Pork Tenderloins

CajunKing


I love the "GNAW MART"

 
A very thick and meaty BPT.  When I was a kid in Muncie BPT meant Burkie's which were the opposite, pounded very thin. 

This is MESSED UP
 
The Indiana Foodways Alliance does not include
 
NICK'S Kitchen
or
Mr Dave's
 
in either of their 2 Pork breaded tenderloin trails
 
AHHHH now i see, you have to be a IFA member to be included  what BS 
 

Pork Tenderloins, getting a lot of Super Bowl press this week!

desertdog

The Kansas City Star talked about this place, I did a word search and haven't turned up anything on this site about it. Anyone eaten there?
Christy’s Tasty Queen
More tenderloin than bun
By 11 a.m. Victoria Fieber has already breaded 100 pork loins. Dips into a concoction of milk and water alternate with her fist-pounding the meat into three types of breading.
For 25 years, this has been the morning ritual at Christy’s Tasty Queen in Kansas City, Kan.
“We hand-bread them every single day,” says owner Marla Christy. “It’s quite a process, but that’s the reason they’re so good — we put a lot of TLC into them.”
Sure, the restaurant offers more than 70 other items, including chili dogs, fried cauliflower and blackberry shakes. But it’s the tenderloins, Christy says, that put her small business on the map.
Or, more accurately, all over the map.
“We ship them all over,” she says, citing Pennsylvania and Hawaii as examples. Then there’s the woman who sends a package to Texas for her son, his only request for birthdays and Christmas.
These regular customers — families, employees at nearby Turner Elementary School and industrial workers from the nearby Kansas 32 corridor — are what Christy says keep the eatery in business. Even when shops close or kids grow up, regulars make their way back, placing orders to eat in or take home.
Larry Fowler of Kansas City, Kan., is one such loyalist.
“I used to skip school to come here,” he recalls. “I’ve tried many a tenderloin in Kansas City and out of town.”
Christy’s, he says, are the best. And apparently the biggest.
“I have a picture at home in my garage of the biggest one I’ve had,” Fowler says.
Working the line, Marla Christy says she has looked to no avail for bigger buns. As it stands now, the tenderloins often overflow more than 3 inches — on either side of the bun.
The “secret” breading recipe came from a previous owner of the first restaurant Marla and her husband, Lowell, owned in their hometown, Windsor, Mo. For eight years while he worked full time and she part time in Kansas City, their parents ran that business, a drive-in. The Christys brought their three children down every weekend, both to relieve their folks and to serve the bustling lake traffic.
"Everyone kept asking me, ‘Why don’t you bring these to Kansas City?’#8194;” Marla remembers. So when a KCK neighbor put Carter’s Tasty Queen up for sale in 1983, the couple jumped at the chance to earn the money to put their kids through college.
Their children are long grown and have jobs of their own now — “I think we burned them out,” Marla jokes at the possibility one might take over — but the two still forfeit any vacation longer than a three-day weekend to keep the place running.
It’s a good thing, too, because by 11:30 a.m., a line stretches outside the entryway and onto the sidewalk, just under the “KC’s Best Tenderloin” sign.
If you go: Mondays, the special is a pork tenderloin sandwich and fries for $6.20.

I am pleased to say we had the opportunity to eat at Christy's during our annual Holiday visit to KC.  I'd never heard of the place, but my BIL, who works for the federal gubbmint on the Kansas side, was very familiar and took us there for lunch.
 
First off, the tenderloin.  Just an excellent piece of meat, pounded out to about the size of a small dinner plate, but not exceptionally thin like some inferior BPTs I've had.  This was at least 3/8" to 1/2" thick; maybe thicker in some places.  The breading was light and crunchy with no oily taste at all.  Like all BPT's, Christy's is much larger than the bun, and a real challenge to eat.  Mrs. Roadhouse rose to the occasion with a brilliant (at least to me) solution: She took the tenderloin and folded it in half, still overlapping the bun, but much more manageable, and of course, creating a thicker sandwich.  Now, some of you may have already figured this out.  But for me this was a revelation.  I've always eaten around the edges, working my into the bun, eagerly awaiting the moment when I get to the condiments and the full combination of flavors that come together in the middle.  The simple act of folding a BPT has changed my life and I can hardly wait until my next experience.
 
Christy's does have some "downfalls".  The BPT is so big, there is no reason to order a side of fries.  Maybe not a big downfall for some, but for French Fry lovers, this presents an obstacle.  I suppose if you go with a group, you can get one order and share.
 
Also, there's no indoor seating at Christy's.  There's a handful of picnic tables in an adjoining grove, but dining alfresco in the winter months can be dicey.  We were visiting during a particularly mild winter and sat out there.  it wasn't bone jarringly cold, but I was damn happy we finished eating when we did so I could get back into the relative warmth of our car.
 
All in all, a top notch experience.  I highly recommend Christy's to anyone living in or visiting the greater Kansas City area.  Just dress warm if you're going between November and March.
 
Buddy
 
Christy's Tasty Queen
1405 S. 55th St.
 Kansas City, KS 6610
(913) 287-2800
http://www.kansastravel.o...christystastyqueen.htm

 
A food truck in Chicago named Schnitzel King is selling a pork schnitzel sandwich "Chicago style" with peppers and onions along with Czech potato salad and cookies. I think Chicago food trucks aren't allowed to cook to order, but the sandwich looks good:
 
 
This is the photo from their facebook page:

Sorry I'm late.  I've been eating IN tenderloins for 50 years, live in Indy, just up the road from Davydd's Speedway haunts.  I have several on my ToDo list that have been mentioned here -- Gnaw Bone, Coachman, Pawn Shop, Plump's.  I've had a Nick's, thought it was a bit overhyped, but enjoyed it thoroughly and it certainly was worth the road trip to Huntington.
My top 4 (so far) are
   Friendly's Tavern - Zionsville
   Muldoon's - Carmel
   Nickel Plate - Fishers
   Sahm's - Fishers
...But... I still have a lot of BPTs to try.
 

IndianaPete,
 
Welcome to the group and Roadfood.com. I haven't been to Friendly's yet. Last time in Zionsville we opted for the oddly named Carolina Grill. I have a tenderloin named after me every year the Friday before the race at Grindstone Charley's in the Speedway Shopping Center but the best in that area are Dawsons on Main in Speedway and Green Street in Brownsburg, IMO. There are a lot of good tenderloins about and around Indianapolis.

Today on NPR's Splendid Table the Sterns talked about Iowa tenderloins and mentioned the Red Barn in Xira, IA. Jane Stern made a comment that she did not think tenderloins were always so huge and that competition might have driven them to the oversize they are today. I doubt that. Yes, there is a certain pride in size but like IndianaPete I go back long before 50 years ago and remember them always being oversize. I think that is just the nature of pounding out a piece of pork loin to create them. They just can't be small unless you wastefully trim them.

IndianaPete - Have you tried the Gaslight Inn in Indy for BPT's ?
Rick Garrett (of All Tenderloins, All The time ) gives high praise for
them and I'm interested in trying one the next timw I'm in Indy - probably this spring.
http://breadedtenderloin.wordpress.com/

Nobody has had more tenderloins in Indiana than Rick Garrett and nobody has had more tenderloins in Iowa than TRZHotel here on this board. Both have their respective blogs where they review them. I haven't found anyone that has taken up the Illinois mantle.

I have not been to Gaslight.
I have fairly thoroughly read the TenderloinsAlltheTime blog and like to try some of Rick's recommendations.  However, he has misled me on a few occasions, so I decide for myself.  For example, Jimmy B's is one of his top 3, but I didn't care for the double breading.  If they don't toast his bun he gets annoyed.  I found a piece of gristle in a Sahm's BPT, the only time I ever have, but it's still one of my top 4. But he's the expert, I'm just a guy who likes to eat 'em.  Difference of opinion is what makes the world go round.  I still read his stuff.
 
Here are a few others I've sampled that I consider next tier, not the very best in Indy, but worth the drive if you're in town --  MugnBun, Edwards Drive-In (both worth it just for the root beer), Nick's Chili, John's Famous Stew.
 
If I think of some others, I'll pass 'em along.  Good to be here with BPT enthusiasts.
 
I sometimes find myself down toward Naples and may stop in on that Hoosier ex-pat down there to try one of his.  Also I'm a Philly Cheesesteak enthusiast.  The best one I've found outside Philly is Alpine Steakhouse in Sarasota.  They "import" their rolls from Philly.
 
EDIT:  I'll try to get down to Gaslight in the next week or two.  I'm overdue for a winter trip to the Garfield Conservatory which is in the vicinity.  I'll post a review. 

I agree with Pete on all his tenderloin restaurants.  By a slight margin, Muldoons in Carmel have my favorite. 

The BPT @ Muldoon's is exceedingly tender.  I don't know how they do it.  You almost wish it had a little more chewiness to it.  On the other side of the scale is Nickel Plate (I've only had one there) which has a very chewy BPT.  You first think this is too chewy, but then you realize it's the thickness of the meat that is the "culprit." 

Thickness of the meat is not the "culprit" for chewiness. It is more prep and quality of meat. I've had very tender thick cuts of pork tenderloin. There is a limit to thickness and that is a balance of fry time and temperature to evenly deep-fry completely through without burning the breading or getting it too dry. That limit is about 3/8", IMO based on sampling experience.

We took our first RV trip this season and drove down to Van Buren, Missouri in the heart of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways on our way to a Class B Social rally with others from Wisconsin, New Jersey, Missouri, Texas, Illinois, Wisconsin, Arizona, Kansas, Ohio and Minnesota.

On our way we stopped at Smitty's Tenderloin Shop in Des Moines, Iowa and tried their tenderloin. Smitty's would be be described as an "Iowa Skinny". The Iowa skinny's meat is pounded very thin usually less than a 1/4" thick and is fried with a more finely textured breading. When bitten into it is rather crispy and is generally drier than most other tenderloins. This is an oft mentioned Iowa favorite but it has never won an award from the Iowa Pork Producers Association.



Our next stop was the Jolly Cone in Van Buren, Missouri. It is a walk-up to a counter with outdoor seating and primarily an ice cream shop. They served what would be better termed a fritter of constituted pork. Nevertheless the taste was fine. I'd put it a notch above the fritter served at the Mug n' Bun in Speedway, Indiana.



On our way back north we detoured to Bonnots Mill, Missouri near Jefferson City to seek out the Missouri Pork Board's 2009 best breaded pork tenderloin sandwich at Johnny Mac's Bar and Grill. Bonnots Mill is a small town at the terminus of a dead end road of about 8 miles on the Osage River. You are not going to just pass by it on the way somewhere. We tried to stop on our way down but found they were only open Thursday through Saturday from 3 PM and on. This time we timed it to arrive right at 3 PM on Thursday. The sandwich was a deserving winner - thick, moist and tender. Missouri holds no back seat to Iowa, Illinois and Indiana. Note the Indianapolis 500 banner on the wall.



Finally we stopped in La Crosse, Wisconsin. We went to Rudy's Drive-in in La Crosse. Rudy's is an old fashion 50s style drive-in complete with carhops in pink poodle skirts delivering your window tray while on roller skates. That's the experience. Unlike similar drive-in restaurants this tenderloin was a true tenderloin and above average. Not a fritter. Rudy's is an inexpensive stop and a favorite place to take our grandsons.



This was our first trip of the season and just a warmup. Our main tenderloin tour trip is next month where we are heading to Washington, DC and back through Indianapolis for the Indy 500. If our schedule clicks we could end up sampling tenderloins in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Virginia, and an outside possibility in Ohio. Definitely Indiana.