One of Iowa's Top 10 Burgers, Flight's juicy bacon burger benefits Ballard school district
Two juicy smash burgers topped with cheddar cheese, thick-cut bacon, caramelized onions, house-made mustard aioli, tomato and lettuce on a toasted brioche bun. Those are the makings of the Foundation Burger, which has been named one of Iowa’s Top 10 Burgers and is now in the running for Iowa’s Best Burger.
Flight Bar + Grille, 931 N. US Highway 69 in Huxley, developed the Foundation Burger to be delicious and also to benefit the local community. One dollar from every purchase is donated to the Ballard Education Foundation.
Since it opened March 9 of last year, Flight has donated $3,354 to the foundation, said Marianne Pacha, who owns the restaurant with her husband Matt Pacha.
“The community has time and time again showed up to support us,” she said. “Now we're seeing that support, once again, just their belief in us.”
What makes Flight’s Foundation Burger special?
Flight’s executive chef Katie Boughey is the registered dietician who developed the Foundation Burger as well as Flight’s other menu items.
Boughey uses two smash burgers rather than one thicker burger for all of the burgers on the menu, including the Foundation Burger. It’s more work, but she thinks it’s worth it.
“It’s fresh, 100% beef hand-rolled into a meatball. We put them on the grill and smash them down with a steak weight,” she said. “It creates this really great crusts on the burger. It stays nice and juicy as well.”
Having two thinner burger patties, seared on both sides, doubles that delicious surface area, she said.
More:Flight Bar + Grille takes off in Huxley with a focus on from-scratch food and drink recipes
With a focus on using local and Midwestern products, the beef is sourced from Fareway grocery store, which is the neighboring business to the development where Flight is located.
“We believe they have a really high value in their meat,” Matt Pacha said. “We know it’s Midwest sourced and comes from really good farms. And Fareway has been a good partner and a good neighbor.”
The thick-cut bacon is also sourced from Fareway.
All burgers are served with house-made garlic-dill pickles and pickled red onions.
Guests can select from a variety of sides, including Flight fries, sweet potato fries, cottage cheese, a side salad, cheese balls sourced from a creamery in Ellsworth, Wisconsin, or thin-cut onion rings.
“The onion rings are all sliced thin in-house and freshly breaded to order,” Boughey said.
“They’re the thin, crispy ones and they’re delicious,” Marianne Pacha said.
How were the Top 10 burgers selected?
From Feb. 13 to March 13, people could nominate their favorite burger on the Iowa Beef Industry Council’s website.
“In total, we collected 6,414 votes for 509 Iowa restaurants,” Kylie Peterson, director of marketing for the beef council, said in a news release. "This year’s Top Ten restaurants are award-winning worthy, but are only a few of the many restaurants in Iowa that do an outstanding job of promoting and serving our beef products to their customers on behalf of Iowa’s beef farmers.”
Five of the Top 10 restaurants are on the list for the first time this year. Ben’s Burgers, Burger & Company, Flight Bar + Grille, Jeronimo’s Bar & Grill and Parlor on Main are all newcomers to the list.
Now the final phase of the contest begins. Judges from the Iowa Beef Industry Council and Iowa Cattlemen’s Association will visit the restaurants in the Top 10 and issue their scores.
“The judges will be in unannounced and anonymous sometime between now and April 30,” Marianne Pacha said. “So it could be lunch, could be dinner, could be a group or one person. We have no idea.”
The winner will be announced May 1 to kick off Beef Month in Iowa.
Who's in this year's Top 10 in Iowa's Best Burger contest?
Arty’s Ice Cream & Grill, Wilton
Ben’s Burgers, Ankeny
Birdies, Burgers and Brews @ The Hillcrest, Graettinger
Burger & Company, Spirit Lake
Fishback & Stephenson Cider House, Fairfield
Foodie Garage Eatery, Dubuque
Flight Bar + Grille, Huxley
Jeronimo’s Bar & Grill, Springbrook
Parlor on Main, Central City
Troy’s Bar & Grill, Earling
Who's won for Iowa's Best Burger since the contest began in 2010?
2022, The Flying Elbow, Marshalltown
2021, Bambino’s, Ossian
2020, Twisted Tail Steakhouse & Saloon, Beebeetown
2019, Wood Iron Grille, Oskaloosa
2018, Cafe Baudelaire, Ames
2017, The Smokin’ Hereford, Storm Lake
2016, The Chuckwagon Restaurant, Adair
2015, The Cider House, Fairfield
2014, Brick City Grill, Ames
2013, 61 Chop House Grille, Mediapolis
2012, Coon Bowl III, Coon Rapids
2011, Rusty Duck, Dexter
2010, Sac County Cattle Company, Sac City
Ronna Faaborg covers business and the arts for the Ames Tribune. Reach her at rlawless@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Iowa's Top 10 Burger list includes 5 newcomers. See this year's list
