Flying Mango - Des Moines, IA

Time spent on the road has been minimal during the late winter months. Add in the newborn boy and that keeps me, happily, at home a little more often. You may or may not know that I spend my weekdays at home as a stay-at-home dad. You also may not care. My wife has recently made the adjustment of going back to work after her maternity leave expired. There are highs and lows with that new separation. As a result, we try to celebrate every milestone and victory during this period. No matter how big or small. After a particularly difficult Wednesday for all three of us, we decided to go out to eat as a family. To enjoy the time and eliminate the extra work of making and cleaning up dinner. That's not so special. It's why everyone goes out to eat. We chose one of our favorite restaurants in the city. Flying Mango is out of this world good and it sounded like the place to shake off our difficult day.  Besides, Theo has been on this earth for 4 months and he still hadn't been there. I felt like we were doing him a disservice. I knew their ribs were out of this world and, for shame, I hadn't tried the cowboy beans. 

That's what this is all about. The beans.

I'll give you a summation of the dish before it's specifics. These things are phenomenal. As far as I could tell there were at least 4 types of beans in this offering. How ever many there were, they were all cooked to a perfect consistency. Enough texture to make the side dish substantial. There were a handful of different vegetables and peppers to rival the beans of the dish. Hunks of perfectly cooked tomato, tender celery, jalapeno, and fresh garlic. These additional ingredients worked well to give the eater a variety of textures in the dish. All of these ingredients were stewed in a delicious sauce. It was sweet, spicy, and possessed a great smoky quality. Outside of the sauce being delicious, there was a perfect amount of it and it was perfectly thickened. These beans were stew-like without being soupy. I couldn't imagine there being a better way to prepare an order of baked beans. There menu is not large, but everything on it is done very well. Despite all of the incredible options, you have to make room for an order of these "cowboy beans". Mike and his team make great food and provide great service. Get in the door, if you can, and get these things.

Ratings (On a scale of 1-5)
Appearance: 5
Flavor: 5
Mouthfeel: 5
​(Perfect score!)

Total Score: 15

For what it's worth,
Being a dad: 5