The other day I was at my mom's house helping her with some heavy lifting-type cleaning. We stopped for lunch and she, knowing my fondness of a good tenderloin, fixed me one of the best I've had to date. That's my mom for ya.
What makes hers so special (other than the mere fact that it's my mom's)? I think it's that she pretty well beats the tar out of the tenderloins until they are paper-thin. She tenderizes and then tenderizes again until not one iota of gristle should dare exist. A little salt, an egg dip, and then the coating.
The secret coating? Cracker crumbs...just that. However, once again, the pulverizing of the cracker crumbs to practically cracker dust make the finished product fantastic. She fries them in the hottest oil she dares. And there they turn to a beautiful shade of doneness and crunch. Perfection.
She'll very soon be 84 and she cooks like someone 1/3 her age. I aspire to follow her lead every day.
Sorry, tenderloin tour contestants...I have my winner, hands down. I will do the decent thing, though...I'll put my mom's tenderloin sandwich in a class all its own...
It only seems fair.
oh, yeah...
We took a little spin over to Vincennes, Indiana, today to the Old Thyme Diner on Main Street. This is a cool old place that is open most every day from around 7:30-lunch time (except on Saturday when they close at 10:30 am). They're also open late on Friday evening.
My goal was to sample the breaded tenderloin and I certainly wasn't let down. Just look at the sheer size of this tenderloin in comparison to the bun!
It was lightly breaded and met all my expectations with that first bite...it had been beaten to the point of being gristle-free...hooray! It was so huge that Tom got a pretty good sample, too, and agreed that it had everything right in a tenderloin. It was thin, moist, and tender, with a breading that was crunchy without being hard. Kudos to the cook. We also sampled the onion rings, of course...excellent. Just like a good onion ring should be. Whole slices of onion, thin coating of batter to make them crunchy and done through and through. Pretty brown color. Right on target.
I had been in the occasional FB posting chat with a person there; I had an idea that it was the cook. It was. Nice guy. Knows his tenderloins. He's also smart; "like" Old Thyme Diner on FB and you'll get the specials of the day--everyday. Got a question or comment? Type it in...he'll answer it. He's using social media wisely in a place to bring in a whole new set of diner-lovers. The nice lady that took our order had no idea what I was talking about when I mentioned the diner being on FB. That's the usual response from about 99% of places we all visit. But this guy...he's got it figured out. Good on him! It makes it extra fun when you can meet the person that you've been chatting with about tenderloins (in my case) or whatever it is that you find yourself interested in.
Yep...the Old Thyme Diner is old and has the great look of an old diner. It's the kind of place you hope never gets a face-life. Yet, thanks to a smart guy in the back cooking up a bunch of good food, it's a great place to come as a social media experience, too.
Be sure and stop in when you find yourself on Main Street in Vincennes.
I know...a tenderloin tour '11 candidate at one of the best pizza joints in Bloomington...crazy. However, when we walked into Cafe Pizzaria on Kirkwood Avenue, we spotted the "tenderloin special" sign...that hooked me. The pizza would have to wait.
It was excellent. It had that first elemental necessity of a good tenderloin--it had been beaten to a pulp. If that gristle remains...deal breaker. This one was free of gristle. Hooray! Add to this a nice, light yet crispy coating that was browned just right. Top it off with moist pork when biting through that crispy coating and we were there! As an added bonus, after asking the waiter to load the tenderloin "within an inch of its life", the condiments arrived and were nice, fresh, and cold. Oh, and did I mention that the tenderloin was nicely salted? That makes all the difference. All in all...a sure winner.
I couldn't check on the onion rings since, as far as I know, they aren't on the menu at the Cafe Pizzaria. No matter...the tenderloin was enough enjoyment for this trip.
