The Tenderloin and the Town: Rensselaer, IN

The Tenderloin

I’ve had the Northside Bar & Grill on my radar for quite some time.  Even on Facebook, I’ve been a follower for a while.  A 21 and over bar, this was a reserved visit for when I can make it out by myself.  The little structure on the north side (you see where the name comes from) of Rensselaer does look a little bleak on the outside with the canvas sign and unmarked parking, but don’t let that deter you as inside is nice comfortable dining area with friendly locals sitting at the bar ready to strike up a conversation.  There are a couple different tenderloins on the menu including a Sicilian, which has pepperoni pizza toppings, and a Lucky Pig, which is layered with queso, jalapenos, and fries?! The Hammered Hog is your traditional sandwich – and that is what I had ordered up.  Out comes a large, both in size and thickness, fresh breaded loin.  The pork, which has been pounded and tenderized, still holds a good depth cross-section.  It was very juicy and almost melts in your mouth without chewing.  The breading is a bit more seasoned than your traditional Indiana tenderloin.  By seasoning, though, I’m talking more than salt.  I got some onion notes and maybe even a bit of mustard.  It was more of a schnitzel or pork chop type of breading – but absolutely wonderful on a fried tenderloin.  If there is any time to get one plain, it’s this one as the flavor of the breading carries the sandwich by itself.  This one is so large, it is hard to eat in one sitting – but never order only one and share!  It tastes just as good (or maybe even better) by taking the other half home and a day or two later by throwing it in the air fryer for about… seven minutes.  This is a no brainer on any trail or roadtrip as it offers a place close to well travelled erroads (I-65 and 231), friendly people to hang out with, and one of the best unique takes on the tenderloin to be found.

The Town            

I’m about to write about an art trail… now before you start to skip over this part (if you don’t care for art) let me inform you that I am also fairly ignorant about art.  Yet – here I am writing about an art trail… so… I would suggest you continue reading, since this really is something special.  In the downtown area there around 50 murals that have been painted on the exterior walls of the old downtown buildings.  Each one by a different artist representing a different subject and style.  You can grab a map online and walk to see them in number order.  Not only do you get to appreciate the artistic vision of others on a grand scale, it will get you in the nooks and crannies of the alleys around downtown.  It forces you to see the small businesses around the square and maybe entice you to stop in for a drink or for some quick shopping.  It’s been around for around 10 years, so it is starting to show some wear.  The “R” in the giant Rensselaer mural is missing and someone installed a shed that now hides part of the elephant display in the alley☹.  But, most of it is still vibrant and easily accessed and makes for a pleasant journey to discover the town.

For the coffee shop portion of this blog, I wandered into Cup of Joy on the downtown strip.  It is actually a sequel with a “too” tagged on the end as they own another shop up north in De Motte.  Walking in at around 6:30 in the morning to start my day here, the regulars, who are Cub fans, sit at the table and are not afraid to make friendly banter disparaging their rival when you walk in wearing a Sox T-shirt.  Luckily, the Pale Hose are in first place so no hard feelings were to be had before I can get some much needed caffeine in my system.  Speak of caffeine, one of their specials was a Snickers Latte – I picked up one of those iced.  Also got a sausage egg and cheese sandwich on an English muffin.  Both were outstanding – the latte really did taste like the candy bar.  It was a great way to start the day before continuing to see the sites of Rensselaer. 

When I research a town to visit, I like to check out where the old high school was at.  I’m not talking about their high school now – but the one that is close to downtown around the World War years.  I don’t usually write about unless there is something significant in its spot.  Heck, some are still there.  Others have been demolished.   Sometimes, even, there are less notable structures such as apartment complexes or businesses.  I was happy to see that Rensselaer has a park at the corner of Susan and Van Rensselaer streets with the foundation of the old high school still visible.  You can walk on the same sidewalks that generations of students have traveled over to enter the building.  They built a gazebo in the back that displays the original cornerstone and a plaque remembering the structure.  It is a nice tribute to the structure that so many residents passed through over the years.

The first thing I actually did when I got to Rensselaer was to stop and get some ice cream.  Brick Steet Ice Cream seemed like a good place to start.  It was raining pretty hard when I got to town and although the wood paneling on the outside was soaked, the inside was dry.  It has this retro feel with all the pastel colors in the décor.  It specializes in soft-serve and you can get a large variety of flavors to add to the base of vanilla or chocolate ice cream.  This was the perfect time to choose bubble gum.  I am a huge fan of the bubblegum flavor, on the factory flavor it usually includes pieces of actual gum – not my preference to have a chewy substance while enjoying the cold cream.  Here, it has that pure pink flavor, plus the color matched the rest of the palette of the place.  There is a urge to come back over and over again just to try more flavors.

Saint Joseph’s College has been closed for almost 10 years.  Well… it still hosts some small classes and trucking certifications, but the yearly influx of 1,000 college students to live there for two thirds of the year in Rensselaer is gone.  This kind of blows my mind as I had family and friends who went there.  Growing up going to Catholic schools in northwest Indiana, St Joe’s was known fairly well to me;  in another universe I could have attended.  One thousand students may not seem like a lot, but to a city that has a population of 7,000 plus all of the teachers, clerical staff, maintenance workers, visiting parents and sports teams (it was a D2 school) Rensselaer must have become a completely different place.  The buildings have not been torn down.  You can still see the churches, dorms, athletic buildings, and historical structures.  There are “private property” and “no trespassing” signs on the barriers blocking the roads to get to the center of the old campus, so I only observed from the outside.  Although it looks empty, like the area is just waiting for the kids to come back in the fall, there are subtle clues to the abandonment.  You can see mattresses stacked up in front of the window in the 1^st story of one of the dorms.  The soccer field is now overgrown with no indication of what was once there except for the decaying scoreboard now out of place in the distance.  It will be interesting to follow the developments on campus to see what awaits.  Will it be full of students again learning the life lessons to thrive in life or will it revert to empty fields with a historical marker?

Really? You just had to have a shed and put it there!

by Michael Tomko

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