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:

Shane's Rib Shack in Clive

Shane's Rib Shack is a chain of BBQ restaurants founded in Georgia, each has a photo of their smiling fat guy founder, Shane, posted inside. I was quite surprised to see their window advertising homemade tenderloins while driving through Clive, so I decided to stop in and give it a try.

Location: 12695 University Ave. in Clive, Iowa.

Directions: Take University Ave in West Des Moines to the intersection with Granite City and Biaggi's, look for this place in the strip mall behind Walgreen's.

Online at: http://www.shanesofiowa.com/
The Tenderloin: This was something new. The bright white cut of pork was not tenderized at all, just cut across the grain. It was tough to bite into at first, but fell apart with chewing. The thin cut of pork was floppy when lifted off the food basket, with the meat was thinnest at the center. Breading was lightly seasoned southern-fried chicken tasting crunchiness. The selection of BBQ sauces to top the sandwich were a plus. Served on a toasted bun with all the fixings 6.7 out of ten.

Price: $5.49

Also on the menu: Southern style BBQ favorites like Chopped Pork, Beef Brisket, and Ribs, sides including a thick stew and fried okra.

Service: Counter service with food brought to your table.
Ambiance: Over-done decorations for someplace in the suburbs. Tables and booths to sit and watch sports on TV. A bright multi-colored interior with BBQ shack decorations.

Final Thoughts: I am encouraged by this menu addition by the local franchise of a Southern BBQ chain. In order to make the tenderloin better, they need to tenderize it first. Its a good option in the tenderloin desert that exists in the suburbs of any big city in Iowa.

Misty's Malt Shop in Keosauqua

Van Buren County is known for its old-fashioned small town lifestyle without the modern life amenities of electric stoplights or fast food. The small towns are charming and unspoilt. Along the main street of Keosauqua just north of the Des Moines River is a small ice-cream shop with a selection of sandwiches including a homemade tenderloin.


Location: 106 Main St. in Keosauqua Iowa, (population 1,066) the seat of Van Buren County in Southeast Iowa. At least 2 hours drive from anywhere busy or important. Well outside cell-phone range.

Directions: Take the only road leading into town, State Highway 1, just north of the river. The Malt Shop is the second building on the east side of Main Street.
The Tenderloin: This clearly stuck out beyond the sesame-seed bun, showing the classic triangle tenderloin shape. The massive size was a great value and the sandwich was truly filling. From the sides, a slight warping was apparent. Beneath the dusty breading was a soft and moist white pork inside. Steam rose upon easily tearing edges off the tenderloin. The edges were a little dryer and not as tender, with some parts browner than others. Overall 7.9/10

Price: $5.00
Also on the Menu: A full selection of Ice Cream choices, homemade chips, other fried stuff and breakfast in the mornings.


Service: Counter service inside with a window for people to order from outside. The tenderloin took about five minute to fix.
Ambiance: Brightly lit interior with tables and booths for seats. Windows were heavily decorated for High School Homecoming Week during my visit. There is a mural of a cow painted on the front of the building.


Final Thoughts: Van Buren County is one of the nicest parts of Iowa that few people ever visit. Its food scene is mostly untainted by the commercial fast food and pizza chains that take up so much space in town squares across the state. This small ice-cream shop is just a part of the great places in Van Buren County.

Findlay's Old Time Butcher Shop & Delicatessen Des Moines

Update #2 Winter 2010/2011: Sometimes restaurants move to new locations, only to come back to the same spot a few years later. I went to Findlay's and they have the same tenderloin, and some good mac 'n cheese side too. You can buy smoked meats in bulk now.

UPDATE: Findlay's moved to Knoxville in late 2009, they are just a block off the main square. I saw it was just a BBQ place with the same menu but no meat market. This current location is now named Two Rivers BBQ Market and Deli, they have a tenderloin but I haven't made it in try one yet.
This butcher shop has a wide variety of meats for sale, and a lunch menu that includes a homemade tenderloin. The big meat smoker outside told me that tasty meat would be served here. Unfortunately, subsequent visits have revealed the tenderloin is no longer on the menu. Bummer.

Location: 1951 Indianola Ave on the south side of Des Moines.

Directions: Take south 7th St. from downtown, turn on Indianola and find this building beside Italian-American cultural center.

The Tenderloin: The first thing I notices was the three-point shape of the meat. The dense, chewy consistency of the meat and exceptional pork flavor makes me wonder if this was slow cooked before breading. Dollops of mustard, ketchup, and red onions are between the bun and the tenderloin. Served on a soft but cold kaiser bun from a local bakery. Overall a solid 7.5 out of ten.

Price: 4.99 , with chips and a side for $1.50 more.

Also on the menu: Smoked meat BBQ sandwiches, a full meat selection for large orders including Turducken. Jerky was in stock when I stopped by.

Service: Counter service, it can take a few minutes to get your food.
Ambiance: Bright light from windows comes into dining area. There are signs with meat prices outside. The place gets crowded for the lunch rush.

Final Thoughts: Smoking the pork loin before breading and frying can bring out a world of flavor. This relatively new butcher shop has a solid tenderloin worth checking out, its too bad it was discontinued or moved to "seasonal" status.

For emergency Tenderloin craving: head further down Indianola and turn on Hartford to reach B&B Grocery for their Big Piggy Pork Loin or Real Tenderloins.