Chatterbox Cafe

The Chatterbox rules!!! Especially when a certain cook is at the helm. And we all know who that is!!! (Ms. M)

It has only been a week since returning from Audubon but I already miss the two great breakfasts we had at the Chatterbox Café in Audubon Iowa. Great place. Very enjoyable experience overall.

This is not some little hidden, roadside, gem of a restaurant. It’s nothing special. It’s a dive, which wouldn’t bother me if the food was good, but the food isn’t good. Keep driving.

Tenderloin was amazing; tasted so fresh I’m pretty sure it had been walking around on the hog only a few hours earlier.
Also amazing: the efficiency and panache with which the waitress whipped out a mop and swabbed out the giant mud tracks left by the table of five muddy overall-​clad farmers who finished their lunch just as I showed up.
four stars for amazing lunch sandwich, extra bonus star for expert swabbing.

The food here is down-​home cooking. It’s very good on prices. The waitresses aren’t over-​the-​top fabulous, and it is a little slow, so make sure you have time if you’re stopping here. The specials are always really good, though! I definitely enjoy coming here for lunch — it’s very busy 12 to 1230 though so try to come at a different time.

Absolutely did not expect AT ALL to have the meal we had here after a somewhat grueling 16 mile bike ride up the T-​Bone Trail (I got a flat tire with 4 miles to go… grrrr.)
Needless to say… I was hungry. And a delicious cheeseburger was in order.
And, I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting anything that great from this hole-​in-​the-​wall diner in the middle of nowhere western Iowa.
But boy was I wrong.
Cheeseburger (with extra pickles) was PERFECT. A classicly thin diner patty with a terrific sear on both sides. Melted American cheese and crisp dill pickle chips. Mayo on the side with some ketchup and mustard smeared on a perfectly toasted bun? Burger didn’t stand a chance.
Tried the Hot Beef Sandwich. Good. I love me a thick, dark, rich beef gravy and this was more on the lighter side (maybe even a chicken gravy, actually), but it was still good. Not something I’d order, though.
And the tenderloin? Not your typical frisbee-​sized, super flat, *breaded* tenderloin you usually get. This one was thicker, juicier… and, ahem, *hand battered* in BATTER… not sprinkled with breading. BIG difference.
Smothered in mustard and more pickles and a little mayo added in… best tenderloin I’ve had since moving to the area in Dec. of ’11.
If you’re off to see the biggest bull in the world and need a place to grab some lunch, don’t let Chatterbox Café’s unassuming stature and local clientele deter you. March right in, get a seat, order up and enjoy. It’s well worth it.
Oh…and the Apple Pie à la mode? Yummmmm.

I contemplated 4 stars… but just couldn’t do it. So 3.5 it is.
Stop here if you’re in search of good food in a no frills atmosphere.
The hot beef sandwich ($ 5.50) was very tasty, complete with tender meat and REAL mashed potatoes. Generous helping, too, and this seemed to be the dish in front of 75% of the patrons. The tenderloin was pretty good too — freshly battered-​delicious ($ 5). My husband said his cheeseburger was delicious, and the pie a la mode ($ 2.50) was tasty as well.
Coffee was $ 1; a can of soda — $ 1 and change.
Of course, by now Patty Q.‘s review is outdated, I’m sad to say. Prices have gone up, but that’s to be expected.
Service was so/​so. The place was a bit rundown, too. But hey, the food was good. I’d return.

Love the décor. Love the farmers. Love the locals. Love the location, surrounded by corn fields. Love it love it love it! This place is truly a local gem. I got the tenderloin sandwich and mozzarella sticks!
Tenderloin sandwich was delicious and perfectly fried. By no means is this place gourmet, fancy, and healthy. The tables are rarely wiped down, the AC barely works, and the clientele is essentially made up of overall wearing farmers. You have to appreciate the locals to eat here!
Mozzarella sticks are perfectly deep fried. Every bit has the perfect crunch.
Bön Appetit… winning the hearts of food lovers one tummy at a time!

The Chatterbox is good, but if you want the best Tenderloins you will ever have you need to drive south on Highway 71 to Hamlin. It’s the intersection of Highway 71 & Highway 44. The place is called Darrell’s Place and it’s amazing and just as cheep!!! You have to try a homemade tenderloin and chedder crips or onion chips.

After visiting Albert, the biggest bull in the entire world (9x the size of a regular steer)…the bull’s sign recommended Chatterbox Café just down the street.
Um…welcome to the CHEAPEST food with the best QUALITY in the entire nation.
$ 1.15 for a large 0J (as opposed to Wyoming’s Little America with the crazy price of $ 4.50 for a large OJ. psh.)
$ 1.25 for a slice of homemade pie (rhubarb, rasberry, apple… you name it)
The lunches range from $ 2.00 to $ 5.00. GET THE TENDERLOIN… I didn’t even know what a tenderloin sandwhich was before going. And… it’s good…
Make any lunch «vegetable style» for a .25 cents. woopdedoo.
IT’S LIKE WE’VE GONE BACK TO THE 50’S AND THE AMERICAN DOLLAR IS DOING SWELL!
Sure people stared at me a bit from the kitchen. So WHAT I don’t know what a tenderloin is and had to ask?! Plus… I was definitely the only Chinese-lookin’-person within miles. Oh hell, stare all you want… your food is amazing!