Maybe a half an hour so out of Clear Lake on our short road trip, my Dad started complaining of…read moredigestive issues and asked me to find a rest room. That's easier said than done in parts of rural Iowa, but finally we ended up at the Latimer Grocery. Many thanks to the manager who let us use the facilities in this sort of emergency situation. My Dad turned out to be fine and I spent my waiting time doing a little shopping. They carry local honey and from scratch cookies, of which I gladly purchased. And of course a bottle or Rolaids.

Great pizza and friendly staff! It's nice to see a small town grocery store thriving!read more

Needed to grab lunch after visiting friends in the Hampton area. As they did a conference call I…read moregrabbed soup and half a panini at Rustic Brew -- great choice! Was a good excuse to see Hampton's cute downtown as well as get a really good bite. When I saw the special board I sort of wanted that salad.... And I was told there was one quiche special left. But I was hungry so I asked about getting half a panini (turkey with pepper jack) and half that special salad. Was bummed they had run out of feta, but moved to the potato soup and that was such a good move! Left there full and happy!

Another cool place in Hampton. Great staff and cool interior. The food is delicious and it has many…read moresandwich options and great breakfast.

Great food, large portions, decent salad bar. The servers…read moreare very friendly and helpful. It's is a little pricey but nice for the occasional date night.

Food was great but the manager handling of a dinner issue was a grand slam!! Great smells, great…read moresalad bar, great food, great service!

I claim Dows IA as my hometown. That's where I grew up. I left there four days after I turned 18…read moreand was on a plane to recruit training (aka boot camp) in the US Navy. After I got out of the Navy I moved to the Des Moines IA metro. Dows is a little town of 500 in the middle of nowhere about 1 1/2 hours straight north of Des Moines IA not far off of I35. I graduated in a class of 16 before everything consolidated... Truth be told though...I was born when my parents lived in Bradford IA. Bradford's population is about 100 and it's about 15 miles straight east of Dows IA in Franklin county There are two Bradfords in Iowa...one in Franklin county and one in Chickasaw county... I hadn't been in Bradford since I was probably in junior high (I'm 54 now). Stumble Inn had been on my radar for a couple of years. My brother and sister-in-law who live in Alden IA have encouraged me to get in there, but they do that small town thing where they have a break in service. Open 11 AM - 100 PM and then open later 400 PM to 700 PM or 800 PM Monday through Saturday. Open 900 AM - Noon on Sunday. Every time we were in the area we seemed to be in that mid-day gap. Yesterday we had nothing better to do and we decided to make a special trip up there to try the tenderloin (and hit a few consignment/antique/thrift stores too). Lots of memories flooded back as I wound my way off of I35 down Heather Rd and Stockdale's blacktop that I won't bore you with. What's special to me probably won't be to you... It just wasn't a plain old road trip where it's all cattle pastures, cornfields, and rural roads...at least not for me. Stumble Inn sits a little off the pavement when you reach your destination towards the West side of Bradford, but it's only about 50 ft of gravel if you are too worried about your paint... From the outside the building doesn't look like much, but we all know...some of the best food isn't found in fancy buildings. The inside is open and has an L shaped bar with seven or eight seats. The rest of the seating is a combination of high and low top tables and chairs. It's seat yourself. The place was clean and we were greeted and presented with menus right away. The kitchen is open and you can see the magic happening. It's a typical rustic small town bar and grill. My gf isn't a huge tenderloin fan. She enjoys one now and then, but it's really my deal. Besides a standard breaded (crispy) and grilled tenderloin (not crispy) they have a couple different variation including a high ball (tenderloin and a hamburger patty) and a barnyard (tenderloin, hamburger patty, chicken breast, bacon and cheese). I'm probably missing some components of the high ball and barnyard, but you get the idea... The guys at the table next to us had a combination of high balls and barnyards... It was hard not to stare. They'd traveled the 50 min or so down from the Clear Lake IA area for lunch. I ordered an appetizer of white cheese balls and the standard crispy tenderloin with onion rings (small order), a beer, and an iced tea. The gf ordered the spicy chicken sandwich with tots (small order) and stuck with just a water. The total was $47 before tip. Now what you've waded through the above paragraphs for... The tenderloin. The crispy tenderloin has a seasoned breading with what I think is probably a mix of corn meal and panko. The pepper used in the seasoning came through, but no part of the seasoning was overwhelming. It was served HOT! I mean still steaming when it broke open... It was the traditional football shape. Oblong and probably 12 inches from tip to tip. Cooked perfectly and drained properly... Thick...but not too thick. I'm not a thin tenderloin guy where all you can taste is the breading. I want to taste the pork too... I got mustard, pickles, and onion on mine, but you do you... Well worth the 1 hr and 45 min trip! Easily in my top four in the state. In no particular order... Stumble Inn in Bradford IA Tojo's in Jamaica IA The Lucky Pig in Ogden IA Goldie's in Prairie City IA Nick's in Des Moines IA (deserves an honorable mention...now closed) Always at the top of our state' tenderloin competitions but the Stumble Inn has never won 1st place...yet. To me that shows how slanted some of these contests are. My gf and I have eaten tenderloins from MN to AR and from NE to IN. It's always subjective, but some of the award winning tenderloins really aren't that good... This one is. Great service! Everything we got was cooked perfectly! Our server was fantastic. The owner stopped in to visit for a while. The gentleman cooking even checked on us to make sure everything was okay. Typical small town Iowa nice! If you claim you're into tenderloins...are traveling I35 and you see the Dows IA exit... Put on the brakes and make the 15 min detour off the interstate. This one is worth your time! https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063668736193&mibextid=LQQJ4d

Superb tenderloin in this quiet little town. Flavors were excellent on the sandwich and ingredients…read morewere fresh. The waitress was extremely friendly and polite. Save some room for their homemade mints before you leave!

Stopped into Willie's Food & Spirits in Hampton, Iowa around 8:15 on a Monday night. A couple folks…read morewere at the bar and a booth was finishing up dinner, but the place had that classic small-town bar atmosphere--very clean, well lit, and welcoming. The menu is simple in all the right ways: sandwiches, wings, salads, and a few other staples. I went with their award-winning tenderloin and onion rings. My wife had boneless wings and the deep-fried cauliflower. The food was excellent across the board. Portions were big, nothing was greasy, and everything was cooked exactly how it should be. The cauliflower was crisp and seasoned well, the wings were solid, and the tenderloin was spot-on--great flavor, not oily, and the onion rings were light and perfectly done. Our bartender/waitress, Jesse, was outstanding. She was friendly, checked on us several times, and made sure everything was right. All in all, a great stop. Good food, generous portions, and the kind of service you don't take for granted. We'll gladly make the 30-minute drive to come back.

Nice interior and comfortable. Staff was very nice. Ordered a chicken Philly sandwich and was…read moredisappointed. It was like a hotdog bun, couple of chicken slices you'd buy at the store and veggies that should have been sautéed little longer. It was a cold sandwich. Even toasting the bread would have made it better. The fries were delicious.

I normally have a lot of energy. On Saturday, I did a road trip from Bloomington, MN to Des Moines,…read moreIA. I'd say between Rochester, MN and Dows, IA, I felt sleepy. It was odd. I had a decent amount of sleep the night before. I was rested. I had breakfast and was hydrated. I felt like a nap. When I saw Dows Junction, it was the perfect place to pull over. I needed to fill up my rental car with gas. After that, I decided to get a quick bite to eat at the Arby's that's a part of Dows Junction. There was a drive-thru. I tried it out. I had the nicest, personable man take my order. The two beef and cheddar sandwiches for $7 caught my attention. I love the onions on top of the bun, so I knew that I had to have it. Arby's still has happy hours from 2 pm to 5 pm. I was here for these hours, but my heart wanted the beef and cheddar sandwiches. I got to the pickup window and handed the man my credit card. The transaction went smoothly. I promptly got my food. I thanked the man. He wished me a good day. I reciprocated and left. I drove over to a parking spot and chowed down on one sandwich. The roast beef was yummy. It's what you'd expect at an Arby's. The cheddar was oozing out a bit, but not to the point where eating this sandwich was super messy. The bun was yummy, especially with the onions on top. After eating the first sandwich without getting it all over me, I decided to eat the second one as I continued driving down. I was definitely more alert. I needed food. I figure that I needed a nap because I had an unexpected nose bleed the day before. It probably threw my system off and I simply needed food this day to rebalance everything. I had a great experience here. I'm thankful that I got to fuel my car and me with the BP and Arby's, respectively, located steps away from each other. (395)

Arbys, ahh dont get me started on Arby's, the sandwiches tastes like someone put a block of…read moreprocessed meat into my mouth, the fries feel like spiders legs, and the drinks are like slime. When you eat inside there is bats hanging from the ceiling and roaches on the floor. Arby's in clear lake is the worst expirience I have ever had. The servers don't care about you, they never will. :( "we have the meats"? More like we have crappy food, service, and one burger costs 40 dollars, and the only people that eat there are either drug dealers or too lazy to walk across the street to Mcdonalds.

Had a family event there. Staff was very accommodating! Had lots of great comments on how good the…read morefood was. And great comments on having our event at Pickles. Highly recommend!

Pickles Pub is central Iowa gem. Hidden on blue Highway D 41 in Kamrar. The building is lovely with…read morea great hometown bar & grill vibe. Always bustling on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday Fun Day, Pickles has a great staff of friendly, small-town folks. They hustle! Food comes out timely, and is good quality. We had a combo plate with fried mushrooms, pickles, and corn nuggets. It's all frozen stuff, but good quality. My wife had the French Dip sandwich and loved it (although she never dips her sandwich... wtf). I had the Patty Melt. It was cooked well on marble rye and was delicious. This is the ultimate roadside joint for a beer and bite. Nothing but positive energy for Pickles Pub!

Had to drop of my daughter's pupper at the vet in Sheffield and decided to get some breakfast…read moreafterwards. This place was open at 8am. Perfect. Clean and inviting. Service was fast and friendly. My daughter ordered the Avocado on toast and a café au latte. The Avocado on toast was made with toasted wheat bread, avocado, red onion, tomato and melted mozzarella. Very good. My daughter loved it. The drink was good too. I would like to come back for lunch to get a pizza sometime. Definitely a must stop in a small town to get breakfast.

Gave me the wrong drink and when I said I didn't order this they said well we're about to close…read moreleave and they closed twenty minutes later and proceeded to make somebody else's drink perfectly