Jerry's Main Lunch in Burlington, Iowa

The sign still lists an five digit phone number from forever ago, and the media reports Jerry's has been open since 1946. Jerry's Main Lunch has been featured recently in Edible Iowa River Valley, the Burlington Hawkeye newspaper, and WQAD television in the Quad Cities in a feature about landmark restaurants.


Location: 501 S Main St. in Burlington, Des Moines County in Southeast Iowa.

Directions: You have to take Main St south from downtown and Jerry's is on the West side of the street.

The Tenderloin: The crackerlike breading expanded from the loin meat and left an empty space that made the sandwich look bigger. It felt like a good seven ounces of pork, and the meat was steamy and hot. There was a hint of black pepper on the outside. Served on a soft toasted bun with your choice of fixins. This was more about the experience of eating in a classic old diner than the actual breaded pork tenderloin. Overall 7.2 out of ten.

Price: $4.70 also available in smaller size.

Also on the menu: the specialties are the Breakfast Mess and the Jerry Burger, the menu is mostly standard diner fare with daily specials and homemade pies.

Service: Its counter service and the food is made right in front of you.

Ambiance: Its a brick diner building from almost seventy years ago with fourteen seats on an L-shaped counter. The walls are covered with photos or old newspaper stories, and you can buy a t-shirt while you are here.

Final Thoughts: There aren't many places with as much history or family tradition as Jerry's Main Lunch. I think the family were talking about furniture when I stopped in during the off hours. When I see Jerry's thriving it makes me surprised that nobody is trying to make it work at the old Valentine Diner parked beside the river in Muscatine. Just a reminder you can see my list of tenderloins near Highway 61 HERE.

The Country House in Colo, Iowa

The stretch of Highway 30 between Colo and Nevada is home to a The Country House Restaurant, which earned a runner up plaque for the IPPA Best Tenderloin contest in 2011. They were also featured on KCCI's Cruising For Comfort Food feature a few years ago.

Location: 68168 US Highway 30 just outside of Colo, Iowa in Story County. Its about a 45 minute drive from Des Moines.

Directions: Turn south off of Highway 30 when you see Twin Anchors Campground, the Country House is next to the out of business service station.

The Tenderloin: This felt like eight ounces of pork loin that had been flattened out during tenderizing. The cracker crunch breading had just a hint of seasoning. The meat underneath was steamy and very warm, for several minutes after it was delivered to my table. The bright white meat was neatly trimmed with no fat. Served on a toasted sesame seed bun with all the fixins overall 8.3 out of ten.

Price: $7.50 with a side. I went with the fries which were thick steak fries lightly salted and served hot.

Also on the menu: The menu is simple, and I mean real simple like less than half a page for lunch. I think they have simplified it since my first visits several years ago. Think burgers and hot beef sandwiches, the daily special was grilled cheese tenderloin. There are also homemade pies on a sheet cooling on the counter:

Pies

Service: Its seat yourself table service, and you can pay at the counter or wait to have your ticket taken for you.

With Fries

Ambiance: The restaurant sign reads "Since 1991" and the building feels like a nineties building. There are tables and booths for seating, and some out of place pictures of European street scenes or vineyards.

Large Size

Final Thoughts: The Country House is a must stop on this stretch of highway in North Central Iowa. With Stones in Marshalltown and the Suburban Restaurant in Gilbert closed, this area doesn't have much to choose from after Flatheads in St Anthony.

Steve's Place in Burlington, Iowa

Steve's Place has a sign that claims it is "The place to be!" Although I would not have entered based on the message on the sign, but the print ad reading "our homemade tenderloins are great" made this stop necessary. This bar on the edge of the downtown area of Burlington is a real dive, a dive among dives.

Location: 852 Washington Ave in Burlington, Southeast Iowa.

Directions: You can get here by taking the Main St exit from the state highway and turning on Washington St.

The Tenderloin: I had to grab one to go because there was no light inside the bar. This felt like six ounces of in a shapeless form in a delicious golden brown color. The tenderized meat did was a bit limp and seemed to flop over the toasted bun. The breading had little seasoning and steam from the meat took away any kind of crunch. This was still a decent dive bar tenderloin. Overall 7.5 out of ten.


Price: $4.50 a great value.


Also on the menu:  mostly the usual fried stuff you find at every bar,  along with steak and burgers. I think Thursday is taco night.


Service: I think the grill is only open from five to nine in the evening. You need to sit at the bar to get service.

Ambiance: This is a dive bar decorated with photos of Marilyn Monroe and figurines of knights in suits of armor. The building is old and the bar fixtures are showing their age. There was a crowd of people standing outside the door smoking.


Final Thoughts: I've had tenderloins at several places in Burlington so far and none have stood out or above the Short Stop in New London or the Apron Strings in Mediapolis. My next stop in Burlington will probably be at Jerry's Main Lunch on Main Street.

Sale Barn Cafe in Lamoni Iowa

There is something about livestock auctions and food that just goes together. These are major get together locations with a specific function in the farm economy of Iowa. There are sale barns all over the place in rural Iowa, and many serve food on sale days. There have to be a few that stay open during the week, and I stumbled across one in the far south of Iowa in Lamoni.

Location: 900 East Main St. in Lamoni, Decatur County, Southern Iowa.


Directions: Take the Highway 65 exit from I-35 and turn West. The road turns into Main St in Lamoni and the Sale Barn Cafe is close to the city center.

The Tenderloin: The pork loin had been cut into a basic triangle shape. Breading felt like a little bit of cracker crunch and just a touch of seasoning. The white pork loin meat was steamy and warm while tenderizing had left the grain of the meat barely disturbed for a nice chewy texture. The edges had a little bit of untrimmed fat that could be chewed apart and did not take away from the enjoyment of the sandwich. Overall 7.8 out of ten.

Price: $7.50 a la carte

Also on the menu: There is a hot beef sandwich and tenderloin served hot beef style, something called a Chuck Wagon, burgers and sides. The daily specials come with a roll and a couple sides. The pies and other desserts are often made with fruits from the local Amish farms. They also sell homemade bread.

Strawberry Pie

Service: Its basic seat yourself table service with a register at the counter in the back.

Ambiance: Its a cafe inside a livestock auction building with wood paneled walls and tables for seating. The outside will smell like cows on a hot day.


Final Thoughts: Its no secret that livestock auction houses will have some good food. The hard part is getting into town and knowing the when and where to go. My internet searches have not found any other sale barn cafes with regular weekday hours, and information about any others would be appreciated.

 

Postscript: Suburban Restaurant in Gilbert, Iowa

The Suburban Cafe had been serving up homemade American comfort food for fifty years now. Its a significant milestone that few places reach, and few communities can claim a place like this one. The facebook page announced a closing on October 31, and KCCI reported a closing date of Novermber 16th soon after. Visiting the restaurant in its last week meant being greeted with a placemat with this message:

Location: 17029 Highway 69 North in Gilbert, just north of Ames in Central Iowa.

Directions: You can take Grand Ave. north from the mall in Ames, and come from Highway 69 to Gilbert Corner just outside Gilbert.

Online at: Looks like their website is down, but their Facebook page is HERE for now.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin

The Grilled Tenderloin: This is the winner of the 2004 IPPA Grilled Pork Tenderloin Sandwich Contest, the only year where the contest was about grilled tenderloins. This had a great light brown color from the grill and just a pinch of seasoning on the surface. The fat wasn't completely trimmed on mine, but the tenderizing had mad a nice chewy texture. Served on a toasted bun with all the fixins.

Breaded Pork Tenderloin

The Breaded Tenderloin: What set this breaded tenderloin apart was the layer upon layer of crunchy textured breading. The pork loin meat was always bright white on the inside, cut and trimmed well but not especially juicy.

Tenderloin Melt

The Tenderloin Melt: This was served in toasted white bread with grilled onions and melted cheese. I've had melted sandwiches with breaded pork tenderloins in a couple places and I don't think it adds much to the product.

Price: $8.50 for the grilled loin, and $9.50 for the breaded loin each with a side.

Pie Board

Also on the Menu: The specialty is fried chicken, but there are daily specials like hot beef sandwiches or chicken fried steak. The homemade desserts are listed on a Pie Board by the door, including triple layer cakes, brownies and cream pies. I was able to grab a slice of the Peach Pie topped with whipped cream on my last visit:  

Peach Pie

Service: Its table service with attentive staff and a counter to pay next to the front door.

Ambiance: The building is an classic roadside cafe. The old lights and unique fixtures add to the atmosphere and family photos cover the walls along with antiques and news articles. The wide window view of the highway and cornfields was obscured be a neon Budweiser sign. There are tables for seating and it gets crowded in the middle of the day.

Final Thoughts: I have to admit I was a little slow in getting around to writing about Suburban Restaurant. I always seemed to be driving past in the late afternoon when the restaurant was closed. The midday sun always cast some awkward shadows that made the exterior pictures look bad. I just didn't get it together until the place had already announced they were closing. Places like this never actually get replaced and they never last forever anyway. Ames has been a consistently tough place for me to find what I am looking for, but I hope to have something new to blog about from Ames soon enough.

Its all over.

J & K Diner in Laurel, Iowa

A tiny hand painted sign grabbed the corner of my eye while driving through tiny Laurel, reading Diner Open. I figured it was worth a stop, I could have sworn this place had a different name the last time I came through, but that was a while ago. The J & K Diner is relatively new, and had a daily special board visible from the road telling me Liver and Onions were the special.

Location: 203 S Main St. in Laurel, Iowa, Marshall County just north and east of the Des Moines area.

Directions: Laurel is the town on the road between Newton and Marshalltown, and J & K Diner sits right on the State Highway that takes everyone through the town.

The Tenderloin: The first thing I noticed was the steam from the meat rising through the breading. This was a juicy cut of pork loin, but just a bit smaller than what some other places serve. The meat was tenderized and bright white in the middle, with grey meat on the outside. Parts of the edges had some tiny bits of fat that didn't take away from the great texture of the meat. The breading was just more crackermeal. Served on a toasted Kaiser Bun. Overall 7.2 out of ten.

Price: $5.25 a la carte

Also on the Menu: The menu has the basics like burgers or sandwiches and fried stuff, with a loomeat hamburger named the Mustang Burger, and full breakfast service in the morning.

Service: There was a high school aged waitress and I think the owner was doing the cooking. Each were making conversation with the customers.

Ambiance: I think the blinds that read Sue's Halfway Cafe were left here by the last tenant, the walls are decorated with signs with bad jokes like Beware Of Wife written on them. There is an old counter fixture and tables for seating.

Final Thoughts: Its always good to see a new place open in a small town when driving through for the last time. J & K and its tenderloin didn't blow me away, but it seems like a perfectly good place to stop for a snack in the small town of Laurel.

Flatheads in St. Anthony, Iowa

Flatheads seems to be aimed at the angler end of the outdoors spectrum with its fish sign and interior decorations. When I sat at the bar the first thing the bartender recommended was the breaded pork tenderloin sandwich. There is also a framed newspaper article on the wall from when the IPPA gave this sandwich an honorable mention in their annual contest in 2008.

Location: 104 W 3rd St St Anthony in Marshall County, Central Iowa.

Directions: I think its the only place to eat in St. Anthony, its on the north end of the old main street, visible from the county road.

Online at: Facebook page is HERE.

The Tenderloin: First things first, the portion here is big, easily over the eight ounces most places refer to as "jumbo". The butterfly cut of pork loin had been pounded out wide, but was still soft when bitten into. The breading was seasoned with salt on top and had a great texture. Served with your choice of fixings on a corn dusted Kaiser bun.Overall 8.4 out of ten.

Price: $5.75

Also on the menu: The menu is large with fish like Walleye or Catfish sandwiches, burgers, pizza, a fish fry and a taco night. I think they added a gigantic tenderloin with toppings sandwich named Sasquatch.

Service: I just sat at the bar and had the bartender take care of me on both of my visits.

Ambiance: This is a small town dive bar with wooden board siding, beer signs, outdoors stuff, antlers, and a bar and tables for seating.

Final Thoughts: I love visiting small town bars when I know a big juicy tenderloin is found inside.  Flathead isn't that far off the State Highway or the roads leading to Marshalltown. Its a great stop when driving through this part of Central Iowa.

Dinky Diner in Decatur City, Iowa

Nothing beats visiting classic rail car diners while driving through small towns in Iowa. The Dinky Diner in Decatur City has been serving consonance and comfort food since the building was moved here around 2005. 


Location: 104 NE 4th St in Decatur City, Decatur County, Southern Iowa. Its about sixty miles south of Des Moines.

Directions: Just a few hundred feet East from exit 12 when taking I-35 into Southern Iowa.

The Tenderloin: This one felt like seven or eight ounces when I lifted it up. The meat was in an odd pounded out shape, I had had tenderloins here before in the usual triangle shape. The breading was crunchy and golden brown but some parts were cooked more than others and showed in the darker coloration. Served on a large toasted bun with your choice of fixings. Overall 7.5 out of ten.

Price: $6.50 with a side of ridged potato chips.

Also on the menu: There is a daily menu with the usual boring stuff like burgers, there is full breakfast made fast, and then there is the Menu Board:

Notice the choice of salads, including butter beans, pea salad, and broccoli & cauliflour. I was able to grab a picture of the pies waiting to be served:

Service: There have been at least three people here each time I visited. Its table and counter service with a register to pay by the door.


Ambiance: The Dinky Diner is a later model of the Valentine prefab diner known as the "Double Deluxe", meaning its twice as big as most others with straight edges and corners. There are small booths to go along with the counter seating, and the whole place is spacious compared to other pre-fab diners.

Final Thoughts: Decatur City is twelve miles north of the state line, the second exit from the state border on I-35. I was sure I could find another on my trip south. My next stop in this area will probably be the Sale Barn Cafe in Lamoni, off the first exit on I-35.