Take a Des Moines food tour

(Credit: e)

To truly travel is to eat your way through a town like the locals do. We compiled a list of must-taste dishes true to Des Moines culinary culture. With stops at both white napkin and Wet Nap establishments, you'll experience the gamut of Midwestern cuisine and leave totally, completely, full.

You must eat: Steak de burgo
Get it: Christopher's, 2816 Beaver Ave.

Backstory: You'll find steak de burgo (beef tenderloin sautéed in butter or olive oil with garlic and dried basil) on the menu at upscale and Italian restaurants around Des Moines, due to a dining diaspora that happened in the late 1940s. The Iowa Beef Industry Council, quoting a 1964 Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook, "Famous Food From Famous Places," places the origin of the dish at the now-defunct Johnny and Kay's Restaurant. The owners started serving it in 1946 after bringing the recipe up from New Orleans. Cooks took the dish to their new establishment when they moved around and it remains a local favorite to this day.

You must eat: King Tenderloin
Get it: Smitty's Tenderloin Shop, 1401 S.W. Army Post Rd.

Backstory: The popularity of pork in Iowa is undisputable. If we had a state dish, the tenderloin would have to take the title. You can find them all over town, but this food tour is taking you to the south side, where Smitty's has been serving gargantuan 'loins for decades. Go ahead and slather condiments on the bun, but you're going to have a hard time coating the circumference of the breaded pork. The buns are like a tiny island in a sea of crunchy, meaty goodness. $6.50 for the large, $3.85 for the small (we suggest the large, for the full effect).

You must eat: Lobster corn dogs
Get it: 801 Steak & Chop, 801 Grand Ave.

Backstory: This appetizer ($11.95) is like a wink to the east side - a crustacean celebration of a State Fair staple, with a twist. We love the high/low combination of Des Moines' most buttoned-up restaurant serving up something on a stick. No matter how posh we Des Moinesians are, we leave a little room for some down-to-earth eats.

You must eat: Obama Cookie
Get it: Baby Boomers, 313 E. Locust St.

Backstory: You've probably heard the story about what happens when your chocolate chip cookie is endorsed by Obama: Start running the ovens on overtime. Baby Boomers co-owners Rodney Maxfield and Tom Magnani used to hand out the cookies for free, but after the president praised Magnani's grandma's recipe, sales skyrocketed and shipments have been sent all over the world. You can still get them here, though the dough the owners have made from cookie sales has prompted a move to a new location, still in the East Village.

You must eat: Grinder Pizza
Get it: Tavern Pizza and Pasta Grill, multiple locations

Backstory: Italian sausage is big in Des Moines (thanks, Graziano Brothers!) and often enjoyed in sandwich, aka "grinder," form. The Tavern combines Des Moines love of spicy sausage with a downright fetish for pizza (our city has held the title for most frozen pizzas consumed per capita) with its must-taste Grinder Pizza. A crispy thin crust concoction loaded with their own blend of Italian sausage, marinara and mozzarella, or the special that adds onions, green peppers and mushrooms.

You must eat: Peach Ice Cream
Get it: Bauder's Pharmacy, 3802 Ingersoll Ave.

Backstory: Bauder's has been around since Bill Bryson was young enough to have to sneak into movies, and the Ingersoll Theatre wasn't boarded up. They're one of those places that still takes the time to hand-make everything. The peach ice cream is flavored by real Colorado peaches that have been washed, boiled, peeled, sliced and sugared, then mixed in with their homemade ice cream recipe. It's a seasonal flavor, so when peaches run out (as they do, right about now) there's no more until next year. In the meantime, try the cinnamon apple.

You must eat: 1/2 Lb. Double Cheeseburger
Get it: B-Bops, various metro locations

Backstory: Voted the best burger in Des Moines in the desmoines.metromix.com burger wars this year, B-Bops has a place deep in the bellies of Des Moines natives. B-Bops founder and president Robert D. Johnson said burgers that come out of his drive-thru have a special flavor due to the seasoning (the blend is secret, of course) they use before cooking it. If you want to do B-Bops right, drive through the 1500 E. Euclid location. It's their first.

You must eat: Flour tacos
Get it: Tasty Tacos, various metro locations

Backstory: When a "taco tour" came to town by way of Austin, Texas, the first stop on their six-restaurant binge was Tasty Tacos. Word of these puffy wonders (the tortillas are fried) must be heading south. A local chain, Tasty Tacos is the go-to place to cure a hankering for Mexican while on the go.

You must eat: The Combine
What it is: Three of The Shed's prize winning entrées: The Roast Pork Loin, The Heartland Delight and their Tangy Tenderloin.

Get it: The Machine Shed, 11151 Hickman Ave., Urbandale

Backstory: Blue-ribbon dishes at Des Moines most generously portioned restaurant. Wear some elastic pants before digging into this very Iowa triad of tastiness.

You must eat: Chili cheese fries
Get it: George The Chili King

Backstory: For natives, chili from this greasy spoon runs in the blood. It's the only explanation, really, how it remains a mainstay as the signs and drive through weather the decades along Merle Hay Road. Often compared to motor oil, you can't call yourself a true DM resident unless you've tried it.