Chitown B wrote:yeah Jim's is good. I prefer Alexander's, because I like the charm of cooking my own. I know to some that may seem like doing their job for them, but there's something about sitting around a firepit cooking some texas toast

Hosted groups at Alexander's more than once, in both Peoria and Springfield, but we rarelly cooked our own.

I'll never forget the time a waitress at Alexander's served me a nicely prepared strip steak. Problem is, I had ordered the rib eye.

When I brought it to her attention, rather than replace the errant order, she started arguing with me in front of my guests, insisting the steak in front of me was a rib eye. Since I was with customers, I eschewd further disagreement with the bimbo and ate the strip, but I've never darkened Alexander's door again since.

it's unfortunate that one bad server can ruin an entire restaurant for you forever.

I went to Peoria in the beginning of the fall. I was visiting family and here's some of what we ate:

Emack & Bolio's
4534 North Prospect Road
Peoria Heights, IL 61616
http://www.emackandbolios.com/
Despite a lifetime of worshipping the dairy arts, this is the first time I've come across this particular chain. My ice cream was good, but too rich. (Completely eater error, I ordered chocolate mousse ice cream, but my brain was convinced it was going to be moose track ice cream.)

Paparazzi
4315 Voss Street
Peoria Heights, IL 61616
http://www.paparazzipeoriaheights.com/
I've been to Paparazzi's several times over the years. This was the first visit where, while I had a nice meal, I was aware of my desire for a freshened menu. We shared the app of tomato and onion antipasto with gorgonzola cheese, for my main I had the veal piccata, and dessert was the cannoli. We drank the wine on the table--a red with a black labrador on it. I enjoyed it. Almost two months after the meal, and I think the only thing I would re-order was the appetizer. I know that sounds like faint praise; I will absolutely return to this restaurant.

Sky Harbor Steakhouse
1321 North Park Road
West Peoria, IL 61604
http://www.skyharborsteakhouse.com/
This is the place that really made me think I was back in Peoria. To start, the restaurant's name is "Sky Harbor", and yet is at the bottom of a gentle hill, with a view of exactly: nothing. It's a big place, half (or more?) devoted to the restaurant. (Advisory--my relatives refuse to eat there.) The other half is a bar, with a piano, dim lights, and clientele of a certain gentle age. I was there on a Saturday night, so I got to listen to the jazz pianist Jimmy Binkley, and sip on an extremely affordable gin and tonic. If you find yourself in the area on a Wednesday or Saturday night, I highly recommend popping over after dinner elsewhere for the nightcap of your favorite drink, and some lovely music. The lighting is dim, the booths are forgiving, and I wish my notes were better, because I was completely and utterly enchanted.

Seven on Prospect
4609 North Prospect
Peoria Heights, IL 61616
http://www.7onprospect.com/index.htm
This is one of the nicer restaurants in Peoria Heights. I've been a few times, and I find myself looking forward to returning. For our party of three we shared an appetizer order of mussels, sweet potato fries, lamb lollipops, and sauteed mushrooms, bread, and then two mains of rainbow trout with quinoa and spinach. Everything was quite good, with the lamb and sweet potatos standing out in my memory. Dessert was a trio of creme brulees--classic, smores, and something chocolate and boozy.

I hope if you find yourself in Peoria, you're able to seek out some good food. I grew up in Peoria, and then lived in Chicago for years before moving to Los Angeles. This is a wind up of saying--yes--the places I've listed might not be the closest to where you're staying and working, but the traffic is light, parking is abundant and cheap, and getting off the beaten path is always worthwhile.

cjla wrote:My ice cream was good, but too rich. (Completely eater error, I ordered chocolate mousse ice cream, but my brain was convinced it was going to be moose track ice cream.)

I was back in Peoria this spring. Here’s some of where I went, and some brief notes.

309 This is a restaurant/bar, with the space divided in half, from the time of entry at the host stand. The restaurant seems like a cavernous place, but the quite roomy bar feels cozy. It had bar seating, raised table seating, and tables at the normal dining height. We had salads, a few apps, and I tried the butterfish special. I feel it was slightly overcooked. I didn’t love the food, but liked the space enough that I’m interested in what else I could try.

Khoury Kitchen In my time in Peoria, there was always a large Lebanese community. I specifically wanted a falafel sandwich—I don’t think I got the best one in the city, but I did get one at lunch time, and managed to avoid all of the chain restaurants when I just wanted to grab something quickly. My dining companion got a sandwich called the “garlic chicken special” which wasn’t very good. I liked the fries, and really liked the pistachio basturma I grabbed at the last minute. Good and cheap, and not fast food.

Seven My favorite place in Peoria—even if it is Peoria Heights—I had a glass of malbec, an entrée of stuffed chicken breast with goat cheese, and cheesecake with raspberry sauce. Really lovely food, and thoughtful service. In the past, I’ve ordered multiple small bites and sides—this time I wasn’t as intrigued by their changing selections—but really enjoyed my entrée.

Paparazzi We once again shared the onion, tomato and gorgonzola cheese appetizer, and an order of garlic bread. For my main I had the spinach alfredo, with the Paparazzi sauce (alfredo sauce with pesto). The table also shared the house special vegetable of the evening—four types of bell peppers, grilled. One of my table mates was gracious enough to let me taste her selection—polenta with Bolognese sauce. It was really quite good. The last visit I made to Paparazzi made me feel like I wanted a fresher menu—this visit reminded me of what they do well. The spumoni is the only dessert I’d try again, but the cannoli aren’t terrible, either.

PV 2 Spinach soup with dumplings, and spinach rotolo. The rotolo was very, very good—and my relatives smugly told me that PV 2 makes some of the best sauces in the city. I haven’t eaten everywhere (yet!) but I did enjoy my main. I had chocolate orange gelato for dessert. I liked it—maybe the gelato could have been brought up a little in temperature before serving? It was a large serving—and I really liked the half moon glass bowls it was served in.

Fish House Green salad, Australian barramundi, and pecan pie. Good, not great, but then I have a sheelfish allergy, so maybe I missed the great stuff. My table mate orderedsome prawns that looked fantastic.


Any one else been in P-town lately?

I went down to Peoria for graduation. To celebrate we went to Jim’s steakhouse. Jim’s seems to have a reputation as one of the best steakhouses in the area. It is in the basement of an office building and with a piano bar, it does have the ambience of an old fashioned steakhouse.

I must have caught them on an off night. My wife had the pepper steak, my daughter had a chicken and pasta dish, and I had the large cut prime rib. I ordered it medium rare. My wife thought the pepper steak was very good. I thought the prime rib was the worst piece of meat I have ever had. And at $36 I was disgusted. But my daughter just doesn’t like me when I react and tell the restaurant what I really think. She doesn’t even like it when I think I try to do it politely. So because it was her night, I bit my tongue.

The prime rib was medium rare and huge. But it was cold and not just tough, but extremely tough. I tried different sections and still tough. I could not even decide if it had any flavor it was so tough. The baked potato was of an average size, but appeared to have been prepared hours earlier. The skin, which I enjoy, was dry and black. My wife’s was the same. I guess I expected a better potato for an upscale restaurant. The dinner salad was average with not enough field greens, but the soup was excellent.

I picked at it and then said I was pretty full and wanted to save room for dessert. So we took the rest home. We had carrot cake and turtle cheesecake. I had the carrot cake and I thought it was very good. Both agreed their desserts were terrific. I was surprised that they only charged $2.25 for the desserts, I had expected more.

As I said maybe I caught them on an off night.

D.

Jim’s Steakhouse
110 SW Jefferson
Peoria

"nothin' shakin on shakedown street. used to be the heart of town
dont tell me this town aint got no heart. you just gotta poke around."

Big fan of Peoria, spent the day down that way yesterday.

Stop # 1:

Alwan & Sons Meats, nice, full service butcher who has been around since the late 1950's. Additive free beef, pork & chicken. Brats, polish, etc.











grabbed a bundle for $49: slab of spares, some brats, 2# bacon, center cut chops, 6# chicken. No doubt it will be good.

They do a lunch time grill on a cooker in their parking lot: brats, dogs, polish, ribeye & pork chop sandwiches. Brat was really good @ $2/ea.



Old school, friendly, knowledgeable, no nonsense or attitude.

Alwan & Sons Meat Co.
703 E. War Memorial Drive
Peoria, IL.

http://www.alwanandsons.com

Stop # 2:

Mid 80 degree day, some ice cream was in order. Dug the olde tyme sign and building so Emos Dairy Mart was the choice for a quick stop. Soft serve cones at a picnic table in the parking lot was enjoyable.:







Emos Dairy Mart
3618 Prospect Road
Peoria, IL.

Stop # 3:

I am odd, and like to visit allegedly haunted spots in my travels. The Bowen Building @ the Bartonville State Hospital aka illinois Asylum for the Incureably Insane:



Bartonville State Hospital(Bowen Building)
4100 W. Pfieffer
Bartonville, IL.


Stop # 4:

Time to enjoy the sun, off to the first of two riverfront bars that you can get to by boat or car. Captain Rons is a cool little spot just south of Peoria in the town of Creve Couer. Tough to find on some back roads, but worth it. Reminded me of some spoits I hit in S. Carolina & the Marco Island area. laid back, some decent food, but most of all some great views and scenery.

Had a burger here that was ok, also had some grouper fingers that were actually pretty damn good. Id be interested in doing dinner here. Drinks were affordable, Jim Beam & High Life bottles on hand so all was good. Cash only.











Captain Rons on the River
579 Wesley Road
Creve Couer, IL.

http://www.captainronsontheriver.com

Burger Barge:



Fun spot, I dig these "boater bars", Cold beers and shots flowing, as well as some pretty decent burgers. View, and people watching is worth a million bucks.



Tavern burger:



pretty good:



bring on the kind summer weather:



Burger Barge
1401 N. Main Street
East Peoria, IL.

http://www.burgerbargeinc.com

I'm going to have to try Burger Barge next time we get that way. Great photos!

LikestoEatout wrote:I'm going to have to try Burger Barge next time we get that way. Great photos!

it was a fun stop on a sunny friday afternoon, bet it gets pretty wild on a Saturday or Sunday.

Thanks for another good pushpin, Jim! Always looking for ways to make the drives downstate more interesting.

Made the easy 1 hour and 15 minute shot down to Peoria on Saturday. Wanted to get the new vehicle out to stretch its legs. ).

1)Allwan Bros has probably one of the best lunchtime grill setups I have had. $2 brats, dogs, or their brilliant hot polish. One of each and a bottle of water makes for a good lunch. Their polish and brats are special, their hot dog while good needs some more flavor pop imo. Grabbed some chops, brats, polish, bacon & brakfast sausage for a fair price as well.

2)Hit Lous Drive-in for some sofsserve icecream and a milkshake, was tempted by a pork tenderloin or a coney dog. next time. Place has been around for 50 years.





3)Captain Rons, love this place. Tought to find, but worth it. The deck overlooking the river is a great place to spend a few hours. Enjoyed some Jim Beam, High Life, and grouper fingers $20, cash only:





gotta stay for dinner one of these nights:


Allwan Meats & Captain Rons address and web info upthread.

Lous Drive-In
4229 N. Knoxville
Peoria, IL.

Jim, besides Allwan, which my in-laws liked, there is also Pottstown Meat that you might want to try some future trip to Peoria. They liked their sausage variety better. I wish I could remember where the German sausage maker was, it was somewhere off NE Adams but maybe long gone.

http://www.pottstownmeat.com/

I believe Lou's still makes its own root beer, which was always very popular.

jimswside wrote:


Captain Rons on the River
579 Wesley Road
Creve Couer, IL.

doing some research for a return to Peoria, bummed to see Captain Rons has closed(source Peoria Journal Star article dated 1/2/2013), now Kuchies on the Water.

http://www.pjstar.com/entertainment/din ... nexpensive

Spotted this fried chicken spot about 15 miles west of Peoria, had to get down for some Saturday night bird. Eureka, IL. college town of Ronnie Reagan.

Spot called Hoedl's Chanitcleer



Nice little roadhose, friendly staff, cool bar. Been around for over 50 years, most recent owner taking it over in 2000.

Fried chicken came straight from the fryer, roaring hot. Crust was very similar to Verruchi's in Sping Valley. More of and Italian breadcrumb style. Good stuff.

3 piece light w/ au gratins(i order light because I like wings.):



Hodel's Chanticleer
744 N. Main
Eureka, IL.

http://www.larryaball.net/Chanticleer

Been wanting to get back down to Peoria to try a bar I heard of that offered a basket of Ritz crackers and a homemade cheesespread(simple pleasures right).

Why not get 2 birds with one stone and #discover a turkey farm in the area...



Yordy turkey farm, family operation for 80 years. Just down the road from Peoria in Morton, IL. What struck me about this place other than how friendly and gracious the folks working here were was how their farm was clean and did not smell at all like the Hoka farm up in Waterman, the area to pick-up the turkeys was located right off a spotless prcessing room.

Went with a 19# fresh bird from these folks @ $2.59/Lb, cant wait to give their bird a try.

Yordy Turkey Farm
2000 S. Main
Morton, IL.

http://www.yordyturkey.com/

Now back to the other purpose of this trip, cheese spread, I like bars, and I really like bars that give you something to snack on. Castle's Patio Inn - "The cheesiest place in town",



friendly corner bar, I enjoyed the cheese and crackers with Beam and High Life. Spread is garlicky with a kick of horseradish, nice place:



Castle's Patio Inn
802 W. Loucks
Peoria, IL.

this is an article by Luciano in the Peoria Journal Star that put this spot on my radar:

http://www.pjstar.com/article/20131106/NEWS/131109672

The logo for Castle's Patio Inn is reminiscent of the Mars Cheese Castle. I wonder how different the cheese spread is...

Can't wait to hear about your turkey, Jim.

The GP wrote:The logo for Castle's Patio Inn is reminiscent of the Mars Cheese Castle. I wonder how different the cheese spread is...

Can't wait to hear about your turkey, Jim.

I can't recall what Mars cheese tastes like, I do agree their logo looks similar.

I'm also looking forward to the new turkey, still sticks in my mind what a clean facility they had.

cjla wrote:Sky Harbor Steakhouse
1321 North Park Road
West Peoria, IL 61604
http://www.skyharborsteakhouse.com/
This is the place that really made me think I was back in Peoria. To start, the restaurant's name is "Sky Harbor", and yet is at the bottom of a gentle hill, with a view of exactly: nothing.

I'm not sure if you know this, but that place used to be on the corner turn of a road right alongside the Peoria Airport, by my house. Hence the name. They widened the road which in turn made them sell and tear down the place to make room, so they moved.

In other news - I've found the Jumer's cinnamon rolls! Cracked Pepper makes them exactly the same and sells them at a reasonable price. Grabbed some last time we were in town. Mmmmmmmmm http://crackedpepperpeoria.com/

Jimswide -- Re: Yordy's -- My family has been getting turkeys there for Thanksgiving for as long as I can remember. Always great.

rehorn wrote:Jimswide -- Re: Yordy's -- My family has been getting turkeys there for Thanksgiving for as long as I can remember. Always great.

it was a great bird, I didnt even have to brine it.

Has anyone been to Salt, Sugar?

http://saltpeoria.com
Salt
4542 N Prospect Rd,
Peoria Heights, IL 61616
(309) 966-1035

or
http://sugarpeoria.com
Sugar
826 SW Adams
Peoria, IL 61602

We are headed to Peoria on Saturday for a high school All-state Choir concert and will be spending the night.

You might also consider Harvest Cafe in Delavan. A 30 minute drive for a wonderful experience.

http://harvestcafedelavan.com/?page_id=241

...no corkage for wines from Hometown Wine and Spirits, located next door.

http://hometownwine.com/site/

Thanks but since we are driving down to Peoria I think we are planning on staying in Peoria for dinner.

We went to Sugar, a fast casual wood fired pizza place. Here you order, pay and then they bring you your food. We had 3 pizzas all with a cracker style crust and decent toppings. Nice looking spot, loft style storefront with a "reclaimed" look and feel to the room. Prices were $8 to $11 for a 10" pizza. I'd recommend it if you were in the area.

Psst.. this time of year, its 10-15 degrees warmer out west of the city. Did the Quad Cities 2 Saturdays in a row, and last weekend it was a quick - solo shot down to Peoria to take care of some business. - 76 and sunny where I was at on Sat..

I had a short window and a few spots to hit before I could shoot over to the shrimp farm in El Paso, IL. More on that later.. First stop was for some meat. I had read about Pottstown Meat and Deli on here from "likestoeatout", and checked them out a little more. They offer Kilgus Farms pork and beef. For those not aware, Route 24 the portion from Peoria east to about I-57 is a hotbed of farms -dairy, pork, beef.. most of which sell to the public. I usually hit Alwan Meats in Peoria, but I think Pottstown will be my choice from now on., the pork, snack sticks and beef I got from them was great and affordable.



this is a Kilgus Farms, aged bone-in sirloin.: $15 for the steak, not $15/Lb....:




found a window in the rain yesterday afternoon to put it to the fire:


Not crapping ya, that was the best steak I have ever cooked at home, in the top 5 of all time.

Pottstown Meat & Deli
4700 N. University
Peoria, IL.

http://www.pottstownmeat.com/

Next stop was a bakery that has been around since 1861, Trefzgers,





had to get a number and wait in line, but the time it was my turn my order had gone from only some smiley face cookies to a loaf of cinnamon bread, and a blueberry coffee cake.. Blueberry coffee cake was top notch. Another spot Ill be going back to.

Trefzger's Bakery
3504 N. Prosect
Peoria, IL.

http://www.trefzgerbakery.com/Home.html

Alright, time for a drink, Castles Patio Inn, healthy pours of bourbon, cheap beer, and complimentary cheese spread and crackers.







btw this spot, and the cheese spread recipe are for sale...

Castles Patio Inn
802 W. Loucks
Peoria, IL.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Castles- ... 7227398118

In order to hear about the food stops you gotta ride along for some of the shit I am interested in...

Saw WSP at the Madison theatre back on 7/16/99 - hot night, hot show - theater has been closed down since around 2003 - Fire codes.. Built in 1920 as a silent movie house:




here is that show for those looking to open their minds:
http://www.panicstream.com/vault/widesp ... peoria-il/

Madison Theater
502 Main
Peoria, IL.

The reason for my trip down to the Peoria area was to hit a saltwater shrimp farm in El Paso, IL. - maybe 30 mins from Peoria. THe Steiner Family Farm, I had been in touch with them since last year trying to get some shrimp, once the weather broke and I got the word they had shrimp I was on my way.



http://www.thesteinerfarm.com/

REad about them in a few press articles:

http://www.pjstar.com/x1522315445/El-Pa ... ll-kicking

Got a bag of fresh Pacific White shrimp - 1# -@ $18, about $1 per shrimp as there were 15-18 in the bag. They were still moving a little as they had recently been pulled from the tanks.



boiled some off for a shrimp and egg salad served with crackers.. The shrimp popped and the eggs I got on the farm were fantastic as well:



The others I grilled and tossed in with some mahi I was grilling:



Big fan of these folks and hope they can make it work:

Steiner Farm
2298 County Road 800N
El Paso, IL.

Nice quick shot into a fun area of the state. - I ran out of time on this visit, & I have at least 5-6 more interesting food and drink places to visit - of course some fried chicken and more fun. Maybe this upcoming Sat.

Jim - Glad to see you discovered Trefzger's. Note that their birthday cakes and thumbprint cookies -- and other items that perhaps others will chime in with -- are great!! Many a Peorian gets his or her birthday cake from Trefzger's - no exceptions!

rehorn wrote:Jim - Glad to see you discovered Trefzger's. Note that their birthday cakes and thumbprint cookies -- and other items that perhaps others will chime in with -- are great!! Many a Peorian gets his or her birthday cake from Trefzger's - no exceptions!

I saw those thumbprint cookies, was curious, next visit.

I can see what your saying about folks getting their wedding cakes there. At least 1/3 of the folks in line on Sat were ordering cakes vs just picking up sweets.

What do you know of Carl's Bakery & Restaurant in East Peoria? Heard they have some strawberry pinwheel donuts that are special.