Iowa Machine Shed Restaurant   

11151 Hickman Rd
Urbandale, IA 50322
515-270-6818
www.machineshed.com

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This Urbandale outpost of the Iowa-based restaurant chain is, as you may have guessed from the name, a tribute to the American farmer. If this should slip your mind, the antique farm implements artfully strewn about the dining area will remind you. Dinner is served family-style, so love thy neighbor and help yourself. As the staff will tell you, everything from soups to seared T-bone steaks and coleslaw is freshly made -- and don't even try to leave without sampling the apple dumplings. Servings can be politely described as heaping, so by all means take a stroll around the grounds before leaving the Shed. Take the kin to peruse the kitsch at the gift shop or enjoy a tractor ride. If your own lack of down-home cooking skills are what drove you to Machine Shed in the first place, take a peek at their Web site: You'll find recipes for Shed favorites like the baked potato soup, as well as notices about the next batch of (free!) cooking classes.