© 2024 WNIJ and WNIU
Northern Public Radio
801 N 1st St.
DeKalb, IL 60115
815-753-9000
Northern Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Streator starts tenderloin and pun crawl

It all started with a typo.  The result was a scrumptious idea to host a tenderloin festival.  A group of friends got together earlier this summer and decided to something about their craving for tenderloin sandwiches, made famous locally by the former Silverfross Drive-In.

Marianne Rowatt Divora, John Eby,  Mary Ann Neuman and Paul Francis chose the Labor Day weekend to host Streator's first and possibly annual event. Several area restaurants were featured in the festival this year, showcasing their own unique recipes for preparing juicy tenderloin.

Typo leads to pun fun
 John Eby made the initial facebook page posting about the event.  He meant to write tenderloin festival and "pub" crawl, but he accidently typed "pun" instead.  He hit "enter."  Before he could correct the mistake, people were writing their own puns associated with the event, so he decided not to change it.  It was expected friends could come and "ketchup" during the tenderloin festival. Yes, pun intended.

Stand-out recipes
Tom Falling, owner of Chef Tom's, cranks out his tenderloin sandwiches made to order, complete with lettuce, tomato, onions, and coleslaw on the side.  He says his secret is clean cooking oil and his homemade slaw dressing. 

At Smitty's in nearby Leonore, the bun doesn't even come close to covering the tenderloin. That doesn't bother the patrons who want to taste the breaded meat.

2012 Tenderloin Festival Participants:

Broadway Tap - 501 Adams Street, Streator 

Bulldogs - 709 North Bloomington Street, Streator 

Chef Tom's - 721 East Main Street, Streator 

Smitty's - off Walnut St, Leonore

 -   - -