Angle Inn in Walford

I drove past this humble pub'n grub on a cold night earlier this year. It was named honorable mention in the 2009 IPPA Best Pork Tenderloin in Iowa contest. For such a sizable town, there doesn't seem to be any other operating restaurants according to google maps. The one place that is open here serves up some tasty fried food, and the award-winning tenderloin. My camera just wasn't working right on this night, but the tenderloin was too good to forget.

Location: The address is listed as 505 US 151 Walford, population 1,200 in Eastern Iowa.

Directions: This is just southwest of town on the surprisingly busy road connecting Cedar Rapids and Amana.

The Tenderloin: First off, this thing is huge. The other patrons tell me that each tenderloin has a different shape, and this one was a little bit thinner and wider than what is usual for the Angle Inn. The meat was a little on the dark grey side, and was soft in even the thinnest parts. This one was pounded so much that holes were present in the middle. There was enough flavour in the breading to keep it interesting. The small bun just wasn't useful here. Overall 8.0 out of ten.

Price: $4.49, an incredible value.

Also on the menu: The usual fried stuff, pizza, and burgers with The Angle Inn Burger as the specialty.

Service: I ate at the counter, surrounded by regulars who made a lot of conversation with the bartender.

Ambiance: This is a pub and grub that caters to racing fans, with beer posters and a pool table. The lights were dim and my photos turned out bad, really bad.

Final Thoughts: The Angle Inn had a brief moment of fame when it lead a "Fight for Freedom" against the 2008 Iowa Smoke Free Air Act. Small town bars across the state were frustrated by the legislation, but few took their protests to the point of civil disobedience. The Angle Inn eventually went smoke free. Its hard to quantify the effects of the ban on many small town bars and restaurants that are desperate for business. Although it has made trips to once-smoky bars more enjoyable for me in the past two years.