Bauder Pharmacy

3802 Ingersoll Ave., Des Moines, IA - (515) 255-1124

Overview Reviews(1) Rate Restaurant Upload Photos Bookmark Email

Posted By Michael Stern on 5/30/2007 12:25:00 PM

Bauder's ice cream is famous in Iowa, especially so among people who attend the annual state fair, where it is a highlight of the endlessly good grazing grounds near the show pavilion. Year around, the drug store is a place to come for one heck of a fine cherry Coke, a Green River, or a lime phosphate. You can indulge in a turtle sundae (that's caramel, nuts and hot fudge topping), as well as shakes, malts, sodas, and floats of every stripe. All the ice cream treats are made from Bauder's own ice cream, the flavor rotation of which includes fresh strawberry and peach in the summer months.

Ice cream is Bauder's main claim to fame, but it is also a nice place for a sandwich: cold cuts, hot Reubens and fried eggs, or a "Roosevelt Special" of turkey, Swiss and mustard on a long roll.

The nostalgic reverberations of this old drug store take you back to an America that long predates modern franchised restaurants. The business was founded in 1922 by Carolyn Bauder, a pharmacist whose motto was CLEANLINESS, ORDER, SERVICE. Ice cream became part of the pharmacy repertoire shortly after World War II, when it was hand-cranked up front in the window where passers-by could watch. Today, the fixtures are comfortably familiar, but not prehistoric: colorful octagon-tile floor, blue-upholstered counter stools and a couple of booths back near the prescription counter, a small glass case of warm salted nuts for sale, and a waist-high cooler with pints of ice cream packed and ready to take home.

Scorecard

Overall: Legendary - Worth driving from anyplace

Hot Fudge Sundae	Turtle Sundae
Ice Cream	Green River
Chocolate Soda	Chocolate Malt

Rate this place

Reviewers Photos [Upload Your Photos]

"It is the ice cream that makes Bauder's hot fudge sundaes something special. In the summer, fudge on fresh peach ice cream is a delight. (buffetbuster photo)"
Michael Stern

"Emerald green lime phosphates are a specialty of the Bauder Pharmacy soda fountain. (buffetbuster photo)"
Michael Stern

"A just-made chocolate malt (buffetbuster photo)"
Michael Stern

"I'm not sure why, but turtle sundaes are always better in the heartland. There is nothing spectacular about this one, except for its perfection."
Michael Stern

"Iowa is one state that still has a handful of wonderful old soda fountain pharmacies. Bauder's in Des Moines is a leading light."
Michael Stern

"You know it's summer when Bauder's offers fresh peach and fresh strawberry ice cream. Dreamy!"
Michael Stern

"A beautifully-made chocolate soda"
Michael Stern

"There is nothing especially alluring about the look of Bauder's (at least from the outside), but ice cream aficionados from near and far consider it a worthy destination."
Michael Stern

"A view behind the counter at Bauder's. In back, you can see the pharmacist at work. (buffetbuster photo)"
Michael Stern