Iowa
7 Iowa pizzerias make Yelp’s list of the best in the Midwest
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Taco John’s is trying to compete with an Iowa classic — the taco pizza. We challenged our reporters to tell the difference in a blind taste test.
Every week, it seems like a new list with the top “this” or the top “that” comes out, and the latest from Yelp showcases the best pizzas in the Midwest. Granted, most of the places on this list come from Illinois and Michigan, which each have pizza styles of their own with Detroit-style, Chicago deep dish and Chicago tavern-style all making appearances.
Missing from this list of 100 is Iowa’s own style of pizza, Quad City-style, made famous at Harris Pizza, with two locations in Bettendorf and Davenport, and a third in Rock Island, Illinois. The pizza features a thin, crisp crust made with a malty, sweet dough and spicy tomato sauce. Next comes the toppings, layered under cheese. The pizza is then cut into strips with scissors.
Casey’s breakfast pizzas and Happy Joe’s, the originator of taco pizzas, also are not on the list.
The list also doesn’t include the Lincoln Winebar, the pizza shop in Mount Vernon named one of the 22 best in the country by the New York Times in June.
Yelp first broke down its user-generated ratings by looking at pizza locations from across the region, including Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
Then the review aggregator winnowed down the list by using a large concentration of reviews that included relevant keywords and ranked them using factors such as the total volume and ratings of reviews mentioning those keywords.
Here’s a look at the seven pizza restaurants in Iowa that did make Yelp’s list of 100 best in the Midwest.
Zoey’s Pizzeria
This pizzeria in Marion outside Cedar Rapids landed in the No. 64 spot on Yelp’s list. Zoey’s Pizzeria originally opened in 1991 and serves Chicago-style deep dish and New York-style thin crust pies. Try the NewZago crust, a Chicago-style dough pressed out thin instead of deep-dish style, or the Zookie, a warm chocolate chip cookie topped with vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce and whipped cream.
Location: 690 10th St., Marion
Contact: 319-377-2840 or zoeyspizza.com
Nonna’s Pizza & Pasta
This newcomer in Ankeny landed in the No. 72 spot on Yelp’s list. Nonna’s Pizza & Pasta from owners and New Yorkers Donnie Hizeqaj and Mike Kabashi opened in 2022 with options such as Grandma’s Pizza with a crisp, thin-crust square pizza topped with mozzarella, marinara sauce, olive oil, basil and Romano cheese; Sicilian square pizzas with tomato sauce and mozzarella or a lasagna version with everything but the pasta; gluten-free pies; or regular round pizzas.
Location: 1802 N. Ankeny Blvd., Ankeny
Contact: 515-850-1085 or nonnaspizzapasta.com
Sfumato Pizzeria
The No. 90 spot on Yelp’s list comes from Alton in northwest Iowa. Sfumato Pizzeria opened in 2012 with a menu of Neapolitan-style pizzas baked in a wood-fired pizza oven. The husband-and-wife team of Matt and Shannon Slemp along with Mark Slemp, Matt’s father, run this pizza restaurant, technically in unincorporated Carnes. They named it Sfumato, an Italian word for a style of painting that translates into “up in smoke.” The family recommends the Margherita or the fig and caper with prosciutto.
Location: 4995 Carnes Drive, Alton
Contact: 712-737-3007 or facebook.com/p/Sfumato-Pizzeria
More: The 27 essential restaurants in the Des Moines metro: 2024 edition
Maggie’s Farm Wood-Fired Pizza
This Iowa City pizza farm landed in the No. 91 spot on Yelp’s list. Maggie’s Farm offers Napoli favorites baked in a wood-fired oven from wife-and-husband duo Carolyn Brown and Jerry Zimmerman, who grow the vegetables used on their pizzas on their farm, named after their first labradoodle. Look for options such as the Ellie with caramelized onions, blue cheese and bacon or the soppressata with Italian dry-cured salami and pepperoncini topped with a four-cheese blend.
Location: 1308 Melrose Ave., Iowa City
Contact: 319-351-4588 or maggiesfarmpizza.com
More: Visit a pizza farm for a plow-to-table, only-in-the-Midwest experience
Basal Pizza
Head to Waterloo for the No. 93 best pizza in the Midwest, according to Yelp. Basal Pizza offers wood-fired Neapolitan pizzas as well as Detroit-style pizzas. The pan-style Detroit pizzas serve two to three people, while the Neapolitan pies are meant for individuals.
Location: 225 W. Fourth St., Waterloo
Contact: 319-333-0180 or basalpizza.com
More: 9 things you probably didn’t know about breakfast pizza at Casey’s General Store
Smash Pizza
Bettendorf’s Smash Pizza ended up at No. 96 on Yelp’s list. The restaurant offers a 16-inch New York-style pizza and a 14-inch Sicilian square that the restaurant says sells out early daily. Try the elote with corn or the roasted wild mushroom and fried kale for something different. Before opening in 2022, chef and owner Brian Olsen operated Smash Pizza as a food truck.
Location: 3403 Devils Glen Road, Bettendorf
Contact: 563-900-4064 or smashqc.com
More: 11 Des Moines pizzerias to satisfy any craving spanning deep dish to crispy thin crust
Need Pizzeria & Craft Beer Bar
Head to Cedar Rapids for the No. 98 pizza on the Yelp list. Need Pizzeria offers gluten-free and vegan options with a focus on New Haven-style pizza. Do look for novelty options on the specials menu, which recently featured a sriracha BLT and Crab Ya Goon, a white pizza with crab dip, crab meat, green onions, crispy wonton strips and sweet chili sauce.
Location: 207 Second Ave. S.E., Cedar Rapids
Contact: 319-362-6333 or needcr.com
Susan Stapleton is the entertainment editor and dining reporter at The Des Moines Register. Follow her on Facebook, X, or Instagram, or drop her a line at sstapleton@gannett.com.

Iowa
Iowa Rep. Shannon Lundgren joins growing 2nd District GOP field
Iowa
Iowa Rep. Ashley Hinson launches campaign for U.S. Senate

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – Republican U.S. Representative Ashley Hinson officially launched her campaign for U.S. Senate at the Radisson Hotel in Cedar Rapids on Sunday.
“In the Senate, I will fight to make America look more like Iowa,” Hinson said. “Here, we know the difference between boys and girls. We know that families deserve to keep more of what they earn, and we know the people, not the government, always come first,” she said.
Right now, Ashley Hinson represents northeast Iowa’s 2nd District in Congress.
She’s running to replace Republican Senator Joni Ernst, who announced earlier this month she would not run for re-election.
“Ashley Hinson gives me hope. Someone that I know fights for me. Someone that has my back. And somebody that will have your back,” the Jones County Sheriff, Greg Graveler said about Hinson.
Hinson told Sunday’s crowd she wants to keep deporting illegal immigrants, cut taxes, and defend farmers in agriculture.
She also addressed Democrats who she said may consider her an extremist.
“If it’s extreme to want parents in charge of our kids’ education, if it’s extreme to want safe borders and safe streets, if it’s extreme to believe that there are only two genders, then they can go ahead and call me whatever they want,” Hinson said.
While Hinson will face plenty of competition for the Senate spot from other Republicans and Democrats, she said she’s confident in her campaign.
“We can only deliver on these critical wins, and make America safer and stronger for a generation to come if we win this seat. Or correction – when we win this seat,” Hinson said.
Copyright 2025 KCRG. All rights reserved.
Iowa
Iowa Looks to Extend Streak vs. MAC Opponents

A pair of lengthy streaks will go up against each other at Kinnick Stadium. Saturday, September 13 marks Week 3 of the college football season. Iowa and UMass are set to do battle at 7:30 p.m. EST.
The Hawkeyes return home with a 1-1 record. Their Week 1 victory over Albany wasn’t close, 34-7 in favor of the Hawkeyes. As for last week, Iowa wasn’t able to get past No. 16 Iowa State. Their three-point loss marked the second season in a row they lost to the Cyclones. Last year, they fell, 20-19. While they’ve only lost by four-combined points in the last two seasons, these are still key losses that don’t sit well with HC Kirk Ferentz.
Ferentz has been with Iowa since 1999. The 70-year-old head coach most recently won the Big Ten West in 2023 with his Hawkeyes finishing the 2024 season 8-4 (6-3). While Big 10 play has yet to begin, the legendary HC has a different streak that he’d love to keep alive.
Omar-Rashon Borja of the Mid-American Conference wrote, “The Hawkeyes have not lost to a MAC school since 2013, when a Jordan Lynch-led NIU Huskies squad scored 10-unanswered points with five minutes remaining to take a 30-27 win at Kinnick Stadium.”
He added that Iowa had also lost to Central Michigan the year prior, 32-31, marking back-to-back MAC losses for the Hawkeyes. Since falling to the Huskies by three-points in 2013, Iowa hasn’t looked back. They remain perfect against a conference that no Big 10 team has any right losing to in the first place.
As for the Minutemen, UMass has a streak of their own that they’ll bring to Kinnick Stadium, “The Minutemen have not defeated an Autonomous/Power conference team or an automatic qualifying team since beating Boston College in 1981,” Borja said.
Borja spoke highly about Iowa, but he knows that anything can happen in college football, “Sure, the conventional wisdom says the Minutemen stand no chance over the reliably consistent Iowa Hawkeyes, but Iowa has been the type of team to let an underdog hang around and stay in the game in the past due in the part to their style of play under long-time head coach Kirk Ferentz.”
Both streaks will go head-to-head in a Saturday night showdown that could see UMass shock the world. Iowa is far from a perfect team, but on paper, they should have no issue getting past 0-2 UMass. Borja predicted a 27-11 Iowa victory, you can find On SI’s score predictions here.
If UMass is able to get their biggest road victory in recent memory, it would snap their 44-year drought. Not only that, but it would snap a 10-year streak for Iowa that the Hawkeyes have no plans on dropping anytime soon.
Don’t forget to bookmark Iowa Hawkeyes on SI for the latest news. exclusive interviews, recruiting coverage and more!
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