T-R FILE PHOTO — Garrett Goodman, the owner/operator of The Flying Elbow in Marshalltown, points to a sign above the counter designating his restaurant as serving the best burger in Iowa for 2022. In honor of the contest’s 15th anniversary, past winners including the Elbow will be allowed to re-enter in 2024.

Near the end of January, Garrett Goodman decided to introduce hamburgers at The Flying Elbow, his one of a kind pro-wrestling themed restaurant on North 13th Street. Three months later, they have already been deemed the best in the state by none other than the Iowa Beef Industry Council.

“It’s insane. I can’t even put it into words. I’ve always believed in the business and believed in what we were doing, and I have great staff and a great customer base,” Goodman said. “But I mean still, this is huge. This is really just awesome.”

Visitors have been pouring in from across the state and even from other places like Minnesota and Ohio, where an executive chef and a pastry chef traveled from last weekend, since The Flying Elbow was named to the Beef Industry Council’s top 10 list. On Monday, the secret judges announced they had reached a verdict, and The Flying Elbow was crowned the best of the best.

Goodman received a special shoutout for his unique beef blend, which is a mixture of chuck, brisket, short rib and locally sourced wagyu, and his original takes on classic fast food burgers like the Big Mac, the Whopper and the In-N-Out Burger. In the last few weeks, he’s introduced new specialties like the Patterson, a patty melt on jalapeno cornbread toast, and the Tombstone, a spicy burger with Death Valley sauce.

“We’ve had a lot of people since day one ask us about a patty melt, and so having something like that, it’s got our little take on it,” he said. “I love them. I probably had four of them last week.”

Alexa Mitchell of Marshalltown, who was in for lunch as reporters gathered around Goodman for interviews on Monday afternoon, said she’s a regular at The Flying Elbow and brought a friend for her first experience.

“They’re mouth watering. They aren’t comparable to anything around here. You take a bite, and it’s just juicy. It’s delicious,” Mitchell said. “We go to other fast food restaurants, and we’re not dogging on them but it’s just not the same.”

In a world that’s increasingly saturated with burger restaurants and new spins on the fast food staple, Goodman admits it can be difficult to come up with consistently fresh ideas. But like anything else, it all starts with the basics: great ingredients and toppings that complement them perfectly.

“For inspiration, I look at the classics, and I just kind of look at what we do. There could be inspiration for various ingredients and just kind of build around there,” he said. “We’ve got the crushed up chips that go on a lot of different things, so anytime there’s new chips out that are interesting, I go ‘Oh, what can I put this on?’ It’s a variety of different sources for inspiration, but I just try to put out the best product I can.”

While winning such a prestigious honor in his first year serving burgers will be difficult to top, Goodman still has an eye to the future as he plans his next moves with The Flying Elbow. He’s currently in the development phase on a large outdoor patio seating area on the south edge of the building with hopes to add a stage for live music and an outdoor bar with a cocktail menu.

“Those are the big things we’ve got going on right now. Otherwise, we’re just going to keep doing what we’re doing and figure out the best ways to do everything, and keep doing it, man,” he said. “Our Elbow maniacs are just the best customers in the world, and we’re super excited to be getting this opportunity to really shine and showcase what we do.”

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Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or

maharry@timesrepublican.com.