Known for its burritos, the restaurant — run by owner Alfonso Medina — found itself in the national cooking news at the end of 2019. Food Network named the Burrito California as one of its 33 best burritos in the United States — one of only three burritos selected from the state of Iowa. The burrito is described by the article as “filled with grilled steak or chicken, avocado slices, black beans, cilantro lime rice and pico de gallo,” Medina said it has been a consistent favorite among guests at La Carreta.

Medina said the restaurant was “humbled” by the inclusion of the California.

“It’s one of the favorites here,” Medina said. “Like I tell our employees, sometimes we don’t know who’s walking in the door. We treat everybody with five-star service, and you don’t know who’s sitting in front of you, you don’t know who you’re serving — like with what happened, it could be someone from the Food Network.”

The recognition from the Food Network is just part of a new era for La Carreta and Medina. Medina said the restaurant re-launched recently, and in that transformation, he said the restaurant changed nearly everything about it — menu, atmosphere and accessibility — in order to adapt to the times.

La Carreta — home to one of the 33 best burritos in the United States, according to Food Network.

One of the biggest changes Medina made was adding plant-based options to the menu. With vegetarianism and veganism on the rise across the country Medina said that adding these options allowed his restaurant to fall ahead of the curve — and it was also a personal move, as Medina and his wife do not eat meat either.

It doesn’t hurt that there are a lot of political campaigns coming through Marshalltown as the race for the Democratic nomination in 2020 heats up.

“We are catering to people with different eating lifestyles. That’s been huge for us,” Medina said. “Especially now with a lot of presidential campaigns stopping by, a lot of their coordinators are actually vegetarian and vegan so they’re very happy to have a place, especially a Mexican restaurant, where they can just open the menu and order from anywhere and they don’t have to construct something.”

His ability to adapt and change the outlook of his restaurant to improve its chances of growth comes from a personal saying.

“A loser says that’s the way it has always been done, and a winner says there has to be a better way to do things,” he said.

A visual recreation of La Carreta’s logo, located in front of the restaurant.

With Medina’s success in Marshalltown also comes a desire to have an impact on the community. He was a part of Marshalltown during his high school years, and he returned after going to school at Iowa State. Some of that impact includes canceling student lunch debt for some students, as well as creating a scholarship for students attending college.

Medina said it was vital for him to be a member of this community when he started the restaurant — and as it grows in popularity and gains a national notice for its food, he is confident La Carreta is finding a better way to do things.

Contact Noah Rohlfing

at 641-753-6611 or

nrohlfingi@timesrepublican.com