HUXLEY, Iowa—When Marianne and Matt Pacha moved to Huxley six years ago, they immediately felt at home with the sense of community the central Iowa town of 4,500 provided. The intersection of community and family values with a desire to create a restaurant with a hometown feel led the Pachas to develop and open Flight Bar + Grille in 2022.
With a name inspired by the local Ballard school district’s mascot – the Ballard Bombers – the restaurant offers a first-class experience with its elite menu, including “The Foundation,” which was crowned this year’s Iowa’s Best Burger. Other menu items give a nod to the aviation theme with Flight Fries with house-made aioli sauces, Bomber Sliders, the Flight Club and a kids’ menu for pilots in training, featuring Jet Sliders named for the town’s youth football program mascot.
“Our Foundation is a double-smash burger with cheddar cheese. It includes mustard aioli, lettuce, tomato, caramelized onions and is topped with thick-cut bacon served between a beautiful and buttery brioche bun,” explains Katie Boughey, executive chef and kitchen manager. “We use simple seasonings – salt and pepper – to let the beef’s flavor be the star of the burger.”
The burger features 80% lean, fresh ground beef – the ideal ratio for creating outstanding flavor. The never-frozen and Midwest-sourced beef is rolled into a meatball and then smashed straight on the grill with a steak weight to give it a crisp crust. The crust preserves the juices inside, resulting in a perfectly cooked burger that makes the food an exceptional experience. House-made pickles and flight fries (aptly dubbed the most delicious fries you’ve ever tasted!) round out a plate of goodness that has taken off for patrons of this restaurant turned must-visit destination. It’s one of a half dozen mouthwatering burgers on Flight’s menu.
The Foundation burger is special for its award-winning flavor and has become a community favorite for another reason.
“For every Foundation Burger that we sell, we donate $1 to the Ballard Education Foundation,” Matt says. “It was the inspiration for the burger’s name, and it’s been in place since we opened Flight. It’s important to us to give back to the community, and this is one way we can contribute.”
In the Pachas’ first year of business, they donated more than $3,000 to the Ballard Education Foundation, which funds its local schools, the Ballard Community School District. After being named a Top 10 Iowa’s Best Burger Finalist, they shattered their one-month record by raising $700 for the Ballard Education Foundation.
The designation as Iowa’s Best Burger comes after a two-phase competition sponsored by the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association and Iowa Beef Industry Council. The first phase is based on votes from the public. For a month, burger lovers voted for their favorite Iowa burger online, submitting nearly 6,500 votes representing more than 500 restaurants. At the end of the month, the 10 restaurants with the most votes are declared the “Top 10.” From there, several anonymous judges visit each of the restaurants, scoring the burger patties based on taste, doneness and presentation.
