Ever heard of Balltown, Iowa? Apparently we all need to take a little road trip!

Thrillist recently posted an article titled "The Great American Bucket List: 50 Restaurants to Try Before You Die." I was scanning through the Midwest section of the list, not really expecting to see an Iowa location listed (not that we don't have a TON that are super deserving), but I was pleasantly surprised to see myself proved wrong. There, on a list of only 50 restaurants out of the whole US, was a restaurant from the town of Balltown, Iowa.

Now, I have never heard of Balltown, so I googled it, and I found out it's north of us in Dubuque County and has a population of less than 100 people. It happens to be home to the oldest restaurant in Iowa, Breitbach's Country Dining.

Thrillist writes:

"Why are you going to this tiny Iowan town that doesn't even have a population of 100? To eat at a national treasure of a country restaurant (six generations now!) that cannot be stopped (it's in a new building after a series of fires in 2007 and 2008 destroyed the original, though what's left of it is on the National Register of Historic Buildings). But it's not just about history here. It's about the juicy, fried pork tenderloin spilling out of its bun that you're going to consume with reckless abandon. It's about the soulful weekend buffets that feel like something out of a movie. It's about the views of the Mississippi River from the bluff on which the restaurant is perched. If that doesn't get your heart fluttering with patriotism/the anticipation of pork fat, what else will?"

Do you think a different Iowa restaurant should've made the list? Let us know in the comments!

[Via Thrillist]

More From 98.1 KHAK