Review of Tom Archer's Poor Man's Country Club
They've nailed the atmosphere. The rest needs work.
Review of Tom Archer’s Poor Man’s Country Club
Inside the Val Air Ballroom, 301 Ashworth Rd., West Des Moines
Phone: (515) 855-6797
Open for dinner Tuesday through Saturday. Reservations accepted.
In theory, Tom Archer’s Poor Man’s Country Club is exactly my kind of place. Like many of you, I’ve long had a soft spot for the supper club tradition that inspired it—the low lighting, the relish trays, the sense that time slows down a little once you’re inside. Always, I keep an eye out for the few that still dot the map. (There’s a gem just across the Mississippi, in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, that’s worth a detour, btw).
Stepping into Tom Archer’s Poor Man’s Country Club—which opened January 31 in the heroically restored Val Air Ballroom and was named for its founder—I felt I’d found the local supper club I’d yearned for since Johnny’s Vet’s Club closed.
Recently, reader L.K. put it best: “My sister commented that the ambiance made her want to light up a cigarette (in a good way!).”
“My sister commented that the ambiance made her want to light up a cigarette (in a good way!).” — Reader L.K.
Indeed, the optics are there, starting with the soft (but not murky) lighting, blond paneling, and perforated ceiling tiles. Burgundy leather half-moon booths invite you to settle in, each table lit by its own little lamp, as if waiting for a husky-voiced femme fatale to join you later in the evening. Vintage photos and ballroom memorabilia line walls, while soft, steady music—notably Miles Davis—curls through the room like that cigarette smoke from another era.
And while I haven’t had a cigarette in my hands in decades—and have no nostalgia for smoked-filled dining rooms—it was lovely, really, to step into a place that felt like it had been waiting for you since 1972.
Food/Service Highs and Lows
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