Old 30 Grill in Jefferson

The Old 30 Grill Cafe in Jefferson looks like so many other Lincoln Highway side of the road stops for food. I don't think this place has been open too long, but there isn't much information available out there.


Location:505 East Lincolnway Street in Jefferson, Greene County, in Central Iowa. At the end of the Raccoon River Valley Bike Trail.

Directions: Lincolnway is the old Lincoln Highway and this place is 3 blocks East of the giant bell tower in the middle of Jefferson.


The Tenderloin: A nice golden brown color with spots of seasoning made the breading look delicious. The meat had a clear butterfly cut in the middle, and the size was a good six or seven ounces. Steam from inside the soft white inside had moved the breading off of the meat. The tenderizing seemed to take any firmness out of the cut of loin, and the edges drooped over the bun. Served on an untoasted flour-dusted bun. Overall 7.2 out of ten.

Price: $6.25 with fixings and a side.
Also on the menu: The menu is big with burgers and fried stuff.


Service: There is table service available but I went with a to go box from the counter.
Ambiance: Its an old building that has been renovated into a restaurant. The interior had some tables and a bar with transportation themed decorations. I chose the take my to-go box to the park at the end of the bike trail right beside the cafe.


Final Thoughts: I think the sign below was trying to say WE HAVE THE BEST LOINS IN TOWN. But I will have to go across Jefferson and try the Uptown Cafe on my next trip to Jefferson to make my own judgement.

Short Stop in New London

The Short Stop in New London is a small town drive-in just off the state highway in Southeast Iowa. A local newspaper article tells me that this place serves over a hundred of these a day during the busy summer months. The owners have help promotions giving one lucky person a free tenderloin every month for a year, but it always seems to happen when I am not in town.

Online at: It looks like somebody set up a facebook page when they sold their 50,000th tenderloin HERE.

Location: 600 East Main St in New London, Henry County, Southeast Iowa.

Directions: Its on the Eastern edge of town, Main St. has an exit from Highway 34.


The Tenderloin: The meat portion was huge, feeling like at least twelve ounces. The shape was about halfway between an oval and a rectangle. Breading had a huge amount of crunch and eating this sandwich sent crumbs flying everywhere. The meat was moist and a bit darker than some other loins, pounded thin and the ratio of meat to breading was a little lean. Served with all the fixins on a corn dusted bun. Overall 8.5 out of ten.


Price: $4.75, also available grilled,a good value.
Also on the Menu: Full breakfast with biscuits and gravy, an ice-cream menu, and lunch with sandwiches, burgers, and fried stuff too. The Elk Burger is the Henry County specialty.

Service: Its a walk-up with a window to put your order in.
Ambiance: Its a small town drive-in with a small dining area inside, with picnic tables outside and a big gravel parking lot.


Final Thoughts: From the sign on the wall, it looks like they have sold more than a few of these in the past few years:

Red Rooster Grill in Iowa Falls

Iowa Falls refers to itself as The Scenic City of Iowa, for its view of the Iowa River and a handful of historic buildings in town. You can read HERE about the Red Rooster Drive-In that once stood at the intersections of Highways 20 and 65 before burning down and being rebuilt.


Location: 420 Oak St in Iowa Falls, Hardin County, in North Central Iowa.


Directions: Its right on Highway 65, the main drag through town, look for the sign with a giant rooster.

The Tenderloin: The menu mentioned proudly that this sandwich was listed as one of the best in the state of Iowa back in 2004. It felt like about eight ounces when I lifted it up. The cut and tenderizing processed had turned the loin into an elongated shape. The whole thing retained a ton of juice after it was cooked. Served on a small toasted bun. Overall 7.6 out of ten.

Price: $4.75 a la carte, fixings extra.
Also on the menu: Full breakfast, loosemeat burgers and pizza burgers seemed to be the highlights. They were sold out of pies during my visit.


Service: It was seat yourself with table service and three old ladies running the show when I stopped by.
Ambiance: The outside is plain, but the inside has cute old fixtures, and old counter area and booths for seating. the decorations are mostly pictures of Red Roosters.


Final Thoughts: The cinder block building with the CAFE lettering and fading sign don't exactly draw the visitor inside. The promise of fresh breakfast, tenderloins, and pie should. When in Iowa Falls, its tough not to be entranced by the beauty the Princess Grill and Pizzeria just around the corner, which will probably be my next stop here.

Boonie's in Earlville

The sign in front of Boonie's reads "Fine Food & Good Friends", and this small town cafe seems to be the meeting place for this community in Eastern Iowa. A recent top five finish in the IPPA Tenderloin rankings put this tiny place on my to-do list earlier this year.


Location: 107 Northern Ave. in Earlville, Delaware County, Eastern Iowa.

Directions: Northern Ave. is the main drag through town, take the County Rd. X35 from the Highway 20 off-ramp.

The Tenderloin: The butterfly cut in the middle left parts inside very thick. The whole thing had a good size that felt like eight ounces before cooking. The breading left a significant crunchy texture outside the good size of pork loin meat. Served with your choice of fixings on a corn-dusted bun. Overall 8.0 out of ten.

Price: $4.95 with chips.
Also on the menu: The regular menu was typical cafe fare with Ruebens and Roast Beef Sandwiches, but the daily specials and desserts were on the Pie Board:
Service: There was one waitress and another guy cooking while I stopped in, each was attentive and the place is kept clean and efficient.
Ambiance: This is another small town get together place, its seat yourself table service with a bar area as well.


Final Thoughts: I had not previously found anything special between Dubuque and Manchester. There is no reason not to stop at a place like this while on the Eastern end of Highway 20.

Corner Station in Templeton

The stretch of Highway 71 in the middle Western Iowa cuts straight through some of the least traveled and rarely visited parts of Iowa. Its one lonesome road. But it has one cafe after another with a great breaded tenderloin sandwich. Templeton is north of the Chatterbox Cafe in Audubon, The Red Barn in Exira, Farmers Kitchen in Atlantic, and Darrell's Place in Hamlin. Each one serves homemade food to dedicated locals. A recent award from the IPPA made me head to this small cafe that didn't even have an OPEN sign outside. The Corner Station closes at four in the afternoon, so get there early.

Location: 18152 Highway 141 in Templeton, in Carroll County, Western Iowa.

Directions: The only building on the south side of the main road, Highway 71/141 between Carroll and Audubon. Its an unmarked white building with just the lettering of the word CAFE on the window.


The Tenderloin: First on my mind was the small size and a butterfly cut that made the meat portion extra long. Breading added good flavor to the crunchy outside of the loin. The warm moist and consistently tender meat was just right. Served on a small bun with your choice of toppings. Overall 8.8 out of ten.
Price: a great value at $3.75 a la carte.

Also on the menu: Its a real simple menu with burgers, a pizza burger, patty melt and other sandwiches. Also a full breakfast in the morning.

The waffle fries: Nothing accentuates the tender taste of the pork loin like the crispy fried goodness of criss-cut fries. I could eat these all day:
Service: There is a counter or table service, you pay at the register counter near the door.


Ambiance: The building is part of an old auto repair garage, with a limited grocery selection in one area. The dining room has tables and a small counter with a menu board and wood-panel walls.
Templeton Rye: The town of Templeton has become known as the home of Templeton Rye Whiskey, the prohibition era drink with a 21st century marketing campaign. It has been known to disappear from store shelves for months at a time. I understand it can be used in cooking or could be mixed with BBQ sauce for an extra kick. My time in Templeton was short, so I only snapped a quick photo of their buildings on the edge of town:
Imagine my surprise a few weeks ago when the "mobile speakeasy" was parked a block away from where I live in Des Moines. While its great that they were promoting the whiskey, I would have preferred to have the Corner Station and its tenderloin move down to Des Moines instead.

Iowa State Fair and the Turkey Tenderloin

The Iowa Turkey Federation runs advertisements in local publications comparing a grilled turkey tenderloin to a breaded pork tenderloin, under the header named Healthy Choices. It makes the obvious point that the grilled turkey tenderloin, with its meat portion of only about 100 calories and less than 5 grams of fat per serving, is healthier than a breaded pork tenderloin sandwich. It strikes me as something of a false choice, because who really looks at these two sandwiches next to each other while looking at a nutritional label. Without any good tenderloins to try at the fair, this was at the top of my list on a recent visit. On another note, could the turkey in the sign look any happier while he is holding up two turkey legs?

Location: On a path of food vendors between the Varied Industries Building and the Riley Stage at the Iowa State Fairgrounds.

The Tenderloin: The turkey tenderloin is a cut of unused muscle from underneath the turkey breast. The meat is tender and lean, and entirely white beneath the surface. The marination leaves good moisture inside, and a little seasoning on the surface, but its not flavorful by any means. I topped my sandwich with some Kraft BBQ Sauce at the fixings table. I can't help but think this would taste good if it were breaded and deep fried.

Price: $6.00 a la carte, also available on a stick

Service: You order at a counter, and pick up your food at another counter, the food is served up fast.

Ambiance: The Turkey Grill has two covered seating areas with picnic tables. The food is grilled behind the barn shaped building on multiple grills with Iowa Turkey Federation logos.

Also on the menu: It was faster to just take a picture of the menu:
The Griddle Sticks: These were at the bottom of the menu listed at $1, but they just came out of a Jimmy Dean frozen food box. They are turkey sausage in pancake batter, and are served with powdered sugar and syrup. Not big, or special, but any food at the fair for only one dollar is an exceptional value.Final Thoughts: My travels around Iowa in search of Breaded Pork Tenderloins have only left one place that I remember for promoting a Grilled Turkey Tenderloin. That would be Jerry's Restaurant in Mt. Pleasant, so this is something you can't just find anywhere. If there are homemade pork tenderloin sandwiches at the fair, then I have not found them. Multiple vendors offer the exact same pre-made "Half-pound Giant Tenderloin", but they all look unappetizing and overpriced. A few places serve a grilled pork tenderloin, but I just wish someone would serve a good breaded pork tenderloin at the State Fair.

Patrick's Restaurant in Adel

I've made frequent trips to Adel a bunch of times over the years, and had tried plenty of places looking for a homemade tenderloin here. This recently opened place in a newly constructed building had a hand-breaded tenderloin on the online menu, so I drove by and checked it out.


Location: 211 S. 7th St in Adel, near the bike path and just west of Waukee and the Western Suburbs.


Directions: Take University from Des Moines, or the Highway 169 exit from I-80 into Adel, this place is a block north and east of the main intersection south of town.

Online At: http://www.aweserv.com/patricks/

The Tenderloin: The meat formed a normal triangle loin shape when viewed from above. The butterfly cut left one half much thicker than the other. Sticking the sandwich in a take-out wrapper meant one of the edges curled up, but that was fine by me. Meat was bright white and steamy, hidden under a fine layer of crunchy breading. The bun was just gigantic and dwarfed the sandwich itself. Overall an okay 7 out of ten.

Price: $7.25

Also on the menu: The menu is big, with sandwiches, salads, steaks, pasta, pizzas and a full breakfast.
Service: Its seat yourself table service with a bunch of waitresses running around, but I had to grab my sandwich to-go from the counter.

Ambiance: This is a newly built building with large tables for seating and natural light coming in from the windows.
Final Thoughts: I've had a hard time finding homemade tenderloins in Adel. The old Horseshoe Lanes on the West Side of town used to serve one, but I never made it there before it closed down years ago. I've found good tenderloins in other parts of Dallas County, but the best I have found so far is still at Fat Randi's in Van Meter. The next place I need to check out in this County is probably Lou's Diner in Woodward.