Secret Supper

Ssshhh it’s a secret…. supper.

When I received the invitation for the city’s first secret supper, I was intrigued. What local restaurant would it be? Where in Des Moines would we dine? My mind raced with possibilities. Soon enough, I found myself sitting in an intimate, private room tucked in the back of Dos Rios. The delicious secret was out – we were being treated to six courses prepared by the talented Mike Holman.

Please excuse my dark photos - we had some mood lighting going on.

The meal began with an amuse. Cold smoked and seared foie gras nestled in black mole and sauced with mint and apricot compote. The bite was topped with a crispy duck skin chicharron. As soon as I put it in my mouth, I was struck by the smoky, complex mole and the rich, decadent fois. The mint compote was sweet, fresh and cut through the richness. After a first taste like that, I knew we were in for an evening of great food. 

The first course kept the smoky flavors going - an ancho infused tamale stuffed with braised goat shoulder and topped with charred tomatillo salsa and pickled red onions.  Dos Rios grinds their masa in house and boy, can you tell the difference. The tamale was tender, succulent and spicy. 

We moved on to sweet corn bisque topped with fried octopus, chorizo and garlic, jalapeño cream. The soup was a show-stopper – rich, creamy and a hint spicy. It was love at first bite. 

 

After the richness of the first few courses, Chef Holman wisely moved on to seared sea bass perched atop cannellini ragout and braised swiss card. The dish was finished with a lemon ginger espuma. The perfectly crisp fish was an excellent textural contrast against the creamy ragout.

The next course brought rich picadillo-stuffed rotisserie quail alongside crispy tacu-tacu dressing topped with a creamy romesco sauce. The heavily spiced quail was both delicate and robust. I found myself wanting more of the rich tacu tacu, a traditional Peruvian rice dish.  

For the final savory course, Chef Holman presented chile crusted rack of lamb and smashed plantains topped with peppery black bean sauce. The rub on the lamb was amazing – blackened and spicy. It added a great amount of heat and bite to the rich lamb. As you know, sweet plantains are close to my heart – and the fried plantains at Dos Rios were a nice change of pace. Starchy and crisp, they were a great balance for the juicy meat. 

The meal ended with one of the most amazing desserts I’ve ever had.  Classic leche frita or fried milk is a rich, creamy custard encased by crunchy fried shell – just begging to be cracked. Chef Holman finished his leche frita with tangy goat’s milk caramel and a sweet white chocolate and cinnamon tuile. As I slid my spoon into the velvety center, I noticed the table was very quiet. A sign of happy diners. 

After my secret supper at Dos Rios, I was a very happy diner indeed.