By Wicker Van Orsdel
The East Village came alive with the undead last Friday night. It was the invasion of the Zombies! The entire block from Fourth Street to Grand Avenue was packed with teeming hordes of ghoulish, decaying, shufflin, zombies, eager to do the ‘Zombie Walk’ and the “Thriller” mob dance at the Zombie Burger Street Party, which benefited the Des Moines Community Playhouse. I loved the custom T-shirts creatively designed by Raygun for the event: “Des Moines…Hell Yes.” I must have one.
It was ahMAZing to see such crowds and so much esprit de corpse! So many people of all ages were so crazy and creative in their various gory costumes and stages of decomposition! Moms… dads… kids…babies…there were even a few zombie dogs! Nothing like some good clean creepy family fun. It was a George Romero’s ‘Night of the Living Dead’ revisited! (It confirms the notion that people DO love to dress up.)
All this undead fun was to celebrate the opening of George Formaro’s new Des Moines hot spot, Zombie Burger+Drink Lab. If you love other worldly’juicy burgers with soft fluffy buns and skinny fries and milkshakes (spiked if you like), with a splash of horror thrown in (and who doesn’t?), then Zombie on down. The burgers are deadly good. Also try the deep-fried Brussels sprouts. (Oh yeah…be sure to follow up with a visit to your cardiologist.)
The party went on for hours. After the Zombie Walk, the street was alive with dancing to the sounds of a band called The Sequels. Some of these zombies hadn’t eaten in years and there were long lines of hungry flesh-eaters eager to sink their rotting teeth into their first killer zombie burgers. (Sorry, I got carried away…). Needless to say, the menu was well received and the crowd was pleased. The Zombie theme is pure fun…plus they have prime outdoor patio seating. You should give it a try (being undead isn’t mandatory!). I encourage you to check out my photos—click on the link below—to experience the full visual extravaganza of this crazy mass of humanity just awakened from their dirt naps! (Insert Vincent Price laugh here.)
http://mzwick.smugmug.com/Events/Zombie-Street-Party/18784186_jCLHg5#1454400607_5ZtRC6x
