Breitbach's Country Dining

Iowa's oldest bar and restaurant has been serving home-style cooking since 1852 — a continuous streak of over 170 years through six generations of the same family, two catastrophic fires, and a full rebuild each time. Perched in the tiny hilltop village of Balltown (population under 60), the panoramic views of the rolling Mississippi River valley are reason enough to make the scenic drive, but the all-you-can-eat buffets and scratch-made pies seal the deal. Food Network has taken notice, and once you taste the cooking in this storied dining room, you'll understand why. This is as close to a time capsule of rural Iowa as you'll find anywhere.