Almost all of my food posts are about tenderloins. But I confess that I haven’t been tenderloining much lately. Would you believe I haven’t had a fried tenderloin this entire year? I’ve had two grilled tenderloins. One from Nite Hawk Bar & Grill in Slater and one from the Colorado Grill in Boone. It isn’t that my love for the tenderloin has waned, but I have made small and inconsistent efforts to eat better lately.

Don’t you think that means I have retired for eating tenderloins. Not at all. There are plenty of tenderloins left for me to knock down this year. I just haven’t had any yet.

While the Iowa Pork Producer Associations Tenderloin Contest is well documented in the annals of “An Artist’s Notebook”, I’ve never really paid much attention to the Iowa Beef Industry Council’s Best Burger Contest. Which I should, because while I love a good tenderloin, I also love a good burger. I even love a good salad. But that is a story for a different day and a different collection of haters. Well a couple of the same haters.

The Iowa Beef Industry Council and the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association recently released the 10 finalists for the 2023 Best Burger.

Check out this graphic I lifted from their website:

Here is a little info on the 10 Finalists:

ARTY’S ICE CREAM & GRILL
609 W 5TH ST
WILTON, IA 52778
563-732-2222
TUES – SAT: 3:30PM – 8:30PM

BEN’S BURGERS
1325 SW ORLABOR RD.
ANKENY, IA 50023
515-289-9888
DAILY: 11AM – 8PM

BIRDIES, BURGERS & BREWS @ THE HILLCREST
701 S CEDAR AVE
GRAETTINGER, IA 51342
712-859-3766
MON – SUN: 11AM – 10PM

BURGER & COMPANY
1603 HILL AVE
SPIRIT LAKE, IA 51360
712-336-4161
MONDAY: CLOSED
TUES – SAT: 11AM – 7PM
SUNDAY: 11AM – 3PM

FISHBACK & STEPHENSON CIDER HOUSE
21949 PLEASANT PLAIN RD.
FAIRFIELD, IA 52556
641-451-7726
THURS – SAT: 4PM – 9PM

FOODIE GARAGE EATERY
1046 CENTRAL AVE
DUBUQUE, IA 52001
563-845-0131
SUNDAY: 7AM – 3PM
WED – FRI: 7AM -8PM
SATURDAY:7AM – 3PM & 5PM – 8PM

FLIGHT BAR + GRILLE
931 N US HWY 69
HUXLEY, IA 50124
515-597-2100
MON & TUES: 11AM – 8PM
WED & THURS: 11AM – 10PM
FRI – SAT: 11AM – 8PM
SUNDAY: 10AM – 8PM

JERONIMO’S BAR & GRILL
101 W MAIN ST
SPRINGBROOK, IA 52075
563-872-4885
MONDAY: 5PM – 7PM
TUES – SAT: 11AM – 9PM
SUNDAY: 12PM – 9PM

PARLOR ON MAIN
433 E MAIN ST
CENTRAL CITY, IA 52214
319-438-3340
DAILY: 11AM – 8PM
CLOSED TUESDAY

TROY’S BAR & GRILL
111 MAIN ST.
EARLING, IA 51530
712-747-3242
THURS – SAT: 4PM – 9:30PM

PREVIOUS WINNERS

2022 – The Flying Elbow – Marshalltown
2021 – Bambino’s – Ossian
2020 – The Twisted Tail Steakhouse & Saloon – Logan
2019 – Wood Iron Grille – Oskaloosa
2018 – Cafe Beaudelaire – Ames
2017 – Smokin’ Herford – Storm Lake
2016 – Chuckwagon Restaurant – Adair

Unfortunately most of the 10 nominees aren’t close to me. In fact only 2 of them really fall within the area of my normal grazing range.

I figured I better try those two at the very least. Last Sunday after church Teresa and I braved the snowstorm and the notorious Huxley speed trap and went to Flight Bar + Grille to give them a shot.

Here are a few cruddy cell phone pictures of the experience:

I don’t know Brock Purdy will be coming in any time soon for that free beer.

Double Dipped Ice Cream Coffee Shoppe – Next Door*

The Foundation Burger is their burger that is nominated. The description from the menu:

Double smash burger topped with cheddar cheese, bacon, caramelized onions, house-made mustard aioli, crisp leaf lettuce and tomato arranged on a brioche bun. $1 from every Foundation Burger purchase will be donated to the Ballard Education Foundation.

The price: $15.

It comes with your choice of side: flight fries, sweet (potato) fries, cottage cheese, side salad (+$3) or cheese curds (+$2.50)

Unfortunately, they serve Coke products.

I got the sweet fries as the server told us it was her favorite thing on the menu. (Micky this is why banter is so important.) They did not disappoint. Neither did the burger. I’m not going to break down the good, the bad, and the ugly of the experience. I think it is sufficient to rank it the following way:

How would you rank this burger: Would you pursue it, would you eat it regularly, would it do in a pinch, or would you avoid it?

My answer: I would pursue this burger. It was that good. But there is a caveat. Teresa ordered The Breakfast Burger. It is only available on Sunday during their brunch hours.

This is the description from the menu:

We won’t make you choose between breakfast, lunch or dinner – enjoy it all in our Breakfast Burger. Double smash burger topped with cheddar cheese, avocado smash, pepper bacon jam + sunny-side egg arranged on a brioche bun. Served with house-made garlic dill pickles + pickled red onions.

As good as The Foundation Burger was, The Breakfast Burger is better. Considerably better.

I definitely want to go back during the week at some point and try some of their appetizers. Cheese Curds, Fried Brussels Sprouts, Creamy Mango Habanero Bites, and Flight Onion Rings. Oh my!

Now that I’m out of formal portraits to share, maybe I’ll make Sundays about my culinary adventures.

*After our meal we stopped next door to Double Dipped Ice Cream and Coffee Shoppe. I’m pretty sure they were serving Picket Fence Creamery ice cream, even though it wasn’t posted anywhere that I saw. One of the flavors included White Chocolate Raspberry, which I have been searching for since they stopped serving it at The Filling Station in Madrid. My mouth is watering just thinking about the fact that ice cream season is nearly upon us!