Velvet Freeze

I think Velvet Freeze of the same fame used to be a chain of restaurants, stretching across more states than just Illinois.

However, Central Illinois is now home to the last surviving few of the "Home of the Wonderdog" locations. The I-74 construction ran one location off from Forrest Hill Ave. out to the Shoppes at Grand Prairie.

There is a location in Peoria's Campustown and East Peoria's Fondulac Plaza.
I've heard of people who have driven four hours to acquire a Wonderdog. Now, they're not my favorite thing, but I love a good hot dog (sans chili) any day.

You can also have a bowl of chili and assorted fast-food fare such as spicy chicken tenders, chicken nuggets, corn dog nuggets (who doesn't love a place that serves these puppies), and apparently a delectable delight dubbed Frito pie.

February 2010 — The last two Velvet Freeze locations in the area have closed.

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.

Swinger's Grille

My friends and I had our annual Christmas dinner a couple months ago at Swinger's Grille in Normal, located at the All Seasons Entertainment Center on Cross Creek Drive.
The restaurant has a bit of a sports feeling because of all of the TVs and such, but the place is tasteful and we didn't notice it at all.
I had the orange ginger seared tuna, and a couple of my friends had the roasted garlic chicken. I scored when one of them gave me a roasted garlic clove; garlic and I go waaaay back.
For dessert I tried the stuffed strawberries, dipped in white and dark chocolate and stuffed with amaretto cream. They were divine.
The plate presentation here is very nice, and the service was good.
Swinger's serves a Sunday brunch as well.
If you go to their web site, http://www.swingersgrille.com/ and view their menus, you can click on the cherries and see some of the excellent offerings.

Parsec Enterprises

If you need to have a watch or clock repaired, or are looking for a great timepiece, you should look into Parsec Enterprises.
Parsec has been in business for almost 30 years and uses state-of-the-art equipment for testing and repair. They also have a shop/showroom at the end of Harker Dr. (off Pioneer Parkway, turn by Finish Line Ford), with watches and clocks available for purchase. While you are browsing you can even enjoy a cup of coffee.
I'm planning to take my grandmother's cuckoo clock that I inherited in to be worked on, then find a great place to display it. See them online at http://www.parsecent.com.

Moon Dancer, an Eclectic Boutique

Staying in Peoria Heights, we have Moon Dancer, an Eclectic Boutique. You may remember this shop from SW Water St., in the same building with the Rhythm Kitchen, right next door.
They have relocated to Prospect Ave., across the street from Wine Country. Here you can find incense, candles, unique clothing, jewelry and gifts.

KBL Design Center

KBL Design Center got their start right here in Peoria in 1986, and now has locations in Peoria (6710 N. Big Hollow Rd.), Bloomington, Edwards and even one in Missouri.
KBL offers lighting, cabinetry, outdoor furniture, fireplaces, countertops and more. StfRon and I will be heading out there soon to check out their line of grills. They carry some lines of grills made in the USA, and ours took a dump a month ago. Our grill was about four and a half years old and it was the last purchase we made at a Wal-Mart anywhere. The purchase experience was one of the reasons we started rethinking our shopping choices, and we haven't shopped at a Wal-Mart since.
I'm also going to check out the lighting. I've been looking to replace a couple of fixtures in the house, and the selection at Lowe's and Menard's hasn't impressed me yet.
KBL has a gallery of some of their products on their web site, http://www.kbldesign.com/index.htm
KBL, here we come!

Jimmy's Bar

Jimmy's Bar on Farmington Rd. in Peoria is an Irish bar with a great, friendly, neighborhood feel.
I've spent many an evening there, either out in the great beer garden listening to the Bogside Zukes or inside when it's colder, munching on freshly-popped popcorn or sandwiches and watching people quaff Guinness.
Me, I swore off the stuff years ago, but there are plenty of other great beers to chose from.
It's always fun to check out what's been posted in the bathroom on the chalkboard, too.

Say it ain't so

StfRon and I spent Saturday, January 13 having dinner at one of the best establishments Peoria has seen in years, F. Scott's. We had an excellent dinner, starting with the baked brie of the day, then both ordering filets, mine with a bordelaise sauce and his smothered in bleu cheese. We then adjourned to the bar for some drinks. StfRon stopped by Sully at the bar and told him that he had the best servers in town. The servers are always top notch at F. Scott's, and that night was no exception.
We noticed that each server had an individual sit-down talking to in the bar while we were there, and each one appeared to be discouraged by what was said to them. We weren't sure what was afoot.
To our dismay, four days later, we opened our Journal Star to see the news that F. Scott's plans to close February 14, apparently due to a dispute regarding the building sinking, which is causing structural problems for the restaurant.
If you haven't made it here yet, try to get in if you can. F. Scott's will be missed by many.

Illinois Antique Center

Peoria has a great antique center right on the riverfront, Illinois Antique Center, 311 SW Water Street.
StfRon and I like to poke around in there on Sundays.
It's so much fun to see old local postcards, old toys you remember from when you were a kid, and look at glassware just like Grandma used to have. There's also a lot of great furniture (even church pews) and old windows and door hardware for sprucing up your house.

— Illinois Antique Center closed in the spring of 2011.

Haddad's Market

I miss many of the small grocery stores that used to be in Peoria: Ben Schwartz, John Bee, but one place remains the stalwart, Haddad's Market in West Peoria. This location on Rohmann Ave. was opened in 1964, and now is offering something great: home delivery. You can place an order of $30 or more (24 hours in advance) and they will deliver it to your door. That's a great service for people who can't easily get out, or are just holed up at home for a 12-day vacation and "I'll stay in the house for 12 days if I want to", like I recently was.
Haddad's makes sandwiches, salads and serves soups, so you can stop by and get a quick meal to take home or back to work, and they have a nice selection of deli salads, baked goods and even ready-made entrees you can pop in your microwave for a easy meal. Choose from dishes like lemon chicken and stuffed peppers, and all the work is done for you!
View some of their menus online at http://www.haddadsmarket.com/

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.

French Toast

If you're in search of some very upscale dining in the Peoria area, you need to check out French Toast on Prospect in Peoria Heights. With a list including tuna tartare, salmon paté and baked brie (which is a great appetizer), caviar, escargot and mussels, and these are only the appetizers, it's sure to be a dining delight. The menu features several fish, chicken and beef entrées and nice side choices, and the dessert menu is very impressive. My friends and I had a Christmas dinner here once, and it was very nice. The decor is upscale, the setting is quiet and the food is good. This is a dining experience, not some place where you're in and out in an hour.
French Toast also has an extensive wine and champagne list, and you can probably come back during the day and pick up a bottle for home at Wine Country, which is attached to the restaurant. Visit their website and click on French Toast on the menu bar to view the menu: http://winecountry-frenchtoast.com/

Danner's Salads

Danner's Salads, Inc. is located in Peoria and produces so many of your deli favorite salads such as pistachio fluff, red bean salad, German potato salad, and the best deli mustard salad I have ever tried. Most local grocery stores carry the Danner's brand.

October, 2008 — Danner's Salads has closed after more than 50 years in business. We did manage to get one more tub of the mustard potato salad in, but have been missing it greatly ever since.

Conklin's Barn II Dinner Theater

Something we've just started doing in the last five years or so is going to the Barn II in Goodfield for dinner and a live show. You won't go hungry with this dinner buffet featuring prime rib, fried chicken, soup, salad, bread and sides plus dessert, and you can always be sure they'll have your favorite alcoholic beverages at a great price, because you can bring them yourself (they don't sell liquor).
We always stick to the humorous shows, and we've never left without plenty of laughs. This is a true barn setting, and during intermission you can wander outside and visit the barn cats or wander across the road and visit the cows.
This place is popular, so be sure to call for reservations. Visit them online at http://www.barn2.com/.

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/

Wheels o' Time Museum

If you're looking for a quirky place to spend an hour or so, and learn a lot about Peoria history while you're at it, look no further than the Wheels o' Time Museum, off Route 40 north of Peoria. This place is packed with historical items from Peoria's past. I've not seen a more comprehensive collection of Peoria artifacts and history in one place.
The museum is owned by 55 collectors, and many have donated interesting cars, clocks, toys, tools and more which pack these buildings. There are even great displays you can drop coins in to see them come to life. The museum is a bargain at $5 for adults, $2.50 for kids, but you can find a coupon at their web site, http://www.wheelsotime.org.

What were we thinking?

OK, I admit, I was wooed by a radio commercial I heard for Applebee's. Apparently they paired up with some chef, Tyler Florence, and came up with some limited-time menu items. I heard them describing this steak dinner: "Enjoy a grilled 7 oz. House Sirloin brushed with olive oil, fresh herbs and Italian seasonings paired with plump sautéed shrimp topped with succulent crab stuffing and lemon garlic butter. Served with almond rice pilaf, fresh seasonal vegetables and toasted side bread". It sounded GREAT. So off we went to try it.
The picture on the menu also looked great. The steak looks juicy and succulent and is covered with herbs. StfRon ordered a steak from the special menu as well. We both asked for medium rare.
When they arrived, I was at first taken aback by the lack of any sign of herbs on my steak, plus no smell of herbs and actually, no scent at all from the food. StfRon noticed that his steak was gray instead of brown. In looking, I realized that mine was as well. I tried to cut into it, and it was rubbery. When the waitress came by to check, StfRon said the steaks looked gray and were kind of rubbery. She agreed that they did not look right and offered to have them remade.
While we were waiting, a manager visited our table and told us that all the steaks pretty much look the same, so chances our that our new ones would look that way, too. She said despite the looks, they taste fine.
Our new steaks arrived and sure enough they didn't look much different, still no herbs on mine and still looking a little gray. We tried them, and the flavor was OK.

As we had been waiting for our meal to be delivered a second time, we had been talking about when the last time was that we had visited a chain restaurant. Neither one of us could remember because it had been so long. And really, what IS the goal of marketing like this where places advertise, verbally and/or with beautiful, glossy photos that the actual meal never lives up to? Is the goal to get people in once and get that sale, or is the goal to keep them coming back? If I feel like I've been misled, I'm not likely to rush back.
Surely it could also be the franchise's interpretation of how to prepare the meal, but big chains should make sure the employees know how to prepare something that is going to be plastered all over the place.
The last time this happened, it was Lonestar wooing me with a "garlic lover's" steak and shrimp. You say garlic lover's and you are calling my name. This meal had no garlic at all visible on the steak, unlike the photo covered with minced garlic, and actually my shrimp arrived fried and not garliced. The waitress said you need to specify garlic shrimp, despite the picture showing the shrimp grilled with garlic in the menu.

The employees at Applebee's were great and did right by us. And we left a great tip for our waitress, who was very apologetic. But I doubt we'll be back, and if we are, we'll steer (no pun intended) clear of the steaks.

Vonachen's Old Place

StfRon and I went to the newly reopened Vonachen's Old Place early this month. It was an anniversary of our first date; and our first date was at VOP's. VOP's, located in Junction City in Peoria Heights, was Bud's Aged Steaks for a while, but now has been returned to the Vonachen's name.
Having never been to Bud's, we were a little disappointed to see the decor had changed so much since the last time we were there. The decor is a lot of browns now, and more contemporary. Also missing was the train which used to run in the dining room along the ceiling. We did not have a chance to see how the train car dining looks now.
The menu has changed a lot, too. I was sorry to see that the French onion soup was no longer offered. I remember VOP's as having one of the best French onion soups I've ever had.
For my dinner, I chose an appetizer of rare tuna rolled in sesame seeds, and accompanied this with a side of asparagus. The tuna was superb, and at first I was planning to request some hollandaise after my asparagus arrived naked, but once I tried it, I changed my mind. The asparagus was wonderful, sprinkled with some sea or kosher salt.
I also ordered a glass of pinot noir with my meal, which was $9. Overall, it was an expensive night out, but my meal really was wonderful.
Vonachen's does accommodate groups of up to 90 people.

Uncle Billy's Bakery

Yet another wonderful place in Galesburg is Uncle Billy's Bakery, 83 S. Seminary Street. They ground flour on the premises and everything is made from scratch, from whole-grain breads to cookies, muffins, cakes and pies. They also serve coffee and tea to accompany your treats. I stopped in there recently and saw that they had oatmeal fudgies, one of my favorites. But there was a new addition, white chocolate fudgies. I had to try one, and I think I have a new favorite! My favorite non-bar cookie from the shop is a cocoa oatmeal cookie. I also picked up a loaf of cheddar herb bread, which is made with organic flour. The bread is wonderful when toasted and used for a sandwich.

Tanner's Orchard

Fall is always the time Tanner's Orchard comes to mind. People go crazy for apple cider, cider donuts, caramel apples, gourds and pumpkins at Tanner's each year.
StfRon and I made the trek to Tanner's last weekend. Of course we always go in the same door and volley for space at the cider sampling barrel. We each drank a refreshing Dixie cup full and moved on.
I was looking forward to some soup, which I know they had served in the past, but this time they had cider brats, steak sandwiches and hot dogs, so we both had hot dogs. We visited the goats and sent a cup of food up the conveyor belt for them.
Tanner's has lots of fun things for kids like the barrel train and corn maze.
They've also started an online store, so if the drive out Route 40 to Speer is too far or you want to avoid the crowds, visit http://www.tannersorchard.com. There is a lot of great information on the web site as well.
This weekend is the Christmas open house, November 3 & 4.