Simon's and the Nutcracker

Tonight I went to see the Nutcracker with mom. I haven't been for a very long time, and I really wanted to while I was home. So I bought the tickets earlier this month, and we went tonight. Because it was so far away, I decided to take my mom out to dinner. I was in the mood for Italian food, so I looked on the internet to find a nice Italian restaurant near the theater, and I found a little place called Simon's J Benjamin's that got a lot of good reviews. Since I kind of what to start reviewing small restaurants whenever I can, I'm going to start with this one.

Simon's J Benjamin's
Location, Des Moines
Price range, $10-$15 for entrees
Food, Italian
Atmosphere, 8/10: It was a nice, calming atmosphere, very cozy with high backed benches as well as small tables. The dining room itself wasn't very large, but the decoration was tasteful. There was a large aquarium in the back, that gave a little bit of light and color to the otherwise dim dining room. It was lit by a candle on each table, and very dim overhead lights. It gave the dining room a romantic, cozy feel to it. The only down side to this was it was a little hard to read the menu without holding it low enough to see by candlelight.
Service, 9/10: Simon's is a seat-yourself restaurant, and the woman who brought us our water was a little abrupt and unfriendly, however the waitress who took care of us through the meal was really bright and cheerful, and very helpful. She really knew the menu well, and had even tried most of it, so she was able to give a solid opinion on a lot of the food. The food came out quickly, although this might be attributed to the fact that there weren't a lot of people there. We got to meet the owner of the restaurant, who was greeting people at the tables and working alongside the wait staff. He was a young man, probably early to mid 30s, and he hadn't been the owner for very long, but he was very helpful and friendly, and it seemed like he had been doing it for a lot longer. His parents own a bakery (he said so himself) and he brought us a slice of a fresh baked chocolate cake his parents had brought over, free of charge.
Food, 10/10: The food was simply amazing. I got the Fettuccini Alfredo with chicken and a balsamic vinaigrette salad, and mom had Mannacotti and a Mediterranean salad. The Alfredo sauce was creaming and perfect, and the salad was delicious. It's really hard for me to describe food, so I'll just go with 'I was in heaven for the amount of time it took me to eat this food'. The cake that the owner brought out was chocolate with cream cheese frosting, and it was just the right amount of sweetness. It was perfect. We didn't order any drinks, so I can't say anything about that, but the water was good, and I'm really picky about my water. There is also a bar there, for those who drink, and it looked fairly well stocked with wine as well as other kinds of alcohol.

All in all, Simon's J Benjamin's rates a 9/10. I loved it a lot, and while I won't have time to go again, mom has promised that she will be taking dad sometime, because she loved it a lot, too.

And the Ballet was amazing too. Made me wish I really had taken up ballet, like I had wanted to when I was a little girl.