, G. Mig's won a state fair contest for salads featuring tofu. (Seriously.) And because of all that, I wanted to get to G. Mig's at some point to check the place out and see what else it had to offer.
The place was packed just after noon when we walked into G. Mig's. It turns out that they serve breakfast on Saturday's and Sunday's starting at 8 a.m. and guessing from the crowd in there, it's pretty popular. Our friend hadn't shown up yet, but we were able to cram into a table on an upper level opposite the bar. It wasn't long before a waitress came over with some menus. I ordered a bloody mary that had sort of a barbecue sauce taste to it. It was thick and different from bloody mary's I normally have, but in the end I think I liked it.
Our friend showed up and we had to steal a chair from an adjoining table. She mentioned that it seemed like the place was packed every time she had been in there in the past. "But it's a fun place," she said as we caught up in conversation with her.
G. Mig's menu features a number of appetizers, soups and salads, burgers, sandwiches and wraps. G. Mig's also features both lunch and dinner specials through the week. Appetizers include flat breads, quesadillas, mini seafood tacos, and chicken wings. Sandwiches such as a classic East Coast pastrami and a grilled-chicken strip and provolone sandwich with sweet peppers, onions and mushrooms were featured on the menu. And, of course, they had the winning beef and cheddar wrap available on the menu.
I tried to talk my wife into the beef cheddar jack wrap (they also had a pork carnitas and cheddar jack wrap), but she decided she wanted to go with the cranberry chicken salad croissant. Diced celery, and dried cranberries were mixed in with the grilled chicken that was served on a bed of shredded lettuce on a soft and warm croissant. For her side, she got the cole slaw that was unceremoniously served in a small styrofoam container. The presentation wasn't what I would call elegant, but it was functional.
Our friend got the turkey reuben with a side of the pasta salad. Sliced turkey with sauerkraut and Swiss cheese were placed on a swirl-rye bread and grilled. The pasta salad was pretty unique - it had chunks of green onion, celery, and tomatoes on top of pasta. Both my wife and our friend were happy with their choices.
I damned near got the pork carnitas wrap, but I ended up getting what was called George's Prime Rib burger. Migliero uses ground prime rib for his burgers and then tops the grilled patty with Swiss cheese, a wild mushroom spread, and caramelized onions. I asked our waitress to leave the onions off the burger - I love the taste of caramelized onions, but my stomach doesn't. It came on a ciabatta bun with a creamy horseradish sauce on the side. I also got the interesting pasta salad. And for a couple extra bucks, I got bacon on the burger. Only it was crumbled bacon bits (I didn't read the fine print on the menu) instead of bacon slices. The burger was thick and juicy - a definite multi-napkin burger - and the bun held together very well. About the only quibble I had with the burger was that the chef placed the cheese on the burger and didn't allow it to melt over the patty on the grill. But other than that, it was a very good burger.
After trying their award winning beef and cheddar jack wrap at the Iowa State Fair, I made it a point to go to G. Mig's 5th Street Pub to see what the place was all about and to try their food. I was impressed with the prime rib burger with Swiss cheese, bacon bits and a wild mushroom spread. My wife enjoyed her chicken cranberry croissant and our friend thought her turkey reuben was very good. It was a very popular place, but I felt we were a bit cramped at a smallish table opposite the bar area. All in all, I thought G. Mig's was a great little neighborhood bar with some good food. But I do want to get back there to try their carnitas and cheddar jack wrap at some point.
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