Newton’s Paradise Café – Waterloo, IA

D.Rough and I had the pleasure of driving through Waterloo, Iowa, one evening and we needed to grab a bite to eat before we continued north to the Twin Cities. We took a quick look at Trip Advisor to see what was rated highly in the town, or anything that wasn’t a chain restaurant. Newton’s sounded good and we were pretty close, as well.

The downtown area of Waterloo is pretty dead after 7pm, but we were happy to see Newton’s was open for a little while longer. It’s bright and shiny, almost like an old timey dining car, but the inside is actually modern and clean. The menu has better items on it than a greasy spoon diner, so it didn’t take me long to decide what to get. A breaded pork tenderloin. For some reason, there aren’t any place in Minnesota that serve breaded pork T’s, so I usually order one every time I see one on a menu. D.Rough got a pulled pork po’ boy.

Since it wasn’t busy at all, our food came out pretty quickly. The pulled pork po’ boy was really delicious. Great bbq pork flavor with a generous helping. Then some basil coleslaw and fried onions to top it off. Really a great sandwich. The fries were pretty standard, so not much to say about those.

The breaded pork tenderloin was monstrous. You can tell this is hand breaded and not from a freezer like some places I’ve been. It’s so huge it makes the large bun seem like a tiny bun. D.Rough is always amazed when I send her photos of these pork T’s that I eat, but they’re usually pretty large. That being said, this one was SUPER large. I ended up pulling the edges of the tenderloin off and putting it in a to go box for tomorrow’s lunch. But the part with the bun was magical. Great flavor without tasting like a sponge of grease and fantastic crunch on the outside. I would have gone right to sleep if I had eaten the entire thing (like I usually do). But I’m glad I saved some for the next day!

Newton’s is really worth the stop-in if you’re in Waterloo. I wouldn’t have driven by it, since I don’t go downtown there much. So I’m glad Trip Advisor ranked it really well.

Top 5 things about Newton’s Paradise Café

1. Breaded Pork Tenderloin

2. Pulled Pork Po’ Boy

3. Diner food, but kicked up a notch

4. Really nice folks working there

5. They DO serve been here

Bottom 5 things

1. Even though it’s downtown, normal travelers won’t accidentally drive past it

2. I’d guess with the John Deere factory right there, it is mobbed at lunch time

3. Fries were just ho-hum

4. N/A

5. N/A

www.newtonscafe.com