I guess one has to have lived in Iowa to understand how good a tenderloin sandwich can be. Outside of Iowa, no one's even heard of tenderloins. Tenderloins were always a speciality at A&W drive-ins—and lots of other places—but the first time I stopped at an A&W outside of Iowa and asked for a tenderloin, all I got was dumb looks. I've since come to learn that this delectible delight is virtually unknown outside Iowa.

A tenderloin is a thin, breaded pork fritter, usually 6 to 8 inches across, deep fried a golden brown. It goes on an oversized sesame seed bun but still sticks out an inch or two around the edges. Optional garnishes include dill pickle slices, onion slices, Romain lettuce and a tomato slice. This is the only sandwich that requires both ketchup and mustard. Normally ketchup is for hamburgers and mustard is for red hots (hot dogs) and never the twain shall meet.

      - Mark