Local barbecue destination Beast & Bird will welcome America's Best Restaurants (ABR) for an upcoming visit as part of the ABR Roadshow, giving the Vinton restaurant an opportunity to share the story behind its barbecue, speakeasy atmosphere and growth from two mobile businesses into a permanent local destination.

America's Best Restaurants is a national media and restaurant marketing company that travels the country telling the stories of local independent restaurants. During the visit, the ABR Roadshow team will showcase Beast & Bird's food and conduct an on-camera interview with Clay McBride about the people, passion and ideas behind the restaurant. Each restaurant featured on the Roadshow receives its own episode.

Beast & Bird's story began in 2021 as a mobile food truck serving barbecue throughout Vinton and neighboring communities. Pitmaster Logan Merchant built a following for his smoked meats while Clay and his son Justin McBride were developing McBride Mobile Taps, a mobile self-serve beverage business serving private events throughout Eastern Iowa.

In 2024, the two businesses joined forces and transformed a location at 314 North K Avenue into Beast & Bird's permanent home. The collaboration brought together Merchant's approach to barbecue with the McBrides' beverage experience, creating a restaurant and speakeasy built around smoked meats, craft drinks and gathering with friends and neighbors.

Barbecue remains at the heart of the restaurant. Among Beast & Bird's standout offerings are its pork belly burnt ends and Trifecta Platter featuring three meats and three sides. The restaurant also brings its smokehouse approach behind the bar with the Smoked Maple Old Fashioned, made with smoked maple syrup and finished with a bacon garnish.

The restaurant emphasizes handcrafted food and bold flavors, with meats carefully selected, seasoned with house-crafted blends and slow-smoked. Its menu and setting are designed to offer guests more than a meal, combining barbecue with a distinctive speakeasy atmosphere and spaces where the community can gather.

Community has been part of Beast & Bird's identity since its food truck days. From serving local events to creating a permanent gathering place in Vinton, the business has continued to build its following around food, hospitality and a connection to the surrounding community.

"We believe barbecue should be done the way it was meant to be, slow, handcrafted and full of flavor," said Clay McBride.

America's Best Restaurants will be on-site at Beast & Bird on Friday, August 21, 2026, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Central Time to film its episode. The public and press are welcome to attend. The episode premiere date will be announced on the restaurant's Facebook page and featured on America's Best Restaurants' website and social media platforms.

Restaurants featured on the ABR Roadshow are selected based on factors including customer reviews, standout menu items, social media presence and community involvement. Through the Roadshow, America's Best Restaurants works to give independently owned restaurants a platform to share the stories, food and people that make them important parts of their communities.

About Beast & Bird

Beast & Bird is a barbecue restaurant and speakeasy located at 314 North K Avenue, Vinton, Iowa 52349. After beginning as a mobile food truck in 2021, Beast & Bird joined with McBride

Mobile Taps to establish its permanent Vinton location in 2024. The restaurant serves smoked meats, made-from-scratch barbecue and craft beverages in a rustic-modern setting. For more information, visit thebeastandbird.com.

About America's Best Restaurants

Headquartered in Florence, Kentucky, America's Best Restaurants is a national media and restaurant marketing company that travels the country telling the stories and highlighting the unique food of locally owned independent restaurants through its ABR Roadshow. Restaurants are featured across ABR's social media network, website, YouTube channel, and each restaurant's own Facebook page. With more than 2,000 episodes filmed, America's Best Restaurants helps restaurant owners share their stories with audiences coast-to-coast.