Early Bird - East Village — Restaurant in Des Moines

I was recently in the East Village in Des Moines, Iowa. I was looking online for a good breakfast place, and when I saw the menu for the Early Bird, I knew I had to go!

The restaurant is bright and welcoming, full of color and cheerful graphics. We were seated instantly. On this bitterly cold morning, the brekkie crowd was running late.

A note about the menu. As many of my regular readers know I eat a lot of breakfasts, it is my favorite meal, and I adore diners. This place is quite different. The menu is not your standard diner fare at all. In fact, I would say that this place has more of a breakfast restaurant, rather than a diner or bistro. I think the reason for this feeling is the inventive freedom and resources the chefs have to develop unique or signature dishes.

And we took full advantage of that freedom. Two out of four dishes we ordered were completely unique, and a third was uncommon in many Midwestern diners.

We started with a savory riff on the donut hole, the hash hole. Their description: Hash brown croquettes made with cheddar, smoked gouda, and bacon. Served with queso. Crispy on the outside and creamy, potato-y, and cheesy on the inside. My partner described this texture combo as resembling a hushpuppy. They are so dang good I am fairly sure they are illegal in some states. They are slammed full of flavor, and quite honestly, the queso is unnecessary. I had to force myself to push them aside before I ate all of them, leaving no room for...

The Early Bird (EB) Flatbread: Baked lavosh topped with hollandaise, scrambled eggs, spicy chorizo, green chilies, white queso, and pepper jack cheese. Oh my! Every single component of this dish is something I love. The lavosh was crispy and held up well to the toppings. Their hollandaise is excellent, with a flavor profile that indicates it was made by a chef who cares. The dish was not overloaded with chorizo, an aspect that is important to me. The chilies provided a bright flavor pop that dovetailed well with the cheeses. Balanced, savory, and delicious.

The other main dish we enjoyed was the Ham I am Bennie: Cob smoked ham, poached eggs, and hollandaise. This was the most common of the dishes we ate, but it was still lifted above the commonplace by the use of cob smoked ham. Neither of us had tasted this variety of ham, and I must say that it was very well chosen by the chefs. The flavor wasn't as prevalent as the flavor of double-smoked ham but was present and meshed very well with the excellent hollandaise. Another win for the kitchen was the perfectly poached eggs, not a given in many breakfast places.

The final item on the table was a welcome find on a menu this far north, andouille grits. If you are not a fan of grits, then you most likely haven't had them this well made. Creamy and savory, with a mouth-feel to die for and moved to the next level by a touch of cheddar and the quality andouille sausage.

A blockbuster breakfast any way one looks at it. I will definitely return. Those hash holes are calling my...

Had a little solo brunch here on Monday and it was great! The restaurant is sparkling clean (including the bathrooms), the vibe is chill and friendly, music wasn’t too loud, and there was enough space between tables that it didn’t feel like I was crammed in right next to anyone. It also felt friendly to solo diners, which can be awkward in some places!

I had eggs, bacon, and the french toast sticks appetizer. You’d think eggs and bacon are pretty much the same anywhere but they were GREAT (the bacon was especially good). The french toast sticks were excellent and I loved that the pieces were bite sized - fair warning though, it’s definitely an app meant to be shared, I thought the portion would be way smaller! For as much food as I got, my bill was super reasonable at less than $20.

I also want to compliment the two servers that were there, Emma and Misty - they were both super attentive to their tables and clearly know how to read the vibe (i.e. chatting up chatty tables, leaving people that want to be left alone to their meals, etc). I also appreciated the young man that was running food as he checked on me after a few minutes to ensure that everything was tasting good - I didn’t think to tip him but I should have!

All in all, highly recommend Early Bird to anyone in the area. Great food, great staff, great vibes. Also, their drink menu...

Great experience. I arrived early, before 7a, and sat at the counter. Michelle greeted me warmly and throughout my visit was attentive but not overly so. Michelle went out of her way to make sure everything was just right. I asked for my toast to be well toasted and buttered, and that’s what I got. Exactly. She also made me a great Latte (more on that later).

The restaurant is bright, colorful, cheerful and very welcoming. There is seating to suit any party from small to large. I ate at the counter which is spacious, and there are free standing tables and booths as well. Very clean and very well organized.

Beyond the regular menu they also have a seasonal fall menu (see photos) with some terrific options. The breakfast egg roll looked especially tempting.

I ordered a fancy Latte which was BIG and delicious. A huge improvement on standard diner coffee.

The menu is diverse and creative. The selections are entertaining to read and quite inviting. There’s a Philly cheese steak breakfast sandwich in a bagel which I was tempted to order, but instead I chose the make your own omelette so I could taste a variety of foods. I ordered a Philly steak, pork shoulder ham, and diced sausage omelette with pepper jack. Totally off the chain. Served with hot buttered sourdough bread and hash browns, this is an amazing meal.

I’ll definitely visit again when I am...