Courtlin Visits Hale Tap for the First Time [PHOTOS]

Despite the crappy weather, I had a pretty awesome weekend! On Saturday, my best friend and I had what we call a "friend date." We went to go see the new movie A Quiet Place, which was amazing (check out my review HERE), and then we took a little road tip over to Hale, Iowa.

Exactly one week ago today, Hale Tap was announced as the winner of the 2018 Favorite Restaurant Bracket. Since I had never been there before, I thought it would be a good idea to give it a try! After about 45 minutes in the car, we finally arrived.

When we first pulled up to the restaurant, we were a little bit lost. We thought we were probably in the right place, but there wasn't a sign on the building and our GPS kept telling us to keep going. After spotting a sign in the window, we finally figured out we were in the right place!

The restaurant was pretty quiet when we walked in, since we went in between dinner and lunch, but that's my favorite time to go out to eat because there's never a wait. We started by ordering the 3 Appetizer Platter with white cheese balls, jalapeno poppers, and mini tacos (my favorite!). It was a tough decision, because every appetizer sounded great. You can't go wrong with fried food!

I wasn't sure what to order for my main course, but a listener very kindly suggested the Jungletown Stacker. It's a cheeseburger with ham and all your standard burger toppings served on Texas toast. The thing was HUGE! My friend actually laughed at me when I tried to take my first bite. I only finished about 2/3 of it, but it was delicious.

The craziest part? The burger and fries were only $6.75. All that food for less than SEVEN DOLLARS?! That's insane!

After my first visit, I can see why Hale Tap has such a loyal following. My favorite part of the restaurant wasn't the food, though. It was actually the RANCH. Instead of serving it in tiny little cups, they just bring you an entire bottle! IT'S LIKE MY DREAM COME TRUE.

If you haven't been out to Hale Tap, it's definitely worth the trip! Congrats to them on their awesome restaurant and for winning our March bracket! I hope to be back soon!