Cheese Bar, Des Moines, Iowa – Anything Mac n’ Cheese

While I was in Des Moines, Iowa, I decided to stop by the Cheese Bar. Using Google Maps, I was first sent to a tiny wine and cheese bar, which is now called the Cheese Shop, and walked in to find out that they moved to a new building and did not update their Google Maps location. Soon, a man behind the counter told us that there is a new sister store about a mile away and gave us directions to the restaurant, which turned out to be not too far away. Once I made it to the new location, I felt like I was in the future! All around me was white, brown, and yellow (mac n’ cheese theme colors!), along with metal and wooden appliances and pictures of a dairy farm and a man making the cheese curds, that gives you a super modern feel. To the right of the back entrance, you see the wine bar, and to the left, you see three or four wooden tables. In the daytime, the Cheese Bar floods with light, which adds to the modern feel. Around twelve o’clock, it did not seem so crowded until about twelve-thirty.

The Cheese Bar also sells Charcuterie plates and tons of menu items for lunch like Grilled Cheese, sandwiches, fondue and raclette, something they call “Smorg”, and much, much more! The restaurant was not only meant for adults, because of the wine, but the Cheese Bar also sells lunches, dinners, and desserts, and the bar is completely family friendly with all sort of fun non-alcoholic drinks. 

Enough with the talk about the restaurant, let’s get to the good stuff. The mac n’ cheese, or as they call it, the “Soon to be World Famous Mac n’ Cheese”. This Mac n’ Cheese is topped with breadcrumbs and has beautiful, charred peaks from being oven baked in a mini cast-iron skillet, all on top of a cheese that I cannot tell and Rigatoni noodles. Normally, I ask the waitress what kind of cheese is on the mac n’ cheese if it is not on the menu usually, they say what it is, but this time I was told that their cheeses are much much more exotic sounding than usual. The Mac n’ Cheese was made of; Frisian Farms Gouda, Hook’s Four-Year Cheddar, Rustichella D’Abruzzo Rigontoncini, Mornay Sauce, and breadcrumbs. Oh! You can add their Niman ranch bacon to the Mac n’ Cheese for an extra $2, but I didn’t see that until I already ordered.

About five to ten minutes later, the food I ordered (their Cherry Spritzer and, of course, the mac n’ cheese) came out. The mac n’ cheese came out extremely hot and the cheese around the edges was sizzling. I took my first bite, and I could not believe what I just ate. The Mac n’ Cheese had a delicious grilled cheese flavor from the breadcrumbs and the noodles were Al Dente on the outside, but soft on the inside. Compared to other Mac n’ Cheeses, this Mac n’ Cheese was not oily at all. Besides all of these good things, the cheese at the bottom of the cast-iron pan sort of tasted very salty and dry.

 Overall, the Cherry Spritzer tasted really good and help with the dry, saltiness and the bottom of the “pan”. I thought $10 was a little pricey, but that didn’t matter it tasted good. I would recommend this to a friend and go there repeatedly by myself. 

char·cu·te·rie/SHärko͞odərē

1. cold cooked meats collectively.
   • a store selling cold cooked meats.plural noun: charcuteries

Go to https://www.cheesebardsm.com/ for more info such as their menu and location.