Iowa

I know fall has really arrived in Iowa when a sandwich suddenly feels incomplete without soup beside it.…

By Hugh Calloway · Sep 21

I figured this would be one of those quick roadside stops. Walk in, look around for half an…

By Nadia Corwell · Sep 20

Warm sugar and fresh coffee do a pretty convincing job of ruining sensible breakfast plans. Add a donut…

By Nadia Corwell · Sep 20

I have learned one thing about exploring Iowa’s Dutch food shops: showing up with an empty trunk is…

By Hugh Calloway · Sep 20

Once Iowa mornings turn cool, I start thinking less about getting somewhere quickly and more about where breakfast…

By Hugh Calloway · Sep 20

The first genuinely chilly evening of fall always changes my dinner plans. Suddenly, the light meal I was…

By Nadia Corwell · Sep 19

I thought I had reached the back of the shop twice. Both times, another doorway proved me wrong.…

By Nadia Corwell · Sep 19

The best catfish stop I found in Iowa did not announce itself with much more than a parking…

By Hugh Calloway · Sep 19

You know those restaurants that seem completely happy doing things the same way they always have? I have…

By Hugh Calloway · Sep 19

The road had already turned to gravel when I reached the part that made me wonder whether my…

By Nadia Corwell · Sep 18

My first mistake was grabbing a plate too quickly. I had barely made it past the first station…

By Nadia Corwell · Sep 18

I knew I was in the right kind of Iowa diner when the plate landed in front of…

By Hugh Calloway · Sep 18

I have learned that Iowa covered bridge trips rarely stay as simple as they look on the map.…

By Hugh Calloway · Sep 18

Sunday morning in this little Iowa town looks surprisingly busy for a place you could drive through in…

By Nadia Corwell · Sep 17

I knew this Iowa lake town was small. I did not expect to find a wooden roller coaster…

By Nadia Corwell · Sep 17

I have learned one thing about antique malls in Iowa: the building usually looks much smaller from the…

By Hugh Calloway · Sep 17

I have learned that some of the best fall meals in Iowa require a little commitment from the…

By Hugh Calloway · Sep 17

I have learned not to judge an Iowa bakery by its storefront. Some of the best apple fritters…

By Nadia Corwell · Sep 16

There is something wonderfully unreasonable about planning an Iowa road trip around a sandwich that barely fits on…

By Nadia Corwell · Sep 16

There is something about seeing fall from a train that makes you forget how slowly you are moving.…

By Hugh Calloway · Sep 16

By the time I reached Donnellson, Iowa, I had already passed enough soybean fields to lose count. Then…

By Hugh Calloway · Sep 16

By 6:15 in the morning, the pickup trucks are already lining the curb and the coffee mugs are…

By Nadia Corwell · Sep 15

I planned to grab one pastry and be back on the road. Then I saw the case, smelled…

By Nadia Corwell · Sep 15

I thought ranking apple cider donuts across Iowa would be a pretty easy fall assignment. Then I started…

By Hugh Calloway · Sep 15

September in Iowa has one foot in summer and one muddy boot in fall. Cool mornings, warm afternoons,…

By Hugh Calloway · Sep 15

I have made plenty of questionable decisions before breakfast, but standing in line for a two-dollar donut is…

By Nadia Corwell · Sep 14

Somewhere east of Des Moines, past cornfields and grain bins, there is a little Iowa bar where the…

By Nadia Corwell · Sep 14

September turns Iowa farm roads into a pretty convincing reason to ignore the original plan. A quick stop…

By Hugh Calloway · Sep 14

I have very little resistance to a fall breakfast menu, especially once pumpkin pancakes and cinnamon start getting…

By Hugh Calloway · Sep 14

I have learned not to judge an Iowa breakfast stop by the building, the parking lot, or how…

By Nadia Corwell · Sep 13

I have learned that an Iowa fall drive gets considerably better when pie, a giant tenderloin, or a…

By Hugh Calloway · Sep 13

I have learned that stopping at a country bakery “just to look” is a very expensive form of…

By Hugh Calloway · Sep 13

Iowa is not the first place that comes to mind when I think about great seafood, which is…

By Nadia Corwell · Sep 12

I have nothing against a drive-thru, but four house salsas landing on the table before I even order…

By Nadia Corwell · Sep 12

I am usually reluctant to call any pizza worth a three-hour drive. Then I followed a gravel road…

By Hugh Calloway · Sep 12

I have learned to pay attention when locals mention an Italian restaurant without needing to explain why they…

By Hugh Calloway · Sep 12

Gravel roads become much more convincing when there is a warm cinnamon roll waiting somewhere at the end.…

By Nadia Corwell · Sep 11

Cool mornings make me much more willing to plan an Iowa road trip around breakfast. A small-town diner…

By Nadia Corwell · Sep 11

A one-pound burger is already hard to ignore. Put it in a tiny northeast Iowa community reached by…

By Hugh Calloway · Sep 11