Iowa Food

Burger-Up Your Travels in Iowa

jayjaygeorge

*Earlier this year, the Iowa Beef Council sponsored our beefy road trip across Iowa to promote their Top 10 Best Burgers of 2025, and we were honored to take up the tasty project. This is a list of those juicy burgers that made it to the top 10, and I know we could all use another road trip or two this summer to the communities these restaurants call home. The views in this blog are of our…Now, let’s gallivant!

The winner of Iowa Beef’s Best Burger-2025 was Halftime Bar & Grill in Pleasantville and their burgers are made with beef and bacon processed locally at Northcote Meats in Melcher-Dallas, Iowa. Located in Marion County and not too far from Pella, so it’s an easy pitstop when you’re in the area anytime of year including tulip time!
Salsa Guy Cafe has quickly become a popular Cedar Rapids restaurant and after your first visit you’ll see why. Smash style burger patties topped with onion rings is always a good idea especially with a side of homemade potato chips fried in beef tallow!
Oskaloosa is where you need to go if you love eggs on your burgers! The Recovery Burger at Lewis & Lewis will almost make you wish you were recovering from a hangover.
Far Northwest Iowa is big on beef producing which means there’s no surprise that Orange City had a top 10 finalist. The Roadhouse has the Poppa Burger and it’s topped with their own fried jalapeno popper ring that gives this burger a zing and unique flavor!
Just off the historic Knoxville town square is Smash & Grab Burger Co with more juicy smash style all beef patties! The Philly Burger brings the flavors of a classic Philly cheesesteak with some rich ranch sauce bringing it all together.
The Iowa Lakes region always gets a lot of visitors which means it’s packed with great restaurants. Burger & Company is in downtown Spirit Lake where you can find a lot of shops to go with that Fried Pickle Burger craving. And make sure you order some battered cauliflower!
The craze for smash burgers made it to Cresco where you’ll find them sizzling at Dan’s Road House! Served scorching hot with plenty of melted cheese and I think you should have your Smash Burger with fried cheese curds!
Downtown Iowa City is where The Graduate Hotel id located on the Ped Mall and just steps from the lobby is Wilder. The Iowa Gold Burger is 100% Wagyu beef topped with gruyere cheese, carmelized onions, and it will be one of the finest burgers you’ll find in the Iowa City area.
Polk City is just a few farms away from Des Moines where the Western Burger awaits at Arcadia. Crispy bacon, onion rings and their house made BBQ sauce makes this a smoky-sweet flavored burger. By the way….You can see the farm where this beef is raised from Arcadia’s parking lot!
We had a great time traveling throughout Iowa tasting these delicious burgers and we know you will too! Click here and follow the Iowa Beef Council Facebook page!

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