1900 N. Courtland AvenueIt seems like we’re taking yearly trips to Indianapolis at the beginning of December. I was hesitant to say yes this year because L had a figure skating competition in Ann Arbor on Sunday morning and there was really no realistic way I could make it home in time.
Knowing how much overtime I’d get, I knew I had to say yes as long as L and J were ok with it.
They were so Friday afternoon, a colleague met me in Kalamazoo and we headed south for the weekend.
We left Kalamazoo around 11:00. I was purposefully holding off on eating and told him I had plans. I had heard about this drive in that we needed to stop at.
Ray’s Drive In is on the north side of Kokomo, IN on the corner of Courtland Avenue and Spraker Street. The small 50’s style drive in restaurant has been a main stay in Kokomo for decades and they’re claim to fame is a sandwich you think of when you think Indiana delicacies.
The pork tenderloin. I’m talking about the pork tenderloin. I know other places do this uniquely midwestern sandwich but it seems to be the food stuff Indiana is known for. And Ray’s does it big. Like really big.
We didn’t realize it when we pulled in that Ray’s is strictly car hop service after breakfast. We got there about 2:00 and pulled in to a parking spot. We were stopped by the car hop but instead of going back to our car, we just put in an order with her.
The restaurant has definitely gone through some changes over the years. There is an inside order area connected to the car stalls, but as I mentioned, that’s only for breakfast ordering.
There is a building that used to be a dine in area too but that’s closed as well.
There are about 10 stalls that has full car hop service. There are no menus hanging in the stalls. And they’re are no speakers. A lot of people were just pulling up to grab to-go orders but a few people had pulled in to sit there and eat.
We were first timers so we needed a menu…and that menu is large. There’s a lot to choose from but we were there for the pork tenderloin. We both ordered King Tenderloins and a side of fries. My co-worker got “everything” on his. I just did mustard and pickles.
It took about ten minutes for the car hop to bring out the food. We were just sitting at a picnic table waiting then we headed back to the car to eat. We probably should have just used the picnic table but it was cold and windy.
I have no idea how they get this tenderloin as big as they do. It was kind of shocking to both of us when we unwrapped the foil. I knew it was going to be big but that little bun in the center of this giant, breaded, fried pork tenderloin made both of us laugh. Like, what’s even the point of trying to eat this like a sandwich?
The only way to eat this is to rip it apart and just eat it in chunks. My eyes kept playing tricks on me. I kept thinking I was going to bite in to chicken, but it was not chicken. It was a super tender, crunchy, delicious piece of fried pork. Once I got it whittled down some, I did try to eat it like a sandwich but I just made a mess with the mustard. It was tasty with a little bit of the mustard and pickles though and it did make a delicious sandwich.
The sandwich by itself was more than enough for a meal but I ordered fries out of habit. I didn’t expect much from a place like this and that’s what I kind. Just some frozen crinkle cut fries. They were tasty and there were a lot of them so it wasn’t a total waste.
The cost for my meal was just under $20 before tip.
Ray’s Drive In is a quintessential small town diner. It’s the kind of place that can put a small town on the map. The kind of place people will drive hundreds of miles just to get one of these giant sandwiches. We were both happy we took the little detour. There is very little reason for either us to go to Kokomo. Stopping at Ray’s instead of just continuing to drive was a pretty good call.