A few weeks back, Teresa and I went to Pella so I could photograph their tulips. After getting enough of the Dutch, we drove a few miles south to Williamson (Population 120) to try one of the finalists for Best Burger in Iowa. The burger at the Williamson Tavern.
The finalists were:
1. Big Head Burger – Waterloo
2. Chuckwagon Restaurant – Adair
3. Flight Bar + Grille – Huxley
4. Houston’s on Main – Milo
5. JJ’s Tavern + Grill – Ankeny
6. Lucile’s @ The Continental Hotel – Centerville
7. The Flying Elbow – Marshalltown
8. The Market at the Tap
9. Wilder @ Graduate – Iowa City
10. Williamson Tavern – Williamson
I had already eaten at Flight and The Flying Elbow. The have both won in the past. Milo is probably closer to Pella, but the chance of me being near Williamson anytime soon are pretty rare, so I thought I would give them the first shot to impress me.
Here are some pictures:

It was really dark in there, so the pictures aren’t great.
Cutting to the chase. This is a really good bar burger. It was tasty. It was moist. It hit the spot after walking all over Pella. But one of the best burgers in Iowa? I have my doubts.
I would definitely eat at the Williamson Tavern again. I would crush another one of those burgers. But don’t know I would drive out of my way to go there.
The Williamson Tavern can be found here:
108 South Avenue
Williamson, Iowa
HOURS
Sunday – Closed
Monday – Closed
Tuesday -10:30 AM–2:30 PM, 5–10 PM
Wednesday – 10:30 AM–2:30 PM, 5–10 PM
Thursday – 10:30 AM–2:30 PM, 5–10 PM
Friday – 10:30 AM–2:30 PM, 5–10 PM
Saturday -10:30 AM–10 PM
Next Sunday’s food adventure will involve chicken feet.
But…
How is my efforting to live a healthy lifestyle going?
This week my weight went down 2.9 pounds. I am now down 41.2 pounds since starting Noom. I have reached my May 30 goal weight! WooHoo! I am 13.4 pounds away from my ultimate goal weight*. My next intermittent goal? I I’ll go with to be down another 3.4 pounds in the next 2 weeks. To have only 10 more pounds to goal. Although. I can say for certain that after I reach my “ultimate goal weight” that goal weight will change. I’m going to guess with about another 25 pounds or so. We’ll see. I have to make that weight first.
I ate better this week than last week and I was able to carve out a little bit more time for exercise than last week. Although I did eat pretty terrible on Friday and Saturday. Well not THAT bad. But I did have 2 lunches on Saturday. Plus at some delicious Zeno’s pizza and then followed it with the world’s largest raspberry ice cream cone from The Original Starbuck’s.
But weight isn’t the only measure (or even the most important measure) of positive results. This is one measure that actually happened at the beginning of the month, but I really forgot to report it. First, I fit so much better in an airplane seat now. Not roomy by any stretch of the imagination, but definitely better. But more importantly, usually at these company meetings by the end of the day my legs are just done. On the most recent trip to New Orleans, my legs and entire body may have been tired, but they weren’t crying for ibuprofen. That is huge. Makes me look forward to the Iowa State Fair even more! I need to get my first 25,000 step day in at some point! Came so close in New Orleans, but not quite there!
Since I started using Fitbit on February 20, 2024 (96 days) I’ve:
+ Taken 1,201,271 steps
+ Averaged 9,333 steps a day for the last 7 days
+ Walked 555.65 miles
+ Averaged walking 5.78 miles a day
That is all to report for now.
*Ultimate goal weight subject to change.