A burger called the Jabroni arrives with cheddar, pineapple sweet-corn relish, Cheddar Ruffles, sweet-corn mayo, barbecue sauce and green onion. That is a fairly good introduction to The Flying Elbow in Marshalltown: familiar American food, happily taken several notches past ordinary.
This is a compact casual restaurant built around professional-wrestling fun. Burgers and hot dogs are made to order, toppings can get wonderfully busy, and the room gives diners plenty to look at while they decide between fries, tots, onion rings and a beer.
The Flying Elbow works as a quick lunch stop, but it also has enough personality for a deliberate detour. A group can settle into a booth, somebody can claim a seat at the bar, and the menu supplies ample material for the usual table conversation about who ordered best.
A dining room with a wrestling habit
Professional-wrestling memorabilia covers the restaurant’s visual territory, and televisions often run vintage matches. The effect is colorful and playful rather than restrained, with the food and the theme pulling in the same direction: big names, big toppings and no reason to be too serious about any of it.
The indoor setup includes bar seating, booths and counter seats. Despite its smaller footprint, the dining room is clean and welcoming, and the bar gives the restaurant an easygoing place to pause over a pint before—or alongside—a burger.
There is also an outdoor patio. Inside, the smaller room can mean a little flexibility is useful at busy times, particularly since seating has been described as first come, first served.
Burgers with personalities
The named burgers are where The Flying Elbow has the most fun. Many take their titles from wrestling legends, with combinations that pile cheeses, sauces, relishes, crunchy snacks and vegetables onto a classic burger format.
The Jabroni is a good choice for someone who likes sweet corn in several forms and does not mind a potato-chip crunch on a burger. The pineapple sweet-corn relish and sweet-corn mayo keep the idea going, while The People’s BBQ sauce and green onion add familiar savory notes.
For a more recognizable lane, the Tombstone has been offered as a bacon-forward classic-style burger. The Vinnie takes a playful fast-food-inspired approach, with a Big Mac-like concept translated into the restaurant’s own wrestling-heavy universe.
Other burger names that have appeared include Cowboy Bob, George the Animal, Real American and the Brisco. It is an extensive list of combinations, and staff members are known for walking diners through the choices instead of leaving newcomers alone with a wall of colorful names.
Hot dogs are not an afterthought
The hot dogs receive the same treatment as the burgers: named creations, bold toppings and a willingness to bring multiple textures into one bun. They are useful for a diner who wants the restaurant’s big-flavor approach without committing to a full burger.
The Nature Boy has included Asian peanut sauce, pickled red cabbage, sweet-chili Doritos and banana peppers. It is tangy, crunchy and a little unruly in the best hot-dog sense.
The Punk moves toward Chicago-style territory with neon-green relish, a pickle spear, sport peppers, red onion, diced Roma tomato, mustard and celery salt. It is a notably different direction from the peanut-sauce dog, which is a reminder that the menu does not repeat one topping formula over and over.
Some named combinations have been available in either burger or hot-dog form, giving diners another way to play with the menu. Ask about the current choices if a particular combination catches your eye.
The side-order main event
Do not treat the potato section as a quiet supporting act. Vader Tots are among the restaurant’s most talked-about sides, and they fit the house style perfectly: a familiar base turned into a loaded, shareable plate.
Mr. Mac’Man goes even further, combining fries with macaroni and cheese and flaming-hot Cheetos. A burger special has also paired macaroni and cheese with a Cheetos dusting, so the kitchen clearly understands that crunchy snack foods have a legitimate place in comfort-food cooking.
Fries, onion rings, macaroni and cheese, street-corn salad and small cheese curds have also been part of the side lineup. The onion rings bring a welcome straightforward option, with a crisp crunch that can be a useful counterbalance to a particularly elaborate sandwich.
Beer, guidance and a few practical notes
Craft beer is a serious companion to all that food, with selections available on tap and in cans. The staff can suggest a beer for a particular order, which helps when a sweet-and-spicy hot dog or a heavily topped burger has made the decision less obvious.
Vegetarian choices are available, with some dishes identified as vegetarian. That gives a mixed table more options than a burger-and-dog headline might suggest.
Parking around the restaurant can vary. Free street parking, a free lot and additional nearby spaces have all been mentioned, though finding a close spot has occasionally been difficult. The food is made to order and service moves quickly, so the restaurant remains an easygoing stop once you are seated.