Cracklin' Jakes

I've been meaning to make it to Cracklin' Jakes for well over a year now.

A couple of weeks ago we were actually on our way to another restaurant near Canton, but due to hunger and boredom with the drive, we decided to hit Cracklin' Jakes instead.

Located at 111 E. Valley View Drive in Banner, the restaurant had a cozy log cabin style that I love.

After being greeted warmly and taken to a booth, we took inventory of the menu and decor.

The floors were a neutral tile, which did cause conversation and laughter from a group near the fireplace to echo throughout the dining room off and on through the evening.

There were various animals mounted on the walls and dried flowers here and there, and I really liked the shade of green they chose for their wainscoting.

I ordered a glass of Gnarly Head Zinfandel, which, at $6 a glass, was a nice find. My husband had an iced tea.

For my entrée, I chose the stroganoff, accompanied by the lobster bisque, which was a stretch for me. I've never been a big fan of lobster, even vacationing in Maine, but for some reason the soup sounded good.

I did notice that the stroganoff did not say it was made with bison, which was one of the things I had noted when I wanted to visit the restaurant.

StfRon selected the prime rib, accompanied by salad.

Our first course arrived with bread, and trying the bisque I found it to be excellent. Slightly sweet, creamy and flavorful with tiny flakes of seafood.

StfRon's salad was pretty much standard.

The stroganoff was not the sour cream and sauteed onion and mushroom fare like my mom used to make, but the meat was tender and falling apart and reminded me of a home made pot roast, piled on a bed of boiled noodles.

When we arrived, I was happy to see they had a bread pudding selection on the menu, but we decided to skip dessert and head home.

The waitstaff we encountered, although they appeared young (late teens to early 20s), were very attentive and professional, and made our visit more enjoyable.

If you find yourself near Banner and are looking for a nice sit down dinner, keep Cracklin' Jakes in mind.

Noted

Zim's Diner in Peoria's Campustown has closed, but according to signs in the area, will reopen as Monroe Restaurant & Bar August 1.
I also heard through the grapevine that the Gorman's location, also at Campustown, will reopen soon with a new, fitting name for the area.
I also saw the news that Eamon Patrick's in Peoria has closed. Just a while back I found out that they apparently served a great Sunday brunch, but just about as soon as I heard it, it was no more. Sad, because we are often looking for a good Sunday breakfast and the downtown area is a bit lacking.

Vintages Tasting Room & Wine Garden

A couple of weeks ago we visited Galesburg's Seminary Street, and wandered into Vintages Tasting Room & Wine Garden.
There were a couple of people at the tasting bar sampling wines, and as I looked past them, I remembered the quaint back room complete with bistro tables and chairs from the last time I had been in.
The tasters soon moved aside, so my friend C and I stepped up to sample the wares.
She is more of a sweet wine drinker, and even told our hostess she wanted something "syrupy sweet", which made the lady chuckle. I went straight for the reds.
First I sampled the 2005 Castillo De Fuendejalon Crianza. It was not the oaky wine I normally prefer, but it was nice.
The wine samples were poured through an aerator, which we had never seen used before, and there were crispy cracker bites on the counter to cleanse the palate between samples.
The hostess suggested I try the 2008 Dornfelder sweet red wine. I hesitated, not being a huge fan of German reds, but went for it, and was pleasantly surprised. I figured I needed to grab a bottle of that to put away for our annual fall German party. Plus, I need to get in the German mode for our upcoming trip.
C decided to try it too and liked it.
I gave my husband a ring, who was down the street at the pub with C's man and told him about the samplings. They popped over and he agreed about the Dornfelder, but also wanted a bottle of the Castillo, so I took both to the counter. Taking notice of the sign that asked for payment via check or cash if possible vs. credit cards, I broke out the rusty checkbook to help a local biz.
The wines were both in the $12.99-$14.99 price range.

Round up

Over Father's Day weekend, I finally had a chance to check out the brunch at Wildlife Prairie State Park. With the crowds, the dessert table seemed to have been hit pretty hard by the time we meandered over there, but no matter because I filled up on prime rib and other goodies, including chocolate covered strawberries and pound cake from the chocolate fountain.

I think it was the most humid day on record (sure felt that way), and the rain had just finished as we were getting ready to leave the restaurant, so we did get a chance to visit the park with our niece and my brother and his wife.

It was a good day at the park, too, because we saw the wolves and bears up close, and got to see the otter take a swim.

Last week we made plans to visit The Butcher Block in Junction City in Peoria to check out their new (to us, since we hadn't made it out yet) breakfast offerings.

The shop has changed a lot since my last visit, and it is good to see them adapting, hopefully to fill a great niche in the neighborhood.

The gourmet market selections are gone, replaced with much more seating in the middle of the room, surrounded by glass cases of meat and deli items. The open feel surrounded by the cases and the high ceilings with exposed ductwork reminded me of the Milwaukee Public Market, a place we love to visit.

We were greeted by a waitress when we walked in and were told to choose a table. The menus were waiting on the table, so we took a look.

As soon as I saw this: Hash Benedict — 2 soft poached eggs, corned beef hash, English muffin and Hollandaise sauce ($7.50), I knew I could look no more. Even the Independence Day special of French toast topped with red and blue berries and ice cream could not deter me from my selection.

StfRon chose a half order of biscuits and gravy ($3.25) and a side of hash.

I sipped a cup of coffee while I waited, and was pleased to find it to be a quality brew.

Our food soon arrived and the portions were huge!

My English muffins were topped with tons of hash, nicely prepared eggs and a thick bright yellow/orange Hollandaise. The whole meal was very good.

The sausage gravy was made with a nice quality sausage with some seasoning to it, maybe caraway, and the biscuits were soft. StfRon said if he had known it would be that good, he just would have gotten a full order and skipped the hash, although the hash was cooked to a crisp perfection.

Our waitress kept the refills coming whenever needed, and soon we were on our way, our bellies full.

The Butcher Block is currently serving breakfast from 5:30 a.m.-2 p.m., so whether you are a morning person or not, the hours should work out well.

They also offer Hagen Dazs ice cream, one thing I've missed at Junction City for years.

Jim Kightlinger Antiques

The first time we stopped at Jim Kightlinger Antiques, 8320 N. Jackson Street in Edwards, was a couple of years ago.

We had a fun time poking around looking at antiques and collectibles, and we made our first purchase together for our soon-to-be-a-reality home bar: a bear's head bottle opener.

Recently we stopped in again, going through the side building first, where we saw lots of neat signs and trinkets.

We then made our way inside the house and checked out the couple of rooms there, where I found another fun item to add to my collection.

The shop is right across from Ludy's and the old Edwards bar next door, so the next time you're out that way, pop on over.

Noted

Last night on my way home from work, I noticed that Velvet Freeze has taken over the kiosk on War Memorial in Peoria at Central Avenue. I think the location will be a hit for them, although I will miss the quick $2 slices of Geo's pizza.

Round up

Recently I've visited Water Street Wines in Peoria; Sol Azteca in Washington; Captain Ron's in Creve Coeur; and the Burger Barge in East Peoria.

We tried to have lunch at Café Evergreen in Peoria's Metro Centre, but found a sign on their window saying they were closed for vacation, so we dined at Jalapeno's instead.

Of course, along the route from the Café to Jalepeno's was Abe's, so we stopped in to look around and I bought a couple of treats. The carmelcorn smelled wonderful, so if you've been needing a fix, Abe's is your place!

Saturday I got to go to Galesburg and hang around on Seminary Street, one of my favorite things to do. I visited my faves Uncle Billy's Bakery and the Landmark Café & Creperie, enjoying spinach bisque and roasted garlic spread on bread. We also poked around in the Galesburg Antiques Mall, a gorgeous building I always enjoy visiting.

Gorman's Pub in Peoria has closed, and early this morning I heard the news that Kep's Place in Washington burned over the weekend. It sounds like they plan to rebuild.

This week kicks off several Independence Day festivities. Yonder Mountain String Band plays Friday at 8 p.m. at the Peoria Riverfront, and sounds like a fun band.

Saturday, weather permitting, we will be privileged to enjoy the fireworks and air show of Methodist's Red White and Boom from our comfy perch on a boat on the Illinois River.

Kouri's Pub

I remember going to Kouri's Pub in Peoria several times in the 1990s and hanging out in their beer garden on a nice night with friends. Heck, I think I had only stayed inside once, they just had such a nice beer garden with all of the hanging plants and such.

Kouri's has moved down the road a bit to 4421 N. Sterling Avenue.

StfRon and I stopped in for lunch this week, and walked through their new beer garden to enter the restaurant. If there is a nicer beer garden in Peoria, I've yet to see it.

The beer garden is large with slate style tile flooring and the fence is lined with flowers. It reminded me of some serious beer gardens we saw in the Ozarks last year, with a large bar along the back. There are also TVs for the sports/news fans.

We dined inside on this visit. They still have their menu housed in a plastic table tent, and have a decent selection of sandwiches, appetizers and salads.

I ordered a Reuben, which was $5.71 and came with chips, or an upgrade to fries for a bit more. I stuck with the chips.

StfRon ordered the gyro with fries, which was the featured special.

Our waitress was very friendly and attentive and before too long our food had arrived.

The corned beef on my Reuben was super tender, and the sandwich came with Thousand Island dressing on the side, and a crisp pickle spear (one of my favorite touches). Overall the sandwich was a little greasy, but good.

SftRon said his gyro was great, the pita bread was soft and that all of the veggies seemed quite fresh. I snagged a couple of the fries and they were hot and tasty.

With two iced teas and tip, we were out the door for $20.