Sarah Booz made an Iowa Jewish-owned deli a TikTok sensation. Then, she became one, too.

This is one in an occasional series on Iowa influencers who are finding new ways to tell the story of the state through social media.

Sarah Booz needed a taste of her native New York.

It was mid-summer when she stopped into Maccabee's Jewish Deli, owned and operated by Rabbi Joseph Jacobson and his wife Chanie. Maccabee's, 1150 Polk Blvd., is Iowa's only kosher deli.

"I found a New Yorker-owned Jewish deli in Des Moines, and I am so happy," Booz, 39, said in a TikTok video from July.

Viral hit on TikTok helps Sarah Booz feature more local gems

The video went viral instantly and gained more than 326,000 views. Hundreds hustled to the Waveland neighborhood to visit Maccabee's and to replicate Booz's order: a pastrami sandwich with deli mustard and raw onions on rye bread.

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Duluth native and Des Moines resident Jack Payette stitched the TikTok with his own video after being inspired by Booz. The video, which went viral, described several guests coming in at the same time because of Booz' TikTok post.

In her signature glasses and spunky miniature ornament earrings, she continued to update her followers on TikTok serving up recommendations to a loyal fandom of out-of-towners and townies alike.

Lachele's Fine Foods on Ingersoll Ave is one of the best smash burgers she's ever had. Her favorite pho in the metro from Vietnam Cafe is "hiding in the food court at the Merle Hay Mall."

The videos' success eventually led to a new collaboration with Catch Des Moines, the city's convention and visitors bureau. Booz will review the city's best sandwiches in a video format for a limited time on TikTok and other social platforms.

"Since then, she's really grown her audience and has naturally become an ambassador for Des Moines," Catch Des Moines marketing vice president Brock Konrad told the Register.

Finding real pizza — and a real following — in central Iowa

On Sept. 9, Booz had another genuine emotion. This time, it was excitement.

She visited Nonna's Pizza & Pasta, a New York-style parlor in Ankeny, with her fiance Kyle Kirwan.

"It is the first time that I have had real pizza in Iowa. By 'real pizza, I mean New York pizza. Look, I'm gonna be the way I am about pizza because of who I am," Booz said in the video.

When the couple visits somewhere for the first time, they keep it as basic as possible. She ordered a slice of cheese pizza and a beef patty, which is a pastry filled with a spicy beef mixture. Kirwan ordered a chicken bacon ranch slice and garlic knots.

"The pizza was really good and folded right and tasted right and the cheese was good, and it was awesome," Booz said.

Nonna's has pizzas by the slice, a full menu for ordering pies and a full bar, she explained. They even have slice and a drink specials, just like in Greenwich Village, the neighborhood in Manhattan where she was raised.

Off Hours:A New Yorker now calls Des Moines home. Find out her favorite hidden gems in DSM.

'It's just a really nice place to live': Booz finds new home in Des Moines

The fact that Booz wasn't born or raised here in the region adds to the attention she's brought to the area.

She moved to Des Moines in 2021 during a pandemic pivot with Kirwan, her fiancé and a metro artist, after living for three years in Poughkeepsie, New York. Before that, the pair lived together in an RV traveling the country from 2015 to 2018 after Booz left New York City.

The couple was drawn to the city's high quality of life, a lower cost of living and a shared interest in the arts. Mainframe Studios, where Kirwan's studio is located on the building's lower level, is what convinced them to make a move to Des Moines. As Booz often notes, Mainframe is the nation's largest non-profit art studio building.

"I love that there is always something to do. There's a street festival or pop-up event or live music," Booz said.

More:Order crave-worthy sandwiches at these delis and grocery stores in the Des Moines metro

But she's found a home here in Des Moines — away from the subway and closer to gas stations with breakfast pizza.

"I think the food scene in Des Moines is incredible and just getting better. We have excellent breweries. Honestly, it's just a really nice place to live."

Where to find and follow Sarah Booz

Known for: Bringing attention to Iowa's sole kosher deli and following the success of that video with a series of TikTok videos featuring restaurant recommendations in central Iowa and the Des Moines metro area

Day job: Works in the tech industry

TikTok: @sarahbooz; more than 21,600 followers; Instagram: @sarahbooz;

Jay Stahl is an entertainment reporter at The Des Moines Register. Follow him on Instagram or reach out at jstahl@gannett.com.