Noted

For a few weeks now, I've noticed a banner in front of the Butcher Block at Junction City in Peoria advertising breakfast starting at 5:30 a.m. So for those early birds looking for something different, check it out!

The square in Washington is now home to Tidbit's Mercantile, a southwestern gift shop.

The Cherry Festival in Washington will run through tomorrow evening. If you're jonesin' for some carnival rides, deep fried veggies or deep fried Oreos, stop on by.

Carlock Family Restaurant

This month we were looking forward to the first 3rd Sunday Market of the year in Bloomington.
We headed out with plans to eat breakfast at the Busy Corner in Goodfield, but when we arrived, it was standing room only.
We decided to keep going and find someplace else to grab a bite.
My husband suggested the Carlock Family Restaurant. I wasn't sure what to expect, but it's local, so I was willing to try it out.
Located in a former Hen House Restaurant at 304 W. Washington Road in Carlock, this barnlike structure is now painted in earth tones. The restaurant serves breakfast and lunch.
We stepped inside and seated ourselves at a booth near the door.
The dining room looked neat and clean, with white painted wood and a burgundy/mauve color palette.
Opening the menu, I first mistook the price of corned beef hash to be more than $6, but then realized that price was for a corned beef hash omelet, not something that struck my fancy.
We both ordered combos of eggs, hash and bread, mine scrambled with English muffins and StfRon's over medium with toast, plus he threw in a side of biscuits and gravy. I also had a side of grits.
The food was very good, and StfRon was pleased with the preparation of his eggs. Many times they are not runny enough for toast dippin', but these were just right.
The grits tasted to me as if they were made with milk instead of water, and with a bit of butter, hit the spot.
We both had coffee, which was not bold, but also not bad, and refills were constant until we swore off having any more.
Service was good, and the price was not a drain on the ole pocketbook.
I think we've found our new breakfast tradition for 3rd Sunday marketing.

Joe Rogers' Original Recipe Chili Parlor

On an overcast day in late April, I had a chance to enjoy lunch in Springfield with my husband.
He wanted to share a recent find with me, Joe Rogers' Original Recipe Chili Parlor.
The parlor, located at 820 S. 9th Street, still prepares their chili using recipes from more than 60 years ago.
The restaurant is simply decorated, with a counter and stools along the kitchen area and tables filling the adjacent dining area. The ceiling has a rustic flair with its wood beams.
As far as the chili, the beans and meat are prepared separately, so custom orders are available. After placing my order for a small bowl of medium (spice) chili and a tamale, I then watched several other people place special orders and wished I had thought to do so. You really can have it your way there!
The chili was good, filled with meat but not tomatoey, and not as spicy as I expected. Next time I would order touch vs. medium, and work my way up from there until I found just the right amount of heat. The chili is served with a Styrofoam cup of oyster crackers.
The tamale was covered with a thick cornmeal coating with nicely seasoned meat inside.
StfRon ordered chili dogs for his lunch, drowned in meaty chili.
Currently open Monday-Saturday from 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Joe's kept up a steady stream of customers the whole time we were there, both diners and carryouts. Many of the ladies working behind the counter seem to have been there for years, and are efficient, if not terribly chatty.
The restaurant does not accept credit or debit cards.
If you're feeling adventurous, there is a chili challenge you can take on. Eat a bowl of the JR Special chili and your name can forever be emblazoned on the wall of fame. Your tongue may be forever emblazoned, too, for all I know.

Noted

German Specialties in Peoria is cooking up hot dogs, brats and more at an outdoor cart in front of their store during lunch.

Sullivan's Pub in Peoria Heights is starting a weekend breakfast buffet Saturdays and Sundays.

Soy Candles by Sharon is now open in Peoria's Metro Centre. The farmers' market at Metro is also in full swing.

Round up

This weekend we took in Squabbles at Conklin's Barn II Dinner Theatre in Goodfield. I very much enjoyed Bob Lane Jr's performance, and also savored the peppery chicken noodle soup.

Saturday we took a short hike in Springdale Cemetery in Peoria. The breeze made it a bit brisk until we got moving and got some blood pumping. We then headed home and had some BLTs al fresco using the Usinger's bacon I found on sale at Lindy's Downtown Market in Washington. Right now it's our favorite bacon, barring the bacon my husband made a couple of years ago. All that was missing was fresh tomatoes, which we should have an abundance of in a month or two.

Sunday we stopped in for what turned out to be a noisy breakfast at Cummins Family Restaurant in Washington. Despite it being Mother's Day, we only waited about five minutes for a table, but the room we were in was full and a bit loud. The corned beef hash was nicely browned and tasty.

We lucked in to Washington Greenhouse in Washington being open on a Sunday, probably for all of the moms out there. I picked up my last two fruit and veggie plants for the garden, as we've run out of room!

We went to UFS Savings Center in Peoria to pick up a couple of bottles of wine, after seeing two of our favorites on sale in the Sunday newspaper.

As I pass by the 3400 block of NE Adams Street in Peoria, I've been noticing a new tenant and signage going up. The business, now open, is called Cracked Pepper Catering, Inc., and the menus feature some nice sounding choices: http://www.crackedpeppercatering.com/

Peoria Players Theatre

We took in our first show ever at Peoria Players Theatre this month, Man of La Mancha.

I had ordered tickets ($17 each) from their web site and paid online, so we stepped up to the ticket windows to pick them up prior to our show. One of the windows was being manned and a woman was picking up tickets, and the other was currently unmanned.
As soon as an employee stepped up to help the next customer, a woman who had just stepped up behind us blurted out that she needed to get her tickets right away, before they were given away. Sure, OK, and I'm standing here hoping that mine will be given away. But no worries, once her crisis was over and she had her tickets, ours were soon in hand and we stepped into the theatre to find our seats.

The seats were nicely upholstered and posh, perhaps a little too posh for a Sunday afternoon, as I became a bit drowsy sitting there.
The 16th century stone prison vault set was quite impressive, especially to my husband, who loves to create Halloween props each year.
Once the show began, there was no way I wanted to doze in the comfy seats, as I didn't want to miss any of the show.

Man of La Mancha is a musical that tells the story of the mad knight Miguel de Cervantes (Don Quixote).
This tax collector has been imprisoned by the Spanish Inquisition, along with his entertaining servant Sancho. They have brought all their possessions with them into the dungeon where they are attacked by their fellow prisoners who set up a mock trial. If found guilty, the knight will have to hand over all his possessions.
Cervantes falls for Aldonza, a kitchen maid he calls Dulcinea. He sends her a letter via Sancho, and the token she returns for him is an old dishrag, which he cherishes.
I was impressed with many of the musical numbers performed by the cast, my favorite probably being "Little Bird, Little Bird".
The casting was great, from Sancho to Don Quixote to the Duke, and we had a very enjoyable time. We've already discussed a couple of the upcoming 2009-10 season shows we would like to see.
Man of La Mancha continues through May 10. If you've been thinking about seeing it, I would suggest getting tickets a.s.a.p., as the showing we attended ended up being sold out.

Peoria Players, organized in 1919, is the oldest continuously running community theatre in the state. The theatre is located at 4300 N. University Street in Peoria.

Shop Local Peoria campaign

From May 2009 | Issue 015 | Junction City Newsletter:

Shop Local Peoria is a campaign designed by Junction Ventures to encourage residents to shop locally and support local businesses.

Shop Local Peoria will begin its campaign exclusively with the businesses in Junction City.

Join us in supporting local, independently owned businesses in Peoria through the SHOP LOCAL PEORIA campaign!

http://www.shoplocalpeoria.com/

S'more Couture

I remember my surprise when my sister-in-law told me there was a new local shop open in Alta. Alta has shops, I thought?
What I did not realize was that the area right around the bend of Alta Road near Dunlap is considered Alta.
We were checking out a bike trail that we picked up off of University Street in Peoria, and popped out at the Rock Island Trail parking area near the Last Chance Bar & Grill. There, perched on the corner, was a cute pink and brown building dubbed S'more Couture.
We took the opportunity to go in and browse around, finding unique jewelry, purses, perfumes, lip balms, dresses and headbands, some interspersed with some great vintage radios.
One thing that caught my attention was the selection of P.B. Loco peanut butters. The flavors range from Peanut Butter with CoCoBanana to Peanut Butter with Dark Chocolate Duo to Peanut Butter with Chocolate-Chip Cookie Dough, which I hear is a best seller. Let me just say I don't think I would be chucking that aside if it turned up on my doorstep!
Located at 2700 W. 2nd Street in Alta, S'more Couture has lots of fun gifts for the "girls" on your list.

Noted

Lou's Drive-In in Peoria is open for the season! Now if it would just stop raining for a day or two...

The Metro Centre Farmer's Market in Peoria kicks off their 2009 season on May 1.

The 5th Amendment Bar & Grill in Peoria has closed. I was looking forward to trying the beef stroganoff and mashed potatoes for $5 I saw on their sign last week, too.

Noted

Driving through the Heights, I noticed a sign touting Wine Country's French Toast restaurant's newly offered lunch. Looks delicious, and reasonable to boot.
Located at 4600 N. Prospect Road, they are now serving lunch Tuesday-Saturday from 11-2, and also offer wine tastings Saturdays from 12-4.

Noted

Twice in the past couple weeks when driving by the former Original Gulley's BBQ in Peoria, I've noticed people busy at work spiffing up the building. I think we can expect a new tenant there soon.

Last weekend we attended a wine and dine event at Willett's Winery & Cellar in Manito and learned that they will be taking over the Vino 100 location at the Shoppes at Grand Prairie in Peoria. The outlet featuring Willett's wines plans a soft opening May 1, with a grand opening at a later date.
Out of a handful of Illinois wineries I have visited thus far, Willett's has some of my favorite selections.

Peking Garden

On our way back home this weekend, we passed through Eureka and StfRon asked if I wanted to go to Peking Garden. Having never been there, I was game.
We parked across the street from 116 N. Main Street and stepped inside to find about a dozen patrons enjoying a lunch buffet.
We scoped the buffet out, but decided to try something off the menu instead. StfRon placed our order at the counter and we took a seat along the wall.
Soon our order of crab rangoon was delivered, and we dove in. Out of habit, I put a bit of sweet and sour sauce on the fried puff, but after tasting the filling, deemed the sauce entirely unnecessary. The cream cheese filling had visible chunks of what seemed to me to be real crab meat (I'm no crab expert, but I'm pretty sure it was the real deal), and a nice sweet flavor.
My meal arrived: Szechuan chicken with steamed rice, filled with carrots, water chestnuts, onions, green peppers and pea pods, swimming in a nicely spiced sauce. It was certainly good, but I did wish I had tried the hunan chicken instead (I was teetering between the two). I loved the spiciness, but the sauce wasn't quite what I was looking for.
StfRon ordered the Mongolian beef, and the beef, green and white onions and sauce were a nice combination, but not as sweet as some he's had. I sampled the dish and actually preferred it to some of the sweeter versions I've tried.
The tab, with one hot tea and one ice water came in at about $28, and we had enough left over for dinner later this week.
Several more patrons came in while we were there and were greeted warmly by the people working in the dining room. They bantered about how so-and-so was doing and who was in earlier in the day for lunch. Peking Garden obviously offers good Asian fare, and hometown appeal.

The best of central Illinois: chili dogs

After leaving a certain establishment the other day, my husband mentioned that of all of the particular food items of the sort he had just consumed, said establishment had the best.
A seed was planted in my mind: why not do a "Best of" feature on my blog and feature some of our favorite items from local restaurants?
For the first edition, I defer to my husband, as I am not a connoisseur of this particular food item: chili dogs.
My husband will sample a dog with chili on it pretty much anywhere they are on the menu. He's had them at Vertucci's Chicago Style Eats in East Peoria; Emo's Dairy Mart and Velvet Freeze in Peoria; Joe Rogers' Original Recipe Chili Parlor in Springfield; but in his opinion, none top the Hofbrau in Peoria.
Yes, the Hofbrau, German restaurant and bier stube extraordinaire has chili dogs on their menu, available during lunch hours Tuesday-Saturday.
What makes these chili dogs top dog, you may wonder?
First, it's the dog itself. The Hofbrau uses Eisenberg gourmet frankfurters, "made from the finest cuts of USDA inspected beef, seasoned with fresh spices and delicately smoked...add no fillers or sugar...guaranteed a top quality dog every time".
The dogs are nicely broiled, nestled in a soft bun, and topped with an all meat chili. They'll even throw on some chopped onions at your request.
If you enjoy a good chili dog and haven't tried them, think outside of the bun and give the Hofbrau a try.

Round up

Last week I unintentionally had a bit of an ethnic fest for lunches.
I enjoyed some great Hunan chicken at Ming Shee in Peoria, chicken enchiladas at Lorena's in East Peoria, and Hunan beef at Yen Ching in Peoria.

To end the week, I had a veggie sandwich with dill sauce and an added slice of swiss on multigrain served with deli chips at Adams Street Café in Peoria. With a drink, this lunch came in at about $7, which I noticed was a stark contrast to my last veggie sandwich at Jimmy John's which I believe ran higher than that without a drink or chips. Granted, the one at Jimmy John's was much larger, but also packed with calories (800+).

We attended the 2009 Pere Marquette Gala and very much enjoyed hearing the Squirrel Nut Zippers perform.
Sunday we had lunch at Feldan's in Peoria. We got to try the brown sugar ham, and I thought I noticed a hint of cloves as well. Quite good, as was the pizza from the buffet. StfRon also really enjoyed the baked beans.

We also stopped by Sullivan's in Peoria Heights. I see they will be hosting a bash on election night April 7.

My husband is trying to talk me into chili dogs for breakfast at Emo's in Peoria this Thursday. That angle may not work with me because a) I don't like chili dogs very much and b) I'm not a morning person, but it is for a good cause. From 5:30-10 a.m. the menu items at Emo's will be half price, and all proceeds will go to the Arthritis Foundation.
I do love Emo's cheese fries and chocolate sodas.

Round up

A couple of weekends ago I headed out early to attend a funeral out of state. I thought some coffee to go would start the trip out right, so I stopped by Lester's Tasty Donuts on Glen in Peoria and was surprised to see a couple of gentlemen perusing the Saturday paper at the counter prior to 6 a.m.
I placed my order for a glazed donut and a coffee to go. Beware: A glazed donut sounds a lot like eight glazed donuts, which I soon found out when a large box was placed in front of me, along with my coffee. In my early morning stupor, I just thought they had a shortage of small packaging, until I heard the total. No problem, though, as the donuts came home with me later that evening.
They kept up a pretty steady stream of customers while I was there, which surprised me at that hour, but was nice to see.

StfRon and I met for lunch at Thanh Linh in Peoria one afternoon and enjoyed the buffet.

This weekend we took advantage of the Sunnyland Ice Cream Shack in Washington being open early in the season, and I had a hot dog with mustard and relish accompanied by a butterscotch sundae with krunch. The hot dog tasted great, and the small sundae was a bit too large for me, but very good. Business was pretty steady.
Then we headed over to Sunnyland Cinemas and watched The Knowing, which was interesting.

Sunday we rode our bikes to Denhart Baking Company in Washington for some breakfast. We got one of the last two tables, and by the time we left, people were waiting for tables. I'm not sure if some of the crowd was due to Golden Corral being closed, or just general good business. They were also seating people in the B & B dining room.
I was glad to see so many out and about.

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.

Noted

Childers in Peoria is featuring $5 specials all day long. On a Wednesday we enjoyed two of them, the ribs with fries and an Italian beef sandwich with fries.

The Ice Cream Shack in Sunnyland is open for the season.

Sunday we set out to have breakfast. First stop, closed. Second stop, not much of an offering. Third stop, closed. Fourth stop, paydirt!
One World in Peoria served up a great breakfast, and we will keep them in mind for future Sunday dining.

The Mountain Mudd coffee stands in the area closed a few months ago. We see that the Washington location will soon be taken over by The Blend, operating as The Blend Express.

A reader contacted me and mentioned that eight Peoria area funeral homes are owned by a Texas conglomerate. Clary Funeral Home and Deiters Funeral Home and Crematory are locally owned, to name just a few.

Knollaire Flowers on Sheridan Road in Peoria is going out of business.

A couple of weeks ago we got a USDA choice rib roast from Alwans & Sons Meat Company, so my husband could try his hand at smoking it. Pat was very helpful and the meal turned out great.

As a side note, it's also worth mentioning some great service we received.
Last weekend while running around Peoria, we noticed that one of our tires was losing air. We stopped and put some air in, then headed over to a locally owned tire center only to be told that they were closed. The guy suggested Wal Mart, since he said most other places in the area were closed as well.
Rather than go to Wal Mart, StfRon figured we could make it home and take it to Brecklin's, our local stop.
On a whim, we punched up auto service on our GPS and found Meineke on Prospect, which was about 5 minutes from where we were by then. StfRon gave them a call, and they said to come on in.
Turns out they were closed as well and were just finishing up the last customer's car, but we never even realized it until they were done. They were very friendly and courteous, not at all irritated that we kept them 15-20 minutes over, and had us on our way very quickly.

Leaves-n-Beans Roasting Co.

We stopped by Leaves-n-Beans Roasting Co., 4800 N. Prospect Avenue in Peoria Heights, to pick up some gifts a couple of weeks ago.
We used the downstairs entrance, since we were looking to buy some beans, and found ourselves at the end of a line of coffee buyers.
There was a lady busily scooping and bagging coffee, and soon the new owner popped down, saw the line and happily pitched in.
We ended up getting some of their Snickerdoodle, a long time favorite, and a vanilla variety as gifts, and some bananas foster beans for us on a whim. We aren't as much into flavored coffees as we used to be, although I still appreciate a good brew with cinnamon flavor, especially during the holidays. But bananas foster seemed interesting enough to give a try.
Since visiting Leaves n' Beans, we have noticed our regular home brew, Yuban, which I've drank for 15 years or more, at least the can we are using now, is not as bold as it always was, so we may be on the lookout for a new bold home brew.
The owner had us set in minutes, and I was surprised to find the old punch cards still on file from several years back when I started one. He said that he would add us to the computer, and that he has plans to do some demographics studies as far as where customers are coming from and such.
The lady in front of us was actually from the suburbs of Chicago, and he mentioned that they offer shipping, but she said she does make it to the area often enough to stay stocked up.
We then popped upstairs and each ordered a cup of brewed coffee to go and found a few people sitting at tables visiting.
The coffee shop is featuring live music some evenings, and has added dining options. I am looking forward to making it over there for lunch one day soon.
It was refreshing to see the enthusiasm the new owner has for the business, and great to see them doing so well.

April, 2009 — Leaves-n-Beans is now serving both breakfast and lunch, including some vegetarian options. They also carry organic coffees.

Grumpy Pete's Steakhouse

We tried to stop at Grumpy Pete's Steakhouse, 1440 N. 8th Street in Pekin a few months ago for lunch, but they were closed.
At a birthday bash, a couple of our friends got us a gift certificate to the restaurant, so we made plans to meet them there for dinner.
I called late on a Wednesday afternoon and made reservations, but when we arrived on Friday, the lady at the hostess stand could not find us on the list. No worries, though, because we got right in.
The dining room had a bit of a Tuscan flair, a holdover from it's previous tenants, I would guess.
Our waiter Nick stopped by and told us he would be right with us, and had heard me talking about a wine list, so he mentioned that he would bring one by.
After ordering our drinks and some appetizers, we decided on our meals. Minney ordered a pasta dish, J and StfRon selected the ribs ($16.95)and I went with a petite filet ($18.95).
Our appetizers arrived: fried button mushrooms ($5.95) and sautéed, smothered mushrooms ($5.95). Both were good, the latter topped with Swiss cheese.
A live musician set up in the bar, which is fairly close to the dining room, and started playing some tunes.
Our salads arrived (cole slaw for StfRon) and I enjoyed the poppyseed dressing I had selected.
Diving in to dinner, I found my steak to be nicely seasoned and well prepared. StfRon said the ribs were good, however he has become a bit of a rib snob since purchasing a wood smoker a couple of years ago. He knew these ribs were not wood smoked, but they were quite tender.
My side of green beans was standard, but StfRon's side of glazed carrots topped them, with their maple sweet glaze.
Nick seemed to be pretty busy throughout our stay, but he checked in with us at opportune points to make sure we were doing OK.
Grumpy Pete's is not currently serving lunch and is open Tuesday-Sunday at 4 p.m.

Grumpy Pete's closed in late 2010 or early 2011.

Feldan's Pizza, Pasta & More

Today's lunch plans were derailed when StfRon called me en route and said that Feldan's was open.
I've been watching Feldan's Pizza, Pasta & More make progress on the former Ned Kelly's building at 4114 N. Brandywine Drive in Peoria for a few months now.
Turns out that yesterday was their first day of business.
Knowing that in advance, I might not have gone today. I usually like to give new restaurants a few weeks to work out the kinks.
I needn't have worried here, though.
Walking in, I was immediately greeted by a cheerful gal who welcomed me. StfRon checked out the buffet and said that's what he was going to have, so I decided to do the same. We paid our $10.59 each (includes buffet and drinks between 11 a.m.-4 p.m.) plus tax and went for round one.
In the center of the buffet area there is a salad bar with an iceberg lettuce and red cabbage mixture, matchstick carrots, peas, croutons, cheddar cheese, cottage cheese, red onions and more, flanked on the left by dressings. I put a drop of one of the white dressings on my plate to sample, lest I be taken aback later by Bleu cheese, and found it to be ranch, but a much better ranch that most salad bar fares. StfRon later said the French dressing was very good, too.
On the opposite side of the veggies there were some fruit selections, two potato salads and white cake.
The buffet manager was on hand checking temps on the food, and everything was fresh and hot.
For round two, I sampled the fried chicken, breadsticks, pizza and a Feldan's roll.
The fried chicken was hot and juicy, with a nice crisp coating that appeared to have cornmeal in it. It wasn't salty, and was very good.
The breadsticks were chewy and the accompanying marinara was herbed and flavorful.
The roll was sweet, hard on the outside and soft inside.
The pizzas I tried were the orange chicken and Hawaiian. The Hawaiian was good, but the orange chicken pizza knocked my socks off. The orange was not prominent, but the pizza had lots of herbs on it and the sauce had a nice sweetness. I would certainly order a whole pie of that!
StfRon loved the pizza sauce and crust.
I went back one more time to take a small piece of the dessert pizza, and snagged a piece of cheese pizza while I was at it. The cheese pizza was fine, and the dessert pizza tasted almost like a homemade Snickerdoodle cookie.
We passed on several other items like pastas, green beans, two kinds of soup, mashed potatoes (skin on), corn flake fried chicken and more.
Throughout our visit a friendly server kept checking on us and whisking away our used plates.
The decor has been brightened with lots of white paint since Ned Kelly's closed, and train pictures are placed throughout the dining area. The tableside menu enlightened us on the fact that trains were selected as the theme in order to bring back hospitality from days gone by. And I would say they are doing a great job of that based on my experience today. Everyone was very cordial, friendly and helpful.
Feldan's has a dinner buffet as well for a couple dollars more, plus you can order wings, sandwiches, chicken and pizzas and an express lunch (11 a.m.-2 p.m.) off the menu.
Each day the buffet features specials, such as pork Adobo and sweet brown sugar ham.