What did I do this week during my vacation? Drove five hours to Des Moines, Iowa of course! And why would I spend more than $100 in gas and $215 on my husband's speeding ticket to go to the center of corn country? Well, because it is the home to the one and only zombie-themed burger joint!
When you pull up outside of
Des Moines' Zombie Burger and Drink Lab, it doesn't look like anything particularly special. Its innocuous reflective windows blend into the other store fronts of the capital's down town area. But once you enter, you will be immediately impressed by the amount of detail and class devoted to crafting this zombie-themed eatery.
The decor is urban and metallic, but not dirty or grungy. This isn't the type of place where you fear that they've failed their last ten health inspections. The art on the walls is new, bright, and well placed. The staff are alternative, pierced and inked...but also showered and well put together. Even though it's a zombie burger joint, someone clearly put a fair amount of time and energy into the interior decorating. The restaurant boasts two or three beautiful zombie comic murals made especially for the restaurant. The artist was, impressively, Ron J. Wagner. He is known for comics such as
The Punisher,
Nth Man, and
Batman: Legends of the Dark Night.
When it comes to seating, you have two choices. You can either sit in the carry out area or the dine in area. We ate in the dine in area, but I'd suggest saving the money on tip and just grabbing a booth in the carry out area. There's no difference between the two menus, except that you may not be able to get alcohol in the carry out area. If that's not a deciding factor for you, be assured that there's just as much of a zombie touch in either of the dining rooms.
We were very impressed with the service. The server was very nice, and the entire tattooed staff seemed happy to be at work...genuinely happy, not TGIFridays happy. The food was served very quickly and drinks were refilled before they were even half empty. Given the greasy, fried nature of this food, a full glass was a must.
When it comes to reviewing the food, I have to admit a bias up front. My husband and I are both vegetarians, so we went with the veggie burger. Their veggie patty was vegetable based rather than soy based, and therefore it was completely inedible in my opinion. Still, their burgers involve so much fried goodness, that they were honestly good and filling even once I pulled off the patty. My guess is that these burgers would have been beyond delicious with a beef patty.
We got four burgers: The Walking Ched, They're Coming to Get You Barbara, Juan of the Dead, and Planet Terror. This was a mistake. These burgers are so big and so fried that you really shouldn't endeavor to eat more than one. We ended up never getting to the Juan of the Dead and I didn't even bite into the Planet Terror. The Walking Ched was my personal favorite. The bun is made out of deep fried patties of macaroni and cheese...yes...you read that correctly. The burger is then topped by even more mac and cheese, cheese, etc.
Once I let the food digest for a few minutes, I was up for a delicious shake for the road home. I opted for the Tallahassee, a milkshake that combines vanilla ice cream, cherry kool aid powder, and (of course) an entire twinkie. This was the best part of the meal for sure. It was a good combination of flavors, and you could definitely taste the little bits of twinkie blended in! Tallahassee would have been proud.
So should you drive all the way out to Des Moines to visit this little gem? No. That would be silly. Who the heck would do that? lol. But if you happen to be in the area, I highly recommend this as a pit stop. It would be worth a little detour. It was a little busy though, even at 5pm on a Tuesday, so I would suggest calling ahead during peak hours.
Also, if you get a chance to try the spiked milk shakes, let me know how they were! We were so full that we didn't get to try everything we wanted to! Also, we were driving. lol.
