A few weeks back Brandon and I tried to go to Flight in Huxley after church. However, when we got there it was closed for a private event. (Flight did just win Best Burger in Iowa, in case you didn’t see.) So we ended up going to Claxon’s Smokehouse & Grill in Altoona. I’ve wanted to try it because of or in spite of the fact that they have the 2nd most annoying radio commercials in the world. The awfulness of their commercials are only eclipsed by the ApprovedbyJoe.com commercials.

The basic gist of all of their commercials is that one member of a married couple gets in trouble with the other one by going to Claxon’s behind the other one’s back. However, they get off the hook by bringing them back something from Claxon’s. While that doesn’t seem like that annoying of a concept on the surface, their is just something about how they are written and acted that puts my teeth on edge. When they come on it is usually a near instant turning of the radio. ApprovedbyJoe.com commercials are an instant turning of the radio and then pulling over to the nearest church and cleaning out my ears with holy water.

Here are some pictures of our trip:

Fried Okra! Yes Please!

Okra Cornbread

The Three Pigs

I actually intended to go there and get barbecue, but I hadn’t tried a new tenderloin in 2023 and it was halfway through April and when I saw the name The Three Pigs, I was suckered in. The Colorado Grill has this specialty where they put something on the menu that is really good and then they take it away. One such item is the Porky Pig or maybe it was call The Three Little Pigs. Either way, it was a grilled tenderloin with a creamy barbecue sauce and a couple more types of pork on it. It is delicious! Well it was, until they took it away. Occasionally (like fried mushrooms) it shows up as a “special”. Willy also loves this sandwich and we alert each other if it is the special. This is why I went for The Three Pigs.

We started the meal with their Tobacco Onion Rings. They are described as:

“Lightly breaded, thinly sliced onions piled high as the sky, served with a side of Claxon’s chipotle-Chile ketchup | Half Order $6.99 | Full Order $8.99”

We got the Full Order, cause Brandon and I aren’t chumps. As a general rule I prefer a fatty onion ring (like at Dublin Bay) over an thin “onion ring”. Known in some circles as a “onion straw” or “onion strings”. I usually find them to be too greasy and they often lose their temperature too fast. Like the fries at Freddy’s.

However, these were really good and were the highlight of the meal. With the possible exception of the fried okra.

The Three Pigs came with 2 sides and rang in at a whopping $18.99! Cheap! The menu describes it thusly:

“Watch out big bad wolf! We have a Joe’s breaded pork tenderloin, thick cut applewood smoked bacon and a generous portion of our pulled pork!, served on a large toasted Kaiser with all the fixins.”

I got the fried okra for one side. It was delicious! I got the okra cornbread for the other side. It was less than. Middling would be a stretch. Which was quite the disappointment because I love a good cornbread. This wasn’t it.

I probably made a mistake ordering The Three Pigs. I’m not really a fan of pulled pork, but even discounting that fact, the tenderloin was a disappointment. It had some good aspects, but in the end it wasn’t very flavorful and it wasn’t moist. Reminded me of what a tenderloin that has sat for 17 hours and then been microwaved must taste like. And yes, the pulled pork wasn’t great and the bacon (strangely) wasn’t anything special either.

To cut to the chase. I would go back to Claxon’s if I was in the area. But I wouldn’t pursue it ever again. Yeah, annoying commercials… you won this round. But you won’t win a second time.

Claxon’s Smokehouse & Grill can be found here:

3181 8th Street Southwest
Altoona, Iowa

My final comment is that the service was pretty good. It took a minute for us to get seated, but once we were seated our server was quick and attentive. The fact that she was wearing an Elizabeth Warren shirt didn’t hurt either.