Ned's Corner Pub, Kokomo

Ned's Corner Pub in Kokomo is a "joint" and I mean that in a good way. About as unpretentious as they come, this place serves up cold beer and straightforward food. There is more to Ned's, however, than the food and drink. It is the kind of place where local people gather to connect with one another. Staff and patrons alike catch up on politics, their kids and grandkids, and every topic in between. It is the kind of neighborhood joint that every neighborhood needs, but fewer and fewer have.

Ned himself is long gone. Today the place is run by his boys, Mario and Dean Glunt. It remains a popular spot for the locals and I feel privileged to eat there for lunch occasionally when I am in town on business. When I visited this week, the daily lunch special sounded too good to refuse - a baked tenderloin with mashed potatoes, green beans, gravy, and a couple slices of wheat bread for just $5.50. 

As you might imagine this is a substantial lunch. The kind of lunch that might cause you to skip dinner. On this cool fall day, it was just what the doctor ordered. OK, I'm sure my doctor would NOT have ordered this for me, but hopefully you get my drift. After I ordered, I swear it was only about 45 seconds before the heavy oval plate appeared before me. I was not familiar with a "baked" tenderloin but now I think it is my new best comfort-food friend - a pork tenderloin, dredged in flour and seasonings, pan-seared, and then baked in the oven. Accompanying the tenderloin was a mound of real mashed potatoes and heap of green beans (with bacon of course).

The plate usually comes with gravy on both the pork and the spuds but I ordered mine on the side. It has been my experience that even some really great food can be ruined by a add-hot-water-and stir, institutional-food pasty nastiness masquerading as gravy.No such fear at Ned's. This gravy was the real deal. As delicious as the pan gravy of my youth made by my family's matriarchs. This was a great lunch and such a terrific value at just $5.50.

As for the rest of Ned's menu, it is available here and includes a good combination of pub grub, steaks and chops, chicken, and I'm told the house-made chili is outstanding. Ned's is located at 105 West Markland (and Main).