About Tenderloins After Dark
Tenderloins After Dark in Indianapolis, IN started life as a delivery-only operation. A late-night virtual brand cooking breaded pork tenderloin sandwiches out of a south-side kitchen for Indianapolis, Indiana night owls long after the rest of the city had closed. It grew up. Tables and chairs went in, weeknight dinner hours got added, and the carry-out window quietly became a real restaurant on S East Street. The late-night DNA is still there (it's right in the name) but now you can actually sit down for the tenderloin that built the reputation. And the reputation is real. The pork is hand-cut, hand-pounded, hand-seasoned, and hand-breaded, then laid on a toasty bun, and the result is the kind of oversized loin that regulars cut in half and save the second round for the next day. The classic is T's Tenderloin at $13, the straightforward pub-style version and the single most ordered thing on the menu. The Hot n' Tender runs $14 and brings real heat for anyone who wants their breaded pork tenderloin with a kick. Dress either one however you like. Mustard and pickles if you're a purist or the full lettuce-tomato-onion load. Reviewers haven't been shy: one self-described picky eater said she was blown away and called it one of the best she's ever had, and more than one longtime Hoosier has flatly declared it the best tenderloin in Indiana. I'm not going to argue with people who've been eating these their whole lives. The menu at Tenderloins After Dark doesn't stop at the loin. The smash burger listed, with a wink, as "Wait, You Have Burgers?" goes for $13 and comes back juicy and griddled, not an afterthought. There's a spicy chicken sandwich called This Chick Is Hot, plus tender baskets (Chicken Tendies and Tender Tendies) at $14. Whatever you order, get the potato wedges; reviewers single them out nearly as often as the sandwiches, with the tots and fries close behind. On delivery, the food reportedly shows up still steaming and crisp, which is no small thing at this hour. Tenderloins After Dark sits on the south side of Indianapolis near the Southport corridor, just off S East Street. If you're anywhere in southern Marion County and craving a serious breaded pork tenderloin sandwich especially when the kitchen clock is running late and your other options have gone dark this is the south-side stop worth pointing the car toward.