Nine months in, Oak Park’s appeal still growing

DES MOINES, Iowa — Don’t let the calm view from the street fool you; it’s been a blinding nine months at Oak Park. Remember the kitchen garden out back? It’s now in its third full season of production.

“Lemon basil, cinnamon basil, Thai basil,” counts operations manager, Billy Dohrmann.

Chefs can sauté, grill, and fry with their own supply.

“They’re out here throughout the evening,” Dohrmann laughs, “which is the coolest thing to see.”

Dohrmann’s garden has gone so well, Oak Park added another one this month.

They turned the lot to the west — originally meant to become a retail space — over to renowned landscape designer Kelly Norris.

“We picked up the conversation this past winter,” Norris remembers, “about how we could something a little more magical and lively to this space to add to what the restaurant’s already doing.”

Everything here is native to Iowa, edible, and will be used by the kitchen and bar.

“Historically the prairie was a pharmacy and larder and habitat and home,” Norris explains, “and to sort of bring back that notion that people once lived with in this part of the world and kind of set that into a little spotlight here with a high-end restaurant is a progressive and thoughtful idea of how to celebrate the landscapes that we live in.”

Inside the place is, well … cooking.

Still booked weeks out. The kitchen is spinning and the bar is — winning.

Downstairs, wine director Sam Tuttle has put together what looks like the world’s best bomb shelter.

“Some of the bottles in here are things that I’d only read about,” Tuttle says.

Tuttle’s collection has helped land Oak Park a Best of Excellence Award from Wine Spectator magazine. Two goblets. The big one.

“This is a tremendous honor as we’re the second program in Iowa to ever do it,” Tuttle says, “and we did it within four months of opening.”

With $90 wine glasses, a $30,000 grill, and a dream team staff — Oak Park’s payback period still has a marathon ahead.

But it’s one that Des Moines is only too happy to cheer from the street.

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