Pork Tenderloins

I've been reading about the food truck trend, and some of the more prolific/marketing savvy food trucks serve something resembling a BPT. In addition to Tabor in Portland, there is
 
Hummingbird in Evanston IL serves a Pork Milanese sandwich, not listed on the website menu but included on reviews and pictures.
http://hummingbirdkitchen.com/
 
Tender Land in Austin serves a BPT made by some former Iowans, no proper website but 78 reviews on yelp.
http://www.facebook.com/p...erland/171942386165688
 
Schnitzel & Things in NYC has won local awards and opened a traditional restaurant space. Its pork schnitzel looks like a BPT without a bun, and their deep-fried breaded hamburger strongly resembles what people in Iowa call a Pizza Burger.
http://schnitzelandthings.com/
 
I'm sure there are more out there, including Mexican trucks serving a Cemita Milanesa or something more exotic. This places are in the middle of major cities with little exposure to BPT's, i hope they continue to be successful.

These places that serve breaded pork Schnitzel need to learn about buns and the Lettuce, Tomato, Onion, Pickle, Mayo quadrilogy.  They'd be on this list in no time at all.

The tenderloin sandwich in Gnaw Bone, Indiana, has returned.  For those not familiar with it, Gnaw Bone is a wide place in the road on Indiana Route 46 between Columbus and Nashville.  A gas station/convenience store there (Gnaw Bone Food and Fuel) was famed for its pork tenderloin sandwiches until it closed 3 or 4 years ago.
 
The following is from an article in the March/April, 2011 edition of the magazine "Our Brown County":
 
The Gnaw Bone tenderloin is back, and, I was reliably informed by my able researcher, it was bigger and better than ever.  “It’s The Original Gnaw Bone Tenderloin,” she insisted.
 
“They all say that.  What do you expect them to say?” I asked sardonically.  “It’s the original guy in the original place.”

Here's a link to the complete article:
 
http://www.ourbrowncounty.com/0311s5.htm
 
I was going to meet a friend of mine at The Tamale Place in Indy in a couple of weeks but now I'm suggesting that maybe we should stop here instead.
 
Brad

The original Gnaw Bone tenderloin just before it closed was a broasted, not deep-fried tenderloin. It was not an overly large tenderloin. It tasted fine and was worthy of the pursuit in Brown County but there are dozens of better in Indiana. Gnaw Bone built a mystique because it got written up in the national press from politicians campaigning there. That, the name obviously and the fact the original was sold out of a gas station. Here is a photo of it. It does not look too much different than the one in the article.

 

Didn't want to read through 35 pages again, but thanks to whomever suggested Suzie Q in Mason City, Iowa. I ate their on my way to Minnesota last month, and they had the best tenderloin I've ever had.

Bonk,
 
I wrote about the Suzie Q more extensively in this thread on the start of a two week RV trip from Minnesota to Louisiana with a first stop at the Suzie Q. I've been there a couple of times now.
 
Elvis, Cajun, Crawfish and Alligators - A two week RV Tour

This weekend I enjoyed what is possibly the best BPT I have ever tasted. While visiting the Tippecanoe battlefield museum outside Lafayette, IN, I asked the folks there if there was a local restaurant anywhere near, and they recommended the Eye Opener Cafe in the tiny town of Battle Ground, less than a mile northeast of there. The place was full of locals, normally a good sign. When the server took my order for the BPT to the kitchen, the cook went to the cooler, pulled out a chunk of pork loin, and pounded it out to about 3/8" thickness, lightly seasoned/breaded it and fried it - OMG.
Nice crisp coating, no taste of grease/oil, the seasoning was just a touch of salt and pepper, what I tasted was the meat. Incredibly good.
They don't have a website and I did not have a camera with me so sorry, no pics, but if you are in that vicinity, the place is worth a stop. 103 North St, Battle Ground, IN.

I've now got two definite trips to Indiana next year. In May of course for the Indy 500 and then again in August. It is not too early to start making a potential list.
 
I'll be passing through Iowa next month on the way to Texas so may have to plan a stop there.

Davydd


I've now got two definite trips to Indiana next year. In May of course for the Indy 500 and then again in August. It is not too early to start making a potential list.

I'll be passing through Iowa next month on the way to Texas so may have to plan a stop there.

 
Davydd
 
That list could be a very LONGGGG one.

I from Western Wisconsin and live along the banks of the Mississippi River in La Crosse. I and my friends ride our motorcycles to all the tenderloin cafes,bars and restaurant within 100 miles. There at leased 30 plus places to visited thats has great tenderloins.
Here's a website where you can check just about all of Iowa's tenderloin places.
des-loines.blogspot.com
You will see the years posted on the right side, open them up. You cannot believe your eyes when you see the size of some of these sandwiches.
 St. Olaf Tap in St.Olaf has the largest in Iowa and maybe the United States,  32 ounces. I have eaten there 16 ounce but didn't eat breakfast before going there.
The best I have had is Scheras in Elkader, I told him to enter the Iowa Pork Tenderloin contest.
They have a contest every year to see who's is the best. People go around and never tell them when they're coming. I talked to one of the winners and he said it could 1 to 2 people and up to 5.
This is a great site, enjoy the pictures
 

Birdhunter,
 
In La Crosse, WI Rudy's Drive-in and the Arterial Tavern serve a BPT. Do you know of other places in and around La Crosse? The Iowa places have been well reported here already in this thread from the des loines blogger himself, a frequent contributor.

CajunKing

Davydd


I've now got two definite trips to Indiana next year. In May of course for the Indy 500 and then again in August. It is not too early to start making a potential list.

I'll be passing through Iowa next month on the way to Texas so may have to plan a stop there.

Davydd

That list could be a very LONGGGG one.

Not really. I'm filling in around the edges. I think I have already visited hopefully the best of the best with over 30 different BPT restaurant visits in Indiana in the past 6 years. When I can I always try to make time for Nick's Kitchen. I've got just a few popular and known gems to go but I am more interested in the unreported.

Susie's Kitchen in Stanton Iowa is run by a woman who does things her way. The place is known for Swedish Pancakes, but serves a unique twist on the old BPT:




The mysterious bright white tenderloin is revealed to be a thin cut of pork loin breaded then tossed on a flat top grill. No oil is used in the making of this BPT. This defies the conventional wisdom that a BPT must be golden brown in order to be delicious.

Last Wednesday while traveling I had a chance to eat 2 pork tenderloins: 1 at Bemer's Village Inn in Spring Bay, Illinois and 1 at the Canyon Inn in Indiana's McCormick's Creek State Park.
 
I met fellow RFer 6star for lunch at the Village Inn, which is a typical bar & restaurant common to small towns.


 
6star had warned me that the tenderloin would be large but I had no idea it would be like this!


 
Although it had quite the diameter the tenderloin itself was thin, and I believe some might classify it as a fritter.  The breading was fairly light and not too thick and I enjoyed my half of the sandwich, which I ate by cutting it down to fit the bun and then eating the trimmings separately.

 
 
Later that day I reached McCormick's Creek and the Canyon Inn.

 
I didn't ask but the crunchiness of the BPT coating led me to believe it might contain something like crushed crackers, corn flakes, or potato chips.

 
It was definitely thicker and pretty good, but just a touch on the greasy side (perhaps hotter frying oil would've helped).  Also, it seemed like there was a small piece of sinew so maybe a piece of silverskin escaped the trimming process or the piece was originally cut from fore or aft of the true tenderloin, but I didn't consider it to be a tragedy.

 
Brad

I haven't been to McCormicks Creek State Park in over 50 years now. It had to be my Junior Prom day after picnic.

Ruby's is not good, over cooked and it comes frozen not home made. Had it once, never again. There coney dogs are awful.
Arterial Tavern has good food but never tried there's. I only have there coney dogs when I go there, I'm a coney dog nut, there sauce is the best, and it's not out of can.
When I winter in Florida, I look for good coney dog places to eat at. I asked if the bums are streamed with the dog in and if the sauce is home made if not, I leave.

Birdhunter


Ruby's is not good, over cooked and it comes frozen not home made. Had it once, never again. There coney dogs are awful.
Arterial Tavern has good food but never tried there's. I only have there coney dogs when I go there, I'm a coney dog nut, there sauce is the best, and it's not out of can.
When I winter in Florida, I look for good coney dog places to eat at. I asked if the bums are streamed with the dog in and if the sauce is home made if not, I leave.

 
Huh?

 

We just completed our fall 6 week trip that took us down to Texas and then along the Gulf Coast all the way to Key West, Florida before heading back home. These are the pork sandwiches we encountered on the way there and back.

Goldie's Ice Cream Shoppe, Prairie City, IA tenderloin was the 2009 Iowa Pork Producer's best tenderloin sandwich winner. Fried cauliflower is in the background.


The Udder End Cafe, Boonville, MO was the Missouri Pork Association's 2008 best pork tenderloin sandwich winner. The cafe is only open during Tuesday auctions inside the Farmer's Livestock Auction Barn. There is no sign that indicates it is there.


You have to search but you can find tenderloins in Texas. This is not quite a tenderloin but more a deep-fried breaded pork chop sandwich with bone-in that I had a Fugler's Gro, the home of the Bubba Burger.


This is the left over bone after eating the sandwich.


A caterer, Catfish Express out of Marshall, TX was hired to serve at our RV social at Lake 'o the Pines near Marshall, TX. They served primarily a chicken fried steak and catfish buffet style but made up this special breaded pork tenderloin sandwich just for me as a surprise by the social organizer.


The Seaside Bistro in Galveston, TX serves what they call a Schnitzel sandwich. It is a true pork tenderloin sandwich. Texans just don't know what to call it.


Heading over to Florida I had a list of 16 potential restaurants but felt it was better to concentrate on seafood while in Florida so I selectively chose two places. The first was The Mulligan's Pub run by an Indiana University alumnus. The TVs in the background are hint that this is a serious sports bar.


Heading down to Naples, we had this tenderloin at the North Naples Country Club. Surprisingly it was not a true golf country club but an old-time bar and grill right on US Highway 41 run by an expatriate from Illinois. They also serve a tenderloin horseshoe sandwich.


Finally on the way home we stopped at the newly announced 2011 IPPA best pork tenderloin sandwich winner at Gramma's Kitchen in Walcott, IA. Gramma's Kitchen is located at the same I-80 interchange as the world's largest truck stop.

 
They were all good but the best of the bunch was the Udder End Cafe. It not only was the largest but for such a large tenderloin it was also the most tender of all. Being in a farmer's auction barn I am sure they probably were using the best cuts of pork loin one could possibly obtain.

What's the location of Mulligan's?

cavandre


What's the location of Mulligan's?

Riverview, FL near Tampa.
 
The Mulligan's Pub
11375 Big Bend Rd
Riverview, FL 33569
 (813) 672-7347

Very nice, Davydd!  I've eaten at Gramma's Kitchen before but only for breakfast...perhaps I should rethink that when I make my next trip to Iowa.
 
Brad

Last night I thought I would swing by and try a new fast food chicken place just opened, Chicken Delight. I hoped they would have fried chicken by the piece, but no. Instead, I opted for the pork tenderloin sandwich and I was glad I did! Now, you must understand that we don't have to many places offering a pork tenderloin sandwich in my part of the South, so I had somewhat low expectations. They told me the wait would be 3 minutes while they fried the meat fresh - no problem. The sandwich came with a good inch of the hot, breaded tenderloin hanging off BOTH sides of the bun. There were a few dill pickle slices on the sandwich and mustard to get off the condiment bar. The breading was very crunchy, the pork itself juicy and flavorful. Now I know what all the fuss is about! Don't know if I will go back for their chicken, but I will go back again for this sandwich.

After college in Iowa, I never lost the taste for these, but, living in Delaware, they are not locally made. It took  a recent trip to Missouri to recapture the experience

Had a BPT at Suzie Q's about a year ago. Battered in pancake batter and deep fried. Was very browned on the outside...but uncooked closer to the meat. Worst PT I have every had. Was it a bad night?

webean


Had a BPT at Suzie Q's about a year ago. Battered in pancake batter and deep fried. Was very browned on the outside...but uncooked closer to the meat. Worst PT I have every had. Was it a bad night?

I wasat Suzie Q's a little over a year ago too- summer 2010. The "battered" pork tenderloin was certainly different from any other bpt I've had in the past. The owner/cook was certainly very entertaining and engaging. I certainly would have remembered if the meat was uncooked, and other's haven't mentioned it so it sounds like an isolated situation. Overall it was an OK experience, not sure if I would go out of my way to go back if I was ever in the area.
 
So far the best BPT I've had in Iowa was at TC's Point After in Dewitt.

I used to clean carpet for chuck at tcs. Their steak is good. Cold beer. Excelllent place for a town of 5000.  I live bout 30 minutes from there. mmmmmmm I think im gonna make a trip there...

The Suzie-Q in Mason City only recently started doing a dinner shift. I think they have a different person running the show at the later hours. A Des Moines food writer made the drive up there one night, ate the Spic-N-Span and didn't like it, claimed he would never eat another one.
 
Downtown Mason City is really turning around now that all the work by the city is winding down. The Frank Lloyd Wright hotel is just down the street with a big money rehabilitation.

They're back!

 

I love the "GNAW MART"