It is next to impossible to find a good one, even in Indiana, these days.

When I was a kid and spent summers with my aunt we would always stop for lunch at the same truck stop when we traveled between Indianapolis and Elkhart. The sandwiches were to die for. The tenderloins were twice the size of the bun and melted in your mouth.

I've made three trips back in the last 5 years and have searched for a good tenderloin sandwich every time. I've eaten some of the worst excuses for that childhood favorite imaginable.

The best ones I get still come from my own kitchen.

Posted by: at May 6, 2008 2:34 PM

Stop by the Columbus Bar in Columbus, In for a great Tenderloin Sandwich. Visit our website at www.powerhousebrewingco.com

Posted by: Jon at May 6, 2008 11:35 PM

The best ones only come once a year at the Indiana State Fair. I suspect its why its the largest state fair in the country.

Posted by: at May 7, 2008 2:04 AM

Sarah, Thanks for the mention of my web site porktenderloinsandwich.com. It is just a fun pursuit. Yes, there have been some two a day tenderloins but that is rare.

The breaded pork tenderloin sandwich is pretty much a Midwest sandwich ubiquitous to Indiana, Illinois, Iowa and parts of the states that border those three. They are rarely found elsewhere and when found usually with some genesis from the Midwest. They have shown up in Texas, Florida, Arizona and California that way. I am not aware of any in the east other than the Dominion Restaurant in McLean, VA outside of Washington, DC.

There are a lot of good tenderloins and they seem to me to be better and more popular than in the past based on my personal experience of pursuing them for 50 years. New York certainly deserves one. Maybe this will give someone inspiration.

Posted by: Davydd at May 7, 2008 9:37 AM

We haven't lived in Indiana for 25 years, but grew up in Fort Wayne, consuming untold numbers of pork tenderloin sandwiches from drive-in restaurants like the defunct Gardner's, to neighborhood bars such as the Acme Bar & Grill, which we patronize during all too infrequent visits. We live in North Carolina - the concept of the breaded pork tenderloin is foreign in these parts, unfortunately.

Posted by: Maryanne at May 7, 2008 10:41 AM

Dooley O'Toole's in Carmel, IN, has the best ones in the Indianapolis area nowadays. Sadly, the truck stop ones that used to be so good seem to have all faded into history. So it falls to the erstatz-Irish pub restaurants to take up the mantle, somehow, and they generally do pretty good.

Posted by: Denise at May 7, 2008 5:48 PM

The Tin Star in Fishers. Best in Indy.

Posted by: at May 9, 2008 2:19 AM