You may have heard the news: Dairy Sweet in Dunlap has the best breaded pork tenderloin in the state once again, earning the 2024 award nearly 20 years after its first win in 2005. For my story on that, check last week's paper.
What I've been waiting to share, though, is possibly quite embarrassing. I'm not sure what the “cardinal sins of Harrison County” are, but I would have to guess that one of them is never having a breaded pork tenderloin from the good folks at Dairy Sweet.
So what better day to do it than the day they were awarded as Iowa's top dog?
On that fateful day of Thursday, Oct. 17, my taste buds experienced something they had never experienced before. When my photo-taking and interviewing was done with at the momentous occasion, it only made sense to head up to the counter and say, “By the way, I'll have one of those.” It may have made more sense for me to point at every single patron in the place and say, “I'll have what they're having.” I don't think I saw a single basket in front of a single person that was not holding a breaded pork tenderloin.
Maybe emotions were running high from the joyous occasion. Maybe I was just very, very hungry. Maybe they made it extra good because they know I'm with the newspaper. Or maybe, they're just really talented at what they do and I'm not special.
What I'm trying to say is, yes, that thing was pretty darn tasty.
Forget being the first restaurant to win the award twice. Forget the folks who purchase 40,000 of those tenderloins a year. Aaron Hickman says it's good, and that's all that really matters, right?
On a serious note, I would like to congratulate the folks at Dairy Sweet once again. It's pretty cool to see a place that has stayed in the family getting some statewide, and even Midwest/regional, recognition.
Now more than one generation of that family has a plaque for the wall. How special is that?
