Indianola, Iowa. Winding down the day.
(Part seven in a series…)
We arrived in Indianola, now considerably behind schedule. The sun was setting, and we still had to get to a wedding reception in Bethany, MO nearly a 2 hour drive away. But we were on a mission, and there were beers (and a pizza) here for us to consume.
We ducked into Pete’s Pizza, our dinner destination we had decided on earlier in the day. It was packed, so we placed our order and headed out to get a drink.
#12 (#747): The Zoo
102 W. Ashland Ave
Indianola, IA 50125
(515) 961-8731
I’ve been wanting to come here for over a year due to it having the same name as my hangout back home. It ended up being just as much fun as I’d been hoping.
We stepped in the front door and immediately found ourselves on a landing with a choice of going downstairs or upstairs. We chose downstairs first and found a room with pool tables, but no one else was down there. We went upstairs next and found the main bar, complete with a popcorn cart and the usual video games.
Our bartender was Jesse, and he was a very nice guy. The bartender at Main Street Station back in Milo had told us to request something called “FMS shots”. We handed the note she wrote to Jesse and he whipped them up for us, on the house.
We never did find out what exactly the FMS shot is, but it’s fruity and it’s the house specialty.
#13 (#748): Pete’s Pizza
118 North Howard St
Indianola, IA 50125
(515) 961-7797
[map] [web]
We had placed our order when we first arrived in town, and now it was time to head back and eat. We grabbed a table by the bar, got a couple of beers, and settled in.
Because of the pizza, there were a lot of families here. The place was actually pretty much packed, unlike the other places we visited while in town.
The pizza is cracker thin crust and thick with cheese, smothering the toppings. The sauce is rich and sweet. It was a great pizza, one of the best we’ve found on our years of this trips. I definitely recommend it!
The space itself is divided in three sections. In the front is a game room with a pool table, Pop-a-Shot, and video games. In the middle is a narrow bar area, which we sat at the edge of. The far back is the dining area, which is where all the families were.
On our way out we ran into the owner, and we gave her our heartfelt thanks for such a good pizza. :)
Indianola is home to the National Balloon Museum and has an annual balloon festival.
While we were here my friend used the restroom. A few minutes later he came out all anxious and asked to borrow my camera. It was something so important he had even forgotten to zip up. He disappeared back into the men’s room and returned a minute later, smiling. I later found this on my camera:
Gee, thanks. (Turns out he erased it right after takingf the picture.)
Panorama of the game room. Use the slider below the photo to view.
#14 (#749): The Garage
118 E. Ashland Ave
Indianola, IA 50125
(515) 961-9026
This was a very small bar, with darts and video slots. The wood-grained interior was considerably nicer than what I’d expected from the outside.
I noticed a patio in the back and we decided to check it out. It turns out the covered patio is almost twice as big as the indoor portion of the bar, and this is where most of the people were. We found ourselves a table and had a seat. There was a stage in the far back, but if anyone would be playing it musn’t have been anytime soon.
Due to a clerical error made back in Williamsburg earlier that afternoon, we thought this was my 750th bar. At the next table a group of women were celebrating a birthday. My friend talked them into getting my picture taken with them in celebration of the milestone.
Though it ended up not being my 750th after all, the next bar would be and they happened to be going to the same place. So they led us around the block to our next bar.
My prematurely celebratory photo…
#15 (#750): Mojo’s
206 North Howard St
Indianola, IA 50125
(515) 961-0081‎
The birthday group from the previous bar led us to Mojo’s. There was a strong smell of paint or varnish so they must have just done some sort of work recently.
This was now the real bar #750, so the birthday group took a picture of us.
After a round of shots the birthday group said goodbye and left for Des Moines. We adjourned to the back room for some games while we finished our beers. We ended up playing Lawn Darts, Bags, and Silver Strike.
My 750th bar!
Panorama of the back room. Use the slider below the photo to view.
Urinal putty…
#16 (#751): The Irishman
100 North Howard St
Indianola, IA 50125
(515) 961-9740
[map]
When we had mentioned earlier that we were going to The Irishman, the people we were talking to winced.
Normally we like dirty dives, but something about this place was off. It had the usual pool table and video slots, but it just felt bland and unfriendly. We decided to chug our drinks and hurry out.
As we continued around the square we spotted a bonus bar. The Brickhouse, on the easy side of Indianola’s square, was open and hopping and had a nice patio out front. I had known about The Brickhouse before we left, but errant information led me to believe it had recently gone out of business. Too bad.
Unfortunately we were now VERY late for the wedding reception in Bethany, MO and we had a long way to go. This meant we also had to skip another planned bar in Indianola, The Sports Page, on our way out of town. It pained us very much to see that pass by our windows.
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