Iowa Girl on the Go

Des Moines’ East Village is the setting for this weekend’s World Food Festival. The festival features authentic cuisines from Iowa’s diverse ethnic populations (as well as some American foods thrown in for, I assume, the kids and the faint of heart). Unique and exciting foods abound. For example: Aloo pie, a vegetarian dish from Trinidad; donates dolmasi from Mesopotamia; French crepes; Cajun jambalaya and etouffee; steamed buns from the Philippines; Ukrainian perogies; Moroccan gyros; plantain fritters from Ecuador; and Bosnian cabbage rolls.

Dave ate pupusas from El Savador: thick corn tortillas filled with pork and cheese and topped with vinegar coleslaw and salsa. I was thrilled to see a booth sponsored by the Ethiopian Association of Iowa. I love Ethiopian food and don’t get a chance to eat it very often — especially in Iowa. I ate vegetarian atkilt with cabbage, carrots, potatoes, green peppers, and green beans in curry sauce with spongy injera bread (pictured).

One great thing about this festival is that each booth offers a $1 taste item. Dave took advantage of this and had a little piece of alligator on a stick at the Fat Tuesday booth. He said it tasted like fish. I chose toasted marshmallows on a stick (caramel and coconut) and I’m pretty sure they were better than alligator meat.

The festival continues through Sunday.