Mi Patria

Mi Patria, located at 1410 22nd St. in West Des Moines, claims to be the first Ecuadorian restaurant in the state of Iowa.  It is definitely the only one currently in the Des Moines area.
Since we have been there a couple times, I've had to look up some of the dishes we've ordered: Lomo Saltado (beef stir fry with fried potatoes that kind of reminds me of the awesomest chili fries ever), Hornado con Mote (marinated pork tips pan fried with white hominy), Churrasco (amazing marinated flank steak served with fried egg, bean menestra, fried plantain, and avocado), Arroz Marinero (translates to sailor rice; similar to paella, yellow rice with every type of seafood on top), and Camarones al Ajillo (translates to garlic shrimp; was sort of simmered in a pepper sauce and served with rice).  Conveniently, a lot of these dishes have their own wikipedia pages and appear to be staple Ecuadorian dishes.
It has been pretty delicious both times we've been there.  It is kind of sad that we've gone there on the weekend and it isn't very busy at all.  The food is made with fresh ingredients by an actual Ecuadorian!  I found out from facebook that they had offered Roasted Cuy (Yes, Guinea Pig) for a limited time and totally wished I had known so I could try that!  It is definitely the place to go to try something new.  Another dish they serve as an appetizer that I would like to try is called Llapingachos.  It is a cheese stuffed potato patty topped with peanut sauce.  The meals are very filling so if I got those I might just get them as a meal though.