Deano's Place in Rome

Every year I like to save money on my European vacation by visiting places like Moscow, Rome, New London and two places in Iowa named Paris. Deano's was a small town hole-in-the-wall cafe in nearby Lockridge before moving along Highway 34 to the small town of Rome. Its as if all roads lead to Deano's in this tiny town.

Location: 503 S. 3rd St. in Rome (population 113), Henry County in Southeast Iowa.

Directions: Take Highway 34 about seven miles West of Mt Pleasant, and turn north onto a road that turns into 4th St. in Rome, Deano's is a block over to the East.

The Tenderloin: This sandwich was a big enough to fill a to-go bag, and heavy with a thick triangle shaped pork loin inside the soft bun. The breading was a great crunch with just a little seasoning. Parts of the thinner edges of the meat turned a little tough in the cooking process and were a little dry. Most of the sandwich was pull-apart tender. Served with all the fixings, overall 7.4 out of ten.

Price: $4.50 a great value.

Also on the menu: The menu has a drawing of a cow on the front but I forgot to take notes on what else they serve. If I had seen something unusual I probably would have remembered.


Service: I was in during the off hours and went to the counter, then had my order in just a few minutes.
Ambiance: Outside looks as plain as any place I've been to anywhere. This is a large restaurant area with tables and booths and two bulletin boards with all the town news and businesses in one place.


Final Thoughts: I came, I saw, I ate a gigantic tenderloin at a rock bottom price at Deano's Place in Rome. There is only one other place to eat in Rome, so when in Rome, do as the Romans do and eat at Deano's Place.

Elm's Club in Creston

Downtown Creston is a typical regional Iowa town with a big train station and tall buildings like the newly renovated Hotel Iowana. The exterior of The Elms Club gives no hint that any kind of special sandwich lies inside. Walking inside and looking at the menu reminds the visitor that this was a 3rd place winner in a 2003 IPPA Breaded Tenderloin contest. I had been meaning to make it here earlier. A few years ago I came to this place on a Friday night only to find it was a bike night and the kitchen was closed with a bbq smoker selling pulled pork sandwiches outside.


Location: 108 North Elm Street Creston, Union County, south and west of Des Moines.


Directions: The Elms Club is on Elm St in the old downtown area of Creston, north of the railroad tracks and Amtrack Station. Follow the signs from the highway to find the business district.

Online at: A facebook page is HERE.
The Tenderloin: The thick and slightly seasoned batter made several crunchy knots on several edges of the tenderloin. Delicious looking golden brown outside lead to bright white pork inside. The whole sandwich felt heavy, but not too big for small appetites. The juiciness and thick white meat was tasty and just tender enough. This is a good one. Overall 9.0 out of ten.

Price: $4.25, an exceptional value.

Also on the menu: the usual bar food and fried stuff with burgers and chicken fried steak.

Service: Its bar service and the place gets busy for Karaoke and other events.

Ambiance: This is a darkly lit bar with tables, booths, and a counter for seating. The light comes from beer signs and flatscreen televisions. Taking pictures inside the bar were impossible, and most of my photos didn't get the color quite right.

Final Thoughts: The Elms Club in Creston is a low key small town bar with a very good battered tenderloin. Its as the sign reads: Drinks, Food, Pool.

D & S Grocery in Melcher-Dallas

This post is titled D & S Grocery in Melcher-Dallas, but the tenderloins are supplied by Northcote Meats, a locker located next door. Northcote Meats handmakes these in their locker, and supplies restaurants in the area. Many tenderloin places get their meat supplied from a local locker, some have their pork loins cut there. An award winning tenderloin restaurant may even have their supplier tenderize the loins after having cut and trimmed off site. Northcote is not some giant food processor, its just a small locker employing locals in Melcher-Dallas and specializing in tenderloins.

Location: 104 SE Main in Melcher-Dallas, Marion County, Central Iowa about 35 miles Southeast of Des Moines.

Directions: Take County HWY S45 about nine miles south from the Highway 5 and Highway 92 intersection south of Pleasantville on the road to Knoxville.

Online at: Northcote Meats has a website HERE.
The Bigfoot Tenderloin: I am pretty sure I've eaten these before at more than one place in the area around Melcher-Dallas. The shape was nearly a perfect oval from above, although one side was slightly thicker than the other. The meat felt like seven ounces or more when lifting the sandwich. The meat was a bit on the thin and gray side, but felt like it was from one piece of meat. The texture of the breading had a good crunch, but with no seasoning or spices in the mix. The whole thing felt like it needed all the fixings plus ketchup and mustard to make it taste alright.

Price: $5.50
Also on the menu: There is a smaller tenderloin, tons of fried stuff and burgers. The rural Iowa versions of Mexican fluffy tacos and nachos seemed popular with the locals.


Service: The D & S Grocery has two ladies working the counter with another in the kitchen area, food taken to your table when its ready. Northcote next door will process your pork, beef, or deer.
Ambiance: This is a small town grocery and fast food stop which had a flow of locals in the small dining area.
Final Thoughts: My trip to Melcher-Dallas to check this out didn't change my mind about these things. They only seem fit for places that can't make one on site or don't have the combination of time, trained labor, or other things necessary to make a good tenderloin. This The Bigfoot is better than some tenderloins at places that don't make one right, and I guess its preferable to any other premade tenderloin I've found.

Al's Blue Toad in Cedar Rapids

Driving down the main street of the Little Bohemia neighborhood in Cedar Rapids brings a visitor past several small businesses with signs in Czech. I never got around to trying any tenderloins here before the big flood came through. Over the years since 2008 many businesses have reopened, while others have decided to make major changes or move on. The owner of the old Zindrick's Restaurant used the time after the flood to reorganize and remake the restaurant. The space is now home to both the Blue Toad, and the adjacent space is now the Red Frog operated by his sister.

Location: 86 16th Ave. SW in the Czech Village area of Cedar Rapids.

Directions: The closest exit from 380 is at Wilson Ave, I think there are signs pointing the way to the Czech Village area.

Online at: website is here.

The Tenderloin: Described on the menu as the Cajun Breaded Tenderloin. It felt like they took and regular tenderloin and tossed it in a mix of cajun seasonings. It tasted like a lot of salt on the outside of the breading. The white pork meat had been pounded into a butterfly shape visible in the pictures. Edges of the sandwich easily tore off the center and felt soft while chewing. The seasoning overpowered the breading but had some great spiciness, the Cajun mayo was good for the thick cut fries. Served with all the fixins on a soft toasted bun. Overall 8.2 out of ten.

Price: $8.55 with fries and slaw.

Also on the menu: Czech stuff including roasted pork loin, goulash, or chicken paprika. Along with bar foods like burgers, sandwiches and salads.


Service: It was table service with a bar area that looked busy.

Ambiance: Its a modern bar restaurant with flatscreen televisions and tables or booths for seating. Beer signs illuminate the blue interior along with natural light.

Final Thoughts: I had only visited the Czech Village a couple times prior to the flood, so I can't say whether the places reopening here restore the neighborhood to what it once was. The Little Bohemia district was once a neighborhood with small businesses catering to people living nearby. Today it is a destination for people from other parts of Cedar Rapids or the Eastern Iowa Corridor. My next stop in this area will be Little Bohemia Bar, a place whose kitchen has slowly expanded its selections since reopening a year ago and is serving a tenderloin once again.

Wellmans Pub on Ingersoll and the Fatboy Tenderloin

Wellmans Pub is a neighborhood bar that has been on Ingersoll for as long as I can remember. I could have sworn I came here once for a special Garlic Chicken Pizza when this place was a little different. The people who own this place operate a few other bars, and I think they changed chefs and started a new menu here recently. Wellman's Pub on Ingersoll is related to Wellman's Pub & Rooftop, the trendy dance club and singles bar in West Des Moines.


Location: 2920 Ingersoll Ave. in Des Moines


Directions: Its right on Ingersoll Ave under the big sign.


The Fatboy Tenderloin: I can't remember the menu description but this thing came out sd a tenderloin with a layer of sliced ham, two slices of cheese and a pile of onion rings on top. There was a small container with what seemed like a special sauce for the onion rings. The tenderloin underneath it all felt like a good eight ounces, and was pounded out into a butterfly shape. The breading tasted like regular bread crumbs without seasoning. The onion rings, combined with sliced red onions on top meant lots of onion taste in this sandwich. Served with all the fixings on a toasted bun.

Price: $9.99 with a side, the Sweet Potato Fries in the pictures were a dollar extra. Still a good value for so much food.
Also on the menu: There is a Cajun seasoned tenderloin, as well as burgers, salads and other stuff.


Service: I came by during the off hours and there were more servers than people. I think the patio are gets filled during the summer.
Ambiance: I could have sworn this place was renovated at some point not too long ago. The old sports stuff seemed to have moved, it was more exposed woodwork in booths with a full bar and patio seating in warm weather.

Final Thoughts: Does this sandwich make any sense on any level? A tenderloin topped with ham, cheese and onion rings? I like having a tenderloin available on Ingersoll more than just about anybody else, but I think I will stick with a regular size sandwich next time.

Bluebird Diner in Iowa City

While cruising through restaurant websites looking for places to try, this diner in Iowa City reminded me of a place I had visited earlier in Waterloo. Bluebird Diner has a mission to serve homemade comfort food made with fresh and locally sourced ingredients whenever possible. Between this place and Newton's Paradise Cafe in Waterloo, Eastern Iowa seems to have a couple of better, new, retro self-styled "diners" than any of the new diners I have found in Central Iowa.

Location: 330 East Market Street in Iowa City, Eastern Iowa.

Directions: Its across the street from Johns Grocery on the north side of downtown Iowa City.

Online at: their website is HERE.


The Tenderloin: In the dim light that made my photos turn out bad, the sandwich had a medium size and shape that was between a mitten and the triangular loin cut. The white meat was cut with the grain and didn't feel like it had been tenderized. There was a good cracker crunch and just a little seasoning in the breading. The whole thing just wasn't tender enough. Served with all the fixings on a soft toasted bun. Overall 7.1 out of ten.

Price: $8.75 with a side, also available grilled or blackened. They gave me a mountain of lightly seasoned fries with my sandwich.

Also on the menu: Comfort food including a full breakfast menu with burgers, sandwiches and daily specials for dinner.

I sat right in front of the Cinnamon Rolls, and figured they were worth taking a picture:
Service: It looked like two student waitresses and a cook when I visited during the off-hours. The receipt included cute phrases like "It was our tweet to serve you" and "have a pheasant day!"

Ambiance: I think this building was a paint store when I went to school in Iowa City long time ago. The exterior was designed to resemble Edward Hopper's 1942 painting Nighthawks, my camera couldn't really capture the dark light after the sun went down. The diner in Nighthawks has no door, but the Bluebird has a door with a curtain inside.

Final Thoughts: I would come back to this place to try the breakfast items that sound good like the Biscuits & Gravy or the Egg Omelet choices. I haven't spent enough time trying tenderloins in Iowa City since I last wrote up Midtown Family Restaurant a couple years ago. My list of places to check includes Hamburg Inn No.2, Shakespeare's Pub, and a long list of small town cafe's in the area.

Roadside Inn Martensdale & the Famous Giant Loin

My travels around Iowa eating sandwiches has taught me that many places claiming to have a "famous" sandwich are in towns a little more famous for something else. According to their menu, this tenderloin was mentioned by a host on WHO Radio as being the best in Iowa. Martensdale has recently become locally famous for Martensdale-St. Mary's High School and their prolific baseball team which has won over eighty games in a row in a streak still going as this blog post goes to print.

Location: 325 N Highway 28 in Martensdale, about ten miles south of Des Moines in Warren County.

Directions: Take the HWY 92 Bevington exit East from I-35, or Highway 28 south from Norwalk. Look for the giant signage, but ask the hostess "Is this The Roadside Inn?" upon entering just to make sure.


The "Famous Giant Loin": This thing was huge, it cam out on a plate covering both parts of the bun and the side of french fries. I could taste some seasoning salt and black pepper in the breading which stuck to the meat well but never had any crunch. The pork had good juiciness and was moist even at the edges that stuck out beyond the center. The fat hadn't been completely trimmed they way I like it. Served with your choice of fixings on a flour-dusted bun. Overall 8.2 out of ten.

Price: $9.49 for 1 Giant Loin with not one but two sides:
Also on the menu: Huge menu with broasted chicken, steaks, ribs, sandwiches, salads, hand dipped onion rings, and more that I didn't write down.

Service: Its table service in the dining area, or counter service at the bar.


Ambiance: This is an old building renovated a few years ago. There is a dining area with booths and a bar area with seats and a counter. The decorations are mostly for local sports teams.
Final Thoughts: The Roadside Inn is a classic Iowa side of the highway roadhouse with gravel parking lot and lettering that can be seen from outer space. Its closer to Des Moines than most of the other roadhouses I have made it to for giant tenderloins, less than ten miles down the road from the main street in Norwalk. I don't think this sandwich is more famous the the MSM baseball team, but I think the small community is happy with both.