O/R F.O.T.S.!

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The Mingo Special: A local small town butcher shop ( Mingo Locker - Mingo, Iowa (IA) | Company Profile ) is their source for ground beef and Italian sausage. This sandwich is topped with a generous portion of their Italian Sausage and topped with lots of mozzarella cheese. I had them add bacon and banana peppers! I chose Goldie fries this time.



yummm...

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I stopped by one more time. This was with the intention of trying some dessert.



I had to have another tenderloin.



The homemade pies are made and frozen locally. Goldie's bakes them off. There is always a great variety, everything from gooseberry to boysenberry. Yes, there is even rhubarb!
I know Goldie's makes some of their own desserts too. I opted for the hot brownie sundae with chocolate and hot caramel topping. This was a lighter type brownie with a perfect silky smooth chocolate icing.



Goldie's is a must visit. All of the help are friendly and interactive. They have had customers from nearly every state and even a few from other countries.
It will be hard to not drive east this Wednesday as I plan to peruse more of the midwest's best pork tenderloins.

Next up: The Longest Yard Sports Grill - Restaurant - West Des Moines, IA - Info | Facebook

[Jenna]

Hope there are no earthquakes shaking up that glass tower!

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Just a few blocks from where my Dad grew up is the original main street of Historic Valley Junction West Des Moines, Ia



The Longest Yard Sports Grill - Restaurant - West Des Moines, IA - Info | Facebook



I arrived early and took a few pics.





I asked the bartender what were some of the more unique items in the bar.

A brick from University of Iowa Official Athletic Site Facilities and a Kirk Ferentz autographed football.



The owners were on the 1991 Hawkeye team that went to the Rose Bowl.

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And yes, they have yard long glasses!



The menu had a few unique items.

The Cheeseburger With A Skirt.
A grilled burger topped with so much cheese that it gets grilled until the cheese gets crunchy and forms a "skirt"!



I was here for their breaded pork tenderloin.



This was a very meaty pork tenderloin. The breading is corn meal based which gives it a texture and flavor of it's own. This is unique to the area that has many pork tenderloins that use mostly cracker meal for breading.

[IMGreat101]

http://www.smittystenderloins.com/index2.php#/home/

Many years ago when I lived on the south side of Des Moines I used to frequent Smitty's. Today I chose to go back and have another one of their tenderloins.



A cozy little dining area complete with tables, booths and my favorite, counter seating. There is more interaction with the staff at the counter.



The King Tenderloin. This is a thinner style breaded loin, still it was very meaty!



This was an amazing breaded pork tenderloin. The deli paper did not have a spot of grease on it when I was done! The fries were nearly as perfect as the loin. The meaty loin was breaded with a medium sized cracker meal, perfectly breaded and fried. The service was top notch, interactive and friendly. There was a youngster at the counter that kept the small crowd laughing. A great lunch and entertainment!

[IMGreat101]

I walked about to look at the memorabilia.





Bill "Smitty" Smith opened Smitty's Tenderloin Shop in 1967. They have hand breaded every pork tenderloin since!



I happened to be there at same time Bill's son and current owner Greg, Greg's son Ben and Ben's son, Jackson (the young comedian).

This is kind of a 4 generation pic. Ben, Jackson and Greg with Bill's caricature in the back.



I did get to visit with Greg and Ben for a bit on this busy day. You can definitely sense the pride in their breaded pork tenderloins. This is a small town friendly diner in a big city. I will definitely return for a loin!

[Jenna]

I
This is kind of a 4 generation pic. Ben, Jackson and Greg with Bill's caricature in the back.

Nice!

[IMGreat101]

Home



This is a cozy place with many different styles of seating.

Living room arrangement.



Tall tables with their own tv.



There is a stage near the front and a library setting towards the back.

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The pork tenderloins at Mickey's are a thicker style with a breading that has just the right flavor and crunch.

With waffle fries and chipotle dipping sauce.



There is something new on the menu!

The Buffalo Bomber

This monstrosity consists of a breaded Pork tenderloin smothered in spicy buffalo sauce, our Applewood smoked bacon, and Mickey's house tossed cole slaw piled atop to cool it out a bit. Stack it on a grilled Ciabatta and we call it the Bomber.

These were both hits. The ciabatta buns are from a local family owned bakery.

[IMGreat101]

Des Moines Dives: Kelly's Little Nipper | Metromix Des Moines

This little bar nestled in the middle of Mexican grocers and restaurants is well known for their giant tenderloin.

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The service was fast and friendly. I knew the tenderloin was going to be huge, but this about knocked me off my bar stool when it arrived!





This had to be at least one pound of meat. Perfectly breaded and fried. Served on nearly a half loaf of toasted Italian bread. This was definitely a hit.

The sandwich was offered with french fries or their homemade onion rings. I chose the onion rings.



This was a big miss. Most of the breading remained in the fryer. What remained on the onions was not done. The result was a greasy pile of sweated onions. Not good.

I will definitely go back for a tenderloin and fries.

[IMGreat101]

Execuserve Catering by John Maher - Des Moines, IA catering services for weddings, business and private parties


My gf and I have worked with John since 1999, Catering, consulting, writing menus, etc. I still have a key to the business for some of my bigger ventures.

The Parrothead Burger Barge has been in operation for over 15 yrs. Operating on one of Des Moines busiest thoroughfares. The city just recently put the clamps on "mobile food vendors" therefore the barge has gone silent. They used to be open outside from spring till fall and then moved into their main kitchen/office/dining room during the winter. John still operates a mobile field kitchen. He prefers to prepare most of the food onsite instead of preparing and transporting. This gives the customer a much fresher product.

Some of the Barge's equipment.

The Barge



Inside



The mobile field kitchen



Inside



One of the many vehicles. (Good times, even if we caught one on fire! )



John's always being a shit stirrer!

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John closed up the 11am - 2pm business at their shop when he took on two corporate cafeterias.

I stopped by for one last visit.







The menu



Some shots of the inside.



The original menu from the "Chapter 13" restaurant downtown.



That's my girlfriend in the corner.

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The food.

They would have cookies or brownies nearly every day for free.



The buns are from a local family owned bakery.



Ready to make sammiches!



My girlfriend putting my sammich together and adding fries.



Condiment bar

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The sammies

Bumble Burger: A fresh grilled burger topped with bbq sauce, velveeta cheese and bacon.



The OMZIG (they got a threatening letter regarding the name of the sandwich "The Gizmo") ham, 2 cheeses, saute mix (onions, peppers, tomatoes)



The Pacific Coast Burger - A one of a kind savory salmon/cheese patty, served with remoulade sauce

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Welcome to Jethro's BBQ





Local and national accolades.

Pork Tenderloin

It's bigger than the plate, pounded flat, then fried crispy and served on a toasted bun.

Texas Dip

(No French spoken here) Thin sliced Texas brisket smothered with melted Swiss cheese, topped with sweet bourbon glazed onion, with a side of bbq jus for dippin.

The pork tenderloin was a thinner yet meaty style of tenderloin. Pounding out the loin gives it a tougher chew. This was moist and tender. I also noticed they did not have waffle fries anymore.

[IMGreat101]

Smokey D's BBQ | Des Moines, Iowa







The Smokey D's pork tenderloin is seasoned with their dry rub, then breaded and fried. These are huge and meaty!

[IMGreat101]

From a previous visit.

The Jethro

This isn't for everyone... It's porktastic; It's ginormous; We start with our famous tenderloin, we add Carolina style pulled pork, house smoked pit ham, and a double order of thick slab bacon, choose your side and then go for it... But remember... we warned you. 15.95