Leaders have Fun

I have a tradition—the Tuesday before Thanksgiving my friend Matt Pries  and I engage in the Annual Night of Gluttony. Click here to view a presentation I did on the tradition.

We want to grow old staying young, and maintain our connection with each other in the midst of our busyness.  This tradition helps. The video linked above details a sampling of past events. Last night, in downtown Des Moines, we did this:

  1. Checked into a new hotel that was new to us, too, in the East Village area of Des Moines. A big part of this tradition for us is a love of Des Moines. If you’ve never enjoyed downtown Des Moines, it has lots to offer.
  2. Enjoyed the avocado fries at The Republic, a rooftop place conveniently up the hallway from our room.
  3. Walked about a mile to our traditional first or second stop, Django, for duck frites with all the sauces.
  4. Walked another half mile to Goldfinch, new to us, and enjoyed blanched cauliflower with pancetta lardons.
  5. Crossed back across the river to HoQ, one of my favorite Iowa farm-to-table restaurants, and enjoyed the finest plate of the evening, a chicken liver spread with perfect pickles- all locally sourced.
  6. Our fifth stop of the evening involved no food – just video games and a beverage at Up-Down, a new throwback arcade.
  7. We returned to our hotel and did our sixth and seventh courses at The Republic – ahi tuna with black sesame seeds followed by the marcona almond torte.
  8. After a solid night’s sleep, we enjoyed the workout room for an hour, as is our tradition, and next, we will brunch at Vivian’s.

For pictures, check my Twitter or Instagram feeds or search for our hashtag #anog2017.

All work and no play? That’s not living the dream, at least for me. Remember to play and have fun. Over the next few days, I’ll play lots of games with my family. Even some video games. And next week, I’ll be ready to passionately get back to work.

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