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Garrett Goodman, chef and owner of the Flying Elbow in Marshalltown, first launched the restaurant as a wrestling-themed food truck in 2017. He and his business have persevered through a tornado, a derecho and a pandemic. This year, his restaurant has won titles for "best burger" and "best pulled pork" in the state of Iowa.

After surviving a destructive tornado, the derecho and a global pandemic, The Flying Elbow restaurant has bounced back to win the title of “best burger” from the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association and the “best pulled pork” in the state from the Iowa Pork Producers Association.

Garrett Goodman, chef and owner of The Flying Elbow, learned to cook from his stepfather who was a chef. They spent Sundays watching Emeril and smoking meats together. But everything else he’s learned in the kitchen has been self-taught.

“I always had an interest in cooking and the creative part especially. I’m also a musician, so the need to create is ingrained in me. I get so much fulfillment out of creating new menu items,” Goodman said. “I spent 11 years in corporate IT, but the last 15 years I’ve enjoyed watching the Food Network and my favorite chefs break down how to cook.”

Goodman launched The Flying Elbow as a wrestling-themed food truck in 2017 and after being open a few months, was overwhelmed by the outpouring of support. He ended up with 1,000 Facebook followers and 100 five-star reviews. But he decided he didn’t want to cook just during the summer, so he set up a brick-and-mortar eatery.

“We spent six months renovating the building and were open two months with lines around the block when the tornado hit. It was really hard to deal with, not knowing the future of the business. We had no idea how long it would take to reopen,” Goodman said. “That stretched into 2018 so I focused on designing a new building on purchased lots and working out of the food truck. So I went from food truck to restaurant to food truck.”

But the derecho hit the same week he ordered food for the food truck’s reopening.

“Here I am trying to recover from the tornado and then that hit. But we opened the restaurant and had a great fall of 2019,” Goodman said. “People were loving the restaurant and we were doing great business.”

“In 2020, I was working on financing and then in March, the pandemic was in full force. By fall of 2020, I found out the Small Business Administration wouldn’t fund my project so I was back to square one with no restaurant.”

Thankfully, the food truck kept Goodman and The Flying Elbow alive during the pandemic.

“We had a record number of customers during the pandemic, which was crazy. Thankfully we have such a great support system in Marshalltown. Our customers and the community treat us great and I try to help out where I can, too. ‘Marshalltown Strong’ truly was a thing. We all felt that,” Goodman said. “I made a deal in December of 2020 to open a restaurant on 13th Street in a small district area of town. Basically, it’s my third restaurant that I designed in three years and ran the food truck until I opened the restaurant in September 2021.”

As Goodman resumed operations, he started out offering creative hot dogs, sandwiches and fryer foods.

In 2022, he spearheaded a smash burger special that sold out in the first three days.

“I decided I was on to something. Then a month later we were voted into the top 10 burgers in the state,” he said. “That basically doubled our business overnight. In April of 2022, I found out we won the best burger in the state honor and last year we ended up selling 65,000 burgers.”

The Iowa’s Best Burger contest is sponsored by the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association and funded in part by the Iowa Beef Industry Council through the Iowa State Beef Checkoff Program.

Inspired, Goodman had a custom smoker built in Nashville that arrived in September. He’d been using a residential-sized smoker for a couple of years that he used for menu items, but the wood-fired smoker allowed him to add smoked meat specials to the menu using the 300-gallon wood-fired smoker, cooking pork shoulders “the traditional way, using old-school techniques” — low and slow over oak and cherry wood.

The sixth-annual Pulled Pork Madness, a social media contest sponsored by the Iowa Pork Producers Association, shone a spotlight on The Flying Elbow. Nearly 160 pork fans nominated 63 Iowa restaurants for the top honor. The two restaurants with the most votes in each of IPPA’s eight districts made up the “Sweet 16” bracket. Voters then decided which moved on to the “Elite Eight,” “Final Four,” and championship round, which wrapped up March 30.

“Then we found out in January we had been entered in the contest for the best pulled pork in the state and we brought it home,” Goodman said.

Popular items on The Flying Elbow’s menu include the classic pulled pork sandwich that includes cherrywood smoked pulled pork, barbecue sauce and pickles; the pig show, which features cherrywood smoked pulled pork, cheddar and Havarti cheeses, mac and cheese, barbecue sauce and a green onion.

Some of the creative burgers include the Mr. Mac’Man burger with cheddar cheese, mac and cheese, Cheeto dust and a green onion; the Jabroni burger with cheddar cheese, pineapple sweet corn relish, cheddar ruffles, sweet corn aioli, barbecue sauce and a green onion; the nature boy burger with Asian peanut sauce, pickled red cabbage, sweet chili Doritos, banana peppers and a green onion; and the dragon burger with pepper jack cheese, sweet red pepper relish, spicy sweet chili Doritos, sour cream, sriracha and green onion.

“We have classic toppings and gourmet toppings. I offer traditional and creative menu items,” Goodman said. “I use the best products that I can get my hands on. My beef is all local from Iowa farms and some from Wisconsin farms. My pork all comes from JBS in Marshalltown.”

Thanks to the notoriety The Flying Elbow has earned, customers are driving three hours or more to sample the smash burgers and pulled pork sandwiches. He sells more than 100 pounds of pulled pork weekly.

“We’re having quite the run. We’re basically the two-time meat champion of the state,” Goodman said. “I use the highest quality ingredients, prepare items the best way possible and my burgers can stand up against any others. I’ll try food at other places and think, ‘Wow, we do a really good job.’ My staff is super friendly and the awards speak for themselves.”

The Flying Elbow, located at 229 N. 13th St. in Marshalltown, seats 35 inside and a deck is being built off the back that will double seating. The restaurant also offers carry-out and delivery.

“We’re growing and expanding. It’s all happening pretty quickly,” he said. “It’s all so exciting.”