What good is sweating out the calories under the hot summer sun if you’re not devouring all the food Iowa has to offer?
It’s about to be that time of year again, when you can stroll through food festivals with little treats in your hands, lounge about in outdoor beer gardens and visit restaurants on an ever-growing list of accolades that recognize Midwestern talent.
Here are some ideas to help you become a foodie this summer.
Visit a farm-to-table restaurant
Try out some of Iowa’s farm-to-table restaurants, where chefs collaborate directly with farmers to bring diners ingredients grown right here in the state. There are long-standing powerhouses like HoQ — from the Register’s Essential Restaurants list — as well as newer restaurants, like Oak Park, which recently was nominated for a James Beard Award.
Try a local craft beer
Try local beers at Toppling Goliath in Decorah, Confluence Brewing Co. in Des Moines or Big Grove Brewery, which has taprooms in Solon, Iowa City, Cedar Rapids and Des Moines. Or visit the Iowa Craft Beer Festival at Des Moines’ Water Works Park on June 6.
Explore the options at the World Food & Music Festival
Head to Western Gateway Park in Des Moines on Aug. 22-24 to try food from around the world, wine and craft beer at the World Food & Music Festival. It was named one of the best cultural festivals in the country by the USA TODAY 10BEST Readers’ Choice Awards.
Sample Greek foods
Enjoy three days of Greek food at the 2026 Greek Food Fair at St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Des Moines. The festival runs June 5-7 and offers pastries, gyros, live performances and more.
Take a road trip to follow the Iowa Tenderloin Trail
Iowa’s golden specialty is the breaded pork tenderloin. Since 2003, the Iowa Pork Producers Association has hosted a contest to determine which restaurant has the best tenderloin.
Grinnell’s Hometown Heroes took home first place in 2025, with Gilberville’s The 1854 close behind in second place. Dexfield Diner & Pub in Redfield, Sugar’s Lounge & Diner in Council Bluffs and Walker’s in Salix were also contenders.
Get a cone at the ice cream capital of the world
The Wells Visitor Center gives ice cream fans a chance to learn how it gets from the farm to the grocery store. Located in Le Mars, the visitor center and ice cream parlor are operated by Wells Enterprises, the Iowa-based maker of Blue Bunny Ice Cream.
Dine at a James Beard semifinalist
The newest crop of James Beard semifinalists is concentrated in Des Moines, including the new bar The Contrary, Japanese-French fusion restaurant Masao and sustainability-forward Oak Park. Iowa City’ bakery DeLuxe Cake and Pastries was also a semifinalist this year.
Nibble on sweet corn at local festivals
Travel to Oskaloosa in July for the 38th-annual Sweet Corn Serenade. Freshly cooked sweet corn, hamburgers and pies will be provided by the Mahaska County Cattlemen and Jaarsma Bakery, with food trucks on-site as well.
And if you still haven’t gotten your sweet corn fix, you can also head to Adel for its 47th annual festival on Aug. 8.
Eat the wurst for brat season
Head to a local meat market for bratwursts — it’s the perfect season for grilling, after all. Try places like Tiefenthaler Quality Meats or Brewer Family Farms.
Pick your own strawberries at local farms
Strawberries ripen in the summer, making it the perfect time to take the family out for an adventure in the berry fields. In central Iowa, check out you-pick farms like Iowa Orchard, Center Grove Orchard and Upstream Gardens.
Visit the World’s Largest Watermelon Slice and nab some melons too
Muscatine is home to the unofficial “World’s Largest Watermelon Slice,” a stone sculpture weighing more than 16,000 pounds, according to Atlas Obscura. Locals say the soil in Muscatine County is known for producing the sweetest, largest watermelon you’ll ever taste.
Lucia Cheng is a service and trending reporter at the Des Moines Register. Contact her at lcheng@gannett.com or 515-284-8132.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Taste the best of Iowa with these food-related summer things to do
Reporting by Lucia Cheng and Victoria Reyna-Rodriguez, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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