flying mango

all i can say is, the bestbbqin town. great service and food. worth the wait on a busy nite. a real treat, can't wait until i go back to iowa in october. a real ddd joint.

pleasantly surprised. i had no idea what to expect when i first came here. i knew that flying mango was more of some sort of fancybbqjoint but i had never had a chance to try it. i was blown away by the food. it wasn't even the tender briskets, or hickory smoked burnt to perfection crisped ribs that had me. it was the sides that made the entire meal. i loved the various unique flavorful and beautiful sides. i ordered the pancake with mango sour cream (phenomenal), corn bread with honey butter (equally amazing), and the braised collard greens with bacon (yummm). the only thing i might not like about this restaurant is that you must pay to split/share your dishes. instead of getting one meal though and paying the $10 extra to split the meal what my friend and i did was buy a meal and then get a sandwich which costs the same amount and you get an extra side with it. you get more for the $10.

for my birthday this year, i decided i would take my family to flying mango. i had been there this past february with my wife and some good friends, and we fell head over heels for this place. it was an interesting experience. they feature barbecue (for their style of barbecue, i refused to shorten to bbq). this isn’t bib overalls and lemonade kind of barbecue. this is barbecue, done smart.bbqiq = flying mango. they take traditionalbbqdishes and modernize them, often times infusing other inspirations into them. for example, their bass-ackwards’ chicken wings utilize soy sauce. and their orange bbq-glazed ribs utilizes, well, an orange glaze. ok, so on paper it maybe doesn’t sound so profound but it is. everyone raved about these orange glazed ribs. they were juicy, flavorful, orangy. orange bbq-glazed ribs i had to fight to get this picture without hands in it, as there were multiple hands reaching for another rib. here’s one with both the ribs and wings: orange bbq-glazed ribs and

my wife and i have been dining here for the last 5 years and this one of our favorite restaurants in the des moines area.  we like to reserve visits for special occasions and the flying mango is the place we go.  they serve dishes that feature barbecue, caribbean, and cajun.   the service is excellent and  the steaks, seafood, andbbqwill invigorate your taste buds.     some of our favorite dinners include the memphis ribs, any of the pork chops, the louisiana platter,  red neck surf and turf, and the 24 hour beef brisket.    louisiana platter i recommend that you call in advance and make a dinner reservation.  you can call them at 515-255-411.  if you receive their voice mail leave a message with a few times that will work for you.  they have always called me back to confirm.  in the summer they have a wonderful patio that is smoke free.  sometimes they even have live music. check out the schedule and purchase your tickets here.   these dinner events sell out and are very popular.  s

best restaurant in the metro. reasonable prices, great atmosphere, even better food. puts jethrosbbqto shame!

bestbbqin the south is in des moines!. every now and then you stumble across a joint where the food conveys a sense of passion and pride that is, in a word, "inspirational." and it was in des moines, of all places, in a little place called the "flying mango" that i recently sampled the best smoked brisket and ribs i've ever had the pleasure to know.

i hail frombbqland. i've been in a lot famous and not-so-famous places with stacks of wood out back and smoke a rollin' from the stack. memphis, kc, north carolina, texas… shocking as it may seem, the crew at the flying mango are cooking something very, very special. and it ain't easy for a southern man to admit that mike wedeking, a damn yankee, has mastered the signature dish of dixie!

citizens of des moines, i wonder if you know that you've got a genuine, gold-plated, diamond-encrusted, world-classbbqjoint nestled in your back yard.

enjoy! i know i will every time i find myself in the vicinity.

warm, friendly neighborhood place with the bestbbqbeef brisket anywhere. great beer choices too.