Pork Tenderloins

quote:

Originally posted by Foodbme

quote:

Originally posted by Zig

I thought this was a Pork Tenderloins thread.

Lighten up Zig. I excerpted this from one of the earlier comments. There's 23 Freakin' Pages of BPT's. How much more can be said about BPT's????

How much? Well, this article was sought out at first because of breaded walleye sandwiches in Minnesota found on Roadfood.com became this...

http://www.chanvillager.com/sites/chanvillager.com/print_edition/jpg/pnt-02-15-07-p24.jpg

This link may only be good for this next week.

the best Pork Tenderloin Sandwich I have ever had was at Uncle Monkey's in Illiopolis Illinois. Local Bar and Grill just about a mile, mile and a half off I-72 exit 121.Deep fried pork tenderloin on Grilled Texas Toast smothered in Fries Covered with cheese sauce. It's called A Tenderloin Horseshoe. Almost worth the 500 mile drive to get there. If it weren't 5 miles from my home town I'd do it anyway.

Never having had a pork tenderloin sandwich, I followed my own rules today.

I started by slicing the tenderloin into half-inch cutlets, which I gently pounded to about 1/4 inch thick.



The pork was breaded in Panko and pan fried. The tenderloin cutlets were served on pretzel bread, with my homemade peameal bacon, lettuce and mayo.

JRPfeff, that looks very tasty. MFL

JRPfeff, That's the spirit! Those look awfully tasty.

Way to go.

On my trip to Kansas City, MO this past week that I had mentioned I had prepared extensively to find a pork tenderloin sandwich. I had compile over 20 potential restaurants but not on my list was Jerry's Woodsweather Cafe, a true road food experience. I missed it because all references to it online were Woodswether Cafe (note without the a). The person I was visiting on business knew about it and that is where I ended up Thursday for lunch. Here is my blog about it...

http://web.mac.com/davydd/iWeb/Site/Pork%20Tenderloin%20Sandwich%20Blog/261383DB-BF53-457A-A238-4A2E947BCF21.html

...and here are the pics...

Gosh........ My weekly visit to this thread always gets me soooo hungry.

The pursuit must continue. My next haunt will be Milwaukee in a couple of weeks. I know there is a Machine Shed in Pewaukee that probably has a decent tenderloin but I have already been to a Machine Shed. What I would like is a gem of a find similar to the likes of Jerry's Woodsweather Cafe in Kansas City. Is it possible? St. Paul, MN gave me the equally lovable Casper and Runyon's Nook when I did not think a tenderloin existed in that city.

Time is running out for me for Milwaukee. It will be this coming Friday. Meanwhile I am working on my smoked wild Alaskan salmon dip recipe. I crave that stuff.

Did you think I would strike out in Milwaukee and settle for a brat or have to resort to Culver's or a Machine Shed? Now way!

I flew in and out in the same day, had a very productive meeting and managed to get in a late lunch with six others before heading back out to Minneapolis. The place turned out to be Johnny V's Classic Cafe in West Allis, Wisconsin. This is the place...



The menu adverstised a breaded pork tenderloin plate with choice of potato and gravy on the 60 or older senior's special category. A sandwich was not mentioned. However, I showed Jenny, our waitress, my porktenderloinsandwich.com business card (yep I made one on a Mac) with a picture of a pork tenderloin sandwich and asked her if she could make it that way. She said yes. This one...



Five of us orderd the sandwich. Two ordered the plate off the menu. This is what you would have got if you did not ask...



And this is what we got made special...



The sandwich was not huge but it was well prepared, tender and tasty. Johnny V's Classic Cafe gets extra points in my book for being great sports. My host, a Milwaukee manufacturing company, should also be complimented for great spirit in meeting this challenge. Once they saw my web site they felt they had to come through. They are a manufacturing company that thrives on challenges, problem solving and being inventive. None of them ever had a pork tenderloin sandwich before but they got into it right up to the president of the company. It was a great way to cap off a very productive meeting.

Looks great David. Glad you had a good trip. Any hopes in coming to the Ft. Wayne IN area on business?
We a hoping that will happen soon. Jean Anne

Jean Anne, there is always a business possibility and Ft. Wayne may present one. However, it will be a stretch if I get involved with anything at this time.

My plans are to drive to Glendale, NC over three days time in May for a B camper van rally at Raccoon Holler Campground. I haven't figured out a route yet. Then on the way back it will be to Indianapolis for the race. We have a full week to fill between weekends and have no plans yet other than to pursue the pork tenderloin sandwiches and camp. After the race it will probably be a one day dash home on Memorial Day and back to work reality.

MMMMMMMMMMM, nothing else to do on a rainy Huntington day.
Nick's Kitchens Tenderloin!
.

I make a version of a pork tenderloin sandwich by slicing a pork tenderloin about a half inch thick and frying it like steak or chicken.I make milk gravy after I fry the tenderloin and make a "sandwich" with the tenderloin,gravy,and big homemade "cathead" biscuits.Serve with grits or rice and scrambled eggs.

quote:

Originally posted by iqdiva

I make a version of a pork tenderloin sandwich by slicing a pork tenderloin about a half inch thick and frying it like steak or chicken.I make milk gravy after I fry the tenderloin and make a "sandwich" with the tenderloin,gravy,and big homemade "cathead" biscuits.Serve with grits or rice and scrambled eggs.

Do you Bread it?

Yes,Foodbme,just like fried chicken or fried steak.

After I got the write up in the Chanhassen, MN local weekly newspaper I found out the article was repeated in the Shakopee, MN local weekly and the following week a letter to the editor appeared commenting about a local restaurant in Shakopee having the breaded pork tenderloin sandwich. That place was Wampach's Family restaurant. I may have never found it otherwise. It is a local establishment with little publicity that is frequented by the locals. The place is this...



Shakopee is a small town on the outer fringes of the metropolitan area. It is about11 miles south of where we live. It is located on the banks of the Minnesota River. If you go east of town you start entering suburbia. If you go west you are in farm country. Wampach's menu was a typcal cafe menu. The breakfast menu looked like a go back. The breaded pork tenderloin was listed without fanfare and gave you a choice of fries, soup or cold slaw. We ordered the tenderloin and this is what we got...



It was OK but uninspired. The tenderloin itself was thicker than average and the breading was just OK but a tad greasy. I didn't ask if it was made on site or came from a food service. It didn't matter because we probably would not be returning.

Breakfast at Hash House A Go Go in Las Vegas....





For lunch and dinner this comes as a Breaded Pork tenderloin Sandwich.

Dog, I only wish I knew about the Hash House A Go Go two years ago.

Oh well it is off to Philadelphia tomorrow for two days. I doubt there will be a 'loin there. I do know of one in McLean, VA that I may hit in May and I may have one on the radar in San Antonio, TX later this month. The San Antonio restaurant is a small 4 restaurant chain called Grady's BBQ with a pork loin sandwich. They don't say if it is breaded but they also have fried catfish. So just maybe. Anyone know?

There was nothing close to a breaded pork tenderloin in Philadelphia. I settled for veal cutlets served with spinach, white beans and currants ragout at the Union League of Philadephia for dinner and just a Margherita pizza at Davio's Northern Italian Steakhouse for lunch in my brief overnight stay. No Philly cheesesteak sandwich.

I will still try to make it to San Antonio at the end of the month. Since I had an aborted flight plan trying to do it all in one day I might do a stayover. I already know the River Walk restaurants have nothing close to a breaded pork tenderloin sandwich. If anyone has been to Grady's BBQ I would like to know what their pork loin sandwich is.

Just heard there's a hash house a go go opening in K.C. in May.

My next breaded pork tenderloin sandwich pursuit is set. We plan to take the camper van down to Wellsburg, Iowa in two weeks and sample the Iowa Pork Board 2006 winner at the Townhouse Supper Club. It will be a weekend tune up with camping at a local state park in preparation for our mid May pursuit through Indiana.

Davydd:
What is the date of your Town House excursion? I work there occasionally. Be sure to let Terry know that you stopped in.

geof,

This Saturday the 28th. We should be there soon after it opens at 5 PM. Terry emailed me a few weeks ago and I let him know we were coming this weekend. We will be camping in a state park nearby and it looks to be shaping up to be a nice weekend.

I had never thought about battering them, I have always breaded them.

That tenderloin looks interesting to try.

CajunKing, It was the same batter as the onion rings. A lot of fish is batter fried in Minnesota. Batter frying and serving pork tenderloins in toast is a local favorite of the few bars that serve them in Nordeast Minneapolis.

Where did you find the pretzel bread or do you have a recipe for it??

This weekend we took our camper van out for its first trip of the season. Our destination was 230 miles away in Wellsburg, Iowa to sample the Iowa Pork Board's 2006 breaded pork tenderloin sandwich winner out of 82 entrants. The place was the Townhouse Supper Club in Wellsburg. The name Townhouse Supper Club might leave you with the image of a fancy, elegant restaurant at a toney country club. The name evoked a place out of a 1940s movie when I first read it. Far from it. Wellsburg has a downtown business district of one block and the restaurant turns out to be a smal brick front homey cafe. The "Townhouse" evidently is a play on the owner's name Terry Town. This is the place...



But don't be too disappointed. The sign out front says 8,293 breaded pork tenderloin sandwiches served since October 18, 2006. That is a whopping average of 235 per day and they are not open on Sundays!

Now down to the serious question. Did it deserve its award? I did not try 80 others but I have no doubt the Iowa Pork Board picked the right sandwich. It was superb. The meat was moist and tender, it was large enough to compete with the best in that category yet it was thick and not flattened out, and the breading was large, flakey and tasty. Town mentioned he used Panko with a mixture of other breading. Here is that sandwich...



OK, not everything is perfect. You probably see the edge of that Corona beer I tried to hide in the background. I suffered just a wee bit but I had an August Schell Firebrick all malt Vienna style lager back in my camper van waiting for me.

It's official! Listen up janicks. We will be making an encore visit to Nick's Kitchen in Huntington, IN for lunch on Tuesday,May 15th. The other half made that decision. Anyone else in the vicinity is welcome to join us. We will be heading out for North Carolina in our camper van and decided to take a northerly route across Indiana and Ohio and then dip down to North Carolina. Our return will take us to Indianapolis and the Indy 500 where we will find new tenderloin pursuits.

quote:

Originally posted by CajunKing
Where did you find the pretzel bread or do you have a recipe for it??

CK - I just spotted your post. The pretzel bread was just introduced at my local market - Sendik's in Brookfield, WI. It is fresh baked on site and is becoming very popular.

Jim

Davydd - I ate at Clementine's in South Haven, Michigan tonight. I've probably eaten there 10 times previously, but because of YOU, the fried pork tenderloin caught my attention for the first time and I had to order it.

Even with everyone else in my group ordering steaks I may have had the best entree, an excellent sandwich. Sorry, I did not have a camera, so you will have to go yourself to get a picture.

Bell's Oberon Ale on draft, too!
http://www.bellsbeer.com/branddetail.asp?BrandID=7

Jim

Jim,

Thanks for the tip. They call it the Golden Garter I see on their menu. Clementine's is reachable. I love Bell's too. The Two Hearted Ale is one of my favorites.

http://www.ohmydarling.com/

Davy,

Clementine's has a fried perch sandwich, too. Probably the second best in South Haven.

Just curious, are you familiar with this boat? It belongs to one of my virtual friends and is based on Lake Minnetonka.

Jeff,

Minnetonka is a big lake that stretches across 12 miles. The eastern tip of the lake is about 10 miles from downtown Minneapolis. I live about in the center but since the lake is a connection of many bays my drive is meandering 21 miles to downtown. I don't live on the lake shore but am in a spit of land that has lake both west and east and I keep a pontoon boat at the city docks a block away. I think about 14 small communities dot the lake. It is still kind of a resort feeling in a metro area and we are blessed with two pork tenderloin sandwich serving restaurants close by.

I couldn't begin to guess how many boats are on the lake other than to say it can be a zoo on the weekends. We have huge party boats that ply the lake down to personal water craft. Sail boats abound mostly on the lower lake end near Wayzata and Deephaven. Bass boats are everywhere darting across the lake with 200 hp looking for the perfect fish hole. There are quite a few wooden boats like your friend's on the lake. Every summer there is a classic wooden boat show in Excelsior.

They are probably doing a reduction, some traditional reductions can take three days.

Found another Breaded Pork Tenderloin Sandwich today at a place called Grain Belt Grill House in downtown Gilbert, AZ.

http://www.grainbeltgrillhouse.com/

The place recently opened and touts fresh, midwestern cooking in an upscale atmosphere. I figured they must have a BPTS and the street tent confirmed my suspicions...



I sat down at the bar and took a look at the menu, even though I knew what I was going there for. The lady next to me happened to be the owner's mother, so I got plenty of info about the restaurant and the owners themselves of course.

I ordered the Tenderloin Sandwich and shortly thereeafter this beauty arrived.




Now, I can't imagine going into a restaurant in Indiana or Iowa and recieving such a "fancy" sandwich, this had Hash House a-Go-Go written all over it, just not as big.

The taste was excellent, the meat being very juicy and the exterior with just a bit of crunch. The good sized portion was served with lettuce, tomato, pickle wedge and something called BBQ mayo, which actually worked pretty well on the sandwich.

In the meantime, the guy next to me ordered the Rueben, and I must say I was a bit food jealous, as it looked pretty darn good as well.

Overall, it is worth a visit, the $10.95 price tag on the sandwich was a bit hard to swallow, but it was indeed a quality sandwich, so no huge complaints there.

I hope they do well, that location has had three other restaurants in it before this one, but if the food will decide how well it does they should do OK.

DD

Dog, Nice looking sandwich. I see they opened in January. Trying to appeal to the snowbirds and transplants from the heartland I imagine.

Do they also serve Grainbelt beer? Grainbelt beer was an old time Minneapolis brand and just about the only beer you could get in the rural farm country of southern Minnesota. It had a loyal following. The Grainbelt Brewery on the Mississippi River in Northeast Minneapolis closed down years ago, stood empty and was finally remodeled into off space by and for RSP Architects. The brand name is now owned by August Schell Brewery in New Ulm, MN and is still marketed now as a more upscale brew.

quote:

Originally posted by Davydd


Do they also serve Grainbelt beer?

I wondered that myself. It was not on tap and I meant to ask if they had it in bottle, but my attention was diverted to the sandwich and conversation and it slipped my mind.

I'll be going back soon to try a couple other things that caught my eye on the menu, so I'll check then.

Today I walked over to Peter's Grill in downtown Minneapolis for lunch. To my surprise the special was the breaded pork tenderloin sandwich with lettuce and pickle, cabbage salad and French fries for $6.95. I did not have my camera with me so no picture. I asked the owner, Peter Atsidakos, if they were on the permanent menu since I had not seen them before. He said they were special once or twice a week. It will be my luck I'll go back several times and miss them on the days they are not a special.

http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=17368&SearchTerms=peter's+grill

I'm back! My god people let's get off this Philly Cheesesteak, Miricle [sic] whip, fish sandwich craze. Pork tenderloin sandwiches are back baby! And in a big way. For starters we stopped at the Rockwell Inn Restaurant on Highway 6 about 3 miles west of Highway 47 in Morris, IL. Great sandwich. Very interesting place with the original bar from the 1893 Chicago Columbian Exposition World's Fair made for the Anheuser Busch exhibit. Also, the theme and restaurant name owes to Norman Rockwell, the painter. They have a gift shop with Rockwell prints.



2400 West Route 6
Morris, IL 60450
(815) 942-6334
http://www.rockwellinn.net

Th very next day we stopped at Nick's Kitchen in Huntington, IN to confirm after two excellent tenderloins in a row from the Townhouse Supper Club in Wellsburg, IA and the Rockwell Inn that indeed Nick's does have the best. We caught up with three others on their way to the RV.net 4th Annual B Camper Van Rally in Glendale Springs, NC at the Raccoon Holler Campground. Here is the consensus order of five great breaded pork tenderloin sandwiches.

Hey! I'm not finished. We are now in Burke, Virginia. Tonight we found yet another place in Corkie's Grille, McLean, Virginia. Corkie's is a neighborhood restaurant in a small strip center in old McLean on Old Dominion Dr. The owner, Rohit Kapoor, bought this established restaurant 8 months ago and wanted to infuse more neighborhood style. On a trip west and a stop in St. Louis, he discovered this Heartland favorite and added it to his menu. Not bad at all for the greater Washington DC area. It is probably the only breaded pork tenderloin sandwich served in greater DC.



Corkie's Grille
6238 Old Dominion Dr
McLean, VA 22101
703-533-5880

After a roundabout trip to North Carolina and Washington DC we are in Indianapolis for the Indy 500 race. Our first stop was the Bourbon Street Distillery downtown at Vermont Street and Indiana Avenue.



Great place. Great Atmosphere as you can detect from the double deck outdoor seating on a grand evening. The breaded pork tenderloin sandwich ballyhooed by many as the best was just not there. Everything was right about it in condiments, bun, price, size, tenderness, etc. but it was just too greasy. So greasy that it left an unpleasant after taste. Maybe it was a bad night for them. Had it been fried right it could have perhaps had a better rating but it was no where near the last three I had at the Townhouse Supper Club, Rockwell Inn and Nick's Kitchen. Here is the sandwich...



My complete review is here...

http://web.mac.com/davydd/iWeb/Site/Pork%20Tenderloin%20Sandwich%20Blog/2C82D036-998D-4A22-8F8F-22F09310345E.html

Here is a throw in for the record. We stopped at a Frisch's Big Boy for lunch in Xenia, Ohio and I had this for $3.35.

Frisch's uses a fritter....no good at all

quote:

Originally posted by TJ Jackson

Frisch's uses a fritter....no good at all

Now here is a myth buster. The Mug n' Bun in Speedway, IN is a fritter as well.Note the perfect roundness of the sandwich. So people can stop talking about what used to be.

Hi all I am an old Indiana boy that that left home for the Air Force in 1980 and came back in 1993 to bring a fallen comrade home to his family. The undertaker took me out to lunch an that was the last time I had a Indiana Pork Tenderloin sandwiches. saw the name of Caroline’s “Mighty Fine Foods,” 688 E. Spring hill Road.I think in Terre Haute, IN that makes and ships the patties but I can not find any more infomation about them. If anyone know where I can order some "Authentic Indiana Pork Tenderloin Patties" please let me know! I live in delaware now and the only food the know about is secfood, scrapple, and chicken. So if you can help an old Iniana boy fine a tast of home thank you. n3rsn@starband.net

Found the info below. Maybe you can call them to see if they can ship.

Thanks and good luck!

Kevin

Caroline's Mighty Fine Food
688 E Springhill Dr, Terre Haute, IN 47802
(812) 232-9429

quote:

Originally posted by KOK

Found the info below. Maybe you can call them to see if they can ship.

Thanks and good luck!

Kevin

Caroline's Mighty Fine Food
688 E Springhill Dr, Terre Haute, IN 47802
(812) 232-9429

Shipping tenderloins is a new venture for Caroline's Mighty Fine Food. They will.

My last pork tenderloin on my 2007 tour was at the Indy Grill behind the Northwest Vista stands at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I bought one before the race started because last year they were sold out mid way and I missed out. They are pre-prepared, wrapped in foil and placed in a heated box. The only condiments are on a table you have to put on yourself limited to ketchup, mustard, chopped onions and pickle relish.

Just before the green flag dropped for the start of the race.


The Track Loin as we call them. Indy Grill calls them the Super Tenderloin

This settles it. I absolutely have to order from Caroline's or try to make one myself. Any pointers on condiments and seasoning? I lean toward mustard and LTOP, but less might be more.

Rick Flynn
in hot, sticky Natchitoches

Had to visit Iowa last week & make a trip up to Center Point to Jonesy's.
Man was it worth it, ...
Large Tenderloin & Onion Rings. And the onion inside the crispy rings simply fell apart.

Mmm-mmm, ...,

My wife and I were headed towards Milwaukee on I-65 after a visit with relatives in Cincinnati and stopped at The Trail Tree restaurant just outside of Rensselaer Indiana. I spotted the Indiana pork tenderloin and ordered the 10 oz jumbo which ran $5.99. It was very good, but as you can see unlike those I've had in Iowa, this came dressed with lettuce and tomato along with the standard onions and pickles. My jumbo's bun was a tad dry but the meat was not. My wife's regular version's bun was not.

[img]http://farm1.static.flickr.com/193/528931152_2122e89277.jpg?v=0[/img]

The Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives burgers episode had a pork tenderloin sandwich at the very end. It was served at the XXX Drive-In in West Lafayette. It wasn't breaded and fried, they cooked it on a griddle, but they were with you in spirit.

OK, Rensselaer to West Lafayette. Oh where to stop? The Food Network Channel's Diners, Drive-ins & Dives tonight featured the Triple XXX in West Lafayette. The show featured hamburgers but closed with the Triple XXX pork tenderloin sandwich. They hand flattened it with a maple mallet, dipped it in flour and grilled it instead of deep frying. Anyone had one? No reference to deep frying. I know a lot of restaurants give you the choice.

quote:

Originally posted by Davydd

OK, Rensselaer to West Lafayette. Oh where to stop? The Food Network Channel's Diners, Drive-ins & Dives tonight featured the Triple XXX in West Lafayette. The show featured hamburgers but closed with the Triple XXX pork tenderloin sandwich. They hand flattened it with a maple mallet, dipped it in flour and grilled it instead of deep frying. Anyone had one? No reference to deep frying. I know a lot of restaurants give you the choice.

You know what they say about great minds ...

quote:

Originally posted by desertdog
What is the term used to refer to a group of Breaded Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches??????

Inquiring minds want to know!

"A light appetizer."

The Town House Supper Club in Wellsburg, Iowa just passed 10,000 tenderloins sold since Oct. 18 , 2006. That is over 1250 per month, and it isn't even open every day of the week.

This week we tried another local place in Minnetonka, MN called Snuffy's Malt Shop. http://www.snuffysmaltshop.com/

It is a small local chain with four restaurants in Highland Park (St. Paul), Roseville, Edina and Minnetonka. It's main attractions are burgers and malts. The tenderloin along with a Philly style steak sandwich were specials that may end soon. The tenderloin is not a made on premise one. It was a food service supplied frozen one that I'm sure is of the fast food variety comparable to the Frisch's Big Boy one I posted recently. The malts however were great and served the old fashioned way. The onion rings were good. The patrons were mostly families with very young kids or people born before 1950 it seemed. There were no in betweens while we were there. The theme of the place is 50's nostalgia. Stay tuned. Next week I will show you real 50's nostalgia.

For lunch today we took a short trip on the light rail from downtown Minneapolis to none other than the appropriately named Rail Station Bar & Grill in South Minneapolis to sample their tenderloin. They make a true tenderloin with a spicy breading. Very good and worth the trip.

Last night I re-visited the Minnetonka Drive In on Shoreline Drive along Lake Minnetonka. It is not too far from my home. The Back to the 50's classic auto get together is this weekend at the Minnesota State Fair grounds in St. Paul, MN. Over 11,000 classic cars will swamp the fair grounds. So, I thought it might be a perfect time to visit hearing that local classic car owners rally at the Minnetonka Drive In on Thursday nights.





I have more at my http://www.porktenderloinsandwich.com website blog but now I must prepare for a trip to the north woods near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. I will miss the Back to the 50's show this year but I am well fortified with an excellent tenderloin.