[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
