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    The Hungry Mind

    3.7 (24 reviews)
    Closed 11:00 am - 2:00 pm

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    Welcome to the 1970s! Dig that fern bar feel.
    Ellen C.

    This stalwart sandwich shop has been in downtown Mason City for more than 40 years. I remember coming here with my favorite aunt in the late '70s, and not much has changed since then. Still has a decidedly '70s vibe--like I expected the Three's Company crew to come trucking through any minute. (SUPER fern bar feel!) The staff was personable and obviously having a good time, which I always consider a plus. But what about the food? Good, not great, but quick and a large menu to choose from. I had a bacon and blue cheese burger, with curly fries. Nothing special, but nothing egregious, either. The wraps looked good, and there are plenty of sandwiches, so there are lots of other options to choose from. And they have beer, as well! If you're in the area or are visiting the nearby Historic Park Inn, it might be worth the short walk for a quick, inexpensive lunch--especially if your mind (and stomach) are hungry and your wallet is light!

    a menu on a chalkboard
    Christine B.

    SO many choices...literally. Sandwich? Soup? Burger? Salad? Make up your mind, order at the counter and somehow they manage to find you in this little maze of an establishment. While the sandwiches we ordered were pretty standard fare (how could you screw up a club sandwich), what puts it to the 4-star rather than the 3-star mark is the soup of the day (sausage artichoke which is chunky tomato based) and the super friendly service. Expect to pay about $8/pp for your lunch with plenty of food to tide you over until your next meal (or the next day). Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage options available. Mix crowd with the purple hat ladies who lunch, families grabbing a meal together, folks on break from work. A bit dark inside, but a nice job with the puzzle of tables for 2-, 3-, 6-, 8- groups.

    This is just a portion of the menu, there are plenty of soups and salads and burgers available.
    Daniel M.

    I really liked the way it looked when we walked up. It felt like one of those great establishments you find as a hole in the wall, but we were mistaken. The service was good, but there were only 2 people working and 5 people eating, so... hard to not be attentive. My wife and I both ordered the All American burger, a thin quarter pound burger, cooked to a very pink center, hard to get through. They had nice bread...the bun was good. The standard curly fry from a bag or box was not disappointing but we expected more. But, for only $24 for 2 burgers and a bottled tea each, we stayed regretfully. Needless to say this was not my favorite place to grab a working lunch in Mason City.

    Terry M.

    Great! Friendly service. Not a large place. I would call it intimate. It is also in an excellent location if you want to hit the mall. Food is great & I noted the staff was very interested in their customer's service experience. You can't help but notice the cool wood door as you arrive. This place is not a cookie cutter restaurant . . . Bottled beer available.

    Great club sandwich

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    1 year ago

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    2 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Atmosphere alone is worth the visit. One of those small local spots you want to visit. Good food.

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    6 years ago

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    9 years ago

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    17 years ago

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    11 years ago

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    6 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    6 years ago

    This was the 2nd time I have eaten here. It is cozy, clean and very good.

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    7 years ago

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    17 years ago

    Excellent food, great people serving it to you. Best sandwich in Mason City.

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    10 years ago

    Great local place. Good sandwiches. Order and then sit down and get served style eating. Add a beer or wine. Cute place.

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    16 years ago

    Great cozy atmosphere! My favorite lunch spot! (Hot ham & swiss on white kaiser)

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    13 years ago

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    Ask the Community - The Hungry Mind

    Review Highlights - The Hungry Mind

    Had the Club Sandwich very good soft fresh bread.

    $8.50 Club Sandwich

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    Boulder Tap House

    Boulder Tap House

    3.4(98 reviews)
    2.1 mi
    $$

    Stopped in here on the way out of town after looking for a chill place to relax after reffing a…read morebunch of youth basketball games. I was immediately greeted by a young hostess who was happy to find me a table, but I said I'd find a spot at the bar. I was immediately greeted by Sophia who handed me a beer list and was happy to pour a sample. That's nice service to start out with. She checked in but was never overbearing. A+. Their unique 60/40 beef/bacon burgers caught my eye...mine had cheese sauce, tons of bacon, and bacon jam. You can only have these cooked medium well or well done; for a burger I feel that's acceptable. Sandwich components were all delightful...the beer battered fries have a nice smooth coating and the house made ranch was the thinner variety was a great complement too. I'll kip the pretzel bun next time; I didn't find it to be a great complement to the components on the burger. I felt too many taps had crappy mass-produced domestics for the squares out there. I highly recommend the Mason City Cream Ale. Wish they sold their glasses! Credit cards have a 2.99% service fee. Thankfully, debit cards have no fee...which is the law. Not many places follow this procedure.

    do not get jamaican jerk wings they taste like shit. my dad says they taste like toilet chemicals…read more whoever is in the kitchen needs to self reflect and taste their own product. i threw 9 wings straight into the trash where they belonged.

    Photos
    Boulder Tap House - Mason City Cream Ale

    Mason City Cream Ale

    Boulder Tap House - Mason City Iowana Cream Ale

    Mason City Iowana Cream Ale

    Boulder Tap House - Hot honey chicken

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    Hot honey chicken

    Cosmic Smash Burgers

    Cosmic Smash Burgers

    4.0(2 reviews)
    9.9 mi

    Extremely friendly owners and an awesome menu, everything local. Highly recommend checking them outread more

    Not normally the type to leave a review, but as a former chef and smash burger lover i had to try…read moreout there menu items. Got the classic Cosmic Smash Burger and a large fry. The lines were long which is either a good sign or a bad sign. The chef looked like he mostly knew what he was doing, and he was very courteous when taking my order. Unfortunately his cooks didn't look like they knew what was up. The burger was smashed well, the cosmic sauce was good, not a huge fan of diced raw onions on a burger, (should be thin rings,) but overall the burger was good. Only complaint on the burger itself was the, "brioche bun," which I saw came in grocery packs. That's gotta kill his food cost, and will yield a much lower quality than if he were to get something like Rotella buns. The only real complaint though, the hand cut fries. I could see he had an employee cutting the potatoes shortly before they were fried, huge mistake! Good french fries need to be soaked (pro tip: do 50/50 vinegar and water plus some salt so the fries absorb more moisture,) then par cooked. Either a lower temp deep fry, or covered in oil and oven baked. Once they are par cooked they can be cooled in big tubs, then when the fries are ready to be cooked the cook time will be even more than half the time it took them. The employee he had frying the fries had the oil temperature lower than 300 F, he then told her to crank the heat up which was good but it was too late. The oil needs to be 350-375, with lower temperatures the inside of the fry was over cooked and mushy by time the outside got any kind of browning and they didn't even crisp up. If you do the proper prep work, your pick up time will be so much faster and will yield a much better French fry. I decided to leave this review because I really want them to succeed, it looks like they just need some quality training for their cooks and a few changes to properly prepare their food. Best of luck.

    Northwestern Steakhouse - Petit filet

    Northwestern Steakhouse

    4.6(145 reviews)
    1.2 mi
    $$

    We were able to get a same-day reservation at 8:30 PM, which is what we wanted because we got into…read moretown late. Northwestern Steakhouse was full of customers when we arrived. We seated promptly even though we were a few minutes early. And our server, Heidi, took great care of us. You should ask for her if possible. Although everyone there was super helpful and attentive. Courtney also helped us. We had a couple of cocktails, which were delicious and affordable. They brought us a pitcher of water so we could refill our own water glasses, which was lovely because of the heat. They also kept my Coke glass refilled. We each had the Greek salad, which was fantastic! Great feta cheese, a little egg and pickle with a wonderful dressing. My wife had the petite fillet and a baked potato and she loved it! Her steak was cooked, perfectly, medium rare as she asked. I had the top sirloin and spaghetti. Mine was cooked perfectly medium as I requested and the spaghetti was something truly special. It looks so simple, but it is unique and amazing. You definitely need to try it. Look forward to returning to this restaurant tomorrow for prime rib.

    We were driving through the area again. Called and got a reservation for the same evening. Steaks…read morewere cooked perfectly and our server was fantastic! This is one our favorite restaurants to visit in the U.S.

    Photos
    Northwestern Steakhouse - Inside

    Inside

    Northwestern Steakhouse - AMAZING. Filet, Greek spaghetti, I travel for work and have eaten across the world...never had anything like this meal!

    AMAZING. Filet, Greek spaghetti, I travel for work and have eaten across the world...never had anything like this meal!

    Northwestern Steakhouse - Outside

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    Outside

    The Hungry Mind - sandwiches - Updated June 2026

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