So You Say There’s No Place To Eat In Oskaloosa

Oskaloosa Food Tour

Oskaloosa, Iowa – It’s not uncommon for many people to complain that there’s no good place to eat in their community.

One tour with Cheryl Benson on the Oskaloosa Food Tour may help you find a fresh perspective on Oskaloosa Eats.

Benson, who became familiar with the food tour concept while visiting Chicago, decided that after she retired, she wanted to help bring that experience to her home town.

The tour isn’t just about the food; it’s about discovering Oskaloosa, in its architecture, its history, and of course, the food.

Restaurants currently featured on the tour include Hunter’s Gift and Coffee Cafe, WanderLunch, The Brickhouse Cafe, Smokey Row Coffee, and Jaarsma Bakery.

Some of the restaurants not within walking distance, included Wood Iron Grille and Grate Expectations, catered in their tastes.

Visitors get their taste of Wood Iron Grille’s best burger at the Oskaloosa Art Center, while a taste of Grate Expectations is served up in The Book Vault.

During Benson’s time exploring larger communities, she’s made a point to join as many food tours as possible. She’s taken the tours not only in Chicago, but Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Kansas City, St. Louis, and Omaha.

“I’m sure we are the smallest town that has a food tour,” jokes Benson.

For many in Oskaloosa, this may be the first time we’ve heard of a food tour. Benson says that she’s not “run into anybody who is familiar with it yet.”

Benson said there is so much history and architecture in Oskaloosa that she knew there would be interest. Initially, including the various food spots within walking distance proved to be a hurdle.

She then added in the catered in stops and was able to introduce visitors to a couple more gems in the community that way.

Benson says that the Oskaloosa Food Tour is typical of the many different tours she’s participated in.

Addressing one of the most common complaints in Oskaloosa, Benson acknowledged she’s heard the, “There’s nowhere to eat. There’s nothing to do.”

Benson was surprised at how easy the research into Oskaloosa was, and explained that the food part of the tour “worked out pretty well.”

The stops on the food tour aren’t your typical burger, and fries stop.

True, we’ve got the Best Burger in Iowa at Wood Iron Grille that we got a taste of, but it’s certainly not a typical burger.

Tour attendees got tastes of chicken chestnut casserole from Hunters, and fresh broccoli and cheese soup from Grate Expectation. There was a Parnassian Pot Roast sandwich from The Brickhouse and a grilled sandwich delight from WanderLunch.

Coffee from Smokey Row, with a tasty treat from Jaarsma Bakery, helped to bring the tour to a close.

“I tried to get a different balance of things,” said Benson of the food. “I was trying to get a variety of different food.”

Besides the food and history, participants in the food tour get an opportunity to stretch their legs, get some fresh air on the almost two-mile walk around town. “It really depends on how many wiggles and squiggles we take.”

Benson is looking at a potential Saturday tour that would be a bit abbreviated and would be a more manageable walk for some. This would also help those on tight schedules on Saturdays, as the tour would be about an hour in length.

Benson is recently retired, and opening up her Food Tour business was something she was planning to do because “I needed a challenge. I get bored,” chuckled Benson.

Starting her own business was something Benson called “really fascinating, and a pain in the butt.”

Her new business could play a major role in helping employers introduce potential employees to the community.

Benson says, at this point she will schedule a tour once a month. She is open to hosting on-demand tours for groups and businesses.

You can book your tour by visiting https://www.oskaloosafoodtours.com/ or learn more by visiting the tour on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/OskyFoodTours/

Benson has a promo code of oskcitizen, and they will save $8.00.

Posted by on Sep 21 2019. Filed under Local News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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