Carol Johnson, Southern Indiana Business Report
Indiana has a state flower, state bird and a state pie. A classic comfort food found at diners and drive-ins throughout the state could become the official state sandwich.
Senate Bill 21 is proposing the breaded pork tenderloin be named the state sandwich. If successful, the BPT would be the official sandwich by July.
You don’t have to travel far to find a BPT in southern Indiana. From Holt’s Cafe in Judah, down to the German Cafe in French Lick, the Radius Indiana region doesn’t lack for offerings of this iconic Hoosier sandwich.
The classic breaded pork tenderloin starts with a pork cutlet, pounded flat to ensure quick and even cooking. The flattened loin is then coated in a breading of seasonings and fried golden brown.
If the taste alone doesn’t give wow vibes, the presentation sends the BPT over the top. The classic BPT will occupy nearly every inch of a dinner plate, barely leaving room for fries. And don’t forget the bun that sits like a tiny top hat on the giant tenderloin.
Devotees of the pork tenderloin are known to scour the country looking for the best BPT out there. Pursuing Pork Tenderloin is one such social media page. The Midwest seems to be a mecca for the BPT and several of the page’s followers have given shoutouts to BPTs in the Radius region.
The Railroad Cafe on Main Street in Mitchell is famous for its tenderloin and has received a couple of mentions on the page. Darlene Campbell, one of the managers at Railroad Cafe, said the cafe’s tenderloin is the No. 1 ordered item on the menu.
“Our tenderloin is made fresh daily. A butcher processes it for us,” Campbell said. “We make our own breading and it’s served about the size of the plate.”
Campbell said Railroad Cafe’s BPT has drawn customers from Louisville, Indianapolis and Illinois.
Former US Vice President Mike Pence stopped in the cafe in December with a hunting group. He didn’t order the tenderloin, Campbell said, “but he was very pleased with his order.”
According to Visit Indiana, Hoosiers’ love story with the tenderloin began in 1908 when Nick Freienstein, a second-generation German immigrant, opened Nick’s Kitchen in Huntington. One of the big hits on the menu was the breaded pork tenderloin sandwich, his version of Viennese wiener schnitzel.
The German Cafe in French Lick is another restaurant known for its tenderloin. Owner Ramona Muenzer, who moved to the United States from Germany, said German Cafe takes a lot of pride in preparing the tenderloin.
“We trim away the fat, butterfly cut it and then tenderize it with a meat hammer,” she said.
After the tenderloin is coated in the cafe’s own breading recipe, the tenderloin is pan fried – not deep fried.
The tenderloin can be ordered as a plate meal, topped with a mushroom gravy, or as a sandwich.
Muenzer said she’s thrilled the pork tenderloin has a chance at being the state sandwich.
“It’s juicy, tender and super tasty,” she said. “When you eat a pork tenderloin, your belly is full but it doesn’t feel heavy.”
Check out the Tenderloin Lovers Trail
In 2007, the Indiana Foodways Alliance, a nonprofit dedicated to the celebration, promotion and preservation of the authentic food culture of Indiana, created the Tenderloin Lovers Trail, which maps out where you can go to find a tenderloin.
If this article has your mouth watering, here are restaurants in the Radius Indiana region listed on the Tenderloin Lovers Trail:
- 33 Brick St., French Lick
- German Cafe, French Lick
- Hagen’s Club House, French Lick
- Ohana Sushi Grill, Jasper
- Oink Inc. Smokehouse and Southern Kitchen, Jasper
- Schnitzelbank, Jasper
- Snaps, Jasper