The Tenderloin and the Town: Tipton, IN

mikegtomko
May 28
5 min read

The Tenderloin

The Jim Dandy restaurants have been a staple of the community with locations in both Tipton and Noblesville. Opened in the 60’s they have been offering made-from-scratch comfort foods like burgers and broasted chicken to visitors and residents in the area. Recently the Noblesville location shut down, and now the only one is in downtown Tipton. They also feature a tenderloin. I’ll admit that I had some other places in the area I was considering to featuring the tenderloin – some weren’t up to par and others were not open. I was left as a last resort to try the one here at Jim Dandy. It wasn’t that I heard anything bad about them here, but it seemed that most people get them covered with gravy and the one in the menu picture was thin and looked “manufactured”. Well… it turns out that things have a way of working out as the tenderloin was served-up fresh and tasted great. The breading had a good crunch to it and the loin was tender. It was a bit thin, but from the comments I’ve heard from other tenderloins, people like them like that. What it may have lacked in girth, it made up for in size. I think of looked like the tenderloin on my Ft Wayne (without the trimmings, of course). This place was also packed on a Sunday morning. The people of Tipton seem to know where to get the good food at the way the tenderloin was prepared here, I can see why. I would highly recommend a Jim Dandy tenderloin to anyone – even if they want to put gravy on it.

The Town

When you mention U.S. Presidents and the state of Indiana you may first think of Benjamin Harrison who resided in Indianapolis, or maybe his grandfather, William Henry Harrison, who was the governor of Indiana Territory and had a house in Vincennes. But not many know that the 44^th president, Barack Obama, has roots on Hoosier soil. His great, great, great, great grandparents (4 great) on his mother’s side moved to Indiana and purchased the house in Kempton (which is about 10 miles west of Tipton in Tipton County). Obama’s (2 great) grandparents left for Kansas in the late 1800’s where their great granddaughter was eventually born, Ann Dunham, the mother of Barack. The house stayed in the Dunham family till the 60’s and was in dilapidated condition until recently being restored. There is a historical marker next to the residence and the website says you can get an appointment and tour the house – you just need to be more aggressive than sending them an e-mail a week before you plan to be there.

The “Pizza Shack by the Tracks” has been a go-to over the last few decades in Tipton. It has since closed, but now renovated and re-opened as just “The Shack”. You can still get the same favored pizza as well as brand new food options of a more upscale establishment. We sat on the second story with views of the “Tipton Skyline”. It also had a pool table where my son and I shot a couple times before going to see the movie. As far as the food we ate? Well, the burgers were awesome and I would recommend getting one of those if you don’t feel in the mood for their pizza.

While walking the courthouse square, we entered a store called Horton’s Home and Garden. Usually I wouldn’t visit a hardware store on trip, but the sign made it sound as if it had more than just hammers and fertilizer… OK… it was the “fudge” that drew us in there. Inside there was outside décor, gifts, crafts, all kinds of fun stuff to buy for in and around your home, and then, of course, there was a fudge stand. The malted milk balls and chocolate covered nuts were tempting, but we walked out with a couple blocks of fudge – one chocolate and one praline.

We have been doing a bit of overnight stays in the last couple of years in the town. Airbnb’s have been the main source for finding rooms close to the center of town. We booked a room at the Tiptonian right on the courthouse square. This former boarding house has a bar/restaurant on the first floor (The Mad Tap) and hotel space on the second. The back has a private entrance so patrons don’t have access to the living areas. The rooms contain a bathroom and are small, but the price reflects that as it is a good clean deal for the convivence. One of the rooms is a lobby with a fridge and couch, so we hung out there for a little bit in the downtime on our trip. The band was playing that night and you can hear it in the room, but we rather enjoyed the live music – and it didn’t go too late after getting back from the movie. I highly recommend staying in the Tiptonian when you have a quick stay and want easy access to everything downtown has to offer.

The summer brings blockbuster movies coming out at theaters. And what better way is there than spending time watching them in an old downtown theater. My son and I headed to watch the new Star Wars movie at The Diana Theater, right on the courthouse square. There is not much room in the lobby, so you may have to line up outside until they let you in to purchase tickets and concessions. Speak of concessions, they offer popcorn with two types of prices – buttered & unbuttered. The butter may not be complimentary, but I’ll tell you that the medium buttered popcorn was one of the best I’ve ever had. No dry spots in the bag where the butter or salt didn’t seep into – this thing was covered top to bottom in that movie theater goodness you cannot replicate in a microwave (no matter what the package says). Although you get ambiance of the old times with the nostalgia - the seats, screen, and sound have the latest capabilities to put you right in the Razor Crest to transport Grogu to his mission against the Hutts. I love going to the old restored downtown movie theaters on these trips and The Diana is a welcome addition to the list.

While doing this tenderloin blog, I get to discover new places I may not have ever wandered into. Tipton fits this bill perfectly. My son and I genuinely enjoyed our time here. Spending the night in a room near the courthouse square, getting to see a movie at the old theater, and getting a surprise awesome tenderloin were highlights of our visit. Towns like Tipton really make this blog worth writing.