Restaurants in Iowa

Nominated for Best Family Restaurant on CityVoter's 2011 A-List, Steamboat Garden has been serving up affordable family food since 1933. Today, guests at the boat-shaped restaurant can peer through its bright red portholes to watch as the friendly staff fills tables with steaks and seafood, breaded pork loin sandwiches known as Tug Boats, and seven incarnations of a signature hamburger that has been a Falls Avenue favorite since the 1940s. Between bites, diners sip old-fashioned floats made with 1919 draft root beer and then send instant photos of their empty plates to mom by accessing the restaurant's WiFi with a laptop or aluminum foil helmet.

The culinary fusionists at Yanni's Grill & Vineyards meld vivacious flavors of Greek and Italian cuisine in cozy rooms adorned with murals and sparkly white lights. Peruse a bilingual dinner menu, and untangle hunger pains over uncomplicated plates of buttery garlic knots ($3.95/10 pieces). Sip carafes of wine while servers engage in culinary pyrotechnics with flaming plates of signature saganaki ($5.95). Yanni's signature penne careens down throat canals, gliding along thanks to a tomato-cream sauce and accompanied by sidecars of sweet peas, mushrooms, and ham ($12.95). The chef's coastal lineup of fresh fish ($15.95–$17.95) tempts seafaring folks, who may jump back on shore at the sight of the signature steak Deburgo and its 10-ounce crown of beef medallions bejeweled in wine, mushroom, and basil sauce.

Since 1964, Blimpie has filled patrons' bellies with submarines packed with freshly sliced meats and quality toppings. Each of the coast-to-coast franchise's locations offers an assortment of bread-based eats ranging from classic deli subs to paninis served between warm ciabatta buns festooned with grill stripes or uneven tan lines. Subsmiths roll up fresh wraps and keep waistlines in check with Lighter Stuff, a health-conscious selection of menu items with less than 400 calories and 6 grams of fat. Kids' meals satiate the appetites of youngsters 12 years old and younger or adults with fake IDs.

The chefs at HuHot Mongolian Grill stand around a giant, round grill, preparing sizzling heaps of stir-fry. Unlike at other restaurants, every serving is different because, instead of the kitchen staff, the customer preps each bowl. The bowls may be brimming with chopped vegetables, seafood, and noodles, or they may be composed entirely of water chestnuts. The spice level of each dish varies based on the eater's preferences; MSG-free sauces range from barbecue to sweet teriyaki to five-alarm Kung Pao Yow! Since HuHot Mongolian Grill is an all-you-can-eat affair, diners get the chance to mix and match different ingredients with each trip to the grill.

Barley’s builds culinary character by guiding its delicious menu of traditional burger and steak fare through a series of exhausting yet rewarding victual rituals. Start with homemade flour chips ($5.95) with cheddar cheese and salsa as a way of making peace with growling stomach Gorgons. Equip both fists with a smokehouse burger (with cheddar, barbecue sauce, and bacon, $7.95) and a guacamole burger ($8.45), or contemplate the trinity of a triple club ($7.95) served with ham, turkey, bacon, and more between two slabs of marble rye. There are also a number of options for the vegetarian crowd, including the garden burger ($7.95) and garden Philly ($7.75), each stocked with 100% vegan patties. In between bites of burgers, steaks, and salads, sip on some fresh-squeezed ales and lagers from the bottle or tap, with varieties spanning the intoxicating rainbow from micro and macro brews.

Jo's Roadhouse’s chefs serve a menu of colossal burgers, hand-cut steaks, and hearty sandwiches inside the comfortable confines of its deep-red and brown walls, adorned with racing memorabilia. A choice of seven savory sauces such as teriyaki, sweet barbecue, or hot buffalo slicks down a dozen traditional wings ($7.99) like chocolate ganache slicks down a pastry chef’s slip 'n’ slide. Entrees include a hand-cut, 12-ounce new york strip steak ($13.99), and breaded North Atlantic cod, gripped by a tenacious french roll and served with homemade tartar sauce ($8.49). The spicy Cajun burger weighs down wayward taste buds with a half pound of meat and hefty slabs of pepper jack cheese ($8.99). On select nights, one corner of the bustling biker bar hosts live musicians, who entertain the crowd with high-spirited tunes and tales of tooth-fairy visits set to “Born to be Wild.”