Breitbach's Country Dining in Balltown, Iowa

How many restaurants can claim they won an IPPA Best Tenderloin Award and its just a footnote to their history? Breitbach's has a legend which has developed over time after multiple fires have leveled the building. In 2009 Breitbach's was named an American Classic by the James Beard Foundation. Breitbach's is also featured in a recent documentary titles Spinning Plates, alongside Alinea Restaurant in Chicago, which I have not yet seen.


Location: The address is listed as 563 Balltown Rd. in Sherrill, but its in the small unincorporated community known as Balltown. Its near the intersection of Breitbach Road and Balltown Road, at the top of a hill with a handful of buildings making up Balltown.


Directions: You are probably visiting here from Dubuque, and then take Highway 3/Route 52 to Sherrill Road which changes into Balltown Road and leads into Balltown. You can also take James Road north from Richardsville and bear north as it turns into Horshoe Road.

Online at: Website is HERE.

The Tenderloin: I have had battered tenderloins at plenty of places and this seemed to have a little bit of a salty aftertaste. This was pounded out wider than any of the other battered loins I have tried as well. You get a huge amount of soft crispy batter to go with the very tender and bright white pork meat underneath. Served with all the fixings on a toasted bun. Overall 9.2 out of ten.

Price: $6.25 a la carte

Also on the menu: The menu is really simple midwestern food like burgers or fried chicken, and sandwiches like ham and cheese or a patty melt. There is a buffet service for lunch and a weekend breakfast buffet.

Service: I ate at the bar but there is a dining area with table service.

Ambiance: The building has been rebuilt more than once, but has the character of a rebuilt historic building. The woodwork and paintings on the walls of the nearby panorama look great. There is also a beer garden area outside for when the weather is warm.

Final Thoughts: Breitbachs claims in Spinning Plates trailer that they may serve up to two thousand people in a single Sunday between the Brunch or Breakfast buffet. Getting that kind of a following to travel from Dubuque is a mighty task that requires no shortage of consistency and quality for decades. It was fun to drive up and down the tiny hills leading into Balltown, and I hope to be able to do so again someday.

 

Blue Bird in Centerville

Centerville has one of the best looking, and largest, town squares in all of Iowa. It takes a while just to walk around the whole thing. A small sandwich board advertising homemade meatloaf and tenderloins led me into the Blue Bird while in Southern Iowa recently. This is a small town family restaurant in Centerville which has been operating in different forms under different owners in the same location since the twenties. It is not to be confused with the Bluebird Diner, the recently opened retro diner in Iowa City.


Location: 108 E. Jackson St in Centerville


Directions: Its on the South Side of the town square, look for the sign.

The Tenderloin: Listed on the menu as Hand Made Jumbo Tenderloin. The whole loin was pounded thin and developed a little wave shape. Breading formed a hard crunchy layer outside the white meat. The inside wasn't as soft as most others I have tried. This was an okay tenderloin. Served on a toasted corn dusted bun. Overall 7.0 out of ten.


Price: $4.75 with fries for a dollar more.
Also on the menu: Its homemade comfort food including meatloaf and a biscuits and gravy breakfast served all day.


Service: Its table service with an attentive waitress also running the counter.
Ambiance: This is a historic building on the square with old booths and an antique counter, but it has been refurbished multiple times under several owners over the decades. There are picture of what it used to be, but now its filled with stuff for sale.
Final Thoughts: In the past few years, all of my trips to Centerville have been during the winter months. That is not a bad thing by itself, except that the main drag through town has two seasonal Ice Cream Shops each with competing hand breaded tenderloins. The Double R Dairy Bar has a giant sign with a tenderloin on it, and I get the idea they sell up to a hundred a day in the summer. Raymond's Dairy Creme is also on my list to check out. Across the square the J& K Market has a website claiming their tenderloin is the "biggest in town" and "a labor of love". I just hope I can make it back during the summer someday.

Colony Inn in Ventura

When one travels into the northern regions of Iowa, or further into Minnesota, the pork tenderloins are more likely to be battered instead of breaded. The attraction of Clear Lake means many people visit this area in the summer, and there are plentiful dining options near, or on, the lake. Ventura probably sees its population swell during the summer as people visit the lake. When driving into Ventura, the sign for this place near the entrance to town reads Colony Inn Restaurant and Lounge.

Location: 104 N Weimar St in Ventura (population 670), in Cerro Gordo County, about two hours drive north of Des Moines in northern Iowa.

Directions: You take the Clear Lake Highway 18 exit West from I-80. Turn south at the sign for Ventura and find the old main street behind the grain elevators.

Online at: http://www.thecolonyinn.com/

The Tenderloin: First things first, this one was huge, and it looked really good with the fixins on the side of the giant plate. It felt like at least twelve ounces before battering and frying. The big letdown was the lack of any seasoning in the batter. The meat was beaten a little too much, leading to a limp flopping sandwich. It has tons of natural pork taste in the bright white meat locked in by the battering and frying process, but not any other flavor on top of it. Overall 7.5 out of ten.

Price: $9.75
Also on the menu: A big menu with steaks, salads and burgers.

Service: Its table service, I visited when it wasn't busy.
Ambiance: This place has a hunting lodge style dining area with wood paneling and pictures of game animals. There are booths and a bar to eat at. There is a lounge area in the next room, somewhere is a banquet hall in this large building.

The menu here tells me this tenderloin once nearly won a best tenderloin in the state award. But their new website doesn't have it listed on the menu. Maybe its because the sandwich page hasn't been uploaded yet, but I don't know. The people who operate this restaurant also run the kitchen at the seasonally-opened PM Park on the opposite side of Clear Lake. Next on my list in Ventura is the Muskie Lounge with lakeside boat service. The Suzie-Q Cafe in nearby Mason City serves a battered loin with a lot more flavor mixed in. Further west in Algona I found a good breaded tenderloin. Either way, this area has plenty of good tenderloins.

Midtown Family Restaurant in Iowa City

I had heard that this was a low-key family friendly restaurant with a giant tenderloin. Driving here reminded me that time has not been too kind to the East side of Iowa City, its now home to many mobile-home parks and quiet neighborhoods. This restaurant looks so humble from the outside, I doubt many students find their way here.

Location: 200 Scott Court on the East side of Iowa City.

Directions: Scott Ct. is a cul-de-sac beside Scott Ave on the Eastern Edge of Iowa City. You need to take E Court St to find this place.

The Tenderloin: This is served in a basked deliberately too small for all the fried food inside The impressive thing here is the width. Its tough to get your fingers around this thing and grab the bun underneath. The whole thing was relatively thin, but still soft inside. The breading was crunchy with loads of crumbs spilling out with each bite.

Price: $7.75 in a basket with fries and homemade onion rings

Also on the menu: A very typical menu for any place with the word "family" in the name, with some homemade appetizers.
Service: Table service which was a bit slow in the lunch hour when I visited.

Ambiance: The interior could have been designed by my grandmother. This is the opposite of the hip restaruant/bar places in the pedmall area near campus. The crowd was from more of the older end of the age spectrum.

Final Thoughts: Its like this part of town had been forgotten since the gigantic mall was built in Coralville, and the corridor with Cedar Rapids became one of the fastest growing parts of Iowa. Few visitors travel to the east side of Iowa City, but this restaurant is worth it.