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.

11th St Precinct Bar in Davenport Iowa & Grilled Tenderloins

The 11th St. Precinct Bar & Grill won an award for best tenderloin in the Quad Cities a couple years ago. The newspaper running the competition included grilled and breaded tenderloins from all parts of the Quad Cities area. There is a large golden pig trophy wedged between two flatscreen televisions behind the bar area marking their triumph. 


Location: 2108 East 11th St on the intersection with Mound St in Davenport, Quad Cities, Eastern Iowa.

Directions: This is technically in East Davenport a small commercial area of renovated historic buildings just off the River Road between Davenport and Bettendorf.

Online at: Website is HERE.

The Tenderloin: Listed on the menu as the "famous" half pound jumbo grilled tenderloin. The first thing that sticks out is the great color on this grilled loin. The alternating white of the pork loin meat checkered with the grill marks and seared edges. It has a great charred surface with just a bit of seasonings added during the grilling process. The texture of the pork loin is firm on the outside but chewy in texture, just the right amount of time on the hot grill. Served on a buttered and toasted bun. This is the best grilled loin I've eaten so far.

Price: $8.50 with a side.

Also on the menu: The grilled tenderloin is the star of the menu with its own section, its local awards are highlighted on the menu and other graphics There are other choices like specialty pizzas, pasta, burgers and bar food fried appetizers.

"The Big Kahuna" Spicy Pepperjack Bacon Tenderloin: Fitting for a sandwich with seven words in the title, this had layers of Hoagie Roll, Grilled Pork Loin, Pepperjack Cheese, Bacon, Spicy Giardiniera dressing, lettuce, onions, tomato, and lettuce. The star of the sandwich is the sliced grilled pork loin. The Spicy Giadiniera with peppers packs an acidic and spicy punch that you just don't find in most sandwiches in Iowa. I would love to say that this sandwich is some meaningful meeting of Iowa and Chicage style sandwiches, but its more of just a combination of ingredients that kinda works together.

Price: $9.75 with a side for lunch.

Service: I just sat at the bar and the bartender took care of my order and made conversation with some of the regulars.


Ambiance: This has been a bar and grill for decades but was renovated recently with modern fixtures and flat screen televisions. There is a bar area and seating space, big windows facing the street and an area for live bands on weekends.

Final Thoughts: The online reviews of the 11th St Precinct seem to have a few things in common. The new renovation is just like every other new bar built anywhere, and the grilled tenderloin is the tastiest sandwich of its kind by any estimation. There are other grilled tenderloins in the Quad Cities area, but driving across one of the bridges into Illinois is not on my list of things to do. I will eventually get around to stopping by The Filling Station in Davenport and TC's Point After in Dewitt to try their breaded tenderloins sooner or later.

Luana Tavern and Todd's Grilled Tenderloin

The Luana Tavern answers the phone by stating "Luana Tap". I get the idea this place opens at 8 in the morning and stays open until bar closing time. Unfortunately, they were sold out of breaded pork tenderloin sandwiches when I arrived at 1:45 in the afternoon. I asked about their grilled tenderloins, and they were sold out of the plain grilled tenderloin and the Mesquite BBQ grilled tenderloin. The only thing they could offer me was the Apple Cinnamon Grilled Tenderloin, and it turned out alright despite not being my first choice. If they are selling out of three different sandwiches at lunch time, they must be doing something right in this tiny burg in Northeast Iowa.


Location: 301 Main St. Luana, Clayton County in Northeast Iowa.


Directions: Highway 18/52 crosses this part of Clayton County, turn north at the gigantic Luana Bank building and cheese factory and take Old Highway 52 into town.
The Apple Cinnamon Tenderloin: The meat felt like it had been lightly tenderized, with most fat trimmed except for a tiny bit on the edges. This kind of grilled loin feels like it has tons of juice, and it runs out even forming a little puddle in the to-go box. The color ranged from the white of the pork loin to the good brown seared parts and a few darker bits. What sets this one apart is the aroma of pork and apples that filled my car for hours. That was something different. The flavor of the marination didn't overpower the classic fresh pork taste. Served on Texas Toast with butter on both sides, which adds calories and some crispitiness. This is a tasty sandwich, Overall 7.5 out of ten.
Price: $5.25


Also on the menu: the Luana Tavern has a daily menu with the basics like a breaded loin, burgers, chicken and other stuff. There are some out-there daily specials, like frog legs, broasted wings, hand breaded fish or sirloin steak.


Service: There was one lady running the bar and waiting tables, with a guy cooking in the back.
Ambiance: This giant building at the main intersection of Luana has followed the path of the town, from once being an Opera House, later a dance hall, and now a tavern with a dining room. The decorations are the usual "welcome hunters" sign, racing posters, beer signs, and bar games. There are tables and a bar for seating.


Final Thoughts: Its just seems out of place to pick up a sandwich that tastes like something from a pretentious big city bistro or gastropub in a town like Luana. The owner/operator/cook makes this place work, and it was packed with locals when I visited. I just wish they had a breaded loin in stock when I stopped by.