Iowa

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

I have a weakness for restaurants that look completely ordinary from the parking lot and then make me…

By Hugh Calloway · Sep 11

I went looking for fresh dairy and somehow ended up eating apple ice cream while cows watched from…

By Nadia Corwell · Sep 10

I knew this was more than a normal grocery run when my cart held cheese, bulk spices, quilting…

By Nadia Corwell · Sep 10

I have made the mistake of ordering breakfast in Iowa like I was only mildly hungry. Then the…

By Hugh Calloway · Sep 10

Iowa apple season has a dangerous side effect: suddenly, pie feels like a very reasonable road-trip goal. These…

By Hugh Calloway · Sep 10

I usually do not expect much from a café inside a public garden, which is exactly why this…

By Nadia Corwell · Sep 9

I have driven through plenty of tiny Iowa towns where blinking feels optional, but very few have rewarded…

By Nadia Corwell · Sep 9

My favorite Iowa road trips usually start with a full tank and very little planning. Give me a…

By Hugh Calloway · Sep 9

Iowa prairies know exactly how to make a quiet fall entrance. After a summer of green, the grasses…

By Hugh Calloway · Sep 9

I have learned that the most dangerous words on an Iowa road trip are “let’s just stop for…

By Nadia Corwell · Sep 8

I take steak rankings far more seriously than any reasonable person probably should. Once Iowa puts a sizzling…

By Nadia Corwell · Sep 8

I knew I was in for an interesting shopping trip when the scenery included cornfields, horse-drawn buggies, and…

By Hugh Calloway · Sep 8

I have learned that apple picking becomes considerably more appealing when there is a country café somewhere nearby.…

By Hugh Calloway · Sep 8

I have learned that the best Iowa road trips usually start with a full tank and end with…

By Nadia Corwell · Sep 7

I walked in expecting a quick look at a few old race cars. Two hours later, I was…

By Nadia Corwell · Sep 7

If you like finding the kind of Iowa restaurant where regulars already know what they are ordering before…

By Hugh Calloway · Sep 7

September in Iowa smells like cinnamon, cider, and warm sugar drifting across gravel parking lots. Apple cider donuts…

By Hugh Calloway · Sep 7

If September in Iowa has a smell, it might be warm cinnamon drifting out of a farm bakery…

By Nadia Corwell · Sep 6

I thought two hours would be more than enough time for dinner. Then I sat down at a…

By Nadia Corwell · Sep 6

I used to think September was just the warm-up act for fall. Then I started visiting Iowa farms…

By Hugh Calloway · Sep 6