Doc’s Stadium: Home to Iowa’s best burger?

Staff report
If you’ve had it, you already know — Doc’s Stadium Bar & Grill on the east side of the Square is home to one of the 10 best burgers in Iowa.

Now it’s just a little more official.

The Iowa Beef Industry Council and Iowa Cattlemen’s Association on Monday announced Doc’s among its 10 finalists in the annual Iowa’s Best Burger contest.

Burger lovers across Iowa submitted more than 9,200 nominations between Feb. 13 and March 13, and the number of votes each restaurant received determined the Top 10.

Doc’s will be competing for the coveted title of Iowa’s best burger against the Ankeny Diner (Ankeny), Elm’s Club (Creston), BeerBurger (North Liberty), Saucy Focaccia (Cedar Rapids), BW’s Burgers (West Des Moines), Smokin’ Hereford (Storm Lake), The Irish Shanti (Elgin), Down Right Delicious (Clarinda) and Vaughn’s Cafe and Bakery (Clarinda).

Doc’s is home to a burger creation — The Carnivore and its smaller cousin, The Carni — devised in 2015 by owner Brett Cranston and Mike Holden, the Scranton cattleman whose locally raised, hormone-free Moo Meat is the stuff that gives the burger its heft.

Actually, “heft” is figurative here: Holden’s beef is more than 90 percent lean.

The Carni features a third-pound patty of Moo Meat ground beef, two strips of bacon, two slices of ham, one slice of Swiss cheese and one slice of American cheese, with a sticky sweet chili sauce of Cranston’s making.

If you order The Carnivore, you get all that plus a second patty.

“A lot of people say it’s the best burger they’ve ever had,” Holden said this week. “I’ve always said if we can make the Top 10, I like our chances.”

Holden also likes the idea of two small businesses working together.

“That sweet red chili sauce complements all those flavors,” Holden said. “To quote my son, it’s a very delightful eating experience.”

A total of 487 Iowa restaurants were represented in the 2017 best burger nominations — a new record for the contest, according to the Iowa Beef Industry Council.

All Top 10 restaurants will now be visited by a panel of anonymous judges who will evaluate the burgers based on taste, appearance and proper doneness.

Scores and comments will be accumulated, and the winner will be crowned May 1.

Last year, The Chuckwagon Restaurant in Adair took the title of Iowa’s Best Burger.