The Indiana Tenderloin Chronicles

10/14/2026

Hidden up in the northeast corner of the state with a Fremont, IN address, Clay's Family Restaurant is a small place almost into Michigan. I stopped here after hiking in Pokagon State park. I remember it being a well deserved treat after walking all those miles. From the shape, you can see it was prepared more as a fast food style tenderloin, but I had no problem eating it back then. I don’t believe I posted this one back in 2021. I was only doing T&T blogs and Local Loin back then - I had no category to fit it in.

10/11/2026

Coming home after a marching band competition we stopped off for a tenderloin at a little restaurant that seems to appear out of nowhere. The Backroads Tavern in Wolcottville is just left of a couple of lakes in rural LaGrange County. Tenderloin was pretty good. It has a hard crunchy breading, nicely seasoned. The meat on this one was a bit darker than average. Usually that’s from getting the portion of the loin close to the ribs, or the rib meat itself. No matter where it came from, it was absolutely delicious. It was a lot more tender and really good pork flavor - no chewy grizzle at all. I was here for my wing blog many years ago when it was known as the Coppertop Tavern. And I’m glad to see they still have the copper topped bar - unique and fun to look at. The homemade cheesesticks are also something to get here. I forgot to order them, but got a pic from the table next to us. Next time for sure!

10/06/2026

I’m not sure why it’s taken me so long to try this place, for some reason it’s been off my radar. Happy's Kountry Kitchen in Elkhart, IN just west of town on the old 33 serves up a great tenderloin. There are a few places in the Elkhart / St Joe County area where you can get a good tenderloin, but at Happy’s you get it in the style that is loved so much through the rest of the state. It is a fresh hand-breaded tenderloin with the flaky crust - a crunch in every bite. Seasoned so perfectly that I left the hot sauce off of it. It is open for breakfast and lunch only (except for the fish fry Fridays). I’m going to start recommending this place for locals to get a taste of what the rest of Indiana is eating for a tenderloin.

10/04/2026

On the second half of the tenderloin for the LaGrange T&T blog we walked to Fireside Craft Burgers & Brews. Known more for its bbq, it offered up a pretty good “pre-prepared” tenderloin. I went home with a full growler of b**r too. Lagrange was memorable town. As well as the tenderloins, my son and I fed bison, frisbee golfed, and got some ice cream at a local stand.

09/29/2026

was the first time I featured two tenderloins on a T&T blog. After hanging around LaGrange and the county we settled into Romer's Restaurant and Spirits. This bar and grill has changed owners and names since then and doesn’t feature a tenderloin anymore, but we were able to get one in time. I ate half and saved the other half for later. Before walking to our next tenderloin place down the road.

09/27/2026

Michigan City… I’ve spent some time here with college friends in the 90’s so it was neat to see how the city had improved by doing a T&T blog here. My son and I hiked on Mt Baldy, but before that we got a tenderloin at Shoreline Brewery. It’s one of the better places to get a tenderloin on the northwest corner of the state

09/26/2026

Yesterday I wandered into Harry’s Tap & Grill in Milford, IN to get a taste of their tenderloin. The tables all had names on them since they had a band that night so I sat at the bar. The “crispy” tenderloin is a sandwich to try. The breading was crispy, similar to what you would find on fish - but it really works on this one. It didn’t stick very well to the pork, but that is mostly an aesthetic issue as it was seasoned well and tasted good with the loin. I even picked up a couple pieces of the breading after finishing the sandwich, it was like eating chips. A great place to hang out and I will be coming back sometime to have this one again.

09/24/2026

It was a Memorial Day Weekend and the whole family took a trip to McCormick's Creek State Park. We are not really tent and camp people, so we stayed at the lodge in the park. Got the tenderloin at the hotel restaurant. I’ve found that the menu is pretty much the same at all the state park hotels- and you can get a tenderloin at any of them. Also got in a T&T blog with the city next door, Spencer, where we saw a movie and ate at a brewery. But the trails here at the state park… some of the best hiking in the state.

09/23/2026

The Leftovers: Greenfield, IN
A few pics that didn’t make it into the blog. Clic the pic for description.

09/21/2026

Here is the latest The Tenderloin and the Town Blog. It's been a few years in the making but I made it to Greenfield, IN

Visited were: Dave's Express Care Carwash & Grill and Valvoline Express Care, Hitherto Coffee, James Whitcomb Riley Boyhood Home, Cynthia's Hallmark Stores, Wooden Bear Brewing Co., Greek's Pizzeria at Wooden Bear Brewing, $ H.J. Ricks Centre For The Arts

I finally made it out to Greenfield! They do say that the third time’s a charm. A couple of years ago I had it all planned out. The days off of work, room booked, I even contacted the local historian, Brigette, to nail down the ins and outs of what to feature in the town. I then caught a bad cold ...