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Read more: Top 10 List: Best Iowa Burger Contest - Entertainment News Story - KCCI Des MoinesQuote:
“Although we won’t announce Iowa’s Best Burger until the first week of May, we encourage everyone to stop at one of the Top Ten restaurants for a burger,”
The Rusty Duck - Restaurant/Cafe - Dexter, IA | Facebook
The Rusty Duck is located about thirty minutes west of Des Moines in Dexter Iowa Community Site - Home. Little did I know, I was in for a history lesson!
Bonnie and Clyde were here!
Dexter, Iowa
Dexter Iowa Community Site - Bonnie & Clyde
The White Pole Road!
The White Pole Road
Drew's Fork Dipped Chocolates!
Drew's Chocolates - Local Business - Dexter, IA | Facebook
With all the history of the area, I was really anticipating something great. I pulled into town a few minutes early and took some pics. This is what most smaller Iowa towns look like.
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The Rusty Duck!
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I had to lol at the sign on the door.
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Just inside there were the accolades from the 2011 Best Burger In Iowa contest.
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The dining room was dimly lit, making for a cozy feel.
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On to The Rusty Duck Burger!
I ordered the Bacon Cheeseburger, done medium with their "Homie Fries". Homie fries are baked potatoes sliced into thin planks and fried.Quote:
The Rusty Duck
Thank you everyone who helped make the Rusty Duck 2011's Iowa Best Burger. On that note....I'd like to add a disclaimer....We are not a burger joint, we are a full Menu Resturant. I appologize in advance if you come in and we are out of burgers, but we can only produce so many from our freshly cut steaks every week. To enjoy one of our burgers, I suggest coming in Tuesday-Thursday, as by Fridays and Saturdays....we run out quickly. Thank you and I hope to see you all soon!
This was at least one pound of burger done to perfection. Topped with lots of cheese and about one half pound of crispy chopped bacon.
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Cutaway view shows the juicy perfection.
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I joked with the bartender that the carrot was called a guilt stick to make up for the 10,000 calories that I just consumed.
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This was the juiciest most flavorful burger I have ever eaten. You could taste the freshness of the burger. This mix of steak trim and chuck is spot on. The perfect tender crumble of a perfectly pattied burger. Not like some that pack the ground beef too hard, making a dense "tougher" texture.
I told the bartender that I would like a plain burger patty for dessert! She told owner, Brad Waldron as he was busy at the grill. Brad looked out and smiled, I gave him a thumbs up.
2011 Iowa's Best Burger?
I say Best Burger in the USA!
The Top 10.
The red indicates the businesses that are within a reasonable driving distance. I will try to make it as many as possible.
Ankeny Diner, Ankeny
Hotel-Diner.com | Ankeny Diner
Coon Bowl III, Coon Rapids
Drake Diner, Des Moines
Drake Diner
Farmer’s Kitchen, Atlantic
Ferg's Lounge & My Tighe's Restaurant, Grand Junction
Ferg's Lounge & My Tighe's Restaurant - Bar - Grand Junction, IA - Info | Facebook
PerXactly’s Bar and Grill, Maquoketa
Rosco’s, Norwalk
Rosco's: Norwalk, IA | Restaurant Reviews & Menus | Restaurantica.com
Rube’s Steakhouse, Montour**
https://rubessteaks.com/index.php/st...locations.html
Sac City Bowling Center, Sac City
The Ritz, Arnold’s Park
**There is another location owned by the same people that is only a 25 minute drive as opposed to a 1 hour drive.
I have my work cut out.
http://www.hotel-diner.com/Ankeny_Diner/
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This is a typical diner.
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The email notifying of being in the Top Ten Best Burger in Iowa.
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I ordered a bacon cheeseburger done medium.
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This was more like medium well to well done. There was evidence of the patty being pressed on the grill, a big no no. They were very proud of their burgers. Purchase ten pound tubes of fine ground beef and hand patty them. Not much creativity there, but still better than a box of frozen patties. I would not rate them in the top 5.
http://altoonaherald.desmoinesregist...75/BURGER-WARS
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I ordered the bacon cheeseburger done medium.
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This seemed to be well done. The patty seemed a bit dense and appeared to be a cooked-from-frozen type product. Very disappointing.
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Rosco's is not worthy of being in the top 5.
http://www.drakediner.com/
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I ordered the bacon cheeseburger, done medium.
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The burger came out on the well done side.
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They may patty their own burgers here, but they are handled too much and have a denser, tougher chew. Not good. Not worthy of being in the top 5.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fergs-...n/373472812228
Grand Junction, Iowa
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How can you not like a place with a name like Ferg's and My Tighes!
The owner's last name is Ferguson and his wife's maiden name is Tighes.
They had a special card in the menu promoting their nomination for the Best Burger In Iowa.
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They also had the word "ginormous" in the menu. I hate that word.
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On to the burger! I ordered the special double bacon cheeseburger done medium. The bartender came back from the kitchen stating the cook nearly refused to cook it less than well. She assured me it would be medium.
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The patties were much bigger than what the menu said. No argument here! They had two sauces that they offered with the burger. One mild and one chipotle. These were a mayo/honey blend that actually went quite well with all.
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They also bought fine ground beef in ten pound tubes, pattying their own. The tell tale sign of handling too much can be seen in the layer near the top of the patty. The outside seals and the juices pool up inside. Not good. The burger appeared to be nearly well done. Although the owner and all of the staff were friendly and entertaining, Ferg's and My Tighes are not worthy of being in the top 5.
Well, I would eat that anyway! As hungrey as I currently am.
Car 4:biggrin1:
Rube's Steakhouse, Waukee, Iowa
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https://rubessteaks.com/index.php/steakhouses.html
We were greeted and seated right away as we were there right at opening time. This is a "grill-your-own" type steakhouse. The open ceiling with exposed rafters defined how loud this place can get.
A nondescript salad bar is to the left.
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There is an area where you can load up baked potatoes, baked beans and their "skillet potatoes". The baked potatoes are foil wrapped,big no no. The baked beans looked like they were out of a can, ugh. The skillet potatoes were simmered in some kind of grease and had odd shaped onions and green pepper chunks. No apparent seasoning.
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This is their big pit. All of the condiments you could ever need. Butter and seasonings. Texas toast you can butter, season and grill.
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But we were here for their nomination into the top ten best burgers in Iowa.
There is a display case where you can pick out steaks, seafood or veggies to grill or saute.
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My folks and I were there to see why they are in the top ten. The burgers were ordered and cooked in the kitchen. The waitress also told us they were to be cooked medium well to well done. You did get a choice of cheese. The salad bar and the beans/potato station were included with the burgers.
We were the first table to be seated and after being given a tour by our waitress our order was turned in within ten minutes. Time went by and the second table to place their order got their burgers first. We talked amongst ourselves about how much time had gone by. Our burgers arrived in nearly thirty minutes.
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This was the biggest disappointment of all. The patties appeared to have been formed by a machine to resemble something more like Mc Donalds. The patties were dense and had little flavor left that could identify as a top ten nomination.
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Two quarter pound patties that were definitely well done. My Dad's Texas toast was not toasted.
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Rube's has been nominated every year they have run the best burger contest. I know you don't go to a steakhouse for a burger. If this is how you represent a "steakhouse burger", Burger King and Mc Donalds should be nominated next year.
It's embarrassing to rate this as high as ten.
Well at least the steaks in the case look good.
A tribute to the Rusty Duck. Kinda hokey, but you see how awesome the burger is.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVcmrh5H8Ac
http://cmsimg.desmoinesregister.com/...&Maxh=410&q=60
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/art...text|FrontpageQuote:
The Iowa Cattlemen’s Association named the Coon Bowl the Best Burger on Thursday after receiving nominations and then a visit by judges.
http://www.iabeef.org/bestburgercontest.aspx
I did not make it out to try this.
http://www.nebeef.org/bestburgercontest.aspx
How did Runza get rated that high?
I will be visiting two of these restaurants later this month.
By special request, I brought the "Culinary Scale of Justice".
The Pork Tenderloin sandwich.
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Weighing in at 5 lbs., including the plate, this is Iowa's biggest and best.
The Bacon Cheeseburger.
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Weighing in at 5 lbs., including the plate, this is Iowa's biggest and best.
A moment of silence please.
Quote:
Originally Posted by IMGreat101
For you or the burger ? :noidea:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Captain America
:rofl: x 657465
The food and the people that craft it are the stars here.
But I will take any attention thrown my way!
'Best Burger' title turns small-town Iowa grill into instant tourist hotspot | The Des Moines Register | DesMoinesRegister.com
Iowa Beef Industry Council - Best Burger Contest
I finally made it out to try one of these.
Main street.
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Coon Bowl III
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