I figure I should begin this article with a bit of honesty: I’d lived in Iowa for four years and roomed with a State Pork Queen runner-up in college, but had yet to experience the sandwich I’d seen on nearly every menu from Ames to Zearing: the pork tenderloin.

That is, however, until my visit to Goldie’s Ice Cream Shoppe, 304 W. Second St. in Prairie City, last week.

Awarded the Iowa Pork Producers Association’s esteemed honor of the Best Pork Tenderloin in Iowa in 2009 and, more recently, featured in the Chicago Tribune’s travel section, the quaint white building along Prairie City’s main drag boasts an impressive array of diner fare.