Valparaiso sits on the edge of the area that is considered the Indiana suburb of Chicago known as Northwest Indiana (remember I don’t use the R word). Growing up, Valpo (as locally called) was the far off place that my mom drove us for soccer games once in a while. I did have some family move there in my older years too, but what I remember the most is the “what if / sliding doors” situation of my life as I almost moved there after college to take a job in LaPorte. It’s odd to think about how things would be different if I had started my life living in some apartment complex out there. Surly I wouldn’t be writing about Valpo and tenderloins right now. But, here we are 24 years later and my son and I will take a trip to the hometown of such popular Purdue Alumni like Orville Redenbacher and Robbie Hummel.
The Tenderloin
Tucked away in a commercial set of plazas off US 30 lies a small breakfast and lunch diner – Suzie’s Café. Walking in through a couple of barn doors to the room on the side, we picked up our menus and ordered up a couple of “Hand Breaded Pork Tenderloins”. We weren’t sure what to expect. Planning the trip to the seat of Porter County, this was the only place in Valparaiso we could find that served up a tenderloin. We had not seen any recommendations, no pictures on the fan pages, we even didn’t hear back when contacting them to see how the sandwich was prepared. We traveled all the way out here, visited over half the town attractions, and had no plan B if a tasteless, frozen, mushy fritter came out to us on a stale bun. But every risk has a reward and at first site Suzie’s tenderloin had us hungry gentleman excited. The freshly fried loin was superb and can be put up against the best in the state. The outside breading was crispy and seasoned well, the inside meat fresh and tender. A nice bun dusted with what I think was toasted cornmeal added to the mouthwatering meal. We had found it - the only place in Valpo to serve a tenderloin has the best type of tenderloin. Being crowded on a Friday lunch, we weren’t the only ones enamored with Suzie’s food. I always said if you see uniformed workers from the local community there like firemen or construction workers, it is the place to eat. We had around 15 uniformed police men come in after we were seated. They were all decked out with guns, bullet proof vests, and badges and sat right at the combined tables next to us. My son started getting a little worried, not because of the cops, but what stupid thing I would say to try to be funny. I’ll tell you what, I started to get a little nervous myself, as I wasn’t even sure if I could keep from embarrassing myself. Sure enough, as the server came to our table she said, “I bet you boys feel safe now with all those cops in here”, out of my mouth comes out – “as long as they don’t search my car”. I didn’t get the laughs from the adjoining table that I thought I would. Even when the server asked for their drinks I blurted out, “They’ll have a round of beers!” My son dropped me that look that he must have gotten from his mother that translates to – you better shut up now. So we got out of there unscathed with a full belly of good tenderloin and a new place to recommend for people to stop in and try Indiana’s favorite sandwich.
The Town
Part bookstore, part coffee shop, The Press is right across from the courthouse on Lincolnway. The name is a play on the book portion (newspapers aka The Press), and making coffee and (coffee press). With a few tables in the front and a few more outside on the sidewalk, you can order up a brew, grab a book and relax for a while. It sells new books, so no dusty old copies of paperbacks staked in the corner or anything. The place is also stays open on evenings for wine on select days too. I did pick up a coffee and cinnamon roll and enjoyed it outside in the shade while the courthouse watched on.
As a kid, we went to way more drive-in’s to watch movies than at the indoor cinemas. The old Y&W in Merrillville hosted the family car on many occasions. The gray speaker you clip to the driver’s side window, the dancing popcorn cartoon at intermission encouraging you to go to the lobby, and the playground you can walk to before it got dark all bring back nostalgic memories of movie night. I’d seen many versions of Superman’s and Ghostbusters’ first on the giant white screen. I can even remember the last movie I saw there, “Honey I Blew Up the Kid” which was 1992 (summer before highschool). So when I took my son who is 13 to the 49er drive-in just north of city limits, we were about the same age when I saw my last drive-in movie as he will be seeing his first. There is only one screen at the 49er, so our only choice was the family friendly Garfield followed by If. The nostalgia hit me right away as we waited in line behind about 20 cars single file to get in. We pulled up right in the center in the 2nd row. There were a few differences. The poles are still there, but the speaker is gone; replaced by a radio signal. We found that most people watched outside of their cars, either on lawn chairs or tucked into the SUV parked backwards with the door up. The cinder block concession stand was there, but you could order with your phone on an app and just pick it up so you don’t miss much of the movie. We actually sat on chairs in-front of the car with a boom-box on the hood behind us for sound for the first movie. It got a little cool during the 2nd, so we went back inside the car for that one. The drive-in movie theaters seem to be disappearing and no new ones are opening up, so I would encourage everyone to get to the 49-er if you can, either to bring back old memories or experience something new. Also remember to buy from the concession stand instead of bringing your own food in. Every purchase helps to keep these places around longer.
Do you want to have some fun? Well, Zao Island has plenty of things to kill some time. A large arcade, go-carts, a roller coaster, laser tag and mini golf are the main attractions. We first headed to the arcade and played many games of our favorite carnival combo – connect 4 basketball. There were some of your typical D&B staples there too with the ax throwing game, ski-ball, giant Space Invaders, and Deal or no Deal. We spent most of the time on the mini golf course. You have 36 holes of unique statues and skill shots to get you through the afternoon. There is a whole restaurant on site, so you can fill up with food or adults can knock down a couple beers while the kids meander off to their adventures. At the end we cashed in our tickets won in the arcade and picked up a couple of fruitars (fruit shaped guitars) that I'm sure we will entertain the rest of the family for decades.
There are a string of small local shops along the commercial district around the courthouse. Market 102 is a small boutique gift shop in what used to be the Sherriff’s residence connected to the old county jail. Inside you can walk along what used to be the ground floor of the house and find various arts and crafts as well as vintage clothing. This place is brand new and it happened to be the grand opening when we walked up that day. I’m sure it will become a favorite destination for all people in all the years to come.
As the tenderloin destination was only open for lunch, we needed a place for dinner. Walking around the courthouse square there were many local bars and eateries to choose from that would have satisfied us on our trip. When we stopped in front of Blockhead Beerworks I had a feeling this was the unique place to try. It has a modern fusion menu that combines Asian, Mexican and barbeque into unique versions of classic favorites. There are bao tacos, sushi, steamed sandwiches, and many spicy noodle dishes. My choice was the drunken noodles which consisted of their classic noodles, peppers sliced to act as extra noodles, and a whole slew of Thai spices and sauces that gave the whole dish a kick. I added some chicken to it too in order to get some protein to suck up that spicy goodness. My son was a little more traditional as he got the classic buffalo wings. They do brew their own beer here and the taps are made of a lego type of block (hence Blockhead). I didn’t partake in the brews, but I will definitely put in on my list to try in the future. Not every meal can be a tenderloin, but I am glad for places like this to get some good local eats.
Valparaiso University has sat southeast of the downtown since 1859, 10 years before Purdue was founded. You can walk around its campus and enjoy the various chapels and old structures. There is also a 9 hole frisbee golf course on the south side where we spent a bit of the morning. It is well maintained and has an easier layout for the casual thrower. Concrete tee-off pads and directional signs make this course an enjoyable experience for a quick round. Goodness, I was so focused on hitting the baskets and reveling the nice weather, I forgot to take any pictures. Well, you can just search for them by Valparaiso Campus Disk Golf Course. There is a map and pictures for you to check out before playing a round.
Although we did a lot of activities in Valparaiso, I got the feeling that this was just the tip of the iceberg on how to enjoy ourselves in the city. There are old theaters, numerous bars and restaurants, ice cream stands, and a bit of history that could fill a couple more blogs about the Vale of Paradise. Someone just needs to convince one of those downtown eateries to throw a tenderloin on their menu. Suzie’s was great, they can go sample theirs and any of the other legendary places in the state and create one of their own. If one does pop up, let me know and I’ll be glad to come out again.
Make sure to go to the Central Park Plaza and get a pic with Orville Redenbacher
by Michael Tomko
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