Daddy Jack’s
9419 N. Meridian
Indianapolis, IN 46240
http://www.konajacksindy.com/daddy_jacks.php

Daddy Jack’s was my first review ever on the blog.   I tend to go here a lot with vendors, however I rarely eat here on my own dime.  I don’t hate it and have actually had a few good meals here.   In fact, I like their Taco Salad quite a bit.

What I Ate: Pork Tenderloin; $8.50.

Sorry about the bad pic, it is pretty dark in there.  First, $8.50 is a little spicy for a pork tenderloin, but if it is good, I am always willing to throw a few extra dollars at it.  The sesame seed bun was toasted and they brought all the right fixings for it.  I usually eat one half with just a thin swipe of mayo, and the other fully dressed.  There is no rhyme or reason to it, but sometimes I like just bread and meat.

This tenderloin was technically good.   It was big enough to fill me up, but it didn’t keep the attention of my fellow dinners.   Sometimes when I order a tenderloin (especially at lunch and being over 200 lbs) I get the “are you going to eat all of that?” look.  Why, yes   I found the tenderloin to be a little dry and thinner than I usually like it, but we are talking centimeters at this point.  Produce was fresh and the chips were straight out of the bag.

Would I Buy It Again?  Probably not.   It wasn’t bad, it was just boring.  She was a prim and proper tenderloin and I was looking for her slutty sister.  Daddy Jack’s is not a bad restaurant and I eat there probably 2-3 times a month.  Go in expecting welcoming service, a decent meal and you will not be disappointed.

-wibia

Binkley’s Kitchen & Bar
5902 N. College Avenue
Indianapolis, IN  46220
http://www.binkleyskitchenandbar.com

Tenderloin of the Month is quickly becoming my favorite segment.  Why?    I get to eat at least one tenderloin a month.   I ate one about every four or five months previously, so I am looking forward to having a fixed menu item in this fun experiment.  Last month, IndianapolisEater tried out the tenderloin at Broad Ripple Tavern.  So, I tried out Binkley’s, which is another LUX restaurant.

Binkley’s is a cool joint.  It was crazy crowded on a Friday night, so I assumed that the food had hope.  The service was slow throughout the meal, a real bummer for sure when you have a 14 month old.  I saw a tenderloin on the menu and realized that we are running out of time for September, so I had to try it.

What I Ate:  Breaded Tenderloin; $8.99.  Served with Cole Slaw.

The good news was that  it was not a breaded pork fritter.  I liked the thickness of the tenderloin as it was not too thin and and not too dry.  It was just right actually.  However, I found it to be a good amount smaller than a lot of its competitors.  The breading was crisp, the pork was juicy and all in all, I thought that it had a nice taste until…(insert cliffhanger music)…the bun was gross.   Flour dusted yuppie bun.  It wasn’t grilled either, just straight out of the bag.  This ruined the sandwich.

Would I Buy It Again?   No.  The tenderloin was a little on the small size, however the bun ruined it.  Notice at their other restaurant, they serve a sesame seed bun.  I really can’t rag on it too much because if they get a new bun, they would be back on track.  I have had much worse.

Btw, the remainder of the food at Binkley’s was pretty bad.  Hummus tasted like a romesco sauce and my wife’s pasta (a special) was pretty awful.  Watery sauce for $16.  First, it was too expensive and second, it was just plain bad.   I am not sure if I would return to Binkley’s, unless it was for a few drinks.

-wibia

[Editor's Note: This is the first post in our "Tenderloin of the Month" feature mentioned in a post by wibia this past Friday.]

Broad Ripple Tavern
745 Broad Ripple Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana  46220
http://www.broadrippletavern.com/

Some friends and I were wasting our lives drinking beer in Broad Ripple on a lazy Saturday afternoon and it came around dinner time, so we decided to peek our heads into Broad Ripple Tavern (an old favorite) for a bite to eat.

Broad Ripple Tavern is part of Lux Restaurants, which is made up of several local bar/grill type places.  Since they are all part of the same group, they all share similar menu characteristics and since I’ve had the Breaded Tenderloin at some of their other establishments and have liked it, I decided to try it here.

What I Got:  Breaded Tenderloin sandwich (comes with chips, but I substituted fries for $1.00 extra), $8.99.

First impression:  Like any true Breaded Tenderloin sandwich, this one was huge and if you can get that part of the execution down right, you are off to a good start in my mind.  It was thick and oddly shaped too, which was also a good sign in my book because that means that they hand pounded and shaped it themselves, which always leads to a better sandwich.

Second impression:  The breading on this sandwich was like a breading that I have rarely encountered on tenderloins in the past and I’ve had a lot of them.  It was crispy, as you would expect, but it had the consistency and flakiness of fried chicken and that was incredible.  Once I tasted it, it tasted like fried chicken breading too, which was particularly awesome because like any other good, red-blooded American male, I love fried chicken.

The pork tenderloin meat was also quite good as well.  Like I said previously, it was thick and ample, so it was quite filling.  It was also cooked perfectly as each bite gave me a little bit of juice oozing out and I couldn’t have been happier. 

The fries were good too, but there was nothing outstanding about them.  Just your typical crunchy fries.

Would I Buy It Again?  Hell yes.  Like I said, Lux Restaurants share a lot of similar menu characteristics and I’m glad that the tenderloin has made it to many of their establishments because this one is damn good.  Not only would I order this again from Broad Ripple Tavern, but I’ll also order it again at the other restaurants in the conglomerate.

As a quick aside, has anyone ever seen anyone order a grilled tenderloin in their entire life?  I guess this applies most to Indiana residents since the Breaded Tenderloin is the state sandwich and is more prevalent here, but I’ve never seen a grilled tenderloin ordered EVER.  I even asked the waitress and while I don’t remember her exact response, I think she said something to the effect that she rarely, if ever, has seen one.

-IndianapolisEater

BK loves Indy as a test market.  We were the first for the BK Ribs and now, the Country Pork Sandwich.

I couldn’t believe when I read from Burger Business that BK was putting out a pork tenderloin sandwich.  It brought tears to my eyes to even think of them bastardizing my beloved state sandwich.

There are two varieties, the deluxe and regular.  The regular has ketchup, mustard, onions and pickles $4.29.  It looks like the deluxe adds lettuce and tomato for a few cents more $4.59.  I tried them both at different times.

The Deluxe:

My first impression was…ahh…a frozen pork fritter.  I didn’t realize that it had ketchup and onion and I would hold that the next time.  At first bite, I had to admit that I was pleasantly surprised.  I couldn’t find any gristle throughout the sandwich and the produce was above the majority of fast food.  The meat was processed to be a little thinner than my preference, but it wasn’t off-putting.  I accidentally deleted the pic.

Regular:

This was pretty bad.  As you can see, they forgot my onion.   Even if it had onion, I missed the lettuce and tomato and it really showed of the quality or the pork fritter and for some reason, it seemed to be quite compromised from the first one.  The breading caked up (not sure if that is a word) on top of the sandwich.  After eating this, I confirmed that I do not like ketchup on a tenderloin.

Overall, my expectations were set pretty low and the Deluxe exceeded them. I’ve had worse tenderloins at the state fair and other restaurants for t more money.  So, kind of a backhanded congrats to Burger King…it was better than I thought it would be, but that is not saying much.

The size and weight of the sandwich was pretty substantial.  I have a big appetite and I was very satisfied after eating it.  However, I was pretty thirsty the rest of the day and as you can tell by the nutrition facts below, there is quite a bit of salt in it.  In fact, it is about a day and a half’s worth.

Would I Buy It Again? No, but there are some positives.

Positives:
*Big sandwich for when you are hungry.
*The deluxe is an above average version of a fast food tenderloin sandwich.

Negatives:

*Still a frozen pork fritter and completely lame compared to the real deal.
*For a fast food sandwich, kind of pricey at $4.59

Nutritional Info: Calories – 1040 Fat – 48g Sodium – 3310mg.

-wibia

The dollar is used for size comparison only.

Credit to Robby Virus @flickr.com

Syd’s Bar & Grill
808 Logan Street
Noblesville, Indiana  46060

I used to go to Syd’s a lot for in high school when our school had an open campus for lunch, so I’ve been there many times before.  It’s an OLD bar on the square in downtown Noblesville and let’s just say that it has a lot of “charm” (check out the old-fashioned sign!).  When you walk up to the building (especially if you are coming up from the parking lot behind the building), you can smell the grease from the deep fried goodness that this place has been making since what seems like the beginning of time.

I’ve only been a few times in the 12+ years since then and since I was back for my first trip in quite a few years recently, I figured that I’d go with one of my two old standby orders (the Steak Sandwich was the other).  Not to steal any thunder from the Tenderloin Connoisseur, but I figured I would review his bread and butter…

What I Got:  Breaded Pork Tenderloin Sandwich served with chips $6.95.

Breaded Pork Tenderloin Sandwich

When you look at the picture, your first thought is probably “WOW, that thing is huge” and if that is what you were thinking, then you would be correct.  Like a true Indiana tenderloin, this one took up most of the plate.  What differed about Syd’s is that they at least attempted to serve it on a toasted bun that it is somewhat larger than the buns that you usually find served with a breaded tenderloin sandwich.

As for the actual tenderloin patty, it was breaded with a nice crispy crust and pounded very thin.  I usually prefer my tenderloins to a little thicker, but in this instance, I was okay with it being pounded out so thin.  It was perfectly fried and still very juicy on the inside.  I’ve been to Syd’s before where they’ve fried it too long and dried out the piece of meat, but this one was absolutely perfect as it was a perfect mix of juicy meat and crunchy breading.

Would I Buy It Again?  Yes, I definitely would. I’ve bought it countless times before and I will continue to buy it next time I go to Syd’s.  Because of its size, it was EXTREMELY filling (I had to stand up for a while after this one because it made me uncomfortable to sit because I was so full) and with a cost of only $6.95, you are getting an extremely great value.

So, if you are ever in the neighborhood of downtown Noblesville, give this one a shot (FYI, it’s very smoky in there).  If you don’t want a tenderloin, I would recommend (based on my prior experiences) the Steak Sandwich or the fried pickles.  I know fried pickles seem odd, but something about Syd’s fried pickles make them oddly addicting.

-IndianapolisEater

Eddy’s Sports Pub
14160 Mundy Drive
Noblesville, IN
http://www.eddyssportspub.com/index.html

The first two days of the NCAA tournament are two of my favorite days of the year and being such, I usually spend my time in a sports bar enjoying the basketball and camaraderie.  This year, I chose Eddy’s Sports Pub and ended up having two different meals.

What I Ate: Breaded Tenderloin sandwich ($6.95) with kettle chips & “The Wacki” sandwich with kettle chips. ($6.95 as well)

I’ve always been a HUGE fan of breaded pork tenderloin sandwiches. A tenderloin done right the Indiana way (oversized; it’s the state sandwich…seriously) is a great meal.  This one was breaded perfectly and it was juicy. The breading was done by hand (always a very big plus) and was fried to a golden brown crispness.  It came with the usual toppings (tomato, onion, lettuce, mayo, pickle).  This was a great sandwich and it didn’t disappoint.

The Wacki is a fat man’s (or drunk person’s) delight.  It’s a thick, perfectly cooked sausage patty with pepperoni on top and then the melted mozzarella slathered all over both and then covered with marinara sauce. It was served on the slightly oversized and toasted hamburger bun and I slathered it with the side of marinara sauce.  The whole burger was definitely on the greasy side, but if you are going to eat some unhealthy comfort food, this really is a great option.

Would I But It Again?  Yes to both. The tenderloin filled all the requirements that I would have in that particular kind of sandwich and The Wacki was exactly the right sandwich at exactly the right time.  Neither sandwich is going to make you look good in a bathing suit, but you do have to cheat from time to time or else life gets miserable.

-IndianapolisEater