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Iowa City travel enthusiast is trying tenderloins in all 99 counties of Iowa
The Iowa Gallivant hopes to help other Iowans see more of their state
Jul. 20, 2024 5:15 am, Updated: Jul. 22, 2024 11:59 am
Watch out, Sen. Chuck Grassley — there’s a new man coming for your signature 99-county tour.
Jay Goodvin, the traveling Iowa blogger known at The Iowa Gallivant, isn’t running for office. But the foodie and small town tourist is pressing the flesh with restaurant owners and locals across every county as he seeks nominations for his favorite pork tenderloin.
The tour, started in April, will continue until June 2025, when he expects he’ll have a taste of at least one tenderloin per county. Goodvin is mum so far on his favorites, but those looking for some sage swine wisdom need not look any farther than the tasting videos posted to his social media, where nary a poker face can be found.
“I always tell people I like the finer things in life, but I don’t mind a little duct tape on the bar stools.” — Jay Goodvin
How does he judge them?
To win the title of Iowa’s next top tenderloin, the tourism advocate has only two rules: “It’s got to be hot,” and it needs to be made in-house from scratch. Diverse tenderloins of any size, thickness and niche are welcomed.
As for ratings, he doesn’t stick to any sort of measurable or numbered metrics.
“I leave that up to the people. I’m not looking for the best tenderloin, just my favorite,” he said. “I can think of 10 times in my lifetime when my favorite tenderloin changed. I (previously would) go about five or six years and discover another one, and (then) that’s my favorite.”
How does he choose where to go?
With a passionate constituency, suggestions for the next stop regularly inundate Goodvin’s social media. So far, the Iowa City resident has covered more than 25 counties in this tour.
With 50,000 followers, the number of people watching his tastings often outnumbers the populations of the towns he visits. Goodvin, who travels the state to make content promoting Iowa tourism, chooses only one tenderloin restaurant per county — even large counties like Polk and Linn. Most stops are off the beaten path, but convenient to the route he’s taking for other business.
“The locals are very much guiding us,” he said. “I don’t have the data, but I’m pretty sure nobody in the state has been to more restaurants than us.”
Why pork tenderloins?
“I figured it’s one of the most popular, if not the most popular things in the state of Iowa,” Goodvin said. “Every town has their own version of a tenderloin.”
With the spaced-out pace of his tour, he reports that he hasn’t gotten sick of the fried pork yet.
“We knew this was going to be popular, but it has been supremely popular,” he said. “Everyone is loving it.”
How did he get into this?
Previously, Goodvin worked with western Iowa tourism partners to promote a T-bone steak trail over two summers. Though the traveler has been to each of Iowa’s counties multiple times, this is the first time he’s toured all 99 to explore a single type of food.
The tour doubles as a chance to promote the Key Apparel clothing line, which makes the overalls he models in many videos and photos.
In addition to his primary work as a content creator, The Iowa Gallivant works as a paraeducator for the Iowa City Community School District, which allows him the freedom to travel more during school breaks.
After pork tenderloins, he plans to promote burgers across the state. He also has an idea for an 99-county golf course tour, as “a lot of golf courses have great food.”
Getting Iowa out of its rut
While he may be touring to try the same exact sandwich 99 times, Goodvin hopes the tenderloin trail will encourage others to see more of their home state.
“I always tell people you can’t spell routine without rut. Wherever you’re living, you need to switch up your travels a bit,” he said. “I discover something every time I travel, even though I’ve been to every county multiple times.”
Inspired by celebrity chef and travel documentarian Anthony Bourdain, Goodvin spent more than 20 years working in the hospitality industry running kitchens in Montana, Cape Cod, the Florida Keys, Texas and central Illinois. He has a passion for visiting places that aren’t in the top of the food chain for tourism, where he has made some of his best travel memories.
“I always tell people I like the finer things in life, but I don’t mind a little duct tape on the bar stools,” he said.
Iowa’s food culture
Residents of the Hawkeye State may be humble about it, but Iowa’s food culture is as unique as any other — something Goodvin thinks is worth championing.
Travelers can find Norwegian heritage in Decorah, Danish heritage in Elk Horn, Dutch heritage in Pella, Luxembourg in Remsen and a new migration of Balkans to Waterloo. Today, new waves across Iowa are reflected in the evolving cuisine seen in stores and restaurants started by immigrants from Central America and Africa.
The Iowa native, who has served as the official host of Iowa Irish Fest in Waterloo for the last eight years, finds pockets of “the old country” through meat lockers. He published a book on that topic, “Rural Iowa Sausage: History & Tradition of Brats on the Back Roads,” last year.
Though he’s dined around the country, his top recommendations for farm-to-table restaurants are in Iowa. His favorite, Primrose, is located in Corning, the county seat of Iowa’s least populated county.
Stories of chefs coming home to Iowa after sharpening their skills in large cities across the country are becoming more and more common.
“That entrepreneurialism is on the rise, especially in Iowa,” Goodvin said.
Comments: Features reporter Elijah Decious can be reached at (319) 398-8340 or elijah.decious@thegazette.com.
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