tenderloin

noun

1. (countable, uncountable)The tenderest part of a loin of meat, especially of pork or beef.
2. (US, countable, dated, slang, uncountable)A district of a city where corruption is common, often because the district is devoted to questionable businesses (peep shows, etc) which are easy for police to blackmail and extort.

name

1. (historical)A neighborhood of varying extent in midtown Manhattan, New York known for illicit entertainment and associated police corruption.

   “She had butted their way out of the Tenderloin district into a spacious uptown apartment.”

2. A similar neighborhood in San Francisco, California.

   “The Tenderloin, a neighbourhood just south-west of touristy Union Square, is home to some 35,000 people in fewer than 50 cramped blocks. Drugs and destitution are out in the open.”

3. A similar neighborhood in Seattle, Washington.