Restaurants in Mason City, IA

Pop culture devotees know Mason City, Iowa, for its musical connections. It is the town that inspired The Music Man; and it was the take-off spot of the airplane carrying Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper that crashed February 3, 1959 — an event memorialized in Don McLean’s “American Pie” as The Day the Music Died. When Roadfood travelers think of Mason City, Northwestern Steakhouse comes to mind. Open since 1920, it offers grand Iowa beef steaks cooked with unique Greek seasonings as well as Greek-style spaghetti and Greek salads. Mason City also is home of the Suzie Q Cafe, where the motto is “Let’s Eat Here.” The Suzie Q is a 1950s Valentine diner with less than a dozen seats and a menu of Iowa tenderloins and ultra-cheesy cheeseburgers.