Darrell's Place

4010 1st St., Hamlin, IA - (712) 563-3922

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Posted By Michael Stern on 2/14/2012 6:55:00 AM

Back in 2004, Darrell's took the blue ribbon in the first-ever Iowa Pork Producers Association tenderloin competition; and based on recent tastings, we can say with assurance that the kitchen has not lost its touch. This is one handsome hunk of pounded-tender pork, thick enough to be plenty juicy but also far wider than its bun, bound in a crunchy wave of crust with countless savory facets. With the standard complement of pickle chips and thick hoops of crisp white onion, it is an essential destination sandwich in a part of Iowa that is rich with excellent tenderloins.

There is a full menu of good-looking bar food, but you must save room for dessert. Rhubarb pie, made using stalks secured from customers' patches, is peerless, piled into a master-class crust, its tantalizing sugar-tart filling balanced by the cascade of soft-serve vanilla ice cream that is its traditional garnish. It's best in summer, but the proprietor gathers enough from his devoted customers that can freeze as much as he needs to offer rhubarb pie year-around.

We must tell you that Darrell's Place is so devoid of visual charm that the void is itself charming. Looking less like a restaurant and more like a large shed where trucks and tractors get stored, there is no outside landscaping or architectural personality whatever; only a Coke sign with the restaurant name marks the building, which is surrounded by a flat, grey tarmac that serves as a parking lot. The interior is all beer advertising memorabilia and, of course, a TV above the bar.

Scorecard

Overall: Legendary - Worth driving from anyplace

Breaded Pork Tenderloin Sandwich	Sour Cream Raisin Pie
Rhubarb Pie	Jell-O

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"Of all the four-star tenderloins in Iowa. Darrell's is among the very best, bound in a crunchy wave of crust and fairly bursting with juice at first bite."
Michael Stern

"It's very nice when a restaurant offers tremendous visual appeal, like, say, Sweatman's in South Carolina or the Lobster Shack in Maine. But utter lack of visual appeal can have its own beguiling appeal. I love the fact that Darrell's makes no effort whatsoever to look pretty, but makes all the effort in the world to serve first-class Iowa food."
Michael Stern

"A locavore's delight, Darrell's rhubarb pie is made with stalks from regular customers' gardens. The crust is elegant, the sweet, soft ice cream on top a perfect pie-plant foil."
Michael Stern

"This handsome steak sandwich is served on a sturdy sub roll."
Chris Ayers & Amy Briesch

"Darrell’s calls this popcorn chicken, as if these deliciously tender slabs derive from Brobdignian kernels."
Chris Ayers & Amy Briesch

"Fresh cheeseburgers and crunchy onion straws round out the red-meat menu."
Chris Ayers & Amy Briesch

"Darrell's looks like a hundred other restaurant/bars, but the food it serves is peerless. "
Michael Stern

"If you can find this sign, you are close. "
Jim Ellison

"Darrell’s award-winning sandwich is one of Audubon County’s finest BPTs."
Chris Ayers & Amy Briesch

"The dairy-country fave: sour cream raisin pie"
Michael Stern

"I cannot tell you that this Jell-O is extraordinarily excellent, but it warms my heart to find it on the menu."
Michael Stern

"Another BPT shot. Photo by Jim Ellison."
Bruce Bilmes and Susan Boyle