Baratta’s

We had a date with some friends to hit up Baratta’s on Friday the 13th. I have never been there! What a gem of the southside. It looks from the outside like a small, kinda divey place but inside it has tons of seating room and a classic 90s Italian restaurant feel. 

We arrived at 5:30 with four adults and a toddler and were seated right away. Our service was great, super friendly and attentive. They even bought a trough of ranch dressing for my girlfriend who has crust-dipping requirements.

The wine and beer menu was more than enough to cover all of our needs. The wine pours were generous.  Lucky me!

We shared bruschetta and raviolis to start. I forgot to get a photo but their homemade raviolis are unique, a large thin layer of dough encompassing a small ball of ground beef mixture. Yum. Bruschetta seemed fresh, very flavorful. 

We ordered two pizzas: pesto (with Grazi’s sausage) and classic Margherita. The crust was a bit misleading. It was thin, which I don’t mind, but at first glance it looked crispy around the edges. The crispness unfortunately didn’t hold up under the toppings, and it was quite soft underneath. Bummer.

The toppings were all delish.  The mozzarella cheese was fresh and flavorful.  The Grazi’s sausage had been prepared into a link and sliced up like medallions (which Ryan didn’t prefer, but I didn’t mind.)

Our friends also ordered and shared homemade tortellini. Tasty alert! Half red sauce half white sauce; highly recommend. 

Our fun meal was cut short off by Jack getting a bit of cheese stuck in his throat. His gag reflex works really well though: he proceeded to puke. A LOT. Like everywhere. It was gross and embarrassing but yes Jack is okay. It wasn’t even that scary, the choking lasted a mere instant before the gagging/puking.  This seems like a parenting rite of passage to deal with a puking kid in a restaurant? Right?

I mostly feel bad for our friends, who have witnessed Jack vom over two meals now (once last summer when he was pretty sick). They’re worried that he’s allergic to him. At least Jack showed them his belly button a few times, his current favorite trick. I hope they’ll dine with us again someday! 

Ryan 🍕 Rating: 3.5/5

Chelsea 🍕 Rating: 4/5

Coach’s Pizza

Coach’s Pizza in West Glen. First of all HOW MUCH STUFF is in West Glen I didn’t know about? It’s very vast out there.

This place is a “hangout”. They have regulars who hang at the bar, drinking and meeting up with friends. It’s a a casual “sit wherever you like” vibe. Quick, friendly service. Kid friendly. There was a big table of ladies ranging from about age ten to age 60, family celebrating a younger gal’s birthday together. The birthday girl got a bowl of ice cream with a sparkler in it! So fun. Jack totally flirted with ALL of them the whole time.

We went on a Thursday, the special was any large pizza for the price of a medium (the only two sizes they have). No drink specials that night although they have drink specials listed on their website. They have decent beer and wine menus.

We ordered the “Crack Pizza” because damn, it sounded good and it was! Alfredo sauce, tomato, bacon, chicken, and basil. Can you tell we have a type? I LOVE chicken on pizza!

The only downfall to ordering this type of zza is I can’t review the red sauce, a critical pizza component. The Alfredo was yummy though. 

The crust is New York Style: thin and soft right out of the oven. Leftover it was crispier. I think this was Jack’s favorite spot so far - he devoured it and the lucky guy got a leftover piece sent to daycare for lunch today! 

If I ever get back to this place I want to try the almond crusted chicken fingers. I saw someone order these and they looked bomb dot com. 

They had a Thelma’s cooler for desserts and  a couple arcade games like Ms. Pac Man. It’s a fun, chill place.

Ryan gave 4.5/5. I give 4/5. 

Side bar: My cousin suggested the best way to judge a pizza place is to order a pepperoni pizza. I also caught Ryan comparing restaurants to one another. That’s a fine approach for some, but not my motive here. I am not on a quest to find the BEST pizza in Des Moines, I’m just on a quest to try it all. Thanks for coming to my pizza TED talk. 

Next week we have a Baratta’s date with some friends! Until then.