Round up

I spent a lunch hour recently in front of the court house near the Zen garden eating some chicken lo mein from the Thanh Linh cart, and noticed that Ponte Vecchio has a cart open downtown now. Next time I plan to order something from them.

I had a fun lunch this week at Ming Shee in Peoria with my friend and her daughter.

Tuesday night we checked out the Taste of Washington on the square. I had a spinach dip from Denhart Baking Co. and we shared a pig wing with honey bourbon sauce from Gracie's Chicago Style Grille. It was pretty crazy with everyone packed in the middle of the square. Hopefully next year they can expand out a bit.

We've been keeping our eyes on the activity at the former Gracie's location in Cherry Tree Shopping Center in Washington, and there is now a sign displayed in the window for Cherry Garden, serving Chinese and Japanese food. We're excited to give it a try!

Time article: Tough Times Lead to Local Currencies

I ran across this article in Time magazine this week:

By Judith D. Schwartz

With local economies flailing, communities across the U.S. are trying to drum up more action on Main Street. "Buy Local" campaigns are one way to go. But many towns--from Ojai, Calif., to Greensboro, N.C.--are considering going a step further and printing money that can only be spent locally.

Issuing an alternative currency is perfectly legal, as long as it is treated as taxable income and consists of paper bills rather than coins. In the U.S., where local currencies were popular during the Depression, the biggest alterna-cash system is in Massachusetts' Berkshire County. Go to one of several banks there, hand a teller $95 and get back $100 worth of BerkShares, a nice little discount designed to reel in users. BerkShares are printed on special paper (by a local business, naturally--a subsidiary of Crane Paper Co., which has been printing U.S. greenbacks since 1879). And since the program's inception in 2006, more than $2.5 million in BerkShares have circulated through bakeries, vets' offices and some 400 other businesses that choose to accept the colorful bills, which feature famous former Berkshire residents, including W.E.B. Du Bois and Norman Rockwell.

What's the point of all this pretty, community-printed currency? Money spent at locally owned companies tends to create more business for local suppliers, accountants, etc. The New Economics Foundation (NEF), a London think tank, compared the effects of purchasing produce at a supermarket and at a farmer's market and found that twice the money stayed in a community when folks bought locally. A study of Grand Rapids, Mich., released last fall by consulting firm Civic Economics, concluded that a 10% shift in market share from chain stores to independents would yield 1,600 new jobs and pump $137 million into the area. "Money is like blood," says NEF researcher David Boyle. Local purchases recirculate it, but patronize mega-chains or online retailers, he says, and "it flows out like a wound."

Read the whole story... http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1908421,00.html

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.

November 2009 — Cracklin' Jakes has closed.

May 2010 — Cracklin' Jakes has reopened.
October 2011 — Cracklin' Jakes now houses Boss Hogs

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.

Supporting independent businesses

Besides the Shop Local Peoria campaign, a couple of other independent support efforts have come to my attention recently.

First I read about Lowcountry Local First and their 10% shift effort, "10% Shift gives us the tools we need to walk the walk not just talk the talk. We are asking all citizens (that's you!) government agencies, local businesses and non-profits to do an assessment of their expenditures and see if they can shift an additional 10% of their annual budget to local independents."

What they are suggesting sounds simple enough: out of every ten times you go out shopping or dining or even looking for service, opt to spend your money at an independent business.

Nice idea, and I'm glad to say I have far surpassed the 10% mark. Granted, I do still visit franchises and chains. Heck, some of them are very good, and nothing local compares to them right now.

But there are also a handful of franchises that have opened in Peoria in the last few years that I have yet to set foot in.

My husband picked up a card this week touting Independents Week July 1-7. The Capital Area Independent Business Alliance's challenge is for you to spend 50 cents of every dollar with independent local businesses.

The CAIBA is working to assist Central and Springfield Illinois areas independent businesses, so this one hits a little closer to home.

Sgt. Pepper's Café

A couple of weeks ago we were in the Route 66 vicinity, and decided to grab some grub in Springfield.Springfield reminds me of Galesburg when it comes to restaurants. Unless you want to go to a chain during non-traditional lunch hours (i.e., after 2 p.m. but before 4 p.m.) you are pretty much out of luck.

We drove by a couple of StfRon's regular haunts only to find them closed, and then he suggested Sgt. Pepper's Café.

Rolling up to the nice brick building at 3141 Baker Drive, we were glad to see they were open.

Once inside the restaurant, we were greeted and directed to sit where we like, so we chose a table near the window.

I looked at the menu briefly, but decided I would have to go with the grilled chicken sandwich my husband has raved about, topped with cheese and honey mustard.

I selected fried mushrooms as my side.

StfRon had his Springfield favorite, a horseshoe, this one with a tenderloin topped with fries and cheese sauce.

I sampled the horseshoe, but not being much into mixed foodstuffs, it wasn't my bag.

I did enjoy the chicken sandwich though, and the mustard had a distinct honey flavor. The mushrooms were piping hot and flavorful.

While sitting in the dining room, I spotted a mural on the wall that got me to thinking and looking around. The green and white striped awnings over the cash register area paired with the pattern of the pictures (some nice Beatles shots, of course) behind finally added up: the location used to be a Schlotzsky's!

The owner or manager was checking on us and bringing us refills, and StfRon asked him about it. He said yes, it is a former Schlotzsky's.

We tipped him off about the vacant Schlotzsky's in Peoria near Northwoods Mall, so if they ever move a Sgt. Pepper's in there, perhaps we will be the reason!

The Sgt. Pepper's in Springfield was opened in 1998, and there are also locations in Edwardsville and Wood River.

Noted

Firehouse Pizza plans to open a location in Washington next to Dollar General early this fall.

They will feature their "all-u-can-eat" pizza and salad buffet, which is now available at the Pekin and Peoria Northpoint restaurants.

I love their sauce and thin pizzas and have to say, it will be great to have another local pizza joint in town. If they plan to serve adult beverages there, I'm sure we'll become regular fixtures, but if not, we'll certainly eat a lot more pizza.

Nick's Deli

Last week we had the pleasure of checking out a restaurant we've never been to in Peoria, despite it being around for almost 20 years.

My husband heard about Nick's Deli from a coworker. We knew it was off of Spalding Avenue somewhere near Heyde Eye. We approached Methodist College and spotted Heyde Eye, so turned and soon saw the restaurant tucked inside the Plaza Medical Arts building at 416 NE Saint Mark Court.

The deli offers breakfast and lunch including gyros, hoagies, deli and small and large sub sandwiches, as well as pizza bread and other items.

I ordered a Genoa salami sandwich on wheat with provolone, onion and lettuce, and my husband ordered a gyro with a bag of chips. We each ordered iced tea, and, spotting a closed case of baklava on the counter, I added a piece of that.

The restaurant offers seating for about 20 people. While we were there, they did a steady carryout business, and a few people chose to dine in. There are also benches outside in front of the restaurant, but no tables.

The salami sandwich was just right, no crazy piles of meat and cheese here, just a respectable, good sandwich at a good price.

My husband enjoyed his gyro.

I sampled the baklava and immediately decided I needed to play it cool. If I let on to my husband how good it was, I might need to share. If I really thought about how good it was, and how it only cost $1, I might decide to dart back to the counter and buy five more. It was perfectly flaky and not gooey, honestly one of the best specimens of baklava I've ever had.

Before I managed to eat the last bite, my husband asked how it was. Noticing my reaction, he tried to give me the eye and score the last morsel, but I held strong, so he headed up to the counter to buy one of his own.

"It IS really good," he said when he tried it.

I'm glad we found out about Nick's Deli.

Round up

I've been hitting some regular haunts lately.

We've had two fun group meals at Bernardi's in Washington in the last week.

I've had several great servings of Hunan chicken at Ming Shee in Peoria.

We enjoyed lunch at a new (to us) restaurant a bit off the beaten path in Peoria. More about that in a few days.

We made it to the Burger Barge in East Peoria via boat for the first time this season. I wasn't feeling up to a nine ounce burger, so I tried the grilled shrimp skewer, which was pretty darn good.

We had lunch at TNT Sports Bar and Grill in the former Penguin Tap in Peoria Heights where I enjoyed a great supreme pizza, holding the green peppers for my husband's sake. I loved the flavor of the cheese, and the thin crust was nicely dusted with corn meal, one of my favorite touches on a pie.

In local business news, it looks like the former Mikey's Pizza & Subs in Peoria (Gale Ave.) will soon become a Firehouse Pizza.

The Pet Pantry

Over the past few years, we have transitioned our dog to healthier food.

She used to eat Pedigree dry dog food, and we had switched her to Iams Weight Control dry dog food when, this spring, we heard from a friend about a place that would deliver dog food to our house.

Since we had to go out every few weeks to buy a 40 pound bag of Iams, for about $36, which also involved bringing my husband along so he could heft the bag around, I figured I would check into it.

The Pet Pantry is located in Germantown Hills.

Checking their web site, I found a dog food I thought we could try, the Premium Adult Maintenance. We called and placed an order for 60 pounds at a cost of 82 cents a pound.

We found that they deliver to our area on Tuesdays, and we would need to pay a one time deposit of $15 for our dog food bin.

On that Tuesday, we left our garage open and when we got home there was our bin nicely placed in the garage, our invoice and a few surprises for our dog inside.

She scored some medium biscuits plus some Easter dog treats. We also got a Pet Pantry magnet.

Last Monday I called for a reorder, and we emptied our bin prior to Tuesday's delivery.

We got home and again found the full bin in our garage, with our invoice, and a note letting us know that our variety of dog food was not going to be available in the future, plus a sample of something comparable for our dog to try out. The note also said to let them know if we needed any more samples.

This order was about $52, since we did not have to pay a bin deposit.

The 60 pounds of dog food lasted our 70 pound dog almost exactly two months.

The food is good quality, and is made in the U.S. You can check ingredients on the Pet Pantry web site.

Each time we've talked to the gentleman there, Bill, I think his name is, he's been very friendly and helpful, and we enjoy supporting another good local business.

Noted

I was sorry to hear that Chiliworks in Peoria has closed.

Today also brought the news that another local furniture store, Downers in Pekin, will close after 20 years in business.

This Saturday is the Moss Avenue Sale in Peoria, beginning at 8 a.m. We are passing it up this year in favor of another big sale, and hope to have a fun day exploring.

Noted

The Blend Express coffee kiosk is now open in Washington.

The Shoppes at Grand Prairie hosts Titanic, Treasures from the Deep this weekend, Friday and Saturday noon - 8 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m.-4 p.m. The exhibit is free.

This Saturday kicks off the Riverfront Market season in Peoria, 8 a.m.-noon. I'm looking forward to checking it out.

Fest season also begins at Hickory Grove in Dunlap on Saturday with Sommerfest. The fun carries on through Sunday. Hours both days are 11 a.m.-8 p.m.

I saw the sad news this week that longtime Washington business Bauer Furniture will soon cease business.

Red Rock Bar & Grille

Last month after an appointment, we stopped by Red Rock Bar & Grille in Morton, since we haven't had a chance to check it out.
The restaurant is a former Brick Oven Pizza at 332 Detroit Avenue, and I recognized the tile topped tables from the former Brick Oven in Washington.
The dining room had a nice earthy feel, and a few tables were filled with early diners. In the corner, a fire was blazing in the brick oven.
We took a couple of stools at the bar and ordered some drinks, then perused the menu.
StfRon said he was game for whatever pizza I wanted, so I took advantage of it and ordered a BBQ chicken pie.
While we waited for our pizza, I mentioned to my husband that with the music and atmosphere, the place had a bit of a college bar vibe, but without the dirt and stickiness.
Our pizza soon arrived via our efficient bartender, and I took a bite, instantly feeling like I had been transported back to the Brick Oven in Washington.
If it was not the same recipe, it was a great attempt, the great crust topped with garlicky chicken, onions, and a tangy BBQ sauce.
Today I checked out Red Rock's web site, and was surprised to see they book some of our favorite bands. We can't make the first two shows, but we'll be keeping it in mind for future entertainment.

M & M Twistee Treat

Now that ice cream season is officially upon us, we made our first visit to M & M Twistee Treat in East Peoria.
This fun ice cream cone shaped building is located at 1207 E. Washington Street, offering both outdoor and indoor (in the attached building) seating.
The original Twistee Treats were built between 1983 and 1990.
One thing that has always impressed me about the East Peoria Twistee Treat is the number of items on the menu. I could eat there five days in a row and still have more things I wanted to try.
The massive menu includes: tenderloins; burgers; hot dogs; polish sausage; tamales; chicken; pizza burgers; catfish; Italian beef; tacos; pizza rolls; BBQ; and fried veggies, plus several frozen treats.
They offer basket specials which include fries, and daily specials.
M & M Twistee Treat is closed during the winter months.