South Side Des Moines



B&B Grocery to appear on the Travel Channel

July 12, 2012

Brothers Joe & Johnny Brooks received exciting news this week: Their B&B Supermarket (B&B Grocery, Meat & Deli) will appear on the Travel Channel's show, "Bizzare Foods".

B&B Supermarket

Andrew Zimmern, host of the Travel Channel's well-known show, "Bizarre Foods", has been traveling to Iowa for about 12 years, and has been coming to Iowa for tenderloins regularly over the past five years. When "Bizarre Foods" wanted to plan an episode around Iowa's tenderloins, many people contacted the Travel Channel and recommended B&B. Since Zimmern has actually tried B&B's one pound "Killer Tenderloin" before, it probably didn't take much convincing for him to come back to Des Moines' south side.

Granted, it shouldn't be that difficult to find great tenderloins in Des Moines. After all, Iowa is the self-proclaimed "Pork Capital of the World" (surely it's at least the pork capital of the U.S., right?) and Des Moines is home to the World Pork Expo. There are other great tenderloins served in Des Moines' restaurants, including several places on the south side. You also might be wondering how tenderloins fit in a show called "Bizarre Foods", since they're a pretty standard food across the country. Well, Zimmern says he likes going to places with history, and with items you can't get anywhere else, or "can't get as well somewhere else". So, if Andrew Zimmern is promoting it, maybe there is something special about the Killer Tenderloin at B&B, something not done as well by other restaurants. Hopefully the show will bring attention back to the south side of Des Moines, and encourage people to give our unique, local establishments a try.

John & Shorty at B&B DeliB&B Grocery, Meat & Deli not only serves their "killer sandwiches" but is also a full-service butcher shop, with bulk meat orders available. That's right, it's not just the sandwiches that are huge. You can also order meat bundles (average of 25-35 lbs.), beef by the 1/4 or 1/2, or whole hog bundles.

Many southsiders are already familiar with B&B, which has been on the southside for almost 90 years (Joe & Johnny Brooks are the third generation running the store). Maybe you've driven by the store at the corner of SE 6th Street and Hartford Ave. Maybe you're one of their many regular customers, who create a regular lunch rush for sandwiches and other specialities. If not, stop in and try something soon, before people across the country find out about it and crowd the store! The Travel Channel episode is expected to air in November or December, so you only have a few months before they are made famous on national TV.

(Photos courtesy of http://bbgrocerymeatdeli.com)

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