Brick St Market Cafe in Bondurant, Iowa

This new grocery store in the eastern suburb of Bondurant has an interesting story behind it. You can read about the owners of the Brick St Market by doing a google search for "Bondurant Lottery Winners". Its always nice to see people investing in their communities, and they are taking a big risk by building this grocery store here. Brick St. Market actually isn't the only restaurant in the Des Moines area where lottery winners invested their winnings into their business.

Location: 114 Brick St SE in Bondurant, just north and east of Des Moines.

Directions: Just follow Hubbell Avenue out of town until it turns into Highway 65, Brick St is just on the edge of Bondurant.

Online at: website is HERE.

The Tenderloin: The local newspaper article claims the loin meat is softened with a tenderizing machine, and specifically states there is no pounding. The result is a very thick piece of consistently soft pork. The small layer of batter-like breading has a heavy dose of seasoning salt and a touch of pepper and maybe a little bit of something else. The bun seemed to be cut by hand, and while well toasted, the top was a little smaller than the base and things like proportions and ratios are important to me. Served with your choice of LTOP, overall 8.5 out of ten.

Price: $7.99 with a side. I went with the Sidewinder Fries:

Also on the menu: The cafe has a huge menu including breakfast, ice cream, burgers, deli sandwiches and a salad bar.


Service: The service on the day I stopped in seemed to be backed up by a huge group of locals who all arrived at once and sat together and ordered the same thing.

Ambiance: This is a newly built grocery store with a cafe area that includes a counter, booths, and tables for seating. The color scheme on the store and the baskets reminds me of Culver's.


Final Thoughts: This is as close as you can get to a small town award worthy tenderloin in the Des Moines area. They seem to be selling quite a few of these.

Claxons Smokehouse in Altoona, Iowa

8th St in Altoona used to be a classic restaurant comparison street with two places serving the same kind of food. Altoona was once divided between Kin Folks patrons on one side, and Claxon's patrons on the other. Time has passed and Kin Folks is no more, and Claxon's has built itself a new building while 8th street has slowly filled with more chain restaurants in between the strip malls.

Location: 3131 8th St SW in Altoona, Eastern Suburbs of Des Moines, Central Iowa.

Directions: You take Hubbell Ave out of Des Moines and turn right at some intersection just beyond city limits to reach 8th St in Altoona.

Online At: Facebook page is HERE.

The Tenderloin: This sandwich and the plate it came on were really heavy, like cargo crane worthy between the huge fries and the sandwich. The problem with the meat was that it had been cut into a large portion but hadn't been tenderized or pounded out to soften the inside. Biting into this was tough and chewy compared to nearly every other tenderloin out there. Served on a giant flour-dusted bun that may be better suited to large amounts of smoked meats and dripping bbq sauce. Overall 7.0 out of ten.

Price: Its $9.99 with one side, but the menu said another side was just $2.00 more for a total of $11.99 and then I couldn't help myself from trying two sides after reading that. Funny how that works.


Also on the menu: The menu is big and based on smoked meats first with other options added to round it out for other tastes. The ribs were listed as one of the 100 Things to Eat in Iowa Before You Die by the Des Moines register back in 2006. I was impressed by the slightly misnamed "Fried Corn" side dish. It was corn, but not fried. It had brisket bits that were deeply softened from hours of cooking. A lot of BBQ places in Iowa get away with stiff brisket but this was deeply soft in texture:

"Fried Corn"

Service: I came in on the off hours and just ate at the bar and was attended to with no delay.

Ambiance: This is not Claxon's first building, although I never made it to the old one. This space has high vaulted ceilings and is split between a dining area with tables and booths and wide windows, and bar area covered in sports and beer signs.

Final Thoughts: I was optimistic about my visit to Claxon's but the sandwich only reminded me that tenderizing is an important part of making tenderloins and tenderness is key to their enjoyment. I will probably return to try the ribs or other bbq items soon.