A couple months back Jesse and I hit the open road and ended up at The Feed Mill Restaurant in Audubon, Iowa. It was the 9th stop (technically 10th – but I’ll cover that) on the Tenderloin Trail 2.0. Leaving me just one stamp short of earning my Tenderloin Trail 2.0 shirt!

Despite being one of the closer Tenderloin Trail 2.0 restaurant stops to Boone, I didn’t know if I was ever going to be able to cross this one off the list. Their hours are pretty awful. They are only open a few hours a week. Which is too bad, because their food is excellent!

The Feed Mill Restaurant is inside Waspy’s Truck Stop and that gas station itself has really good food. There are two Waspy’s. One in Audubon and another in Templeton. If you are in the area, I think it is worth the stop. But you know me, I’m partial to food in gas stations. Casey’s Pizza. The Filling Station in Madrid. The Filling Station in Ames. Joe’s in Kansas City. You get the point.

Here are some pictures from the outing:

As you know, in addition to being a noted tenderloin fiend, I also love me a great cheese curd. Fried or otherwise. If I remember correctly their cheese curds were muenster. It made a fine cheese curd, but it wasn’t decidedly different from your standard cheddar cheese curd. So I’m saying it was pretty great!

As for the tenderloin. It was a pretty great tenderloin! Now the question is, would I eat there again? Would I go out of my way to go there? Would I make a special trip to get this tenderloin?

It is a great tenderloin. The problem is that it is just down the street from Darrell’s Place and the Darrell’s Place tenderloin is the O.G. great tenderloin in Iowa. So being put in the situation of having to choose one, if I was in the area, I would choose Darrell’s Place.

That isn’t a reflection on The Feed Mill. Just nothing is Darrell’s Place.

The Feed Mill Restaurant is located at:

2079 US Highway 71
Audubon, Iowa

Located in Waspy’s Truck Stop.

But I’m not done with this post quite yet. Earlier I wrote that this was the 9th Stop on the Tenderloin Trail, but technically the 10th. That is because back in 2022 I visited the Wood Iron Grille in Oskaloosa with Carla and Teresa and knocked down their tenderloin. However, I didn’t have my Passport on me, so I didn’t get it stamped.

You can understand my frustration because it takes 10 stamps (out of 14, but really 13) to get the free shirt. So shortly after my trip to Audubon with Jesse I made a return trip to Oskaloosa with Teresa. With passport firmly in my hands.

I don’t need to cover the Wood Iron Grille tenderloin again, but I thought I could share 2 pictures from that trip:

The last bite of Tenderloin Trail 2.0.

The passport.

I got my shirt and this letter within a couple weeks of mailing in my Passport:

I’m not going to share a picture of the shirt yet. I have a whole photo session for that worked up in my head. Which means you will probably never get to see it, unless you catch me in the wild wearing it.

However, I would be a poor tenderloin enthusiast if I didn’t thank those people that helped me in fulfilling this dream. An accomplishment that some are calling “the greatest in the history of mankind”. So thanks to everyone who at least sat across from me while I knocked down a tenderloin on this trail:

+ Austin Degeneffe (Iowa Taproom)
+ Porter Degeneffe (Iowa Taproom)
+ Scott Degeneffe (Co-Founder of the Tenderloin Appreciation Society) (Iowa Taproom)
+ Jesse Howard (The Feed Mill, Birdies, Burgers & Brews, and The Pub at Pinicon)
+ Dahlia Kahler (Whatcha Smokin’)
+ Logan Kahler (Whatcha Smokin’)
+ Teresa Kahler (Whatcha Smokin’, Grid Iron Sports Bar & Grille, Stumble Inn, and Wood Iron Grille)
+ Nader Parsaei (Darrell’s Place, Birdie’s Burgers & Brews)
+ Carla Stensland (Wood Iron Grille)
+ Phil Webb (Grid Iron Sports Bar & Grille)

The only stop on the trail I made solo was PrairieMoon on Main.

You might be asking yourself what my future tenderloin plans are since I am eating healthier these days? It is true. I don’t really eat much fried food any more. Really hardly at all. That doesn’t mean tenderloins are off the menu. I have a plan for a more structured tenderloin quest this year. I want to make 1 special tenderloin trip a month. 1st on my list is the reigning 2023 Best Tenderloin at Cliff’s Place in Manning.

I haven’t had this month’s special tenderloin, so I’m going to effort to go to Manning next week and if that doesn’t work out, some place else. Also on my list are the 3 tenderloins on the Tenderloin Trail 2.0 that I haven’t tried. Jethro’s is also on the list, but I’ve had that tenderloin. It isn’t great. Plus my understanding is that the owner of Jethro’s is not a great person and I have limited desire to line his pockets with any of my green. Also on that list is the other finalists from last year. Plus any of the past champions that I haven’t tried.

Drop me a line if you want to go on one of these tenderloin quests. I already have you marked down Michelle. I haven’t forgotten.

The next food adventure I will share will be the last time I ate ice cream. At least I’m pretty sure the last time I ate ice cream.