Wednesday, January 2, 2008

KC BBQ Des Moines

This Eastside restaurant has recently added the Breaded Pork Tenderloin Sandwich to their menu. As you can see by the pictures, they promoted its homemade status. They take their barbecue seriously, and already had one pork sandwich on their menu the last time I visited. KC BBQ has persevered while other small-time barbecue restaurants have had to cut back to catering exclusively.


Location: 205 E. 14th St. Wedged between Arby's and Burger King, east of State of Iowa office buildings and south of Mexican business main street on Grand Ave. This building once contained a Maid-Rite.

The Tenderloin: This was unique in two ways. The first was its cut of pork. The close-up picture shows a very thin cut that appears not to have been pounded by any mallet or tenderizer, you can see a very smooth surface to the pork cut. It is thin, but maintains a tenderness that other thin tenderloins do not. The second unique characteristic is the lightly seasoned breading. There is a hint of pepper that reminds me only of what fried chicken gets dipped in. The breading separates itself from the pork quickly, giving you two different flavors. I took one sandwich home with me and found it had something like a butterfly shape. The thin sandwich made a clear wavy pattern when seen from across. This is served with pickles, ketchup and mustard on a toasted bun. Overall a 7.5
Price: $4.75 with fries in a basket, available in multiple topping varieties for extra charge.


Service: Counter service, if no crowd is around then they will take food to your table.


Also on the Menu: Barbecue favorites like smoked ribs, burnt-ends sandwich, and baked beans.
Ambiance: There is a sizable lunch crowd from the nearby office buildings. Combined with the slow service there will be long lines to order, and you will stand waiting for your number to be called. Some smoke drifts into the dining area, which is brightly lit with generic food posters. Garish window painting colors the light that enters from the storefront. Outdoor picnic tables are covered in snow, and very close to busy street.


Final Thoughts: This was definitely a unique tenderloin. It was both thin and tender, and clearly homemade. The seasoned breading makes it a worthy addition to the Des Moines tenderloin scene. Their 2 for price of 1 coupon compelled me to visit before the end of the year, and I was surprised by the results.

Update 1/4/2009
Since I had last visited this place over a year ago, some things had changed and then changed again. The original owner had sold up, and the new operator was, by many accounts, not the same quality. Since then there has been a fire, a closing for at least a month, and the return of the original owner.

The ambiance is exactly the same, but since the smoking ban this is now the smokiest restaurant in town. I can only guess Edzall has plans to stay in business, he displays his trademarks on the wall. Evidently, nobody else can use the phrase "Wisconsin Dog" while doing business here in Iowa.
In researching an upcoming post about tenderloins at BBQ joints, I had to check out the Big Pig. Its topped with sauced-up pulled pork. The unusual shape of the tenderloin means it is most likely made on-site. The breading sticks to the meat know, not falling off like chicken skin. The tenderloin is not as tender as I remember it. Its still worth trying.



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14 comments:

  1. The food there is terrible ! tenderloins soo thin its cut like paper and who likes bbq sandwiches on whits loaf bread that falls apart. OWNER BOB EDZELL IS WANTED BY CREDITORS AROUND MIDWEST FOR A FAILED BUSSINESS IN OMAHA. HAMMS TENDERLOINS INC.NASTY FOOD

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  2. We'd like to know if the "Chicago dogs" on the menu are REAL CHICAGO DOGS?

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  3. We'd like to know if the Chicago dogs on the menu are REALLY Chicago style. If so, we're in! If not, just another false advertisement. ;)

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  4. Yes the dogs are Vienna Beef from Chicago and they dress them right!
    The tenderloin with smoked pork on top is also great, its called the Big Pig. Next to try is the burndt ends sandwich, it looks great!

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  5. Their tenderloins may have been homemade when they opened, but they are clearly using prefab frozen ones now (you can see the box back by the fryers), and the drop in quality is huge. I don't know about the BBQ quality, but hate when a restaurant lies about a homemade product that isn't!

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  6. I tried the Big Pig tenderloin on 12/20/08. It certainly looked hand breaded & was very much as described by the blogger. The sliced pork on it was delicious and I would go back for this and other items. I'm looking forward to trying the burnt ends sandwich and babyback ribs. My major complaint about the BBQ was there is only one kind of sauce, and it's thin and undistinguished. I'm sure you're supposed to do the 'Q' with a minimum of sauce to get the smoky flavor, but I like variety.

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  7. We have been to KC BBQ several times. Unfortunately the original owner had sold at some point this year and the new ownership cut a lot of corners. Once the fire happened, the original ownership re-opened it and the quality is back. They have the best baked beans I've ever had and we go back regularly for their smoked beef and pork.

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  8. Excellent place. Gets very busy at lunch so be forewarned! Try the Big Pig tenderloin; Its a homemade loin with smoked pork and BBQ sauce topping that! Its very good. I agree with the rating and may infact like it a bit more :)

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  9. Don't see what creditors has to do with anything. Sounds like a personal vendetta. LOVE THE FOOD.... LOVE BOB!!!

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  10. The tenderloins are not frozen, i know that for a fact. i've been in there once when they were being brought it by somebody else. They may be homemade, but not made in the shop. Personally i find the Big Pig to be the best tenderloin sandwich i've eatten.

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  11. Let the truth be told. Onwers Lori and Chris did love the restaurant and wanted to make it work. We did have a fire in June of 08. We were renting a building that was not up to code. The fire was in the exaust fan and the City of Des Moines would not let us reopen until it was fixed correctly. When renting the building from Bob he told us the building was completely up to code. (Boy, we really trusted him!) We did buy the business KC BBQ. We gave Bob our life savings and then some. Bob was not telling us the truth, as you now know. He did not have a permit for the exaust fan and to correct the problem, it would have cost a lot of money which Bob was not willing to help with. As a matter of fact it is still not corrected and does not have a permit. Bob is now dealing with the City Of Des Moines. Bob is running KC BBQ without paying a dime to anyone. He left a message on our phone in Sept. 08 telling us that he was reopening KC BBQ and that the City of Des Moines was not going to stop him and neither was my husband or I. The equipment in the building is not his. It is also to my understanding he continues to tell people how aweful we were. I want everyone to know we loved all of you and we truly miss our customers. We worked very hard at making everyone happy. I can write a lot of negative things about Bob that are facts, but we have decided to give this nightmare to God and move on with our lives. FYI: Tenderloins are NOW frozen!!

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  12. I love the food, the coupons make it silly cheap, but stay away at lunch time, state workers fill the place. It's not as good as the BBQ places that are twice the price, but it's a good food at a good value, I keep going back.

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  13. Excellent food and very nice people. Between 11:30 and 1:00 during the week it gets very busy but obviously that is because its small and a very good place. They have a fairly new sandwich Philly Steak that is very good also the tenderloins are very much homemade. The big pig is the best, with BBQ Sauce and smoked pork on top, mmmm. They also have a new location at 54th and Douglas in Des Moines that has more room and serves the same food.

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  14. I live right down the street it is the bomb bbq, eat there at least twice a month who cares about debt. Thats Bobs buisness not ours. I'm just glad they opened bck up so I can eat there again !!!!

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