Keil's Bar & Grill

The sign at Keil's Bar & Grill on S. Summit Drive in Sunnyland reads established 1994. The location did serve as home to other establishments during the past couple of years, such as the Golden Greek, however Keil's reclaimed the spot late this summer.
We stopped at Keil's for dinner last month before heading to a movie at the nearby Sunnyland Cinemas.
We entered the family-friendly dining room and were greeted and seated in a booth by the windows.
They were featuring some dinner specials which included a salad bar plus a pizza and pitcher special, however I decided to order the French dip which came with homemade fries or chips. I selected the chips, and my husband ordered a Reuben.
The chips were good as was the French dip, served on a long Ciabatta style roll.
Keil's serves food Tuesday-Saturday starting at 4 p.m. and opens at noon on Saturdays.

Sentimental Journey

We headed out shopping in Washington last week for Moonlight Madness and paid a visit to several of the stores.
One of my first stops was Sentimental Journey, located in an old red brick building on the square. The store shares a building with the Framer's Gallery.
The first thing that snagged my attention was the Wee Forest Folk mice. I used to love looking at these mice in their costumes at The Mole Hole in Bloomington/Normal years ago! They are adorable.
My friend mentioned that she was a big fan of Vera Bradley, and Sentimental Journey had a nice selection of the bags.

Soon I also noticed several items made in USA in the shop including Eucalyptus Stoneware baskets. My friend explained to me that you warm the basket in the oven and it holds heat to keep your bread warm once it's on the table.
I also noticed some jackets made in the USA by Winding River. They were tapestry style patterns and are reversible as well. They looked like something my mom would enjoy for Christmas.
The shop was also filled with plenty of baby gifts, ornaments, and Christmas villages, just to name a few of the items.

Holland's Homemade Caramel Corn

Last week on a trip to Lindy's Downtown Market, we spotted the new sign for Holland's Homemade Caramel Corn in the former 4A Deli spot.

My husband was thrilled, being a huge caramel corn fan. He still misses the shop in Northwoods Mall.

Monday when I got home from class I found a bag of Holland's Mix, a caramel corn/cheese corn blend on the kitchen counter, along with a sample bag of a white chocolate popcorn.

I guess I would have to say the mix was my favorite, since I like to have a piece of cheese corn and a piece of caramel corn in the same bite to get that sweet/salty combo, but the white chocolate was good, too.

The prices are pretty reasonable compared to some we've seen.

My husband said they also were selling cotton candy in the shop, located at the back of 110 S. Main Street.

December, 2009 — Holland's is now making their flavored popcorn on site.

In 2011, Holland's moved their caramel corn operation to the north side of the square.

Trinkets & Treasures

Trinkets & Treasures is a quaint shop located on Washington's historic square, 120 N. Main Street.

Inside you will find primitives, hair bows, scrapbooking supplies and hand dyed wool items among all of the, well, trinkets and treasures.

I noticed they carry some costume jewelry, including lots of Scrabble game piece charms which I recently saw for the first time on etsy.com.

I also saw some fun holiday pottery, small square trays propped up on stands, one of which had a beautiful poinsettia design.

As we left on this last visit, I noticed that their front window box was filled with all sorts of colorful edible plants, including some kale. What a fun fall display!

Venue Art Gallery Wine Social

We popped in for the grand opening of the Venue Art Gallery Wine Social in September last year, and have been planning to visit again once an event or date caught our eye.
This past Friday we headed over to 112 N. Main Street in Washington to hear Joe Metzka play his first show at the Venue.
We headed upstairs and sampled some wines to help us select a bottle. Some of them, like the Hey Mambo red and Don Rodolfo Malbec we have had before, and we wanted to try something different.
We settled on the Plungerhead Lodi Old Vine Zinfandel, which was a nice start, paid for that and our $5 cover charge and picked out a place to sit with our friends. We chose one of the low, round tables rather than a couch. Both couches were attractive and Victorian in style, however there would have been no place for us to stash our wine glasses.
The Venue was not serving food, however you can bring some in with you from home, or pop by Lindy's Downtown Market (great cheese selection) or the C Note Pub across the street and bring something with you to gnosh on.
I really enjoyed the music, as I always do when listening to Joe play.
For our last bottle, our friends selected the Oberon Napa Cabernet Sauvignon.
My husband poured some, swirled it in his glass and took a sniff, and swore he smelled hints of caramel corn, which gave us all a laugh. This too was a good wine.
The walls of the Venue showcase art, pottery and jewelry of local artists, available for purchase.
If you're not a wine lover, they do have a selection of beers available.
The Venue is also available for private parties.

Muddy Paws Pet Wash

We first noticed the Muddy Paws Pet Wash when it moved into a bay at JH Car Wash, 106 Muller Road in Washington last year, and commented on what a great idea it was.
In January, we picked up a dog who was coming to stay with us for a while and found her to be a bit, er, ripe, shall we say.
On our way home we figured it would be a perfect time to try out the do-it-yourself pet wash.
We stepped in to the enclosed room complete with stainless steel tub and a ramp to help escort man's best friend into said tub.
There was also a place to secure your pooch in place while you wash.
The controls were very much like car wash controls; feed in some bills and select your options: soap, rinse, conditioner and a hair dryer. We tried it out on our soon-to-be houseguest, and it cracked me up because the dryer was so forceful it blew this little mini pinscher's skin back in folds.
I think it was $5 for eight minutes of wash/dry time, which was just right for us.
The best part about the Muddy Paws Pet Wash is the fact that you don't have to clean the pet hair out of your household bathtub when fished. They have a cycle for sanitizing the tub, and you and your clean canine are on your way.

Christie's

Looking for treasures at Christie's, 2390 Washington Road in Washington, is a good way to pass some time.
The two story shop is filled with booth after booth of flea market finds like glassware, beer steins, ornaments, dishes, collectibles and trinkets gathered from forgotten corners of attics and basements.
You never know when you're going to run across something you remember fondly from your youth, that mod light for your basement, or that perfect knickknack for your living room display.

Lori's Kitchen Store

One of the newest additions to the square in Washington is Lori's Kitchen Store.
We've been by the store at 110 N. Main Street a few times since they opened last fall.
I noticed they carry the Le Creuset line of pots and pans. My mom has had a few of these pieces for probably 20 years or more, and she's made many a great meal with them. She's also loaned us her French oven a time or two.
Lori's also carries a fun line of hand made chocolates.
Classes and cooking contests are held in the store. You can view information about these at their web site.
Of course they also have lots of gourmet mixes, small appliances, kitchen gadgets, and even carry a line of stoneware made in the USA.

Sunnyland Cinemas

It seems like we rarely go out to the movies anymore. But when we do, we usually head to our local theater, Sunnyland Cinemas.
Located in the Sunnyland Plaza in Washington, this Carmike Cinemas property has several screens showing new features.
Tickets are $7 (children watch for $6, seniors for $5.75) and matinee tickets are a discounted price.
A few of weeks ago we stopped in with a few movies in mind and ended up seeing The Happening. Like many Peoria area bloggers, we were not impressed.
Next on our list is the new Indiana Jones flick, and I would like to see Sex and the City and Hancock.
The theater is clean and nice, the manager is a friendly chap and probably one of StfRon's favorites is the shakers of cheese topping you can put on your popcorn.
Tuesday's are BYOB, bring your own bucket, and they will fill it with popcorn, which can work out to be quite a bargain.
I've got my rainy day plans all set for the summer movie season!

Maria's

Sunday we found ourselves with time to stop at Maria's, 306 Peoria Street in Washington, for breakfast.
We drove by at 8:40, only to find that they don't open until 9 a.m. We ended up driving around a bit and coming back around 9:15.
Taking our seats by the window in the first dining room, which looks very much the same as Katie's Café did in the same location, I ordered some orange juice and StfRon went with coffee.
We were given the Sunday brunch menu, which had a handful of offerings.
I decided to have the Grandma's special, since it came with corned beef hash (along with choice of eggs, potatoes and bread) and StfRon ordered biscuits and gravy, and asked for a side of hash to accompany his meal.
Waiting for our food to arrive, it seemed like many of the staff were pitching in in all areas, with some of the kitchen staff coming out to deliver food and help seat customers and take drink orders, while our waitress was spending some time in the kitchen.
While waiting, we checked out the breakfast, lunch and dinner menus. Maria's offers a baked brie ensconced in puff pastry and drizzled with honey, and also crab cakes on the appetizer menu. Both sound like great possibilities for carryout to take home and enjoy with a nice glass of wine.
Our food arrived in a reasonable amount of time, and we were pleased with the quality of the meals.
Almost everything we ordered was home made, including the corned beef hash, and all of our food was served hot.
StfRon really enjoyed the sausage and biscuits.
Going to the cash register to pay our bill, I noticed snickerdoodle cookies covered in cinnamon, so StfRon ordered one of those for me, and a chocolate chip cookie for him. I ate mine later that afternoon, and it was a nice treat.

Brecklin's

We recently had one of our cars serviced, which included checking tire pressure and various other things.
Driving the car a couple of days last week, I thought the back driver's side tire was starting to look low. I mentioned it to StfRon, but I don't think he looked at it. In his defense, I do have a flat tire paranoia of sorts, at times even waking up from a dead sleep in a panic thinking my Jeep's tire is flat.
But, this time, I was probably onto something.
When we checked out of our hotel Sunday morning and loaded up the suitcase, StfRon noticed the back driver's side tire was almost completely flat.
We asked an employee in the parking lot if there was a service station nearby. The man said yes, two blocks over.
We carefully drove to the station, only to find they were out of business. Luckily there was still an air machine that accepted quarters. Of course, all we had was two quarters, but hopefully it would be enough to get us somewhere else.
Nope. The machine had seen better days, and would not make a good enough seal around the valve to air up the tire.
StfRon went into auto mechanic role (he is soooo not the mechanic type) and gamely put the spare on the car. Upon inspection, we did notice a screw head embedded in the tire.
We made it home on the spare and tried our trusty Washington service center, Brecklin's, at 119 Walnut, just off the square. I knew they were open Sundays, and thought we had even had my Jeep tires patched there on a Sunday before.
Sure enough, the attendant said he could work on the tire, and would give us a call when it was ready.
Turns out there was a screw and a nail in the tire, but an hour or so later and $10 lighter, we were driving on the tire again. Seems to be holding up fine so far, but I will keep a watchful eye on it.
Beats shelling out for a new tire right now, since we just sunk a large amount of money into service and repairs for the car.
Kudos to Brecklin's for tire patching on Sundays, and for rescuing us once again!

Homespun Gallery

On top of listening to some tunes by Joe Metzka this weekend, I also squeezed in some shopping, some dining at the Kaiserhof and another local joint I'll blog about later this week.
I did get a chance to check out the new Homespun Gallery in Washington, located at 110 S. Main Street in a newly-renovated building on the square.
The furniture featured in the store is more high-end, reproduction furniture built right here in the US. The furniture is made to order, so if you find a piece you like, you can even choose the color or finish to suit your taste. There are some beautiful wall units in the shop.
There are several gift items in the store, including some neat toys made in the USA.
I found some mittens, which I'm sure I'll need sooner or later this winter, despite the warm temps so far, made from leftover sweater scraps, by some adults with disabilities right here in the USA as well. The mittens are available in several sizes and colors.

Plaza Lanes

Bowling generally brings back bad memories of high school P.E. class for me. The teacher would berate my skinny ass for using a nine pound ball, and even with my light ball, I wasn't very good at it.
We've ventured to Plaza Lanes, 1500 Washington Road in Washington once or twice. The place is cool in a retro sort of way. And the bowling shoes and balls look way better than what I remember from high school in my hometown.
My bowling skills really have not improved with age. But I have mad technical skills.
Plaza Lanes also has something called Rock-n-Glow bowling, which looks to be very popular, with the top 20 videos displayed on large screens overhead.
We've also checked out the bar. The finest vintage to be had was a white zin, which was retro in itself for me. After I graduated from Lambrusco many years ago, I moved on to white zin. I don't think I'd had one in 10 years until I ordered one at the bowling alley. But, I digress.
All in all, Plaza Lanes is a fun break from the old boob tube. We'll be spending a few winter nights at the bowling alley, if there's any room for us.

The Blend

For weeks we've been driving by the banner that said "The Blend Opening Soon" in Washington at 1128 Peoria Street.
This week we saw The Blend was open, and stopped in to check it out.
The decor is upscale coffeehouse, with orange and yellow walls, pendent lights, eclectically upholstered booths and glossy cement floors.
The Blend roasts their own coffee, and on the day we were in, the bags were marked "fresh roasted on 10-4". There are several varieties of coffee to choose from. Next time we need some, we'll go buy some so it's fresh and we'll brew it up at home and see what we think. I also have my eye on some flavored varieties for Christmas presents.
The Blend serves bagels, muffins, scones and something called Wally Biscotti, which look awesome with flavors like Ginger Binge-ers, The Lemon Sisters and Pistachi-o-wie. They also have huge cinnamon rolls. We opted for the bagels, covered with poppy seeds. I had mine with garden veggie cream cheese, which was very savory. StfRon's been raving about the softness of the bagels. Our only complaint: they should see about a faster toaster, maybe one of those chain dealies where you put the bagel it and a few minutes later it pops out on the conveyor belt ready to go.
To quench your thirst, The Blend has espresso drinks, hot chocolate, chai, teas, smoothies and juices. I opted for some Minute Maid orange juice, having already caffeined up at home that morning.
If you decide to hang out at The Blend, they have some magazines and books to read and WiFi access, and so far are open in the evenings as well as mornings.

August, 2008 — We rode our bikes to the Blend before a weekend road trip. We were disappointed to find that they had seemingly changed both their bagels and cream cheese. The bagels were not as soft, and the cream cheese was not as savory. They are still roasting their own coffee on a regular basis, though, which will make for great gifts for coffee lovers.

Step Back in Time

Sunday was such a nice day, we walked to the square in Washington to do a little browsing.
Generally, not much is open on the square on Sundays, but Step Back in Time is, and it's one of the best shops on the square.
Step Back in Time is a three-story shop filled with antiques. On this visit, we were checking out tables for our home bar that's in the works. We saw several tables with great potential, and even some nice coat hooks. They also had some benches and pews, but they were not quite what I was looking for. I recently bought a "bench" but wish now I had waited to find a nicer one.
If you're looking for a Halloween costume, you might want to check out some of the vintage clothing and hats scattered around the booths here.
Step Back in Time also carries a nice selection of milk paint in various colors.
It's a fun place to poke around in on a lazy afternoon.

Washington Greenhouse

Washington Greenhouse, 2679 Centennial Drive in Washington, is a great resource for your gardening needs. They carry a wide selection of plants, trees, shrubs and seeds, fertilizers, plus landscaping rock and blocks and even a pet and bird food department.

Kep's Place

We recently stopped at Kep's Place in Washington for an after work drink.
Kep's was opened in 2002 in an old racquetball club. One thing Kep's is known for around Washington is wings. Someone we know in Washington buys pounds of the wings for a Superbowl party each year.
We saw the wings on this visit, and they looked very saucy and tasty, however we had dinner waiting for us at home, so we resisted the urge to order some.
Kep's Place has a sports bar theme, with big screen and flat screen TVs, darts and pool tables.
Tuesdays and Wednesdays you can play pool for free.
Looking for some grub instead? Kep's has good pizza, the BBQ one is one of my top choices, but one of my favorites here are the frips, kind of a cross between chips and fries.
There is a beer garden on premises, and a decent selection of bottled beers. Weekends feature DJs and live bands.
Oh, and looking to own a bar? I've heard Kep's is for sale.

Teegarden Veterinary Clinic

We've used Teegarden Veterinary Clinic in Washington for several years for our dog. Originally, we were taking her to Washburn to Dr. McKenna, a great guy who StfRon used with his pets for years. Unfortunately, they had a fire and were out of service for quite a while. We ended up getting our puppy spayed at Teegarden, and have been with them ever since.
Teegarden has been in operation since 1951. The clinic is nice and clean and everyone is friendly.
We also board our dog there. Once we had the bright idea to take her somewhere more country-clubby, where she might have more room, and maybe more fun, and the first time it worked out fine. The next time we picked her up from the other kennel, she was soaking wet on her belly. She didn't smell at all, so we just figured she had gotten washed off or something. The next time we went to put her in her kennel at home, which she never had a problem with, she freaked out, panting and shaking like crazy. This kept on for weeks.
It could have been something very simple that set her off, but we have since returned to boarding her at Teegarden, and everything is hunky-dory in dog land.

Gracie's Grille

This eatery in Washington replaced Nancy's in Cherry Tree Shopping Center, at the end near Kroger.
Gracie's Grille has all your Chicago-style restaurant favorites: Vienna beef Chicago dogs, gyros, polish sausages, Italian beef, plus chicken, fish, tenderloins, and a good pizza pie. Good local pizza is hard to come by in Washington, and Gracie's does a nice job. They also offer delivery.
The owner is a Central Illinois native, and is a very outgoing chap.
Gracie's also mans a pushcart near the courthouse in downtown Peoria, so you can grab your Chicago eats and run back to work in P-Town.
If you dine in at Cherry Tree, don't be surprised if the tables could use a wiping off. Seems like every time we've been in, that is the case, but the food is still tasty.

March 11, 2008 — Gracie's has moved down Cummings Lane and opened a sports bar/grill.

Basta O'Neill's

We got a chance to check out Basta O'Neill's in Washington last week, located on Cummings Lane in a new strip mall. This Basta is run by the same people as the Basta in East Peoria.
While at the bar, we enjoyed some good wine in stemless glasses and an order of the best bruschetta I have had in close to 10 years. The owner said his daughter makes it herself, and it is a treat.
For dinner I had a spinach salad, which was very good, but could have used a bit more of the great dressing that was on it. I paired this with a cup of minestrone soup, which was good, too.
The decor is warm and nice, and the bar back is a stunning antique.
To go along with the O'Neill portion of the name, they have some Irish favorites on the menu and some Irish beers and decor.
This is a great addition to Washington. They are currently closed on Sundays.

Update: In April, Basta's started featuring live jazz on Thursdays. We made it in on a Thursday, and it was a good time. The server seemed a bit overwhelmed, but they should work the kinks out.
The portobello mushroom appetizer is great, and the bruschetta can be killer, as long as there's enough balsamic on it. If not, just ask for a side of balsamic and you're set.
http://www.bastaoneills.com/