1. In Des Moines, S’s Are Silent
Pronouncing the name of the city is the first struggle that every out-of-towner encounters. Every Des Moineser is shocked by the sheer number of ways the name of their city is mispronounced. It’s not DeZ Moy-ness or Dis MoineS in plural form. It’s Da Moin.
2. Chicken Fried Waffle Buns Go Great With A Burger
If someone isn’t from Des Moines, they’ll probably have a hard time wrapping their head, and mouth, around the insane creations at Zombie Burger, where anything can be a bun or a topping.
The daily specials keep the wacky combinations changing, but it’s hard to beat the grilled cheese bunned “They’re Coming To Get You Barbara” burger or “The Walking Ched,” with its deep fried mac n’ cheese.
3. Crab Rangoon Pizza Is Totally Normal—And It’s Delicious
Fong’s Pizza doesn’t stop at crab rangoon pizza either, as well as other crazy combinations include Kung Pao Chicken and a Szechuan blend. Yum!
4. Beer Tastes Better From A Boot Here
It may seem a bit excessive at first, but the only way a real Des Moineser orders their beer is in a boot. The Hessen Haus may have several smaller sizes, but let’s be honest, bigger is always better.
5. 80/35 Has Nothing To Do With Math And Everything To Do With Awesomeness
Named for its location at the intersection of two interstates, the 80/35 music festival is one of the best in the nation, attracting all sort of famous acts like The Roots, Modest Mouse, and The Wu Tang Clan. It’s important to save your energy, as the show goes on for days.
6. “Riding The Dragon” Does Not Mean You’re On Drugs, But You Are Having The Time Of You Life
While in most places around the country, “riding the dragon” has a more nefarious meaning in Des Moines it just means a trip to Adventureland is order. Adventureland is home to a rollercoaster called “the Dragon,” a green, double-looping giant, sure to give anyone quite the rush.
7. Our Hawks Can Fight—And Sometimes Even Beat—Cyclones
It doesn’t take long during a trip to Des Moines to realize there’s a huge battle raging amongst its residents. Everyone has to pick a side in the local sports rivalry between the University of Iowa Hawkeyes and Iowa State University Cyclones. Most of the time, it seems to be an even 50/50 split.
8. The Words “Weather Beacon Red, Warmer Weather Ahead” Fills Des Moinesites With Nostalgia
Up until a couple years ago, people of Des Moines didn’t need a fancy smart phone to give them their weather forecast for the day, they could simply step outside and check out a giant glowing weather beacon, once a staple of the city’s skyline.
With changing colors coordinating with the forecast, it was a quick and easy way to determine whether or not a storm was brewing. When it went out for the last time on Sept. 27, 2012, it was a very sad day.
9. To Folks In Des Moines No Flood Will Ever Compare To The Flood Of 1993
Des Moines has experienced its fair share of flooding, enough to shock an out-of-towner new to the city. But every time water levels start to rise, expect someone to loudly mention how it’s nothing compared to ’93, usually pointing towards an ever-raising spot on a building for comparison. It’s turned into a “big fish” story, except with giant amounts of water.
10. The Farmer’s Market Here Is A Truly Super Market
The giant Farmer’s Market in downtown Des Moines is one of the largest in the country, with over 300 vendors and 20,000 shoppers showing up every Saturday during the warmer months.
It’s possible to find nearly any ingredient on streets of Des Moines, plus it gives you a much better tan than the local grocer.
11. There Isn’t A Headless Horseman In This Sleepy Hollow
This Sleepy Hollow is much more fun than dodging a murderous man on a horse, open year round with awesome activities. During the summer, the Sleepy Hollow Sports Park offers go-karts, bumper boats, batting cages, putt-putt, laser tag, the list goes on.
However, as soon as snow hits, the focus of the area changes, as snow tubing, skiing, and zibob sleds take center stage.
12. Deep Fried Twinkies Aren’t A Myth—But They Are Darn Tasty
It wouldn’t be the Midwest without tons of deep fried food, and the Iowa State Fair is the perfect place to find almost anything battered and tossed in oil. In addition to deep-fried Twinkies, visitors can also snack on bizarre items like deep-fried pineapple and deep-fried butter.
13. Buying A Boat Is Your Golden Ticket To The Popular Crowd
Knowing someone with a boat during the summer months is more valuable than discovering a gold mine in your backyard (unless of course you were to buy a boat with that gold). With notoriously hot and humid summers, places like Gray’s lake, Saylorville Lake, and Lake Red Rock are where Des Moinesites disappear to during long, hot weekends.
14. Bacon Is A Whole Lot More Than Just A Food Here
Whether it’s deep-fried, stuffed inside of another meat, or served up with ice cream, Des Moinesers treat their bacon very seriously.
Home to the Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival, there’s literally an entire day devoted to this crispy miracle meat. It attracts over 14,000 bacon fans a year and is one of the few places in America you can see lectures about bacon shortly after participating in a bacon-eating contest.
15. Everyone In Des Moines Craves A Dong
Ask anyone in town, A Dong is the best Vietnamese restaurant around. With awesome foods perfectly representative of a place halfway around the world and a pairing of authentic bubble tea, anyone who chows down at A Dong will leave satisfied.
16. Cyclists Here Throw The Best Party
There’s a week every year when the word “RAGBRAI” may or may not be drunken mumbling in Des Moines. Known for being an awesome time, the Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa tour is all about biking from city to city and celebrating your success throughout the night.
This non-competitive tour is made up of 8,500 week-long riders that complete their journey by dipping their wheels into the Mississippi River.
17. Hunting For Fungus Is Totally Acceptable Way To Spend The Day
There comes a time of the year in Des Moines when morel picking becomes a staple of the Des Moinesite’s diet. This edible mushroom might look funny, but it tastes great, and everyone here will probably know a few ways to cook it up.
18. Zombies Sometimes Roam The Streets Of Des Moines—Don’t Panic
Burger lovers aren’t the only zombie fans in Des Moines. Every year, the zombie walk sends hundreds of participants donning movie quality costumes out into the streets, complete a bazaar, food stands, and plenty of eerie moans.
19. Wanna Buy Something In Des Moines You’re Gonna Need A Dwolla, Dwolla Bill, Y’all
People in Des Moines don’t just pronounce “dollar” funny. Dwolla is a local mobile payment system that makes paying for things in the city much quicker and more convenient. If a sticker says “Dwolla” accepted here, it’s not some strange form of currency, it’s just a smarter way of making your purchases.
20. A Sloppy Joe Is All Wrong Here, Unless It’s Maid-Rite
What out-of-towners often compare to a sloppy joe sandwich, the “burgers” at Maid-Rite are made up of loose meat on a bun, without the sloppy sauce. This allows for the beef to be full of seasoning and totally worth the extra mess that comes with it.
21. You Can Get In The Juice Without Getting Sticky
Young adults in Des Moines love getting in The Juice. That’s probably because it’s the local entertainment publication targeting their demographic, helping to spread news about all the awesome stuff going on in the city on a regular basis.
22. This City Rocks With “LAZER” Focus
Des Moines is home to LAZERfest, one of the coolest hard rock shows in the country. Suddenly, a surprising amount of Des Moinesers become metalheads, as they take to the street to catch bands like Avenged Sevenfold, Queens of the Stone Age, and Alice in Chains tear up the stage.
23. You Run Toward The Tacopocalypse In Des Moines
If you like having bearded men serve you innovative Mexican dishes, than Tacopocalypse is for you. Sure, this restaurant makes insanely awesome tacos, but they don’t stop there, adding touches of Korean and Vietnamese into their creations to make sure patrons walk away with a lasting impression.
24. Des Moines Has Better Beer Than Your City Does
As craft brewing has become more popular in America, Des Moines has seemed to stay ahead of the curve, as quality breweries now push into double digits. Places like 515 Brewing Co., Confluence, and Exile lead the pack, but you won’t go wrong grabbing a homegrown brew anywhere in Des Moines.
25. Celebrity Name Dropping Isn’t Frowned On Here
It seems like almost every Des Moinesite has an “in” with a famous person, at least that’s what they want you to think, as names of local celebrities pop up regularly in conversation. Whether it’s someone they went to high school with or saw at the local supermarket, Des Moinesers have a slight addiction of mentioning the rich and famous.
One of the town’s favorites is Ashton Kutcher, who despite frequenting Des Moines, was actually born in Cedar Rapids. Even so, Des Moinesers will still proudly call him their own.
26. Downtown Has Changed A lot Since The Last Time You Were Here
If an out-of-towner is making a trip back to Des Moines, there’s a good chance they’ll be shocked by how much it’s changed. Over the last couple decades, there has been a huge effort to improve the downtown area, tearing down old buildings and putting up new, nice, shiny things. While in the ’90s, the downtown area was often avoided, lacking much appeal for tourists or locals alike, it has now been transformed into the hot spot to be.
27. If Someone Says They’re From Des Moines, That Might Not Be Completely Accurate
While Des Moines is a huge city, a lot of the populations that says they’re “from Des Moines” actually live in the suburbs in places like Altoona, Ankeny, Bondurant, Carlisle, Clive, or Grimes, etc. They’re not outright lying to you, they probably just don’t feel like explaining where their tiny town is when you’ve never heard of it anyways.
28. Des Moines Is One Of The Greatest Cities In The World
And any Des Moineser will argue with you if you disagree. While Des Moines doesn’t get a lot of nationwide notoriety, as most people from the East or West Coast probably couldn’t even put it in the right state, it’s hard to beat the local food, entertainment, and atmosphere that make this city so addictive.
Listening to a local try to explain this to an out-of-towner might seem a little biased at first, until they start citing polls from companies like Forbes, who regularly rank their home as top 5 cities in the nation, something every Des Moinesite loves to bring up.
What have you had to explain to out-of-towners about Des Moines? Tell us in the comments below! 
