Baker's Food & Fuel Des Moines (now defunct)

How could I forget this place on the road to Norwalk. Sure, it closed in late 2007, and could have used any publicity it could get. Rumour was this place was operated by some people connected to a major high-end restaurant chef in Des Moines. I probable should have added this review a long time ago. Watching tenderloin serving establishments close brings me no shortage of heartache.

Location: listed as 1643 R63 Hwy in Norwalk, this is right on the off ramp from the southern Highway 5.

Directions: You could get there by going south on 9th St in Des Moines or by taking the turnoff from the loop highway south of town. Look for the giant FOOD and FUEL sign.

The Tenderloin: I was greeted by a printed sign on the swinging doors advertising homemade tenderloins. This was a great hunk of darker pork meat with great taste that came apart easily. There were a couple places where the fat wasn't trimmed off, but the great variance in shape and thickness made it all good. Served on a large untoasted bun. The fixins bar for patrons bumped up the score with banana peppers and jalepenos in addition to the usual toppings. Overall 7.5 out of ten.

Price: $4.25, with fixins bar.

Also on the menu: Large menu included Grinder Sandwiches, "Hawg Wings", gizzards and pizza kept under hot lamps.

Service: You pick up your food from the counter, the fixins bar is behind you. You could call ahead to order pizza. When I found the hot food cabinet sans Tenderloins, the lady working the register agreed to make one. She then took three tenderloins with very different shapes out of the freezer storage. I got one fresh hot one, the other two sat under the heat lamp.

Ambiance: This was a spacious and well lit gas station with TVs stuck on the country music channel and a nice bulletin board.

Final Thoughts: Its a shame this place had to close. The tenderloin is about the best that you would ever be able to find with a tank of gas. I probable should have added this review way back before it closed, but I figured it was a case of better late than never. When places serving tenderloins disappear, it reminds me to keep supporting the small places that make eating tenderloins so much fun in the first place.

Kay's Kafe in Corning

On a late night driving back from Nebraska, this place greeted me with a bright neon "Open" sign. The first place I tried on a cold Monday night was closed, so this was my last chance in this trip to grab a tenderloin.


Location: 608 Davis Ave. in Corning, Iowa (population 1,783). Its about 70 miles southeast of Des Moines in Adams County.


Directions: Corning about a mile north of the busy state highway between Creston and Red Oak. Take 148 into town and follow signs marking the business district.
The Tenderloin: This was described on the menu as "Homemade Breaded Loin" sandwich. My plate arrived with a steak knife to cut the sandwich into easily lifted halves. The edges clearly bent upwards. The breading was a little to fine for me, meaning no crumbs fell to the table. The meat was bright white and soft. Served with fixins on a toasted bun. Overall 6.5 out of ten.

Price: $4.25 ala carte
Also on the menu: The fries are homemade, also serving steaks and hot beef with daily specials.


Service: Seat yourself table service with one waitress and one cook when I arrived towards closing time.

Ambiance: This is a small town diner in a cute main street with furnishings to get a homestyle look with family pictures and simple decorations. The "Kafe" is connected to a bar next door.Final Thoughts: Corning is an alright place to stop off while driving through southwest Iowa. The mainstreet are has many small shops to check out. This isn't exactly a destination tenderloin, but it kept my craving in check as I drove home.

No Name Cafe in Promise City

Promise City may have the most optimistic name in all of Southern Iowa. I had looked in every restaurant in the nearby metropolis of Corydon, but found no notable tenderloins. A trip to Seymour meant I had to drive past this cafe twice. The owner's of the No Name Cafe refurbished a vacant building and now operate the only restaurant for several miles around. Sure, they had a hand-breaded tenderloin. But further down the menu was a colossal pork sandwich that I could not refuse.


Location: 101 N Center St in Promise City (population 105) in Wayne County, Iowa. Located between Corydon and Centerville.


Directions: Take Highway 2 East from I-35, past Leon and Corydon. The cafe on the main street, the only busy street in town, facing the parking lot the the community center.
The Tyson Whole Hog Tenderloin: I ordered this and sat down for a while as it cooked. Soon I heard the younger waitress asking the other what to do with a sandwich that wouldn't fit in the to-go container. I took it without closing the lid over, because I had what I wanted. This was a big sandwich packed with pork. The tenderloin was hand-breaded, tenderized at the local meat locker. It was much thicker in the center with good chewy consistency. the ham was thick and moist, the bacon was fatty and good. The two slices of cheese tasted like Kraft singles, but were melted just right to make the meats stick together. All served on a bun that was cold, but the bun was just an edible napkin here.


Price: $6.50, regular tenderloin $4.50, "Cajun Tenderloin" also available for $4.75.
Also on the menu: Full breakfast, with burgers and sandwiches. Today's special was sweet-potato fries.


Service: Seat yourself wherever you want, I think this was a husband and wife operation, with a twenty-something daughter who helped with working the tables.
Ambiance: The Cafe itself was about as humble as its name implied.There were tables, booths, and a counter for seating. The high ceilings of the old building were nice, good natural light come through the windows.


Final Thoughts: This is a dangerous sandwich. I eventually recovered from eating this gigantic hunk of hot pork. These sorts of things are just goofy additions to the menu for people who can't get enough. I do not recommend eating a sandwich like this while driving. Its best enjoyed in an environment where a heart attack can be treated promptly.

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.

Cactus Bob's BBQ Corral in Johnston

Updated Winter 2013, scroll down for subsequent visit notes!

Cactus Bob's is probably the most serious BBQ place in suburban Des Moines, they have seven in-house varieties of super-hot BBQ sauce. Their BBQ meats are refrigerated after smoking and reheated upon ordering, done to a scientific method outlined by their state of the art smoking machine. Nearly everything on the menu, including the french fries and potato chips, is homemade. Recently, a tenderloin special was added, so I had to check it out.

Location: 5955 Merle Hay Road in Johnston, Iowa. Just north of Des Moines.

Directions: go north from Merle Hay a few miles past the freeway. Cactus Bob's is in a strip mall close to Van Dee's Ice Cream.

Online At: http://www.cactusbobs.com/

The Tenderloin: The breading was like a thick batter but thoroughly cooked with a hint of pepper flavor. It formed a skin that was dry and crunchy on the edges. The meat was white and more tender than the other tenderloins from BBQ places in Des Moines. Served on a bun and ready for BBQ sauce. This was a tasty tenderloin 8.0 out of ten.

Price: It came in a basket with a side and a drink for $7.50

Also on the Menu: A full selection of BBQ favorites including beef brisket, pork ribs, and chicken. Sides are made fresh, and Cactus Bob's own pickle mix, jerky, and BBQ sauce are available for sale.

Service: Its just counter service with your number called when your order is ready. It can take a while to get your food when busy.

Ambiance: Its a suburban strip mall location with tables to sit, and a large dining area decorated with Texas-themed junk.

Final thoughts: This is a special place in the chain-food restaurant dominated suburbs. They have a contest where if you eat a brisket sandwich dipped in the hottest of sauces in less than 10 minutes without water, you get your money back and a picture on their wall of fame. If they did this with the tenderloin I may have to give it a try, because nothing involving tenderloins has ever scared me.





Update Winter 2013

I made it back a few times to try some of the other items on the menu. The last few years have seen this place expand into the retail bay next door for a vastly larger dining area. The BBQ sauce and General Store setups seem to be a bit larger. The dining area is decorated with hot sauce bottles, but the tacky western stuff dominates the rest of the interior.

The ribs were reasonably prices at around $15 with a couple sides. These had a tasty dry rub and good texture on the different parts of the ribs. Some areas were a little dry but I liked the firmness off the meat for the most part. I can't stand places that serve these too tender and falling off the bone.

The mac and cheese feels like a basic recipe where they add some bread crumbs on top. I wasn't impressed here, and would go with another side next time.

The hand cut french fries are deeply crunchy and feel like they have been fried more than once to reach their deep brown color. They add a bunch of salt on top when you order, but you can shake it off and dip them in BBQ sauce.

The Red Barn in Exira

After reviewing by backlog of tenderloin visits and pictures, I noticed a striking omission. Western Iowa along I-80 has a dense cluster of five small cafes serving award worthy tenderloins. Is there something in the water here? Perhaps. Between Kimballton, Elkhorn, Atlantic, Exira, and Hamlin are enough great tenderloins to satisfy any craving.

Location: 613 W Washington St, Exira, Iowa, population 810, about halfway between Des Moines and Omaha.

Directions: Take the Highway 71 exit, and go north from I-80. This cafe is on the secondary highway outside Exira, about six miles north of the Interstate.

The Tenderloin: This one looked good and tasted good. The tenderloin was good size and extended far beyond the bun. The fine breading had few crumbs and no grease. The white meat inside was tender and soft. Served on a toasted bun with optional fixins, they loaded mine with onions. Overall 8 out of 10.

Price: $3.45, fixins $0.25 more, still a huge bargain also available grilled.
Also on the menu: Fried chicken, sandwiches and a full breakfast menu.

Ambiance: Its the inside of a mobile home. There are not nearly enough seats for people who want to dine here. Dust from the busy grain bin outside left a layer of stuff on my car and clothing. Locals gossip with employees in the small quarters that resemble a person's kitchen. Other patrons were ordering the tenderloin as well.

Service: One server and another cooks, both never far from the patrons.

Final Thoughts: This is a place that should have a price for locals and another one for tourists. Its just not fair that out-of-staters could enjoy a tenderloin this good for less than three and a half dollars. This dive serves a tenderloin equal to any of its neighbors in this serious tenderloin region of Western Iowa.

Northside Cafe in Winterset

My work takes me to town squares like the one in Winterset quite often. Many have cafes and diners just like this one in the historic parts of town. This place has been operating since 1928, in a building built in 1876. The one thing that sets this place apart is its cameo appearance in a movie released more than a decade ago.

Location: 61 W. Jefferson St. in Winterset Iowa, about 20 minutes drive south and west of Des Moines.

Directions: Take the Highway 169 Exit south from I-80, leading straight into Winterset. This is on the North side of the town square in Winterset, facing the courthouse.
The Tenderloin: This one falls into the category of thin cut pieces of pork loin. The breading is cooked better and browned more on one side. The breading was a little dusty and had not grease dripping off. This is a little on the thin side and is not big. Overall, a not-impressed 5.5 out of ten.

Price: $4.25 with all the fixins.

Also on the menu: A full breakfast menu with sandwiches for lunch and dinner specials

Service: Its seat-yourself with an attentive wait staff.

Ambiance: This has a great town square cafe ambiance. Vintage photos cover the walls over the woodwork. There are booths and a counter to dine at.

Final Thoughts: This is a cafe with great ambiance in the main square of Winterset. For a better tenderloin, head south the the Starlight Cafe. There is only so much you can say about being able to sit in the stool where Clint Eastwood once sat. I found a grainy clip of the scene on Youtube, I doubt they had to change anything to get the '65 setting right: