Recently, I decided that I was going to take on a challenge of eating all 10 burgers on the 2016 Iowa Best Burger Challenge map. I knew that the task would take lots of miles, lots of company and an extra stick of deodorant to help halt the meat sweats.
Every year, the Iowa Beef Council puts on a great competition that highlights 10 restaurants in Iowa for the burgers. The burgers are voted in by the patrons and fans of these establishments. Last year the list consisted of:
- Ankeny Diner
- Rides Bar & Grill
- Big City Burgers and Greens
- Saucy Focaccia
- Down Right Delicious
- The Cider House (Winner)
- Elm’s Club
- The Ritz
- First Street Grille
- Zombie Burger
This year, the 2016 Best Burger contest visited several of last year’s participants and included some new ones too. Here were the 2016 contestants.
- Ankeny Diner
- First Street Grille
- BW’s Burgers
- PerXactly Bar & Grill
- Chuckwagon Restaurant
- Rides Bar & Grill
- Down Right Delicious
- The Ritz
- Elm’s Club
- Vaughn’s Café & Bakery
Yes, I visited every single location and here are the pictures to prove it. During this challenge, I ate a record of 4.5 burgers in one day. I’ve slowly gotten back into eating burgers.
Ankeny Diner
133 SE Delaware
Ankeny, IA 50021
Ankeny Diner is one of the few diners still around in the central Iowa area. It has a decent diner vibe and is a convenient stop if you’re traveling northbound on I-35 through Ankeny. Here, they load your plate up with more onion rings than you can handle. Your burger is discoverable after eating a few handfuls.
I ordered a classic cheeseburger. It was cooked inconsistently throughout the burger. It made me think that it was a frozen patty. Luckily, there was a massive plate of onion rings to fill up on.
They have a decent lineup of creative burgers.
First Street Grille
719 1st St
Keosauqua, IA 52565
First Street Grille was a fun little bar and restaurant to visit. Its atmosphere made me feel like I was back in Minnesota on a fishing trip. It had cedar walls and prized deer heads were mounted on the wall. There was also plenty of Bud, Bud Light and Bush signage so you knew that was the drink of choice in Keosauqua.
BW’s Burgers
3701 EP True Parkway
West Des Moines, IA 50265
If you know about the Rusty Duck in Dexter, then you should know about BW’s Burgers. BW’s is owned by Brandon Waldron (hence the restaurant name). He is the son of the owner of the Rusty Duck. You won’t believe the size of their burgers here. Their “Ultimate Hamburger” has 14 ounces of beef, red peppers, sauteed onions, mushrooms, bacon and four kinds of cheese.
I overheard that their bacon cheeseburger comes out to be about 1.5 pounds when finally plated.
Here’s one full boy.
PerXactly Bar & Grill
110 S Olive Street
Maquoketa, IA 52060
This was one stop that I really didn’t know what to expect. It was in Maquoketa which I had never been to and looking at their last Facebook page update, it left me wondering if they cared more about burgers or boob clevage.
As it turns out, they were more focused about the burger and most importantly, the fries. The fries were a real treat. They asked if I wanted hand-cut friends or their regular fries. I asked for hand-cut and watched them push a potato through a slicer. It was a real treat to watch and enjoy. 🙂 The atmosphere of this bar wasn’t so bad either. It was very clean, farmers lined the bar and everyone knew that I was definitely not from here.
Rides Bar & Grill
723 South 31st
Fort Dodge, IA 50501
One thing was very apparent at Rides Bar & Grill – this is the place to hang out on a Friday. This place has an awesome car theme inside. The menu is loaded with references of classic cars. In fact, every burger on their menu is based off of either a car of a classic car saying.
#IABestBurger Top 10: pic.twitter.com/a6o48NyynY
— Iowa Beef Council (@iowabeefcouncil) April 29, 2016
Chuckwagon Restaurant (2016 Winner)
113 South 5th Street
Adair, IA 50002
This was the home of the 2016 Iowa Best Burger. Just a little under an hour, heading west, you’ll find the exit for Adair and right off the exit is where you’ll find the Chuckwagon Restaurant. This restaurant is large enough to hold a corral of chuckwagons and feed all of them comfortably. The burger here was juicy and placed on a nice toasty bun. I would’ve loved to enjoy a homemade milkshake or a piece of homemade pie but I didn’t have room!
Look for the Chuckwagon sign!
Down Right Delicious
120 S 15th St
Clarinda, IA 51632
A down right delicious burger menu ;). A lot of great options to choose from.
They had a great bakery with homemade pastry, cookies, muffin and a variety of other options.
It was a good classic bacon cheeseburger. Although, the bun was toasted and covered in so much butter that the butter overpowered the flavor of the burger.
The Ritz
394 North Okoboji Grove Road
Arnolds Park, IA 51331
There’s nothing better than having lunch lakeside. That’s just what you can do at The Ritz in Okoboji. A large patio lets visitors enjoy the cool lake breeze and enjoy the sun rays. Although, watch out for the pesky birds that think they can enjoy a fry right from your plate!
Elm’s Club
108 N Elm
Creston, IA 50801
I’m not sure what happened here.
The burger did not taste well – as if it was a little spoiled?
Vaughn’s Café & Bakery
112 E Washington Street
Clarinda, IA 51632
I loved visiting this restaurant because the owner’s mom was working and waiting on tables. She came over to mine and explained how excited she was to be in the best burger competition. It was fun to see how proud she was. 🙂 Although, sad to say, their burger needed some work.
Their restaurant motto was “where nice people meet.”
Bonus Stop
On the way to the restaurants in southwest Iowa, I stopped by the Villisca ax murder house. Not really sure if I should be smiling…
Touring around Iowa was a real treat.
I got to see a variety of landscapes – the most common being corn fields. Each town had their own uniqueness. Everyone I came in contact with was good ol’ #IowaNice.
I wonder what next year’s best burger options will be? I guess we’ll have to keep an eye on the best burger page. 🙂
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