Where did they film the diner from mike and molly

Des Moines apparently has cultivated enough hipster cred that it now can pass for Chicago.

At least on prime-time network TV, where many viewers would be hard-pressed to pinpoint Iowa on a map, let alone our capital city.

Lagan and his colleagues hadn't arranged it or provided images. But he was aware that Mercy had been shown on some TV "entertainment program" a couple weeks ago and even as early as last year.

When I emailed a vice president of publicity at CBS in what I assumed would be a futile attempt for a quick response, I was surprised at how colorful and swift an answer I received.

It turns out that Des Moines native-turned-Hollywood insider Al Higgins is to blame. The "Mike & Molly" executive producer hails from a large Iowa family in which he and at least two of his brothers have carved out entertainment careers.

"At first it was a mistake," Higgins wrote of the Mercy-for-Mercy substitution. "We used it in a previous episode, and I didn't recognize it as Mercy Hospital. (I don't think it looked like that when I lived in Des Moines.) I then read online someone mentioning that it was Mercy in Des Moines, and I thought that was cool, since I'm from Des Moines, so I decided to keep it as a little homage to my hometown."

Yeah, that's cool.

One quirky little hospital Easter egg that will live on in syndication and streaming is a workable nod to Higgins' Iowa roots.

And it was much easier than trying to pass off 801 Grand as the Willis Tower, or Gray's Lake as Lake Michigan.