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IOWA — The finalists in Iowa’s Best Breaded Pork Tenderloin Contest have been revealed and a small eastern Iowa town has landed two restaurants on the list.

The Iowa Pork Producers Association announced the top five on Tuesday for its 22nd year of the annual competition. They are:

• Bronson Bar — Bronson
• Dairy Sweet — Dunlap
• Ruby’s Pub and Grill — Stuart
• The Blind Pig — Monticello
• The Market at the Tap — Monticello

There must be something in the water in Monticello that makes for an exceptionally tasty tenderloin sandwich that keeps pork-lovers coming back for the next hand-breaded bite.

The IPPA says 532 restaurants were nominated this year. Over the summer, anonymous visits were made to the top 40. They were picked using the top five nominated restaurants in each of IPPA’s eight districts to make sure the whole state was represented. After IPPA members and industry affiliates evaluated the tenderloins, an IPPA committee reviewed their assessments and chose the finalists.

The winner will be announced later in October and receive $500, a plaque, a banner, and statewide publicity. The runner-up gets $250 and a plaque.

Last year’s winner was Cliff’s place in Manning. Check out the full list of previous winners here.