Tally’s in the Beaverdale neighborhood of Des Moines, Iowa is the 9th restaurant that I’m judging food at for the 2014 Dine Iowa Grand Tasting Gala event in Des Moines, Iowa.

It has been a couple of years since the last time I attended the event, but I do remember it being full of flavor and fun. To get more information on this year’s event click here.

Chef Robert Anderson and I are the main judges. It is a privilege to get to work with him, the IRA staff, and members from the Soy and Beef Council.

During the next couple of weeks, leading up to the September 25th event, we have 9 different restaurants to visit. These restaurants are all across Iowa.

Tally’s

Tally’s has a neat bar and neighborhood feel to it. One of my favorite features is that they have a lower level patio, and a patio on top of the building. There’s nothing better than being able to sit outside and enjoy a meal.

The Chef at Tally’s

Chef Robert Sanda is an owner and head chef at Tally’s. You might have heard his name this year from winning the Soy Salad Dressing content. You can find his recipe here.

The Meal

Rules: With this event, each competitor will prepare a main entrée recipe utilizing Braveheart Black Angus Beef Ribeye, donated by Performance Food Group (at least six ounces of cooked beef must be used). Additionally, each competitor will prepare a Tofu (soft-silken or water packed) side dish or sauce (at least a 1⁄4 cup of tofu must be used).

Main Dish

We enjoyed a ribeye that had been cold smoked for 8 hours. It had also been cut from the cap to the end, and then rolled up. Inside of the roll-ups was a tofu ricotta cheese.  There were two sides that were really neat. There was tofu spätzle which was a really neat twist, and offered a little crunch to the tender beef, mushrooms and pâté. Chef Robert colored the pâté which vegetable juices. There wasn’t an ounce of artificial coloring. The colors were so vibrate is was such a neat piece on the plate.

Chef Robert Sanda displayed a wonderful plate. He should be proud of his presentation.

Contact Tally’s

2712 Beaver Ave.,

11 a.m.-close Tuesday through Saturday.

9 a.m.-2 p.m. for Sunday brunch.

515-279-2067

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