The 5: Dante Powell Shares the Top 5 Tenderloins in Des Moines

Dante Powell is a comedian from Bernice, Louisiana. He currently lives and performs out of Des Moines, Iowa where he moved in 2012 for a girl, but was too lazy to leave after she dumped him. Dante is best known for a photo of him holding a box of Cheerios that went viral. (He was offered temporary membership into the Illuminati, kinda viral…) Anyhow, if you don’t like his stand up, please let him know, and he will be glad to introduce you to some other comedian who may be more your speed. Seriously, just let him know. We all wanna just have a good time! You’re probably going to like his stuff, though.

In celebration of his debut album dropping, Dante shares with us one of the most American editions of the 5 we can imagine.  What’s more  American than going deep on a local tradition with someone who is local enough to know what they’re talking about? Because the best tenderloin is not a ranking of Impractical Jokers, its a local food you can only get in Iowa. You can’t go to Des Moines Iowa right now, but when that changes, you’ll be ready to know where to get the very best of a local tradition you can’t get anywhere else: The Tenderloin.

As a Louisiana transplant in Iowa, I am often asked what I miss most about the Bayou State. Is it family? Weather? Black people? Well, yeah I do miss all of that, but what I miss most is the food. (Sorry, Granny. Love you!)

I spent a considerable amount of my first year living in Iowa searching for suitable substitutions for all of the delicacies I left in my past as I came north. Some things I found (Tony Chacheres seasoning blend) and others I suffer without daily (Blue Bell ice cream) but after acclimating to life in Iowa, I have found that the food here isn’t bad! Its good, actually. In the way we take pride in our crawfish, jambalaya, and gumbo – Iowans have their sweet corn, casseroles, and pork tenderloin sandwiches.

I had never tried a breaded tenderloin before moving here, but find myself quite fond of them. These are my 5 Favorite Tenderloin Sandwiches in Des Moines:

Goldie’s Ice Cream Shoppe (Prairie City, Iowa) – Because this place isn’t technically in Des Moines and the drive to the Prairie City, Iowa restaurant is about 20 minutes from the capitol city, they’re coming in at 5. That is not a reflection of quality, by any stretch. A sandwich so good you’d drive 20 minutes to an ice cream shop to buy it speaks volumes to me. I am not alone in that endeavor either. The lines are always long, but move quickly, and the food is always fresh, and delicious. The portion is huge, (which will be a theme as we go along) the breading feels more like a traditional flour based breading you’d see on a southern style pork chop, but it works here, and makes for a perfect crunch. They toast the buns and offer all of the traditional fixins Iowans are accustomed to for their tenderloins (mayo, mustard, lettuce, onion, tomato, and cheese) all for around $8. Which is an incredible deal.

Brick Street Market (Bondurant, Iowa) – Moves you slightly closer to Des Moines in the Northeast suburb Bondurant. This independent grocery store was opened by some locals who won the lottery. Aside from the many amenities offered, this tenderloin is just hella good. Of all of the ones listed, this one I think, has the best bun, which can be vastly underrated sometimes. They also have the crispiest breading on their tenderloin. Crisp, but not too crunchy, though. So it is not going to hurt your mouth to chew it, but it does sound amazing when you bite into it. That goes for taste as well. The tenderloin is still larger than the bun, but not to an excessive degree and the sandwich is better for it. The meat is tender, but still formidable and not so thin that it tastes like cardboard.

Smitty’s Tenderloin – Smitty’s is a Des Moines staple that normally tops the “Best Of Des Moines” list for tenderloins every year. For good reason, too. They use a light breading, but lay it on thick. The tenderloin is coated well enough that the breading sticks to the meat even if you need to hold it to cut it, but manages to not be flaky or doughy either. I appreciate the selection of toppings here. All of the expected options are around, as well as some non-traditional offers, and I love this particular tenderloin topped with chili and cheese.

B&B Meat & Deli – This place is a local treasure that just does everything right. They have an amazingly long menu for such a small store, and despite having ordered almost every item at least once, I have yet to be disappointed. The tenderloin here is next level though. You become accustomed to them coming out larger than the bun and plate you eat them on, but normally suffer in terms of overall thickness and quality for it. B&B has mastered making a tenderloin that is as wide as your head, but thick enough to make for a great bite of perfectly tender meat every time. The breading is really good and sticks to the loin well and the buns are quality bread. The shining star of B&B is the service, though. The guys behind the meat counter where you pick up your food love what they’re doing, and they’re so good at it, that no matter what mood you come in with, you’ll find yourself smiling at the register when you go to pay.

Francies – Trying to rank these, as opposed to just listing them would have been incredibly hard. Picking a favorite would be like asking my mom to pick her favorite child. I suppose I say that all to say that this sandwich is the Brian of tenderloins to me. Of all of the sandwiches I tried, this one had the best breading. It had been seasoned well and had flavors that aren’t overbearing, but honestly just make this sandwich taste good as hell. It’s still a large enough tenderloin that it outpaces the bun it is on, but it makes for a few extra bites here and there, as opposed to something you’d need to potentially cut into halves or quarters and then stack. Its breaded really well, slapped between a buttery toasted bun, and topped with whatever you’d like. The relief there is that you can’t really go wrong. You’ll like it with whatever.

So there ya go! I am sure others will have their favorites, and may disagree with me, but they’re wrong. If you’re ever in Des Moines, follow my suggestions and enjoy some tenderloins.

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