A while back, we went to Des Moines to hang out with a friend of ours over a long weekend. Since we were staying at her place, I felt we were sort of obligated to take her out for dinner a couple times while we were there. There was one place that I wanted to try that I'd heard about in downtown Des Moines that had sort of an innovative take on Mexican food. On a Saturday night, we ended up at Malo.
Malo is part of the Orchestrate Hospitality Group which includes downtown Des Moines stalwarts such as Centro, Django, Zombie Burger (click here to see the Road Tips entry on Zombie Burger), and Gateway Market and Cafe. The Paul Rottenberg/George Formaro partnership opened Malo in May of 2014 after 10 years of consideration by Formaro to come up with a pan-Latino restaurant concept. Malo was located on the ground level of the Des Moines Social Club, a non-profit arts, market and entertainment venue which took over the space that housed the historic 1930's art-deco Des Moines Fire Department Headquarters/Fire Station No.1 up until 2013.
In 2019, Des Moines restauranteur Todd Millang (RōCA, Johnny's Hall of Fame) bought into partial ownership of Malo and the restaurant closed for 10 days as the group spruced up the place and revamped the menu. Two years later, the Des Moines Social Club closed after the group heading the project couldn't agree on the use of the building and the property was put up for sale. A deal to sell the property was initially done with a Kansas City developer, but a couple months later the deal fell through. Millang, Rottenberg and a third partner put an offer on the building in late 2021, and the group purchased the building in early 2022.
We had been bar-hopping in the downtown Des Moines area for a short while before I suggested we go give Malo a try. We were able to find a parking space on Mulberry Street, just down from Malo at the corner of SW 9th St. and Mulberry. (see map) It was a nice evening and we decided to dine al fresco on Malo's patio in front of the restaurant.
But if we were to eat inside I wouldn't have minded either. The 3-sided bar featured a full selection of liquors including over 40 different varieties of tequila and over 2 dozen different types of mezcal. Malo also featured three different types of sangria. They also had a number of beers on tap including Midwestern craft brews and imported Mexican beers. Next to the bar area was a long table in front of the open kitchen that allows patrons to watch the staff prepare food.
The dining area featured a large open room with hard wood floors and windows along two walls. For as much reflective surfaces in the dining space it was actually muted in volume thanks to a number of sound panels hanging from the ceiling. The lighting scheme gave the dining room a laid-back and comfortable atmosphere.
On one end of the dining room is a large mural of a Lucha-Libre wrestler complete with mask. To not make the mural look out of place in a nice place like Malo, the artist put the wrestler in a 3-piece suit with a slight smile on his face. I got a good chuckle out of the painting when I first saw it.
Beyond the dining room is a large room that is used for parties, meetings, and other gatherings. They were having a function in there that night and most of the people had left by the time we finished up with dinner. The exposed brick on the walls told me that this was probably a former firetruck bay from the old fire station.
We were seated out on the patio and given menus to look through. Our server that evening was Tucker who turned out to be a good sport with 3 hungry and slightly inebriated people. My wife and our friend ordered up a paloma made with 400 Conejo mezcal, fresh lime juice, ginger syrup, grapefruit juice, and Jarritos grapefruit soda. I got the El Rey margarita that consisted of Patron Silver tequila, Grand Marnier and fresh lime agua fresca (fresh lime water with sugar). The margarita was delicious. I made quick work of the first one and was able to sip on my second one through the rest of the meal.
For starters, Tucker brought us out a plate of house-made corn chips with some salsa. For an upcharge, they had a number of other salsas and cremas including a wood-fired tomato chipotle, charred jalapeño and serrano peppers, and a vegan crema. They had a deal where you could get 3 different types of salsa. We got the pico de gallo, the chipotle crema (sour cream puréed with lime juice and chipotle peppers), and the avotillo salsa - puréed avocados and tomatillos with fresh lime juice, cilantro, and serrano chiles. We also got a bowl of their very good fresh guacamole. The house salsa, the chipotle crema, and the pico de gallo were all outstanding. The avotillo salsa, not so much as I felt it was very bland in taste compared to the other salsas. Still, it was a great start for the meal.
Beyond the usual chips and salsa, Malo offers up an eclectic mix of appetizers including shrimp ceviche, a pork belly pupusa, fried Brussels sprouts, seafood nachos, and seared rare tuna with a green chile and lime marinated jicama and cucumber mixture served with a spicy adobo sauce. I found four or five things on the appetizer part of the menu that I could have ordered and I would have been fine with a couple three of those items for my dinner.
But the main part of the menu had enough interesting things that made me soon forget about the appetizers. The spicy pork tamales immediately caught my eye, as did the slow roasted beef barbacoa. The fajitas, enchiladas and burritos were all a step-up from regular Mexican restaurant fare. And they had a number of street taco platters to choose from including carne molida (seasoned ground beef), pork carnitas, house-made chorizo, and a chile-marinated portobello mushroom taco plate.
Man, there were so many interesting things on the menu that I was torn between three or four different items. The grilled mahi mahi tacos definitely caught my eye, as did the chipotle-rubbed seared beef tacos. But in the end I ordered the roast pork carnitas dish. It featured a generous portion of marinated pulled pork with a Hatch green chile sauce and topped with pickled onions. Refried beans and Spanish rice came on the side. I asked Tucker if he could bring extra green sauce and he said it was no problem.
The carnitas were phenomenal. The pulled pork was juicy and flavorful, the Hatch green chile sauce had a bit of a smoky bite that enhanced the taste of the roasted marinated pork. Three corn tacos came wrapped in foil and I made my own combination tacos with the carnitas, rice and refried beans.
My wife went the street tacos route and got a carne asada taco, a pork carnitas taco, and a chicken tinga taco made with shredded chipotle-seasoned chicken and topped with cabbage. She had her choice between either a corn or flour taco shell and - as always - she took the corn tortillas. (Lettuce-wrapped taco are also available.) Chopped fresh onions and cilantro came on the side with the house-made salsa.
Our friend got the pork belly tacos on corn tortillas. It featured big thick pieces of roasted pork belly topped with a corn salsa and shredded cheese. The ladies thought their tacos were delicious.
About the only thing that was sort of "meh!" for Malo was the avotillo (avocado/tomatillo) salsa. But everything else we had that evening was just outstanding. My pork carnitas were an explosion of flavor. The ladies loved their various tacos, and the margaritas and palomas were regular "spot-hitters". From what all I had heard and read about Malo prior to our visit, I was more than satisfied with every aspect of our meal - from the food, to the drinks, to the service. Malo lived up to my expectations - and then some!
My literal back yard!
Posted by: Slakingfool | June 21, 2023 at 09:28 AM