Yesterday's Restaurant

Today, we visited Yesterday’s Restaurant nestled in the back corner of the Route 66 Hotel and Conference Center at 625 East Saint Joseph Street, Springfield, IL or online at http://www.rt66hotel.com/filling_station.php.  We had a special lunch today as the Tenderloin Tour Committee was in full force with all 5 founding members present.  Yesterday’s Restaurant, which is also referenced as the Filling Station because of a previous name, is a step back in time as it builds on the Route 66 nostalgia.  Walking down the hall as you approach the restaurant, you can’t help but notice the old time metal, pedal cars hanging from the ceiling and the gas pump along the side wall.  When you enter the premises, you’re overwhelmed with all the tin signs, license plates, and plastic LPs hanging on the walls, not to mention the black and white checkered floor.  This restaurant claims they specialize in a horseshoe which is a Springfield delicacy but I’d say they specialize in a plate that serves half a broasted chicken.  It is absolutely delicious and a monstrous portion but we weren’t here to sample the chicken but rather the other white meat.

We were quickly met by Mando, a fine young waitress who has been the most appetizing to the visual sense and the most appealing to the oratory sense because she doesn’t suffer from a smoker’s voice.  Our drink order was taken and served but upon the visual scrutiny of a regular Coke instead of a Diet Coke, one diner was so moved he had to order a Cherry Coke which our waitress made by mixing juice from a cherry jar with a glass of Coke.  He later ordered a second glass so I guess her mixology was accurate.  After an order of pork tenderloin sandwiches was taken from the round table, we had nothing to do but sit and reminisce about the good times and the loins we’d eaten up to this point on the tour. 

When the sandwiches arrived, the first discovery was a completely toasted bun which was a desired addition from our last Tenderloin Tour stop.  We were quick to notice the size of the sandwich was smaller in portion even though it pierced the edges of the bun and it was covered with a golden brown breading.  The extras consisted of pickles, onion, lettuce, and tomato but the star of the extras was the appearance of a pickle spear.  A couple of us also adorned our sandwiches with mayo and mustard.  It only took about two bites into this sandwich to know it wouldn’t stack up to the others.  The flavor was very bland and missing any hint of a spice.  In fact, some members of the committee immediately went to adding salt and pepper to get some kind of flavor to give their tongues a ride down the Route 66 taste highway.  You’d think our traditionalist member would be happy with the lack of spices but even he complained of the missing flavor.  I guess he just has something against Italians.

 

The fries, on the other hand, were excellent.  They were bulky and straight cut, quick fried in hot grease so the outside was crunchy but the inside was soft and enjoyable.

The sandwich set us back $6.95 and it came with fries.  Unfortunately, the tenderloin isn’t what we’ll be talking about from this meal, rather a pickle spear and fries.  It wasn’t horrible tasting, it just didn’t offer enough flavor.  We’ll be glad to say we ate this thing Yesterday and don’t have to go back for another one.  I’m sure we’ll visit again but for other selections on their menu.