New Des Moines tour makes metro pizza joints the main attraction

Pizza aficionados can soon take a tour of Des Moines' pizza scene with an upcoming tour that's the creation of two local businesses.

Wow! Des Moines Tours and Cooking with Alessandra have partnered to create what they are calling "the ultimate Des Moines pizza experience." Wow! Des Moines Pizza Tours will take place Jan. 12-13, Feb. 23-24 and Mar. 9-10. 

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Tours start with a history lesson of how pizza became one of the most universally loved foods in Italy, the U.S. and Des Moines. A private bus will take attendees to four standout local pizza restaurants.

Tourists will get a chance to taste different pizzas and learn about the restaurants that make them.

“Pizza has been a part of my whole life,” says Eric Prosperi, co-owner of Wow! Des Moines Tours. “I remember going to Babe’s, Joe Corso’s and Bamie’s as a child … and I love the quality and variety of pizza we have in Des Moines today. There is a lot to appreciate about pizza in Des Moines.”

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Prosperi said Scornavacca’s South will be the first location for upcoming tours. So far this year, the tour has visited Noah’s, Chuck’s, RedRossa, Papa Keno’s, 515Pi and Gusto.

Pizza is often the starting off point for the tours, which it uses to tie into the history of the pizza restaurants' neighborhoods.

Be sure to bookmark these frequently-updated dining guides:

• The essential pizza restaurants of Des Moines
• Chicago-style deep-dish pizza in the Des Moines metro: 2018 edition
• The 2018 West Des Moines restaurant guide
• The dining guide to the East Side for 2019

Alessandra Meschini, owner of Cooking with Alessandra, an Italian cooking school in the East Village, is a co-owner of Wow! Des Moines Tours and helped curate the tour.  

“Pizza takes on so many flavors," Meschini said. "In Viterbo, Italy where I grew up, Roman-style pizza was the standard. It’s fun to share how pizza has evolved and the stories of the families that brought it to Des Moines.”

Prosperi said pizza is just a starting point for Wow! Des Moines Tours. Other culinary adventures will be announced in the coming months that include chocolate, tenderloin sandwiches and tacos.

Tickets are on sale for some upcoming tour dates: Saturday, Jan. 12 and Sunday, Jan. 13; Saturday, Feb. 23 and Sunday, Feb. 24; Saturday, Mar. 9 and Sunday, Mar. 10.

Cost is $70 per person and tickets can be purchased through eventbrite.com, events posted on Wow! Des Moines Tours' Facebook page or through the Cooking with Alessandra website at cookingwithalessandra.com.

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