Chuckwagon Resturant

Just stopped for gas and found this place for lunch. If you want a GOOD IOWA tenderloin stop here. It is hand cut and pounded out just right. The fries are hand cut also. Not frozen ones. Service was quick and polite. The side salad was a little skimpy with just one cucumber and lettuce. But would recommend this place for a good quick meal.

We stopped here after a softball game last night at 8:50 when they closed at 9pm. The staff graciously welcomed us and didn’t blink an eye. Our server was sweet, brought our drinks quickly and was very attentive. The food was wonderful. Our group of 5 were all very impressed by each dish. I ordered the Philly cheesesteak, which came with plenty of beef and a huge helping of grilled veggies. My kids were so excited they could order breakfast at 9pm, yummy pancakes and biscuits and gravy included! My in laws live nearby and we wholeheartedly recommended it to them!

We came here after a long days work, tired and hungry. The best part was the milkshakes… they were quite good. It went downhill from there.
Living in Kansas City, we know two things extremely well… BBQ and burgers. We have arguably the best of both in the country. Needless to say, if this burger place was in KC, it wouldn’t last long. Maybe it was a bad night, but I kind of doubt it. Normally, a good burger place will ask you how you want your burger done… we were not asked, when we ordered. And I’m not sure how it made Iowa’s top ten for burgers…
My wife’s French Toast tasted good she said, but looked like large pieces of Texas Toast with a small amount of egg in them. My burger along with our kids, weren’t even as good as the French Toast. All three were dry, overcooked pieces of supposedly superior Iowa beef… ummmm, no. None of us finished our burgers, and mine will be left in the Motel… Mine was the «chili burger», which came out cold, and of not very good chili-quality…To double check the burgers, I tried all three, which were not good, and overcooked dry pieces of meat. The supposed «homemade fries» came in three varieties: over & under cooked (majority), and just right (vast minority), all slathered with enough grease to fill my engine… they were not good. And probably cooked in Peanut oil (we are not sure). My son has peanut allergies, took a look and determined they quite possibly were cooked it peanut oil. If so, in this day and age it should be noted, what with the number of food allergies out there.
Our waitress seemed overwhelmed from the get-​go, even though she only had a few tables… it took fifteen minutes for a refill of water, even though we asked three times. And this was with the excellent Manager making the shakes, clearing tables, and delivering orders (to the owner: your Manager is underpaid!!!).
I would give this place another try, but my family ate there before and stated pretty much the same (this time we were with local relatives, and didn’t want to offend them). The two is for the very average food, raised MIGHTILY by the excellent shakes… you should get the picture.
Do yourself a favor, stop for a shake on a hot day on your road trip, tip them well, and move down the road… the shake is worth it. Highly disappointed especially after the reviews posted here…

Excellent food and excellent service. Very clean and quiet atmosphere — right off the interstate. SlHome of the 2016 Iowa Burger of the Year. I had the Jack Daniels Burger and my husband had the Chuckwagon. Both amazing! Day long breakfast is a hit with our kids also! French toast it was for our son. We’ll definitely stop back here again when we travel to see our daughter!

Lucky enough to happen upon this place while passing through on I-​80. Excellent service. We were given a whole pot of the best coffee we had on our month long road trip!!! Everything looked good on the menu, but we went with the chuck wagon burger and bourbon burger. We ordered the jack Daniels burger initially but they were out of the sauce and were making more but it was not done, which tells me their food is good enough to run out of things and they make it fresh which is appealing to me. Our burgers were divine and the fries just as good. You can taste the real quality ingredients. We had no idea they are rated the #1 burger in Iowa, but we see why now! And great value! We could only eat half, the burgers were so big! We took the other half and ate it on the road. So we ate well that day for 25 bucks. Not on purpose. We were just so full!
The place was very clean and homey. You can tell everyone there takes pride in their work. We will be sure to stop at Chuckwagon when passing through again and encourage others too. It was such a relief to have such fantastic food in a convenient, relaxing location right off the freeway. We would honestly plan our eating schedule around going to Chuckwagon if on I-​80 in Iowa again!

Stopped here for breakfast while I was on a long road trip. Friendly server greeted us at the door and got out drinks fast. Informed us that we can order anything off the menu all day long. Lot’s of good choices, but I was there for breakfast, so I ordered the meat lover’s omelette. Definitely lived up to its name and was packed with meat (sausage, bacon, and ham). It was delicious and a very fair price, especially compared to similar places I’ve been. The restaurant itself was clean and it had a quiet atmosphere. I hope I get the chance to swing by here again the next time on the road.

We like to stop in Adair because it is a quiet, small town and very easy off and on the interstate. Chuck wagon is a nice change from fast food, and the fast food environment. My husband enjoyed his «Cowboy Burger,» and my chef’s salad was very fresh and tasty. We will continue to stop here when we’re on the road!

Our family stopped on our way through Iowa. We were pleasantly surprised by this place. Service was great and the food was wonderful. All kinds of great comfort foods including chili, hand patted hamburgers and grilled ham and cheese. I would definitely recommend this restaurant to anyone passing through on I-​80 or living locally.

Great food, great service, cute restaurant, right off interstate, very friendly staff, quick service … We found them on Unilocal while driving on the interstate and ordered take out … Was ready right on time.

Beware traveling gastronomes! What seems like a dining oasis in the middle of nowhere is a total mirage! Everything is ludicrously overpriced, portions are child-​sized and don’t get me started on the «salad» (ie, a dreary pile of wilted iceberg lettuce and a solitary cucumber atop). Run away! Run away before they use their gypsy magic to trick you into eating here!!!
From your friendly neighborhood Gastro Girl

Probably 3.5 stars but bumped up because the burger was really good. Think of a Country Kitchen sort of menu — breakfasts, burgers, sandwiches, and dinner items — with beer. I had the Chuckwagon burger — tomato, grilled onions, mushrooms, bacon & thousand island dressing. The burger was really good, much better than I’ve ever had at a Country Kitchen. Got the homemade fries. The fries were okay — a little greasy. Service was friendly, but had to pay at the counter. Not bad for a diner off the interstate exit.

This place used to be the Happy Chief but recently opened as Chuckwagon.
The menu has everything from breakfast, burgers, salads, sandwiches and steak dinners. The ambience was very welcoming and the staff members were friendly and efficient. I would recommend you stop here if your traveling through and want a warm homemade meal.

Very decent typical country diner fare. The biscuits and gravy were very good with a particular made from scratch feel. The pancake special was also tasty, a very standard diner spread. Coffee was good as well.

I don’t know what people are complaining about. This was a perfectly acceptable restaurant. My Supreme Omelette with muffin and coffee was just fine. I’ll take Happy Chef over a national chain any day. And they open early too, which was very convenient for me while traveling along I-​80.

I wouldn’t stop here if I had a choice; however, i was on a road trip and in the middle of nowhere, starving for hot food and not packaged microwavable gas station food. The food was good or maybe I was starving and hot food tasted good regardless. If you are not up for a hole in the wall diner in a small town, head to the gas station across the street.