DES MOINES, Iowa – There’s an Iowa man on a mission to find his favorite tenderloin in the state. He’s traveling to each of Iowa’s 99 counties to figure it out.
It’s a sandwich the “Hawkeye State” claims as its own.
“It’s so Iowa, tenderloins are so Iowa,” Jeff Stark, owner of Kelly’s Little Nipper, said. “You can hardly go to Minnesota, Illinois, Missouri.”
A piece of breaded pork that’s stood the test of time at Kelly’s Little Nipper in Des Moines.
“It’s been a staple because that’s a food that’s been able to been made in the 40s and 50s and 60s,” Stark said. “And so they’ve been making tenderloins at this location for a very, very long time.”
And the center of one Iowan’s biggest food feats to date.
“This is called 99 pork tenderloins,” Jay Goodvin said.
Goodvin calls himself the ‘Chief Explorer’ of The Iowa Gallivant, a tenderloin connoisseur if you will.
“I would say that,” Goodvin said, “as well as about 90% of the rest of Iowa.”
The born and raised Iowa content creator who now lives in Iowa City is on a quest to find his favorite tenderloin in the state.
“And this seemed Just like a natural fit because people always ask me, ‘Where’s your favorite tenderloin?'” Goodvin explained. “And I keep telling them where it’s at, but it always changes.”
He’s going around to each of Iowa’s 99 counties to order a tenderloin and document his findings on social media.
“We all have our favorites. We all have our favorite ways to eat them. And we all have our favorite communities to go to have them in,” Goodvin said. “My opinion isn’t any more important than anybody else’s because I know that we’re going to get comments on social media saying you should have gone here, you should have gone there. But I love that because it gives us more ideas for our future travels and we always say our favorite destination is the next one when it comes to The Iowa Gallivant.”
Every tenderloin is a little different, with similar toppings.
“I usually do all of the vegetables like lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles,” Gallivant said. “I love mustard on it like most people do.”
But don’t get It confused with the Iowa Pork Producers’ contest to find the best tenderloin in the state.
“They’re in the middle of their biggest promotion of the year when it comes to pork tenderloin. I’m doing one too, on the side, and we’ve been kind of communicating throughout the entire process because it just works out best for everybody,” Gallivant said. “And I can’t wait to see some of the local pork producers, especially when I get out to rural Iowa and meet some of them.”
That winner will be named in October. Gallivant is hoping to find his favorite within a year. He’s just getting started, Kelly’s Little Nipper in Polk County marks 11 out of 99.
“I didn’t get sick of steaks when we were doing the T-bone trail in western Iowa. I’m not going to get sick of being on the blacktop,” Gallivant said. “I’m not going to get sick of going all over Iowa because it’s just what I love to do.”
A passion project most Iowans would only dream of doing.
“Makes my job look like it sucks because I’d like to trade places with him,” Starks at Kelly’s Little Nipper said.
And one Goodvin might have to do twice.
“You never know when we might do 99 part two.”
Gallivant says his next stops are Benton, Linn, and Clayton counties and all of northwest Iowa to finish June.
You can follow along on his journey here.