Indiana is a state where the breaded pork tenderloin sandwich is a staple in most restaurants. After I had gone through Huntington, IN to try the pork tenderloin sandwich at the famed Nick's Kitchen (click here to read the Road Tips' entry on Nick's), I got an e-mail from Sara L. who told me that she thought the pork tenderloins at the Friendly Tavern in Zionsville, IN were the best in the state. Zionsville is sort of on the way for from the Quad Cities to the north side of Indianapolis, so I stopped off there one recent evening to have dinner at the Friendly Tavern.
The Friendly Tavern is located along N. Main Street in downtown Zionsville (see map) in a building that was built in 1875. The building was originally built as a dirt floor carriage and wagon factory. The foundry for the factory was on the first floor, hence the dirt floor, and the assembly was on the second floor where the finished carriages and wagons were rolled down a ramp to a railroad loading dock.
Of course, with the advent of the automobile, the carriage works eventually went out of business and in 1936 a local plumber by the name of Charles Russell bought the building and turned it into Russell and Son Plumbing Co. His two sons, Hearn and Earl, worked with Charles Russell in the business. After Charles' death, Hearn decided to close down the plumbing business and open a tavern/liquor carry-out. In 1958, the Friendly Tavern opened for business.
Hearn Russell owned the business until 1973 when he retired and sold it to the first of what turned out to be a stretch of four owners between then and 2002. That's when current owner Scott Barnes and his company South Main Holdings bought the Friendly Tavern. Over the years before Barnes bought the Friendly Tavern, the place had a reputation for having a large St. Patrick's Day celebration. After Barnes bought the restaurant, he was reminded by nearly every patron who came in that this was THE place for St. Patrick's Day in Zionsville. He embraced the tradition and each year the celebration has grown. Each St. Patrick's Day, the Friendly Tavern staff cooks over 1200 pounds of corned beef for the celebration.
I had never really been through downtown Zionsville before and I found that there were a number of interesting places that I put on my list to try as I was driving around looking for a parking spot at the Friendly Tavern. I was able to park just down N. Main Street from the stucco and brick corner building and went in.
The main dining area had a small bar along with a number of tables throughout the room. It was packed just after 6 p.m. when I walked in. I was met by a gentleman who welcomed me to the restaurant and shepherded me to my table.
I was taken to a step up dining area off to the side, seated at a small table and given a menu. The room was cozy, but cramped. I was literally a foot and a half from a table of four people and it was like I was part of their on-going conversation. But, I suppose that's their M.O. at Friendly Tavern where they say you're only a stranger once. Me? It was just a little too close for my taste and I didn't care to hear the conversations of the people near me.
I was greeted by Susanna, a very pleasant young lady who asked me what I would like to drink. They had Bell's Two Hearted on tap and I got one of those to cut the dust while I looked through the menu.
Even though my heart was set on getting a tenderloin, the rest of the menu is loaded with choices. In addition to a number of sandwiches and burgers on the menu, the Friendly Tavern features steaks, fish, chicken and pork chops with prime rib served Thursday thru Saturday nights. You'll find the typical appetizers, as well as soups and salads on the menu there.
But on this trip, I went with the breaded pork tenderloin. And it wasn't one of those novelty breaded tenderloins where they're pounded out within an inch of their flavor into the size of a hub cap. This was a nice-sized tenderloin that actually had some thickness to the cut of meat. It was lightly breaded and deep-fried to a golden brown color. It was served with dill pickle slices and sliced red onions. Yellow mustard was available on the table.
The tenderloin protruded slightly over the sides of the lightly toasted split top bun they provided. However - to me - the tenderloin was very salty in taste like they used too much salt in the mixture of the breading. But the tenderloin was moist and easy to chew. The breading had a nice crunchy texture, but it was just too salty for my liking. That was somewhat disappointing because other than that, it was a very good breaded pork tenderloin.
Kettle chips usually come with their sandwiches and burgers, but for a dollar upcharge you can get fries. I did that and they were thick cut and very good. But I just couldn't get over the saltiness of the tenderloin and how I would have liked it even more had it not been that way.
Other than how salty the pork tenderloin was - and the fact that you are literally sitting on top of one another in some places in the dining area - I'd say that my overall experience at the Friendly Tavern was very favorable. Some people may like the saltiness of the tenderloin more than I did, but I couldn't deny how moist and tender the pork was in the sandwich. The service I had was attentive, friendly and prompt. I couldn't ask more for my experience at the Friendly Tavern other than less salt in the breaded pork tenderloin.
You made your point about the salt. One mention was plenty. We get it, too salty for you. As you were able to tell while visiting, the saltiness of the tenderloin has not impacted majority impression, nor does the closeness/coziness of the seating. Folks that frequent Friendly Tavern are much like family to one another that have the ability to tune out surrounding conversation. Friendly Tavern is likely not a good eating establishment for you. I might suggest something a little less popular where only one in three tables are occupied.
Posted by: Carl Morris | October 29, 2022 at 04:51 PM