Review: Yogi’s Grill & Bar
Author: indianapoliseater | Filed under: Food Reviews, Location: Bloomington, IN, Tenderloin of the Month
Yogi’s Grill & Bar
519 E 10th St
Bloomington, IN 47408
http://www.yogis.com/
As if you haven’t been able to tell from the blog so far, several of us on this blog are graduates of Indiana University. Since I am a graduate of that fine institution, I spend a lot of time in Bloomington supporting my alma mater by going to see football and basketball games.
Due to this, I recently visited what I consider to be one of the many Indiana University institutions (albeit not as old of one) on one of my recent trips there for a basketball game and since I hadn’t had a tenderloin in a while (and the menu is reduced prior to home basketball games), I figured I would give it a shot.
What I Got: Breaded Tenderloin Sandwich, served with cole slaw and chips (I substituted tater tots for an addtional charge); around $8-$9.
This was your classic Indiana breaded tenderloin sandwich as it was way too big for the bun and if you can get that right, you are off to a good start. If I had to guess though, I would say that they bring this in from off-site (or at least pre-prepare them and then freeze them) because it didn’t have that “hand-pounded on site” look to it. If you’ve had as many tenderloins in your life as I have, you can just tell what that “look” is. The breading was a little soggy too, so I’m guessing that they just defrost a bunch of these at the beginning of the night and throw them in the fryer to heat them up as the orders come in. That’s too bad, but unfortunately, you are bound to run into that from time to time.
In terms of taste, it wasn’t bad. Considering that I’m speculating that this was of the frozen variety, I would rate in the “above average” column when all things are considered. In terms of fresh tenderloins, no way. In terms of frozen tenderloins, it was not too shabby. It was helped by the fact that the tenderloin, while slightly on the thin side (again, compared to fresh tenderloins) was juicy and the produce was fairly fresh for the time of year. The bun was toasted, as I prefer it and while that may seem like a simple part of the sandwich, I’ve been to a lot of places that manage to screw that up. The tater tots were crunchy too (also of the frozen from the bag variety too, I’m sure), so all in all, it wasn’t a bad meal.
Would I Buy It Again? Sure. I wouldn’t go out of the way for it and wouldn’t rate it as a “must have,” but overall, it was not a bad tenderloin and you wouldn’t be filled with regret if you ordered it. Lord knows that I’ve certainly had worse.
As for Yogi’s in general, I would highly recommend it. They have a nice restaurant area with a small bar and then they have another large, attached bar area that is filled with televisions. It really is a great place to watch a game and with over one hundred different flavors of beer available (over forty of them on draft), you certainly aren’t going to go thirsty. Ha!
-IndianapolisEater
Tags: bloomington, cole slaw, Food, indiana university, sandwich, tater tots, Tenderloin, Tenderloin of the Month
Looks good! I just had an amazing breaded tenderloin the other day at a local place called Grandma’s Kitchen. It’s a new restaurant, and they nailed the sandwich. The meat was nice and thick, and the breading was unique and tasty. It got my “Best Breaded Tenderloin I’ve ever had” award, for sure. Unfortunately, the place has had a lot of bad press in the local papers lately, so I suspect they probably won’t be around much longer
There aren’t any other great tenderloins in my town, blah.
The thing to get at Yogi’s, if you are with friends, is the shotski. It’s literally a ski that they have attached shot glasses to and you line up 3 or 5 of your friends at once and try to lift the ski simultaneously to drink the shot. Also, there is a time every year when they do a special Polish menu which I always wanted to get in on but never did.
Aren’t all tater tots “frozen from the bag”? I cant recall ever seeing “fresh cut tater tots”.
Leaning toward a burger Saturday when we hit it … is that a mistake?
Your brother had a burger and I think he thought it was okay, so you are probably good to go there.
You lost me at soggy breading.
Complete with their waffle fries and that is a pretty good meal!