Just a small town diner with home cooking on the menu. Fun train themed restaurant. Historical info…read morethroughout. Good service. Support small.

Local homemade food. Steaks cut in the restrurant, fries actually cut from the potatoes there too,…read moreribs, burgers, and chicken all delicious too. Plus free Wi-Fi and decent prices! If you miss local small town quality food THIS IS THE PLACE TO GO IN THE METRO AREA!

The 2 piece drumstick meal with mashed potatoes is amazing! Highly recommended. Please order this…read moremeal! Heather is an interesting but fun bartender. Kelli is a party behind the bar. She is single and looking! If you come here make sure you get a shot with the patrons they are all fun to be around!

Had breakfast this morning and it was delicious. Server was excellent. Just a little pricey for…read moresmall town restaurants.

Wow what a find! Went for lunch on a Tuesday to find this gem! Hot honey brussel sprouts as a…read morestarter which tantalize you with a sweet heat and feta cheese bits to cool the palate. Followed by one of the most amazing hot Reuben sandwiches with spicy pickles and homemade aeoli and a side of real fries Hubby had hand battered fish and chips which was cooked to perfection. Add to all of these wonderful gems was a great waitress with a pot of fresh coffee on an always refreshed cup... Folks this was a wonderful gem not far from I-35 and worth the extra mile or two... Osceola's Gem!!

Another drive outta DSM, this time to Osceola's The Iron Horse Neighborhood Grill and I had thee…read moreBEST onion rings! I'm so glad we thought to order them AFTER our meals came, or I would've eaten the humongous pile as my meal. Delicious! Chicken Wings: they have "the good ranch" and the wings were really good. Dirty Bird: turkey and bacon sandwich, side of coleslaw. All was good. Personally, this sandwich would be awesome with stuffing on it, like a thanksgiving leftovers sammy! It felt slightly...lacking something, but my aunt liked it so that's all that matters. Rueben (forgot pic until half was gone): very good! Perfectly toasted marble rye, french fries piping hot and delicious. Once the fries and Rueben were delivered, that's when we realized we forgot to order the onion rings and ordered those as well. Sirloin & Baked Potato (forgot pic until halfway through my baked potato ): delicious! However, I'm a total sucker for baked potatoes, lots of butter and sour cream. Also, I was so enthralled with the onion rings, I really didn't touch the steak beyond tasting one bite. I did bring it home for my lunch today! So again...let's talk about these amazing onion rings! I love large, hand-battered onion rings, not a huge fan of shoestrings. These hit every mark in my book, and were 100% worth the 45min drive! ‍‍Service was excellent, highly recommend! Sometimes it's just nice to go for a little drive, which we appear to be doing more of lately! All for $75, plus $25 tip was an awesome meal for $100. Very affordable and top quality.

Love this place. Stopped by between Des Moines and Sioux City and had a deliciously disgusting…read moremeal. Everything was yummy and so unhealthy. Garlic cheese ball and tater tot poutine? Amazing. The tenderloin was massive. And the broccoli cheese soup was a star. Tried the peach pie as well which I thoroughly enjoyed. The wait staff was super friendly and the ambiance was exactly what I was hoping for, a quality local establishment. Throughly enjoyed it.

The gf wanted to check out I-80 MetalArt and we found the Chuckwagon Restaurant right across the…read morestreet. We arrived pretty much at straight up noon on a Saturday. I fully expected the place to be packed as it appears to be pretty much the only show in town as far as a sit down restaurant. There was a please wait to be seated sign there as we walked in. We were greeted right away and seated in minutes. It's old school wood tables and chairs and I think there was a counter available. Ordering is done at the tables as well as settline your bill up with your server. Surprisingly the speed of service continued throughout the visit. After drinks we ordered the rodeo burger and fries, a tenderloin with chili cheese fries, and the garlic cheeseballs. The cheeseballs came with marinara and ranch. Fresh, hot, and fantastic! I've eaten a lot of tenderloins. Many that have been highlighted as Iowa Tenderloin Trail winners or participants... This is one of the better tenderloins I've had in the state! Obviously hand made, breaded, and fried. Not too thick and not too thin. Drained properly. Served with the essential condiments including the holy trinity (onions, dill pickles, and mustard). The gf liked her burger. It could have used more of the featured ranch and bbq sauce. The fries... Neither of us cared for them. Obviously hand made, but almost too thin and too greasy. We'd both opt for a different side next time. To each our own though. Almost every small town along this stretch of I-80 has a pub & grill. The menus vary a little, but are very similar in a lot of aspects. The quality of service and the cooks make the biggest differences. The Chuckwagon hit five stars in some aspects of both. Work on those fries and the flavor of the chili (horribly bland) and this review would have been five stars. I'm going to emphasize this again. Truly one of the best tenderloins I've had in the state! Keep doing what you are doing!

About an hour and a half drive but well worth the trip!…read moreSaturday early afternoon and it was packed...about a half hour wait for seating was the only downside. Service was outstanding and the staff seemed to be handling multiple aspects of the jobs and helping each other out...no one just did one thing and I think that really sped up the service. Katie was our primary server and was outstanding! We ordered up a two and a three meat deal and had Campground Beans, Creamy Coleslaw, Cheesy Potatoes,, and Mac & Cheese as sides as well as a slice of Texas Toast and Cornbread as sides....oh, and Golden Corn Nuggets as an appetizer. The Corn Nuggets were good and sweet and served up with honey and a ranch sauce for dipping. The meat choices were 3) Ribs, Pork Loin, and Turkey Breast....and 2) Pork Loin and Turkey Breast. The smoke on everything was amazing and just the right amount for excellent flavors..the ribs were very meaty. Some places ribs leave you wanting but not at Watcha Smoking! The Pork Loin and the Turkey Breast were both very good as well...still tender and not dried out. I liked the Neck of the Woods sauce the best (mild tomato based) as well as the Carolina Gold sauce...it had nice kick to it. The sides were all good but the only issue was the Cheesy Potatoes were a bit dry.....I'm thinking that it must've been towards the end of the batch and had been sitting around for a bit. Cornbread was excellent, Texas Toast tops, Coleslaw was a good shredded, wet slaw, the Mac and Cheese very good, and the Campground Beans were the preferred side as they had some good chunks of smoked meats mixed in. Fantastic place, great for small groups and large groups as well...great food and great service...Definitely worth the trip!

Really enjoyed the premier BBQ joint in the greater Des Moines area in my visit to Whatcha Smokin'…read morein the midst of a rural backdrop, this place was definitely worth the 45 minute trek from the state capital for delicious brisket, corn, slaw and sweet tea at a very affordable price. I appreciated the dual restaurant ambiance for a service side with waiters or a order at the register style. All BBQ restaurants have one or the other but not both. The meet was tender and juicy and as their name would suggest - smoked to perfection. I don't know if I'll find myself in Iowa ever again but if I do I will definitely make another pilgrimage to Whatcha smokin for the states best BBQ

Went here as a family of 4 tonight including a 4 year old and 1 year old. Was a great place to come…read morewith kids! Lots of choices and laid back environment. Pizza was delicious as was my husband's pork tenderloin. Beers were yummy and lots of other good sounding drinks we'll have to try some other time! Also, we split a HUGE piece of carrot cake which was a hit as well!

My wife and I stopped in for appetizers and a couple of drinks. We got two appetizers the Elote…read moredip(a Mexican corn dip with chips), and the garlic steak bites and bread. They were both excellent and really hit the spot. We definitely will be back.

We needed a spot to simply get out of the car for a break. We saw the sign and that they were open…read more It's a small place in an old farming town. We walked in and it's very spacious and the decor is eclectic small town. All different tables and chairs. Mmmmm pie & cinnamon rolls!! Homemade meatloaf and baked potato! Most of the menu is sandwiches with many sides to add on. They also make pizzas. Just a nice place to stop, eat, and absorb the small town feel. Excellent service also!

Our first time here and it didn't disappoint. I had sweet chili bone in wings. There were 12, nice…read moresized, flavorful wings. My son had the chicken Cap Fil A chicken sandwich and it was also huge really good. My wife had the BLT and enjoyed her meal too! For the price, the portions are great and the service was great too!

From the owner: Dining • Events • Catering and golf course food & beverage @ Lake Panorama National Resortread more

Added to this review below 08/21/25…read more My wife and I found the hangout Diner in the last part of July. We went there for breakfast and lunch. And chosen a variety of various Foods. Now rather than make a whole bunch of reviews I'm going to try to put a lot of the things that we got into one review so here goes. Biscuits and gravy the best around. You can get a half order or a full order. You can add an egg if you like which I did. I had chicken and waffles one time. It's not always on the menu but you have to call and ask first. But it was very very good. My wife has had a full breakfast by choosing eggs bacon hash browns and all the components separately. Christy and her mother Sharon are there most of the time. They cook and also waitress. They have pancake waffles French toast all the normal breakfast items. And the mix for the pancakes and waffles is homemade not from a bag. This time for breakfast I had a breakfast burrito and had them put everything inside but no green peppers. It was large and delicious. My wife has eaten a chicken Caesar salad which she said was a delicious. They do have daily specials and you might want to call before you go in and find out what their special is for the day. Not everything is on the menu but if you ask she possibly might be able to make it for you. Now for the sweet end of it they have sticky pecan rolls cinnamon rolls that have a glaze on them sometimes they have a variety of Danish rolls. They also have ice cream by the scoop or in a bowl. It's not soft serve with scooped ice cream. They have various types of of hamburgers. All in all it's worth going in and trying it and see what you think for yourself. I highly recommend it as you see I gave five stars to the food and the atmosphere . Oh yeah coffees only $2 a cup. 08/21/25 my wife and I went in for the special of the day today. I had homemade meatloaf, garden fresh green beans and mashed potatoes and gravy. Everything was delicious. My wife had the homemade stew and a chicken Caesar salad. I tasted the chicken off of the Caesar salad and it was seasoned beautifully.

ambiance was of a small townbar. Parking lot was kind of tight. The entrance is also kind of…read morehidden. More of a local spot. From order to table it was only 20min. Food quality was like bar food. Everything seem to be bought premade the soup taste like powdered concentrate appetizer just wear average size sandwich was average size pasta was a little bit smaller than most other places. The was average but not impressive. The customer service was good in a pinch. I would go back if I had a choice I wouldn't probably.

We are locals and Wacos is our go-to place for good food at an inexpensive price. It's not fancy at…read moreall but it has that small town feel that has its own charm. We like to order the senior special with salad, entree and dessert. We've been there several times and service is always friendly.