While looking for towns to get a tenderloin for the blog, Fairmount came up as the home of James Dean. My first thought was how they must have some good sausage out there, but it turns out that Jimmy Dean was also a famous actor from the 1950’s that died at an early age. So, before I went out there I rented “Rebel Without a Cause” (by renting I didn’t go out to Blockbuster or anything, I just streamed it from my Roku). I really enjoyed the movie and even toyed with putting a movie review in the article, but that’s another blog for another day. What I did find was a good town with a good tenderloin as well as other James Dean related sites to see.
The Tenderloin
Across the creek from downtown, and located in the old John Deere store, is a restaurant called Grains & Grill. With high class offerings such as maple pecan salmon and bone-in pork chops, I’m surprised (but delighted) the pork tenderloin sandwich is on the menu. But in a true Indiana town like Fairmont, the tenderloin is high class and presented as so. Like I said in the teaser, it’s probably up there in my top three tenderloins. The breading is so crispy and seasoned nicely. The pork, tender and juicy, combined with the fresh bun, gave layers of soft and crunch throughout every bite. It wasn’t circus sized or super-thick or anything crazy like that, but just the right amount to sit down and have a decent meal. Everyone I encountered in Fairmount was friendly and I enjoyed talking to the bartender about the town, drinking the Malort (you will have to read the Indianapolis blog to find my opinion on that), and even other tenderloins in the area. The owner even came up to me and chatted about the history of the place a bit. Next door to the restaurant is the Bad Dad Brewing Co. It is owned by the same people so you can go back and forth to pick your food and drinks. The restaurant only has two beers on tap from the brewery, but you are welcome to walk across and order up one of their other varieties. It works the other way too as if you want a shot of bourbon in the brewery, you can order one up on the bar in the restaurant. My favorite beer at Bad Dad’s was the slightly sweet Octoberfest named Schitzengiggels. Also (Warning: major brag coming!) they happened to have trivia there that day. I started halfway in, but still managed to get third place. You seem to have all you would want in an eatery over there by the creek, good beer, good people, good pizza, and an exceptional tenderloin.
The Town
The coffee shop in downtown Fairmont is called The Branch and was started by the Wesleyan church to connect more to the community. They now have a restaurant and provide spaces for public and private events. It also opens at 9:00. I kind of find that funny, because I know people that if they don’t have their coffee by 9:00 they would be going a little bit nutty. And I’ll tell you what, when the place opened at 9:00 there was a line of people waiting for their coffee; they maybe would have been a bit calmer had they already had their coffee before this time. But, the lady behind the counter did a great job trying to serve all those caffeine-deprived people and I, myself, was in no hurry. I got a lotte named, you may have guessed it – The James Dean. Containing caramel, cinnamon, and brown sugar, it comes out with a silhouette in the froth of none other than – James Dean. As I took sips from it ruining the face effect I could just hear him screaming, “Your tearing me apart!”. They also had pumpkin flavored coffee cake at buy one get one free. I had one warmed up and took the other one to go, so when you all ask me what I get for my wife when I’m on these trips, you now have your answer.
This brings us to the James Dean portion of the blog. This town is intertwined with him. It is almost impossible to separate the man with the area. James Dean was born up in Marion, moved out to California after his father left, but then moved Fairmount to live with his aunt and uncle after the death of his mother when he was 9. It’s Fairmount where he then grew up and finished high school. After James’ untimely death at the start and height of his career, he became an icon of 50’s youth culture and music. He has a following today similar to Elvis where he is celebrated and idolized.
The James Dean Museum sits right at the corner of Main St. They just opened in this bigger space from their former location a month ago. Inside you can find all kinds of artifacts from James’ life. His family kept almost everything from his time living in Fairmount and a lot of it is on display in the museum. It’s interesting on what kind of items that most people don’t even value in their own lives that may be on display somewhere. You have significant items like his motorcycle, scripts from movies that he made notes in, even the monkey that he scooped up on the street after a bender at the begging of the movie “Rebel Without a Cause” (maybe). But also in there is his phone, trinkets he kept on his windowsill, report cards, and his Jr High basketball jersey. It’s odd to think that if I ever become famous and acquire a cult following (fingers crossed) that my coffeemaker or my Mark Buehrle bobblehead may be on display for some blogger to gaze over and write about. Make sure when you go to museums to talk with the people working there. I took more time talking with the friendly lady at the front desk about James than I did wandering around all the artifacts. She was full of information that added to the experience of viewing the exhibits.
Down the road from the museum is the James Dean Gallery. Different from the museum which mostly has authentic artifacts, the gallery houses collections of memorabilia. You can find old statues, records, posters, lunchboxes, videos, etc… All kinds of James Dean related trinkets can be found throughout the rooms of this old Victorian home. The back contains an antique store and the front has a large gift shop. It is amazing to see firsthand the impact that James’ career has had on American culture. It is also a good place to start a trip to Fairmount and they have maps and info on where to go and what to see regarding James’ life in town.
I was even able to stay overnight downtown in The Rebel Lodge. It is a James Dean / 50’s era themed Airbnb. Complete with jukebox, phone booth, and motorcycle, the place features 50’s style appliances in the kitchen and a bunch of old TV sets displayed for décor. There is a living room with couch, DVD player, and a set of James Dean movies. There is a lot of James Dean in here and a lot of Natalie Wood in here. The jukebox works too. Although no 45’s in the machine, the CD collection contains a thorough amount of rock tunes from the mid-century. There are some other era albums in there too, so after listening to “Rock around the Clock” I played some tunes from Van Halen and Meatloaf. The bathroom was modern, the bed comfy, and easy access to downtown made this a comfortable place to stay. It is definitely one of the most unique stays in Indiana and besides the old Jail in Rockford, the most wild night I’ve spent doing the tenderloin blog.
Walking through town there are a few outside James Dean experiences to see. There is a park named after him with a replica of the bronze statue they have at the Griffith Park Observatory in L.A. You can visit the site of the old High School. It was raised a few years ago and a small stairway is all that remains with a sign. He is also buried in a cemetery just north of town where you can pay your respects. It was one weekend after the James Dean festival where people from all over the world come out to celebrate his life, so his grave was still covered with tributes. There were flowers, pictures, cards, and even a few lipstick marks on the headstone itself.
There is another Indiana icon that also grew up in Fairmont, Jim Davis – the creator of the comic strip Garfield. His legacy in the town seems to be overshadowed by James Dean, but there are some tributes to the lazy cartoon cat with an obsession for lasagna. You can find a statue of Garfield on Main Steet – in front of the James Dean Museum. There is a display case of Garfield memorabilia – inside the James Dean Museum. And Garfield is featured on the water tower on the south side of town – along next to James Dean. Unlike other Indiana icons that I have visited their hometowns like George Ade, Lew Wallace, Gene Stratton Porter, and… James Dean; Jim Davis is still alive and working in Indiana a few towns over. It’s intriguing to think that maybe he has come across the Indiana Tenderloin Chronicles and maybe even read something that I wrote? I wonder how Garfield would feel about eating a tenderloin?
While doing research on Fairmont, I totally expected to write two different halves. One with James Dean “stuff” and the other without anything James Dean related. But, the town is so intertwined with him, he shows up in all of the places – even my morning coffee. I think it is a good thing for the town as most of the people I came upon were positive and took pride in the James Dean connection. I would advise all to visit the town as it is right now since I believe it may look significantly different in the next decade. Either the James Dean obsession will grow, commercialization will arrive in droves and start to take over the town removing the quaintness and making it busy and unrecognizable, or the obsession will die off, the James Dean lure will shrink to a footnote, and Fairmont will be back to a small, quiet town similar to Brooke, Covington, and Rome City. But the one thing is for sure, you can find one of Indiana’s best tenderloin sandwiches there right now and nothing can take that away.
That's right! 3rd place in trivia!
by Michael Tomko
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