A co-worker of mine (hello, Ben!) has suggested Perdue’s Grill in Tremont as a possible place to go for Saturday Night Cheeseburger, so when Perdue’s came up as a suggestion on my facebook tenderloin list, it caught my eye. It also made me think that I’ve never been to Tremont and so, it’s off we go in search of Tremont and tenderloin number two!
As I said, I've never been to Tremont, Illinois, so I'm relying on my old friend, Mr. GPS to guide us there. Right now he's acquiring satellites, hey, we all need our hobbies.
The satellites have been acquired, so it's off we go to Tremont, Illinois for tenderloin number two.
White-knuckle bridge alert...aaaahhhhh!
Okay, we made it across the bridge, over the river and through the woods and here we are at the corner of Sampson and Walnut Street, the home of Perdue's Grill in Tremont.
I realized driving over that I forgot to call and see if they were open on Sundays, but as you can see, they are. Let's go in and check this place out.
There's a decent crowd in here, but there's some open seats at the bar just waiting to be snagged.
Mackenzie, the pretty bartender on duty serves up an ice cold Budweiser and took the tenderloin order. She highly recommended the tenderloin, which they call a "breaded pork sandwich" here. You can read more about that in the review below.
Here's Troy who was also bartending and helping seat people. Troy's been working here since Perdue's opened over three years ago and helped them in the planning of the menu.
Tables line the brick wall opposite the bar. The building has been here on this corner since 1898 and that's the original brick wall.
The tin ceiling is also part of the original building and it's been beautifully restored, as you can see.
A shot from the back of the room.
This door leads to another room around from the bar, let's go take a look.
There's another dining room over here, I like the wooden floors.
There's Elvis pictures plastered on the back wall in here.
Here's a Marilyn Monroe poster giving the room a nice retro '50's feel.
Meanwhile back at the bar, the table is set and it looks like it's just about tenderloin time!
And here we go! That's an impressive looking presentation!
All dressed up with mustard and pepper and I love the buttered and toasted bun, nice touch!
Wow, it's delicious and perfectly porky! A great tenderloin for sure!
And I have to say, the homemade potato chips were the best I've ever had, really tasty!
After I was done with lunch, I noticed the bottle opener collection behind the bar. Troy told me it all started when he went to Key West and brought back a bottle opener from there. From then on, people have been bring openers from trips they take and bring them to the bar.
I asked to see the bottle opener from the furthest away place and Troy showed me this one that came form Italy. Phyllis, who's a waitress here gave them this one, very cool!
And it's out the door we go with tenderloin number two tucked away in our belts.
Okay, time for the next day warmed over tenderloin test where we have the leftover for Monday's lunch.
I told Mackenzie about this feature and she suggested I warm the leftover tenderloin in the oven under the broiler rather than nuking them in the microwave...great idea, Mackenzie!
The broiler idea was great, it toasted up the bun and really brought the sandwich back to life. I'm adding a little mustard that Kathy sent from Cleveland last week to add to the mix.
It's just as good, if not better the second time around. We'll see you all tomorrow!
My Tenderloin
They call it a “Breaded Pork Sandwich” on the menu at Perdue’s, because they claim, “it’s too good to be called a “tenderloin.” Well, the sandwich does live up to that boast. Some pork tenderloins don’t have a lot of meat to them and this one was a porky delight! Lots of tender pork and just lightly breaded on a toasted bakery-fresh bun. I also liked the fact that it wasn’t wacky-ass big, but there was still enough left over for a good lunch on Monday. And their potato chips are the best homemade potato chips I’ve had anywhere. I’ll definitely come back and try them with cheeseburger some Saturday in the future!
Tenderloin Rating
Three Porky Pigs, a delicious tenderloin, sorry Perdue’s, I’m still going to call it that, no matter what your menu says!
Perdue’s Grill
201 S. Sampson
Tremont, Illinois
309-925-5200
Related post: Midway Duck Inn.
