Iowa’s 2025 Best Burger Contest is Underway – Here Are Our Local Picks

The Iowa Beef Industry Council and the Iowa Cattlemen's Association have kicked off the 16th Annual Iowa's Best Burger Contest, and they're accepting nominations right NOW!

Back on February 10th, nominations officially opened for the 2025 Iowa's Best Burger Contest. In order for a burger/restaurant to be eligible, it must follow these rules:

• The burger must be 100% beef
• The burger must be composed of a formed ground beef patty/patties served on a bun or other bread product
• Every component of the burger must be placed between the bun/bread pieces or served open-faced on a bread product
• The burger must be available on the restaurant’s regular menu
• The restaurant must be open for business as of February 10t and must be open year-round
• Former winners are NOT eligible to win again

Once the nomination period is over, ten burgers/restaurants from across the state will be selected as finalists based on its total number of nominations. After that, an anonymous judging panel will secretly visit all ten restaurants to determine a winner.

If you want to nominate your favorite restaurants for this year's Best Burger Contest, you can do that right now HERE. Keep in mind, you can only nominate ONE restaurant per city. If the restaurant you want to nominate isn't already listed, you can write in the restaurant at the very bottom of the submission form. Nominations will be accepted through March 10th.

I've had some AWESOME burgers here in Eastern Iowa over the past decade that I've lived here! Here are some of our favorites that we here at the radio station have tried in recent years:

Full List of Gallery Restaurants:

• 22 & VINE - 3184 Hwy 22, Riverside (Riverside Casino)
• Big Grove Brewery - 170 1st St SW, Cedar Rapids
• Boondocks - 130 E Main Street, Anamosa
• The Class Act Restaurant - 7725 Kirkwood Blvd SW, Cedar Rapids (The Hotel at Kirkwood Center)
• Crosby's - 1028 3rd St SE, Cedar Rapids
• Fieldhouse 1st Avenue - 5001 1st Ave NE, Cedar Rapids
• Goldfinch Tap + Eatery - 740 10th St, Marion
• Hamburg Inn No. 2 - 214 N Linn St, Iowa City
• LP Street Food - 302 3rd Ave SW, Cedar Rapids
• The Map Room - 416 3rd St SE, Cedar Rapids
• Raging Ryno's - 621 Center Point Rd NE, Cedar Rapids
• The Red Frog - 88 16th Ave SW, Cedar Rapids
• Runt's Munchies - 118 2nd St SE, Cedar Rapids
• Sacred Cow Tavern - 1000 7th St SE, Cedar Rapids
• Short's Burger & Shine - 18 South Clinton St & 521 Westbury Dr, Iowa City
• Stadium Bar & Grill - 957 Rockford Rd SW, Cedar Rapids
• Tornado's Grub & Pub - 1600 3rd St SE, Cedar Rapids
• Whiskey River Grill - 2882 Palo Marsh Rd, Palo
• Wild Hogs Saloon & Eatery - 350 Commercial Dr, Walford

Wondering what restaurants have won in the past? Check out the list below: