They Have Nice Buns, Too.

In 2011 the Iowa Beef Industry Council and the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association chose The Rusty Duck restaurant in Dexter as serving the best hamburger in Iowa. And for two years I have been aching to get over there to eat one. 

I finally got my chance on Saturday. 

Dexter is located about 35 miles east of Des Moines, and it has a population of 611. When I was Charlotte's age, my hometown had 645 people, so driving through Dexter was like pulling on a favorite old sweater.

The Rusty Duck is located on Marshall Street, and it was already full when we arrived at five. The bar had been open since four, and we were asked by the hostess if we had reservations. Since we didn't call ahead, we were given a tall table, and Char sat in a high-backed bar stool. That worked out fine. I think Char felt like a big girl because she didn't need a booster seat.

Here's my dinner:

That is one good-looking burger.

We were told that the cook prepares the hamburgers on the rare side, but I ordered mine medium rare like I always do. My 1/2 pound burger was really tasty, but next time (and there will be a next time) I'll go with medium temperature instead. It was almost too rare for my liking. The onion rings tasted as good as they looked.

Daphne raved about her cheeseburger and fries, and we ordered mac and cheese with a side of fruit off the children's menu for Char. The macaroni looked like Kraft Easy Mac, and the side was a small bowl of fruit cocktail poured from a can. That might sound like a criticism, but those are two of my daughter's favorites, and Char was excited to thank the waitress for bringing her such good food.

You can't hear it, but Char is yelling, "Rusty Duck!"

After posing for the picture, Char hung around the main entrance welcoming other patrons by pointing to the front door. "Okay. You go right in there." She's helpful like that.

At dusk, the restaurant's sign looked pretty cool.

On a related note, I saw this on the front of the USA Today newspaper today:

You can read the entire article here. My favorite part is at the end where Des Moines' Gateway Market gets a shout out.

It's nice to see Des Moines get some love in a nationally syndicated publication because the city sure wasn't doing well at the Rusty Duck. I overheard this conversation between an older couple and their young bartender.

"How you two doing tonight?"

"Pretty good. Just got back from Des Moines."

"Wow." he replied sarcastically, "I bet that was fun."

"'It was fine. We spent the day shopping and eating."

As he sauntered away with their drink order, he sneered, "Big day in the metropolis, huh?"

Sometimes I miss small town life, but I don't miss that kind of small town mentality.