Sugar Shack in Altoona

The Sugar Shack is an ice-cream place in an old shopping center in the older part of Altoona. I often imagine these place as being filled with sugar-charged little kids screaming at each other. Its usually not my cup of tea, but a homemade tenderloin on the menu made this a place for I had to visit.

Location: 100 8th St SE in Altoona, just east of Des Moines.

Directions: 8th Street is the main drag through the suburban community of Altoona, you can take Hubbell Avenue in Des Moines to reach it.

The Tenderloin: This one had good size and clearly stuck out from the bun. The white meat was pounded thin, but was close to the "pork jerky" level of toughness. The edges were especially dry, perhaps it was overcooked. This gets a slight deduction for the cold bun. Overall 6.0/10.

Price: $5.25 .

Also on the menu: Full ice-cream menu with burgers and other junk food.

Service: Its counter service with the whole show run by teenagers when I visited.

Ambiance: This is a family friendly ice-cream place with bright colors and tacky 50's decorations that look like they were bought at the mall.

Final Thoughts: This might be the most family-friendly tenderloin place in Central Iowa. Its the only homemade one I have found so far in Altoona, although I may have to try Claxon's Smokehouse or the Prairie Meadows Concession Stand to see if they serve homemade tenderloins.

Augusta Restaurant in Oxford

UPDATED WITH NEW VISIT AND NEW PHOTOS SUMMER 2014: I was able to make it back and I wasn't satisfied with my first batch of photos. I had always stopped in when I was in too much of a hurry to eat in or when the Augusta Restaurant was closed. The new loin they served me was so tenderized that it broke into two pieces while cooking. The bun was just okay but the mayonnaise adds a little bit of a tasty rich extra bite on the top.


 ORIGINAL is POST FROM 2009

The Iowa Pork Producer's Association releases an award for the best tenderloin each year, and this place won in 2008. Many agree that this is probably the best of all the tenderloins to win the annual award for "best tenderloin". Its at a place founded by a couple of Louisiana natives who moved to Iowa after Hurricane Katrina. Oxford was once "famous" for the book The Oxford Project, which took photos of the people here in 1985 and then again in 2005. Now its home to a great tenderloin.


Location: 101 S. Augusta Ave. in Oxford, Iowa (population 705 in 2000 census). Its about 15 minutes west of Iowa City.


Directions: You can take I-80 from Iowa City or Highway 6 from the Coralville Strip to reach the county road that forms Augusta Ave., the main street through Oxford.


Online At: http://www.augustarestaurant.net/

The Tenderloin: The size is probably just under the super-jumbo average of about 12 ounces, stretching across the takeout box. But this doesn't mean a sacrifice of quality for size. A theme here is high-quality ingredients. The bread crumbs are huge and get separated from the loin easily. Its a great cut of poirk loin, well tenderized yet firm and bright white inside. Served on a fresh toasted bun with tomato, mayo, and red onions. Overall 9.5/10.


Price: $10.00, served with hand-cut fries or sweet-potato chips. Its still not the most expensive tenderloin in Iowa.

Also on the menu: There is a full homemade Cajun menu including Crawfish Beignets fresh cut steaks.


Service: Its only table seating inside with wait staff that must come from across the corridor area.

Ambiance: You pass through a curtain to enter a dimly lit dining area with Louisiana color scheme of purple with accents of green and gold.


Final Thoughts: This place is close enough to the population centers in Iowa City and Cedar Rapids to have this kind of place in such a small town. Having a couple of migrants from Louisiana come here and make the best tenderloin ever kind of pokes a hole through any logic in the idea that only Iowans can make these things right.

Sally's Old Fashioned Hamburgers Des Moines Skywalk

Its hard to find a true replacement for the great tenderloin that Original Coney Island used to serve in the Skywalk before they closed last year. There is this place claiming a homemade tenderloin, and then there is Winston's Skywalk Pub and Battani's Pizza, each about a block away.

Location: 555 Walnut St in the 3rd Floor Food Court at the Kaleidoscope at the Hub Building.

Directions: You walk up the stairs from the bus station, its up a flight of escalators from the skywalk.

The Tenderloin: The first think you notice is the tenderloin is nice and thick, cut open for you to see. The breading had just a little bit of flavour. The meat was white, but not very tender. The whole thing wasn't really all that big. They get a little extra on the rating for the presentation. Overall 6.5/10

Price: $4.35, with fixins or $7.50 in a combo meal.

Also on the menu: The specialty is hamburgers, but there is a huge menu of homemade comfort food including a full breakfast. The menu advertised a "frenchie" sandwich when I visited.

Service: Its just a counter, you wait for your number to be called.

Ambiance: This is just a big food court with lots of fast food for the office crowd, its abandoned after about 2 in the afternoon.

Final Thoughts: This isn't exactly a tenderloin worth making a trip for. However, what Sally's gives you is far Superior to what Maid-Rite dishes out at the other end of the food court. Its also a good value for your money downtown.

BK's Sports Bar & Grill in Ogden

I think I had tried at least four places in Boone looking for homemade tenderloin, but couldn't find one. Just down the highway in Ogden is a legendary giant tenderloin. Its at a small sports bar that has changed location a few times, but perseveres and stays in business for the small town of Ogden Iowa.

Location: 113 E. Walnut St in Ogden in Boone County.

Directions: Walnut St. is the Old Lincoln Highway route through town, so take the Old Highway 30 or drive straight up 1st street from the Highway 30/169 junction south of town.

The Tenderloin: The tenderloin is nearly too big for the take-away box, with the fixins and bun hidden underneath. This was one big piece of pork loin in the usual triangle shape that was bright white inside. The meat was uneven in thickness but remained moist throughout. The thick breading and toasted bun gave this plenty of crunchiness. Overall 8/10

Price: $6.65, with fixins and a side.

Also on the menu: Large menu includes full breakfast and lunch that has burgers and the usual fried appetizers.

Service: There is table service, but I went to the bar because the dining area wasn't busy when I stopped by.

Ambiance: There's a well-lit dining area in front with a darker bar area in the back. The walls are decorated with sports junk and a picture of Elvis.
Final Thoughts: This was referred to on the menu as a fritter but its clearly a homemade tenderloin. The folks at BK's can be proud of this one.

Larsen's Pub in Elk Horn

Most people learn about Elk Horn when driving past signs on the Insterstate for the Historic Danish Windmill and Museum. This town gets its fair share of tourists to take the freeway exit and check the place out. Many visitors see the huge parking lot at the Danish Inn and Buffet and don't travel any further into town to get something to eat. They would be missing out on an IPPA Best Tenderloin in Iowa from 2007 in Larsen's Pub and Catering just a few block north.


Location: 4206 Main St in Elk Horn (population 649) in Shelby County, in Western Iowa.


Directions: Take the Highway 173 exit north from I-80 between Des Moines and Omaha. The Pub is right on the main street a few blocks past the Windmill and Museum, maybe seven miles off the freeway.
The Tenderloin: What makes the tenderloin here so special is the great thickness and special blend of seasonings in the breading. This is one of the thickest tenderloins that both maintains is shape and is soft and moist inside. Parts of the tenderloin are thicker than others, nearly all fat is trimmed off. The The breading forms a darker brown layer over the pork with black pepper and other flavors. The overall score has to be reduced for the untoasted bun, a 8.0 out of 10.


Price: $4.79, with fixins.
Also on the menu: The menu has burgers and the usual fried stuff with homemade sides.


Service: It was table service with an overworked guy waiting tables, tending bar, and cooking.
Ambiance: Typical pub and grub interior with beer signs, seating at tables and booths or a bar. The crowd seemed to have many regulars or lifers who all seem to want a tenderloin, I assume its these people who gave the place the nickname "The Nut Hus" as the sign implies.


Final Thoughts: This is the second of the Western Iowa Tenderloin Trail entries, which will include stops in Dunlap, Hamlin, Audubon, and Atlantic in addition to the Red Bard in Exira I wrote about earlier. The award-winning tenderloin is perfect to handle the hunger accumulated while watching the hour-long documentary about windmills and browsing the deep selection of Danish junk at the museum.

Kalme's Store and Restaurant in St. Donatus

St Donatus is a spot on the map with a little dot accompanied by the colored text "Picturesque Luxembourger Village". The "village" looks like its only about five buildings, but they do look very nice, especially if you're driving through in the fall. This is in a hilly area near the big river, so the drives are always nice.


Location: 100 N. Main St in St. Donatus (population 249) in Jackson County, near the top of the nose that is formed by the border of Eastern Iowa. Its about 15 minutes from Dubuque or 30 minutes from Galena, Illinois.


Directions: This is right on the main street Highway 52 that runs through town.


Online At: http://www.gehlenhouse.com/ is the online home of both the restaurant and the guest house is the historic buildings across the street. The website claims to offer special rates to outdoorsmen and fishermen passing through.
The Tenderloin: This is not the typical breaded pork tenderloin for a couple reasons. The first is that it isn't deep fried, its pan-fried with only a small amount of breading that gives it a different texture and very little grease. Second, its made with a special steak seasonings made here that give it a whole new flavor. Its not crunchy, and there is quite a salty taste to the whole thing. There is a great browning to the white cut of pork loin. Overall this is worth checking out, a 7.5 out of 10.


Price: $3.99, with fixins.
Also on the menu: This place falls into the trap of offering a big menu of ordinary dishes to a small town. There are a couple interesting Luxemburger twists, like homemade sausage, veal schnitzel, sauerkraut pizza and meats with their custom seasonings.


Service: Its table service in the dining area, there is also a bar area.
Ambiance: Its a historic building that has been remade several times, keeping the appearance of an Inn from the old country. You must walk past gas pumps to get in, then proceed past some grocery shelves and a bar to the dining area.


Final Thoughts: I can speak with good authority that this is the best place to eat in St. Donatus. Back when I could afford to travel overseas, I made my way to Luxemburg, and can say that this small town in bluff country is about as close as it gets in Iowa to the real thing

Railway Inn Council Bluffs

It appears the full name is Dan and Jami's Railway Inn. Its in a tough industrial neighborhood beneath the busy main thoroughfare of Council Bluffs. This bar and grill won a readers poll in the Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil a couple years ago for the best tenderloin in town.

Location: 112 S. 15th St. in Coucil Bluffs, in Pottwattamie County, about 2 hours from Des Moines or 10 minutes from Downtown Omaha.

Directions: It appears on a map like its just off Highway 6/West Broadway, however, you have to weave around some sidestreets and get under a bridge that goes over the railroad tracks. Just make sure you are on the east side of the tracks when you get off the highway.

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

The Tenderloin: From above, this took the classic triangle 'loin shape with little arms sticking far from the bun, from the side it was uneven in thickness. This is at least eight ounces of pork before preparation. The breading delivers plenty of crunch. Served with all the fixins on a well-toasted bun. Overall 7.5/10.

Price: $5.95 with homemade fries.

Service: I was there around lunch time and it looked like just one guy running the bar, the grill, and waiting tables. He seemed to have a good relationship with what appeared to be many regulars and an overall older crowd.

Ambiance: Its the usual pub and grub with railroad signs, and beer posters hung on the walls in a dimly lit interior with the usual bar gaming machines. There are tables and booths, and outdoor seating when the weather is good enough for beach volleyball.

Also on the Menu: Its typical bar food, with the usual fried suspects, the specialty is the huge Railway Burger, and the homemade hand-cut fries are good too.

Final Thoughts: From the outside it looks humble, with the puddles in the parking lot and sand blowing around in the wind. But this unpretentious place is definitely worth the short drive on Highway 6 from downtown Omaha.