‘It’s an Indiana thing’

[me]

Published March 11, 2009 11:02 pm - ANDERSON — Members of a local gourmet club met in the back room of a bistro to sample a native delicacy.

'It's an Indiana thing'
Tenderloins are a Hoosier State delicacy that few outside the state can comprehend

By Rodney Richey, Herald Bulletin Feature Writer

ANDERSON — Members of a local gourmet club met in the back room of a bistro to sample a native delicacy.

Temptingly, the waitress delivered the entrees, and soberly, deliberately, those gathered sunk their teeth into the fare.

"Awww, yeah," one man said, wiping the mustard off his mouth.

Such is the effect of the breaded pork tenderloin sandwich, that robust yet indulgent morsel of Hoosier goodness.

The "gourmets" are the loyal troops of the Democrat tenderloin club, which meets on the occasional Thursday for a lunchtime nosh at The Three Pigs, 520 E. 29th St.

"I'm from Massachusetts, so when I first came down here, I had no idea what a tenderloin was," said Dave Tierney of Anderson, a retired Delco Remy worker.

"Once I got introduced to it, I tell ya, I love 'em, the breaded and the grilled. The Three Pigs, boy, I tell ya, they've got a big one."

Evidently, when it comes to breaded tenderloins, size matters.

"They're usually bigger than the plate they bring 'em on," said Richard Thompson of Alexandria, who retired from Ag One Co-op. "And you can usually cut 'em in half and take the other half home and have it for supper."

"(They're) just very good," said Bill Riffe of Anderson, a retired Madison Heights High School teacher. "I guess it's hard to describe. They're good, and they're big."

First encounter

When Corey Miller, executive chef at Hoosier Park Racing and Casino, first came to Anderson in early 2008, he went to dinner with a large group. One of the diners ordered a breaded tenderloin sandwich.

"I had no idea what they were," Miller said recently. "I thought it was like a grilled pork tenderloin with a sauce. And this sandwich comes out."

Miller laughed at the memory. "I'm sorry, but it was about the size of a Frisbee! With this little bun on it. And I'm looking at it. I'm like, 'What is that? And how do you eat it?' "

Read more >> http://www.heraldbulletin.com/homenews/local_story_070210604.html?start:int=0

[pariann]

That is definately one of the things I missed when I left Indiana for awhile, you just can't them anywhere else I've been.

I also couldn't find a Sugar Cream Pie, which is one of my favorites.

What I'm glad you can't find in Indiana.....when you order a cheeseburger deluxe (or all the way) you don't get a spoonful of slaw thrown on it.   OMG, I remember the first time that happened to me out in NC.  I had to send it back.  Slaw is a side dish, not a condiment!!  LOL

[Exterminator]

ANDERSON — Members of a local gourmet club...

LMAO!  Oxymoron alert!

[me]

That is definately one of the things I missed when I left Indiana for awhile, you just can't them anywhere else I've been.

I also couldn't find a Sugar Cream Pie, which is one of my favorites.

What I'm glad you can't find in Indiana.....when you order a cheeseburger deluxe (or all the way) you don't get a spoonful of slaw thrown on it.   OMG, I remember the first time that happened to me out in NC.  I had to send it back.  Slaw is a side dish, not a condiment!!  LOL

eeewww that doesn't even sound good but then I don't like slaw. 

[Palehorse]

eeewww that doesn't even sound good but then I don't like slaw.

^Evidence that this V

LMAO!  Oxymoron alert!

Was right! 

I'm telling you I personally find the Hoosier sense of culinary taste to be quite jaded. No sense of adventure, no cultural diversity; if it doesn't walk on four legs and have hooves you just can't get it here!

[Exterminator]

The closest I get to a pork tenderloin is jägerschnitzel.  Yum!

[Palehorse]

The closest I get to a pork tenderloin is jägerschnitzel.  Yum!

Yummm indeed! I guess that's part of the problem I have with the local eats; no imagination. If it isn't a white or brown gravy covering the meat, they aren't interested in even trying it. If you add mushrooms or a variety of things from the garden, they turn their nose up!

When I make hotdogs on the grill for my friends I always have a nice variety of veggies to dress them up with. I'm the only one who uses them 99% of the time, with the other 1% representing family or friends from out of town who might be around at the time.

Locals look at me like I'm out of my skull when I start adding the fixings to my hot dogs. "How can you eat that? is the typical response. . .

Even simple things like a Gyros or Italian Beef seem to make them want to run for the porcelin bus! 

[pariann]

But have you ever tasted a cheeseburger with tomato, onion, mustard, and slaw?  It really DOES NOT taste good.  And I do have an adventurous tongue.


Shut up, Exterminator!

[Palehorse]

But have you ever tasted a cheeseburger with tomato, onion, mustard, and slaw?  It really DOES NOT taste good.  And I do (censored to keep me from commenting).

Shut up, Exterminator!

Yes and it is darned good eating if done right!  Same with slaw on a hot dog. (Or Kraut) 

[pariann]

Kraut is not the same as slaw, tastewise.  That also is an acquired taste.  Not too many people will eat rotten cabbage. LOL

[Exterminator]

And I do have an adventurous tongue.

[Palehorse]

Kraut is not the same as slaw, tastewise.  That also is an acquired taste.  Not too many people will eat rotten cabbage. LOL

Well. . .there. . .you. . .go! (BTW I know the difference between the two, but Kraut is a popular dressing for dogs and burgers despite the blandness and tunnelvision of Hoosier tastebuds).

A LOT of people eat kraut, sweet cabbage, etc. Just very few in this state. What this place needs is a good Bohemian or Polish resteraunt to expose Hoosiers to what they are missing. And while we're at it how about some Greek, Italian, (real not that fast food/chain crap), German, Establishments as well?

I tell you my taste buds still miss Chicago!

[Palehorse]

Right down the pipe! 

[pariann]

Speaking of kraut, I do fix it for my family, with sausage.  And I actually have one child that looks forward to it.  I've been craving it for several weeks now.  Only I don't think it will come out too well in the microwave.  My stove has gone completely caput.  I'm on the lookout for a new/used/free one.

[pariann]

Right down the pipe! 

It's about time that someone noticed my greatness and bowed down.

And I KNEW he couldn't leave it alone. LOL