Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Located on the northern edge of
Des Moines' historic East
Village, Alba Restaurant has
been serving up innovative
plates inspired by the local
food scene since opening its
doors in 2009.
After cooking stints across the
United States, Parkersburg
native Jason Simon returned to
his home state to open the
restaurant.
After running the kitchen for
the first couple of years, Jason
has handed over much of the
control to his team of top shelf
talent as he continues to grow
the Alba brand.
Chef Jason Simon: I want into
Alba, know the guys that are
working there, the people that
are serving the food.
You know, we strive to bring
people in that want to produce
something awesome for somebody
at dinner.
I've got a kitchen full of
chefs.
I can't even work here anymore
because they ain't got room for
me in my kitchen anymore.
Joe Tripp: I think a sense of a
team is an important thing in a
kitchen.
It's all about the people you
work with and I think we have a
really good group of people that
work here.
Simon: You know, like my grandpa
said, if you work hard good
things are going to happen in
this world.
I encourage that and I think the
guys encourage that with
everybody they work with too and
it transcends from the back of
the house to the front of the
house.
Nic Gonwa: It's a lot of fun to
have that collaboration because,
you know, two heads, three heads
are always better than one.
So we have a lot of fun making
sure that we're getting in fresh
product, getting in seasonal
things and seeing what we can do
to play with those kind of as
they come in.
I work for an organic farmer on
Saturdays at the downtown
farmer's market here in town so
I'm completely immersed in that
and know really what is going on
and am able to help these guys
with what the farmer is growing
or what is around the farmer's
market at that time.
Tripp: Those things that we have
access to that kind of drive our
menu forward and kind of give us
the ideas of what we have
available and we make it
delicious.
Simon: I think with the menu,
the menu kind of reflects the
personalities that are working
the menu.
It's taking something that
somebody might have had before
and spinning it in a different
way and that's kind of how we
like to play in the kitchen here
and I think that's what kind of
sets us apart and makes us a
little more unique than the next
place down the road.
Captivated by the building's
architecture, Jason dedicated
eight months to its
transformation into a
contemporary cafe.
The final product is a tribute
to his tenacious work ethic and
ingenuity.
Simon: A lot of the features,
you know, happen by necessity,
like, you know, I think it's
great to reuse old products, you
know, to bring a place back to
life.
It was an old car dealership
that was built in the 40s,
transforming it into a
restaurant, I'm like, there
ain't no better use for it.
There's distinctive decor
throughout Alba but why all the
doors?
Simon: So we had the architects
are drawing in soundscape
panels, I priced them out and I
was like, mimic the size, we
painted them up, hung them up,
it's become kind of like a
little feature of the place so
it worked out good.
The restaurant design also
features a chef's table, the
perfect location for guests to
get a glimpse of the kitchen
crew in action.
Gonwa: I think that's really one
of the highlights of Alba.
It's really where you can sit
and interact with, you know, the
chefs and the people preparing
your food and ask questions.
That's definitely a draw and
it's something that people
really enjoy because it's kind
of unique.
Simon: I don't think enough
people pay attention to
everything that goes component
wise into a dish, the flavors
that you can build upon inside
of a dish especially with the
different kinds of vegetables
that are in season.
Once people realize that and see
the work going into it and they